R.I.P. William Hurt (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

Unfortunately, another great actor has left us. William Hurt has passed away at 71.

“It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time.”

William Hurt Dies: Oscar-Winning ‘Kiss Of The Spider Woman’ Actor & Four-Time Nominee Was 71

William Hurt, an Oscar winner for Kiss of the Spider Woman who often played a quiet intellectual in his early acting roles but later took more strident turns in science fiction and Marvel films, di…

deadline.com

I think this retroactively makes Black Widow his final completed film role. He was in The King's Daughter earlier this year, but that was filmed in 2014 and sat on the shelf for years. According to IMDb, he was in a TV show that is currently filming and had a couple movie listed in pre-production, which I assume will have to recast him now

 

[Richard Kaufman]

Prostate cancer.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Prostate cancer.

Yes, he had prostate caner. But his family's statement clearly says that he died of natural causes. I will take them at their word.

 

[Robert Crawford]

May he R.I.P. A fine actor.

 

[Malcolm R]

Cancer would be a "natural" cause, IMO.

RIP.

 

[John Dirk]

Definitely a prolific figure whose legacy is solidified. May he R.I.P. 71 is just way too soon.

 

[Jeffrey D]

The first film that comes to mind regarding him is The Big Chill. Great film. He was pretty funny in I Love You To Death. RIP, William.

 

[Bob Cashill]

A really remarkable starring career that led to stellar supporting parts. Quite a legacy.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Whether cancer counts as natural causes or not, I'm just happy that he died peacefully with family. Whenever my time comes, I would like to go peacefully.

I'm younger than a lot of people who post here. I know that he was very good in films like The Big Chill and Kiss of the Spider Woman, they aren't the ones I experienced as new projects growing up. This isn't meant to devalue his older work at all; of course his older work is still there and still enjoyable and still great and people should absolutely remember him for it. But for me the two performances I most associate him with are probably ones that most people don't necessarily think of first. Hypothetically, if I had ever gotten to meet him, I would have wanted to talk about Damages and Tuck Everlasting.

He was on Damages for a season-long arc as Daniel Prucell in 2009, which reunited him with Glenn Close. I think Damages is among the finest television shows ever made. I loved it, and I still revisit it from time to time.

Tuck Everlasting was In 2002, and it wasn't widely seen. But I loved it.

Of course, he is also recognizable as General/Secertary of State Ross in the MCU to a lot of younger people and he was good in that part too. But Damages and Tuck are the ones that I would have wanted to bring up because they mean a lot to me and he probably wasn't asked about them quite as often.

 

[Filmgazer]

My favorite William Hurt performances were in "Children of a Lesser God" and "Broadcast News". He was a fine actor. Rest in peace, William.

 

[bujaki]

RIP. A fine actor, unforgettable performances in many genres. Sexy as hell with the super-charged Kathleen Turner in Body Heat. Intelligent acting as the gorgeous but stupid anchor in Broadcast News, and as the husband torn between two worlds in Children of a Lesser God.
Although he won the Oscar playing gay in Kiss of the Spider Woman, I personally thought that the film belonged to Raul Julia in the more challenging and difficult role. However, it's still a very fine performance in a powerful film.
I'm truly saddened. Saw him once on stage. We're the same age. Sad thoughts abound.

 

[Garysb]

I had the good fortune to see William Hurt on stage in Central Park in "A Midsummer's Night Dream" as Oberon. This was done around the time "Body Heat" was released. Christine Baranski played Helena, and Kevin Conroy ( Batman voice) was Lysander. It was filmed and shown on A&E when that meant Arts and Entertainment. Probably a lesser known performance that could be made available again. Here it is in 2 parts.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

So sad, and so young, comparably.
So many great roles.
I take comfort in the fact that he died peacefully,
Thanks, William, my thoughts are with you, and your family.
So sad all my heroes leave me, and us ...

 

[TravisR]

William Hurt was in a lot of great movies- Altered States, The Big Chill, Body Heat, Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Broadcast News, Dark City, A.I., and A History Of Violence. That's a solid body of work.

 

[JamesSmith]

Was he in the Lost in Space film?

--jthree

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Growing up in the 80s, as the video store equivalent of a latchkey kid, William Hurt’s films always offered the promise of sophisticated yet relatable performances in movies for grown-ups that made this kid aware that grown-ups didn’t have it figured out any better than us kids did. I liked him instantly the first time I saw him in a film (I don’t remember which) and that’s never changed.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Was he in the Lost in Space film?

Yes. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120738/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_6

 

[Sean Bryan]

Was he in the Lost in Space film?

--jthree

Yes. He played John Robinson.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

One of the truly great actors of the Baby Boomer generation. He'll be missed for sure.

My favorite William Hurt performances were in "Children of a Lesser God" and "Broadcast News". He was a fine actor. Rest in peace, William.

I was looking for a statement from his Children of a Lesser God costar Marlee Matlin, but she's currently in London for the BAFTAs, where her film CODA is having an incredible night. So I'm not sure she's even learned of his passing yet. And their personal relationship was fraught and complicated, so she might abide the old adage "If you don't have anything nice to say..."

 

[Joe Wong]

RIP, Mr Hurt…