John Mulaney made light of the investigation into Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s deaths during his recent talk-show monologue.
On April 23rd, Mulaney, 42, joked about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa, who were found dead in their home earlier this year. During his show, Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney, the comedian quipped, “Scientists are saying that dinosaurs were wiped out 66 million years ago by an asteroid.”
He continued with, “Hold on a second. You don’t know that. We still don’t even know how Gene Hackman and his wife passed away, and we found their bodies fully clothed, a week later.”
Mulaney mocked the ongoing investigation, saying, “How about Santa Fe police? ‘Uh, press conference No. 470. We now believe a rat bit Mrs. Hackman, turning her hands into mummy hands.’ Just take it easy, you don’t know what happened.”
The investigation later revealed that Hackman’s cause of death was hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s contributing. Arakawa’s death was linked to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), a rare infection transmitted by rodents.
The late couple was remembered in a private memorial service earlier this year.
