R.I.P. William Hurt

[Big Magilla]

He officially died of prostate cancer.

Lived his last years off the beaten track in Oregon with his two sons by his second wife, Heidi Henderson, daughter of Skitch Henerson.

He was one of the few truly intellectual film stars. His stepfather was Henry Luce III, son of the founder of Time Magazine. Although one can't excuse his bad behavior, not just to Matlin, but to Mary Beth Hurt (married to Paul Schrader since 1983) whom he left in 1982 due to the pregnancy of Sandra Jennings, his girlfriend on the side, or to Jennings with whom he lived in a common-law marriage in South Carolina not recognized in New York where she sued him for support making it easy for him to wiggle out f the relationship, one doesn't know what demons drove him. On the other hand, he waived his salary for Kiss of the Spider Woman so that it could be made and was kidnapped at gun point and held for days, along with another girlfriend at the time, by drug dealers in Brazil during the making of the film. That had to have played with his head big time.

He was considered a thoroughly professional actor by everyone who worked with him. Love the story behind his whispering to Sally Field when she handed him his Oscar. He asked Field, with whom he had worked on stage, "what am supposed to do with this?" to which she responded, "you live with it" which apparently became his way of getting through everything that came after.

[Sabin]

Ugh, I forgot about that. That's awful.

[flipp525]

Like many men who abuse their partners, William Hurt beat up and raped Marlee Matlin because he was so insecure about himself.

Marlee said that worse than the almost daily beatings was his psychological bullying. I guess the night she won her Oscar he was especially cruel. Can't remember the details, but he basically told her before the ceremony that she didn’t belong with the other nominated actresses and if she won it would be just a pity win.

He was not a nice person by any stretch of the imagination. He was hot (when he was younger), and also extremely talented, but he was really an asshole.

He should have been nominated for career-best work in The Accidental Tourist which would have been his fourth Best Actor nomination in a row.

[Okri]

Joyous Twitter thread that involves Hurt as a name drop

[Big Magilla]

This is a major shock.

Hurt was still a working actor. According to IMDb., he was doing voicework in a TV miniseries and had three films in pre-production.

[Greg]

I just read that Hurt announced he had terminal prostate cancer and was taking experimental medicine four years ago. At least that medicine must have helped, as four years is fairly long to live with a terminal illness.

[Sabin]

He was well past his prime once I started seeing him in films. He was starting the shift into playing disappointing fathers. The first time he made an impact on me was in One True Thing, a film I haven't revisited since 1998 but he was a real standout to me conveying very human shades of arrogance and selfishness that seemed more interesting than anything else in the film. No idea how it stands up but I thought a Best Supporting Actor nomination wouldn't be undeserving. Next, he conveyed real pathos in his glorified cameo in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, whose scene with Haley Joel Osment is quite moving and lived-in for its brief running time. And like so many, he largely ended his career in the MCU playing Gen. Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, whom they must now recast or pluck from an alternate dimension.

I'll remember him from Broadcast News. A little too dim, but not quite dim enough for the job.

I'd like to know more about his cause of death. 71 is pretty young. I have no idea how long he did drugs but that couldn't have helped.

[Mister Tee]

Complete shock to me.

I thought he was the actor in the 80s who'd carry on the golden tradition of Hoffman/Nicholson/Pacino/DeNiro. He had an amazing run that decade, but seemed uncomfortable with the mantel of Great American Actor, and basically abdicated -- seeking supporting roles, never really regaining the position he held in the mid-80s. Lots of personal issues, as well, which I assume played a part.

At his best, a thrillingly good actor.

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/will ... 235203576/