Hollywood actor Randy Quaid theorizes that Gene Hackman and wife Betsy were murdered

By 
 March 5, 2025

Former superstar Hollywood actor Gene Hackman, 95, was recently found dead in his Santa Fe, New Mexico home along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, and one of their three German Shepherd dogs, but the cause and manner of their deaths remain a mystery.

Authorities quickly ruled out the possibility of foul play in their unexplained deaths, but fellow Hollywood actor Randy Quaid is suspicious and theorized on social media that Hackman and his wife were actually murdered, the U.K. Express reported.

Quaid did not provide any specific evidence to support his theory but did link Hackman's death to the mysterious deaths of other deceased stars and conspiratorially insinuated that the Hollywood industry itself was behind the actor's passing.

Were Hackman and his wife murdered?

In an X post on Saturday afternoon, Quaid wrote, "Gene Hackman and his wife are murder victims, some scum bags did it and staged it. Stop talking about the films he is in, this is how they get away with murdering famous people! Fake News starts generating film clips. How is it possible I know at least 6 people who have died like Carradine, Hackman, Ledger?"

Quaid's post referenced the prior suspicious deaths of famed Hollywood actors David Carradine and Heath Ledger, about whom various conspiracy theories have been floated even though authorities long ago offered plausible explanations for why they died.

Per the Express, Ledger was found dead in his bed in 2008 by his housekeeper, and evidence at the scene suggested that he'd died from overdosing on a cocktail of prescription drugs, while Carradine was found dead in a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand in 2009 and his death was attributed to accidental asphyxiation.

Is Hollywood murdering stars to exploit royalty profits?

That wasn't all that Quaid had to say on social media about the suspicious deaths of Hackman and his wife, which began on the day their passing was announced when he posted inquisitively, "Gene Hackman his wife and guard dog all found dead. Hey Hollywood, anyone else upset, furious and deeply concerned?"

Just moments after that, he said in a second post, "Gene Hackman has one of the biggest royalty streams in Hollywood. I suspect murder!"

Later that evening, Quaid seemed to flesh out his developing conspiracy theory and wrote, "When an Actor like Gene Hackman is murdered and clips of his films are run on all the networks it only distracts from the murder investigation and the fact Gene died a terrible, horrible death."

"IN REALITY the clip licensing only generates profits for the alleged murderer(s)," he added. "Do you think Gene Hackman would care that fake news says he was a great actor, or would he rather they figure out who killed him?"

On Saturday, after his post that referenced the suspicious deaths of Ledger and Carradine, Quaid joked, "I should become a special FBI agent to these investigations of Hollywood Murders! I already have some good leads on who killed Gene Hackman."

Conspiracy theories are "unhelpful" and "upsetting" for the families

The U.K. Mirror reported that this was not the first time that Quaid had theorized about a possible conspiracy behind the suspicious deaths of Hollywood stars like Ledger, Carradine, and others, which he has attributed to a mysterious cabal known as "The Hollywood Star Whackers," despite the official narratives put forward by authorities about the case and manner of those deaths.

Meanwhile, an unnamed source told the Mirror that Quaid's conspiracies are "upsetting for the families to hear" and said, "Speculation such as this is very unhelpful given its been made very clear that no foul play is suspected and both bodies showed no sign of any blunt trauma."

"The only thing pending is the toxicology and trying to piece together the couple’s last moments," the source added. "The police have been very transparent with the investigation so far. It will be upsetting for the families to hear such wild conspiracies."

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