A year has passed since Hollywood's legendary actor Gene Hackman (95) and his wife Betsy Arakawa (65) died, but it is reported that their final resting place is guarded by nothing more than a shabby conch shell. Meanwhile, a legal dispute among their three children has begun over a massive estate worth $90 million (Hanwha about 132 billion won).
On the 9th (local time), according to the Daily Mail's report, at the cemetery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Gene Hackman and his wife's graves are interred, there is still not even the common nameplate or headstone. Under a wind chime–hung tree, a single conch shell sits alone at this unnamed grave, a scene far too lonely to be called the final resting place of a Hollywood master.
The couple's deaths, discovered on Feb. 26 last year, were shocking. His wife Betsy Arakawa first died from hantavirus complications, a respiratory disease transmitted through rodents. The tragedy did not end there. At the time, Gene Hackman, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease, apparently did not recognize his wife's death and stayed with the body for a week before dying himself, adding to the sorrow.
Gene Hackman, who was not on good terms with his children during his lifetime, completely excluded his three children from inheritance through his will. He left all his property to his wife, and his wife in turn left a will requesting that her assets be donated to charitable organizations after her death.
However, the three children (Christopher, Elizabeth, Leslie) have taken legal action over an estate totaling $90 million, including real estate and personal effects worth about $80 million and auction revenue. They filed for status as "interested parties" in the inheritance case, signaling the start of a full-scale inheritance dispute.
Recently, Hackman's 53-acre mansion in Santa Fe was sold for about $6.25 million (about 830 million won), and the $3 million in auction proceeds from some 400 items, including his Golden Globe trophy and personal collections, are also tied up in probate court.
Separate from the estate fight, the children are battling to protect their father's final dignity. They intervened in a civil suit filed against the Santa Fe coroner and submitted a petition to the court asking that photos taken at the scene of Gene Hackman's death not be released to the public.
The great actor Gene Hackman, who dominated his era with films such as "The French Connection" and "Unforgiven." The lonely grave left behind after the glittering glory on screen and the cold legal battle among family members evoke a bitter feeling.
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