William Hurt, the Oscar-winner star of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Broadcast News” and “Children of a Lesser God,” has died. He was 71.
Hurt’s son, Will, said in a statement to the Associated Press that Hurt died Sunday of natural causes. He said Hurt died peacefully, among family. Will Hurt told The Hollywood Reporter his father died at his home in Portland, Oregon. Hurt was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer that had spread to the bone in 2018.
The four-time Oscar-nominated actor was one of the most acclaimed stars and bankable leading men of the 1980s, starring as Vietnam veteran Nick Carlton in the all-star ensemble playing college friends reuniting in 1983’s “The Big Chill.”
Hurt earned Oscar nominations in three consecutive years — for his role as a prisoner in a Brazilian jail in 1986’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” 1987’s drama “Children of a Lesser God” (alongside “CODA” star Marlee Matlin) and as a TV anchor in 1988’s “Broadcast News.”
Hurt was also nominated for his supporting role in 2005’s “A History of Violence.”
Although his first credited role was as on CBS’ detective series “Kojak,” the Juilliard School actor made his film debut in 1980, as a psychopathologist studying schizophrenia and experimenting with sensory deprivation in the science-fiction thriller “Altered States.”
Hurt’s true star breakout came the next year in the thriller “Body Heat,” as smalltown lawyer Ned Racine, who is seduced into committing murder by Kathleen Turner’s Matty Walker.
In 1986′s “Children of a Lesser God,” it was his co-star, Marlee Matlin, who took the Oscar for her performance as a custodian at a school for the deaf. Hurt played a speech teacher. Hurt and Matlin’s romance bloomed offscreen as well – but it wasn’t Hurt’s first experience with notoriety.
Hurt first married Mary Beth Hurt in 1971. During that 11-year marriage, he began a relationship with Sandra Jennings, whose pregnancy with their son precipitated Hurt’s divorce. In a high-profile court case six years later, Jennings claimed she had been Hurt’s common-law wife under South Carolina law and thus entitled to a share of his earnings. A New York court ruled in Hurt’s favor, but the actor continued to have a strained relationship with fame.
In her 2009 memoir, Matlin detailed physical abuse and drug abuse during their relationship. Hurt issued an apology, saying: “My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives.”
For a younger generation, Hurt was known for his Marvel Cinematic Universe work as Hulk nemesis Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. He first appeared in 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” alongside Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner. He reprised the role in “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Avengers: Endgame,” and 2021’s “Black Widow.”
Hurt starred alongside Billy Bob Thornton in Amazon’s legal series “Goliath” from 2016 to 2021 as reclusive lawyer Donald Cooperman.
The actor was born in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 1950, the son of a State Department official, and. is survived by four children. His acting career began on stage, notably with a 1984 Broadway performance of “Hurly Burly,” with a cast that included Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel, Jerry Stiller, Sigourney Weaver and Cynthia Nixon.
Contributing: Associated Press
