A longtime friend of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy, believes the legendary actor would've died "long ago" without his wife taking care of him.

“She was very protective of him,” Tom Allin told the New York Times in an interview published on Saturday (March 8).

Allin told the newspaper that Hackman didn't appear to be in the best of health and his wife "just really looked after him." The interview was published one day after authorities announced that Hackman was suspected to have died about a week after his wife.

Gene Hackman, 95, was reported to have died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer's as a factor, while Betsy Hackman, 65, was reported to have died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, New Mexico State Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell confirmed. Betsy is suspected to have died first as all outgoing communication from her cellphone and email ceased on February 11, the last day she was spotted publicly, while Gene is suspected to have died on February 18, as it was the last day his pacemaker registered data, though Dr. Gerald specified that there was no reliable scientific method to determine an exact time for either death.

Officials reiterated that foul play was not suspected in the Hackmans' deaths and the scene was tested for carbon monoxide, with only a minute leak found that was deemed to be insignificant.

Hackman, a two-time Academy Award winner, and his wife, born Betsy Arakawa, were married for 34 years. Police reportedly found the couple at around 1:45 p.m. local time on Wednesday (February 26).

Hackman's legendary acting career spanned more than 60 years, providing an everyman believability to numerous iconic roles, including playing Jimmy Doyle in The French Connection (1971) and Little Bill Daggett in Unforgiven (1992), which won him the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. The California native was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for roles in Bonnie & Clyde (1968) and I Never Sang for My Father (1971), as well as Best Actor for Mississippi Burning (1989).

Hackman is also remembered for playing arch villain Lex Luthor in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), as well as Coach Norman Dale in Hoosiers (1986) and Royal Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) among numerous other iconic roles.

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Jeffrey T. Mason