SANTA FE, N.M. – The piñon- and juniper-scented Rocky Mountain foothills overlooking Santa Fe have helped the city earn a reputation as a refuge for famous actors and authors seeking to escape the spotlight.
Sometimes the world’s attention is unavoidable, as it was this week when Oscar-winner Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead inside their home in those very foothills.
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, eschewed fame and made Santa Fe their home decades ago, like many other acclaimed artists, including the former playwright Sam Shepard, actors Shirley MacLaine and Ali MacGraw, and “Game of Thrones” author George R. R. Martin.
In addition to the fresh air and mountain vistas, Santa Fe — situated more than a mile above sea level — is known for Pueblo-style architecture, Southwest-themed art galleries and turquoise jewelry-filled boutiques. Initially settled by Indigenous people and once colonized by Spain, the capital city of New Mexico today embraces a low-key vibe where young skateboarders share the sidewalks with wealthy retirees decked out in Pendleton cardigans and cowboy boots.
It’s not uncommon to see a famous person strolling downtown, dining out or hiking on the numerous trails; it’s just that locals know not to gush over them.
“You recognize that celebrities who come here are coming here for the same reason. They just want to live and be normal people,” artist Kristin Bortles said, taking a break from planning a mural for a new coffee shop.
The normally laid back city was in collective shock Thursday as news spread about Hackman and Arakawa. The last time a crush of media descended on Santa Fe was when Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer on the set of the movie “Rust.”
On Friday, conversations about what had happened to Hackman and his wife always came back to Santa Fe’s reputation as a place where celebrities could unwind and live unassuming lives far from the glitz of Los Angeles or New York City — and even some of the more glamorous Rocky Mountain enclaves, like Vail, Colorado.
Hackman retired in the early 2000s after a decades-long career that included roles as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films. Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen on the Hollywood social circuit.
He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe and wrote a novel about the American West centered on New Mexico called “Payback at Morning Peak” and coauthored one on the Civil War entitled “Escape from Andersonville.” (A real life battle took place just east of Santa Fe in 1862, at Glorieta Pass.)
Hackman and Arakawa lived in a multilevel Pueblo-style home that blends in with the surrounding geography. He enjoyed weekly Pilates classes, bicycle rides along paved trails and getting fresh eggs dropped off by friends.
While Hackman kept a tight circle of friends and didn’t go out much, he was sometimes spotted downtown. But one of the most accomplished actors of his generation mostly blended in.
“The thing I’ve learned about Santa Fe is that you never know who you’re talking to, you never know who you’re going to meet or who’s around the corner,” said Gabriel Garcia, whose family has been selling jewelry and leather crafts on the Santa Fe Plaza for more than 60 years.
Hackman usually was in jeans, a flannel shirt and sometimes a baseball cap, said friend Stuart Ashman, the former head of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and past CEO of the International Folk Art Market.
“Obviously he was a huge star,” Ashman said, “but you would never know it when you talked to him because he had that sort of what I call a princely attitude, where he’s focused on you and asks you about you, not talking about himself.”
Hackman enjoyed painting and was drawn to the beauty of the hills surrounding Santa Fe and the light of the high desert, Ashman said.
Arakawa, a classical musician, was soft spoken and never one to expect special treatment, said Larry Keller, owner of a high-end furniture and art store where she would shop.
Being a part of the Santa Fe community, he said, means not drawing extra attention to someone because of their celebrity status.
“We’re too cool for school, you know. That’s the Santa Fe vibe,” Keller said.
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AP writers Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.
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