For Gene Hackman, Santa Fe was a refuge from the limelight

Hackman retired in the early 2000s after a decades-long career that included roles as villains, heroes and anti-heroes 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’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe and wrote a novel about the American West centered on New Mexico called Payback at Morning Peak and co-authored one on the Civil War.

Hackman and Arakawa lived in a multi-level Pueblo-style home that blended 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 jewellery and leather crafts on the Santa Fe Plaza for more than 60 years.

Hackman usually was in jeans, a flannellette 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.