I know why Gene Hackman died in squalor despite kids & wealth – & why it shames us all

WRAPPERS and packets strewn all over the floor, stacks of paper, half drunk cups and bottles and not a clean work surface in sight – the squalor 95 year old Gene Hackman died in was like something from Hoarder SOS, not the home of a double Oscar-winning actor and multimillionaire.

Yet while the pictures have left the world wondering how on earth he could have come to this – with a younger wife and two daughters only a few hours drive away – I think I know the sad truth which really lies behind the images.