After intensive meetings with the director Arthur Penn, Hurt eventually agreed to take on the part in Altered States. He looked out of place in the intergalactic romp Lost in Space (1998) but did sympathetic work as a paternal scientist in Steven Spielbergs AI Artificial Intelligence (2001). In the early 1980s, Hurt secured breakout roles in two Lawrence Kasdan films: the steamy crime drama Body Heat, in which he plays a small-town lawyer opposite Kathleen Turner; and comedy-drama The Big Chill, where he portrayed a Vietnam War veteran meeting up with college buddies for their friends funeral. His son, who shares the actors name, confirmed Hurts death in a statement to the Associated Press. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. In response, Hurt issued the following statement: "My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives. Later that year he starred in the steamy Body Heat with Kathleen Turner. This remake ofDouble Indemnity(1944) marked the start of a four-film partnership with director Lawrence Kasdan, which continued with one of the decades seminal features, the baby-boomer reunion dramaThe Big Chill(1983). He quickly became the face of the slow-burning, adult-oriented thriller. What makes this talented actor so special and, inevitably, a star is his ability to create his own reality onstage. He enjoyed the trips he drove for the NY Jets and NY Yankees. Im interested in all horizons and whats on the other side of them, he said. When Bill was 6, his parents separated, and his mother married Henry Luce III, the son of Time magazines founder. Having established himself in the 70s as a stage actor, Hurt initially turned down all movie offers. How Marvel went big with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you. His screen bow also drew plaudits, as he plumbed the depths of consciousness as the psychopathologist experimenting with sensory deprivation in Ken Russells cult body horror,AlteredStates(1980). In 1981, Frank Rich, reviewing Childe Byron at Circle Rep for The Times, singled him out. Having played a janitor who helps reporter Sigourney Weaver solve a murder in Peter YatessEyewitness, Hurt remained in neo-noir mode forBody Heat(both 1981), generating sparks with Kathleen Turner in playing a lawyer duped into killing his lovers husband. He had a recurring role in 2009 on the legal drama Damages. This inbuilt reluctance made his film work, when it finally came, feel fascinatingly conflicted, as though he was regarding the medium itself with scepticism. His first major film role was in Ken Russells sci-fi thriller Altered States in 1980; then, in early 1981, came the crime drama Eyewitness, in which he again played opposite Ms. Weaver. Reviewing his debut film, Altered States (1980), in which he starred as a scientist dabbling in genetic regression experiments, the critic Pauline Kael identified his cool, quivering untrustworthiness [he plays] the kind of cunning maniac whos always watching to see how people react to his mania.. The following decade, Hurt settled into more of a character actor, appearing in films like A.I. Christi Carras is an entertainment reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Hurt, tall, blond and speaking in a measured cadence that lent a cerebral quality to his characters, was a leading man in some of the most popular films of the 1980s, including The Big Chill (1983), Children of a Lesser God (1986), Broadcast News (1987) and The Accidental Tourist (1988). When he's not playing video games, he's usually writing about film and television. A scar strip, Thank you for asking, she says, Dreamville just announced its 2023 festival lineup and now everybody wants a ticket, Ozzy Osbourne rejects notion of retiring after canceling tour: Im not dying, Oscars diversity improved after #OscarsSoWhite, study shows. The actor behind Marvel's Thunderbolt Ross has died. I think our purpose is to seek as great a contribution as we can, whatever that might be., Though his film career waned somewhat in the later years of his life, Hurt had a recurring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thaddeus Ross. Funeral Mass Wednesday, November 24, 2021 at Holy Angels Church at 11:00 a.m. After its publication, Hurts reputation did not suffer; in fact, he saw a career resurgence in the MCU. Bobby was a 1958 graduate of Campbell County High School in Rustburg, VA. Hurt was best known for his Oscar-winning performance as gay prisoner Luis Molina in 1985s Kiss of the Spider Woman, and his Oscar-nominated work in the hit 1987 comedy Broadcast News, intense 2005 drama A History of Violence and 1986 romance Children of a Lesser God. The actor found stardom following his 1982 role in Lawrence Kasdan's neo-noir thriller Body Heat, opposite Kathleen Turner, and the ensemble dramedy The Big Chill, also by Kasdan, in 1983. He was 71. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. And I know we both have grown., Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. William Hurt and Marlee Matlin in Children of a Lesser God, 1986. Once that decade was over, Hurts lustre seemed to fade. Hurt brought a cerebral intensity and charm to leading roles in Body Heat, The Big Chill, Born and raised on It's surprising how much a musical selection can affect mourning. My greatest offering is my concept. William Hurt, the Oscar-winning actor known for Kiss of the Spider Woman, Broadcast News and Children of a Lesser God, died Sunday of natural (Rich Fury / Invision / Associated Press), Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Whats on Khlo Kardashians face? Hurts Thunderbolt Ross was also seen in the Marvel One-Shot The Consultant and the Disney Plus animated series What If?, with Mike McGill voicing the character in the latter. Hurt was married to Mary Beth Hurt from 1971 to 1982. Hurt was honest about his struggles with alcoholism earlier in his life, and did not dispute the allegations of physical and sexual abuse made against him by Marlee Matlin, his former partner and co-star in Children of a Lesser God, in her 2009 autobiography Ill Scream Later. Rather fittingly, the Kiss of the Spider Woman star's final film performance was in 2021's Black Widow, reprising his role as Sec. He had a two-year relationship with his debuting co-star in the former, Marlee Matlin (then 19 to his 35), who won the Oscar for Best Actress. William Hurt. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Beyond that it is my only obligation to solve the truth of the piece. Janet Maslin wrote in The New York Times in 1985 of the brilliant achievement of Mr. Hurt and his co-star, Raul Julia, in Kiss of the Spider Woman., Mr. William Hurt, who became a hot Hollywood commodity with his performance as a hapless lawyer in Body Heat in 1981 and within a few years had won the best-actor Oscar for the 1985 film Kiss of the Spider Woman, in which he portrayed a gay man sharing a Brazilian prison cell with a revolutionary, died at his home in Portland, Ore., on Sunday. However, he plumbed a darker side as the crime boss brother of assassin Viggo Mortensen in David CronenbergsA History of Violence(2005), which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for just nine minutes of screentime. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes.". This Online Memorial has been created to commemorate the life of William Hurt Jr. Leave a message on the Tribute Wall to share your favorite memories and offer words of sympathy and comfort. Known for his serious, intellectual roles, Hurt got in on the blockbuster game later in his career, joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross in The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: Civil War. He was the only son of Delores May Brown, and the loving He was ideally cast as Mr Rochester in Franco Zeffirellis 1996 adaptation of Jane Eyre, but Nora Ephrons sentimental fable Michael (also 1996), in which he was a journalist sent to report on a real-life angel (John Travolta), was a misstep. Hurts career was not without controversy, however: In her 2009 memoir, Matlin wrote about being violently sexually assaulted by her much-older then-boyfriend Hurt. Taft worked for USPS, Branford Press, Clinton Press, and Academy Bus Company where he finally officially retired in December 2019. He can play any kind of part he wants, producer Alan Ladd Jr. said of Hurt for the actors 1981 Rolling Stone cover story. I dont owe anybody anything including the director., Hurts reputation took a hit years later when he was accused by his costar and ex-girlfriend Marlee Matlin of physical, sexual and emotional abuse while working on Children of a Lesser God., In a 2009 interview with Access Hollywood, Matlin who won an Oscar for her role in the film said she was always afraid of Hurt during their two-year relationship, which she detailed in her memoir Ill Scream Later., I always had fresh bruises everyday, she told the outlet. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or plant a tree in memory of William Edward Hurt. Driving was something he really loved to do. Personal Quotes (27) I'm still not comfortable with all this. Hurt, the Academy Award-winning actor known for Kiss of the Spider Woman and his appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, died Sunday of natural causes, However, he looked more at home as a slippery opal thief in Wim Wenders turn-of-the-millennium odysseyUntil the End of the World(1991) and as Mr Rochester in Franco Zeffirellis take onJaneEyre(1996). The following year, Hurt landed in Eyewitness and the cult neo-noir Body Heat; that films director Lawrence Kasdan and Hurt reunited in 1983 for the beloved boomer ensemble comedy The Big Chill. By Lester William McChord Hurt was born on March 20, 1950, in Washington, the son of Alfred Hurt, a career diplomat, and Claire Isabel (McGill) Hurt, who worked at Time Inc. William Hurt obituary: 1980s Oscar winner with a final chapter in Marvel. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative? 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