Per The Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press, and several other outlets, Academy Award-winning actor William Hurt died at his home in Portland, Oregon, on the morning of Sunday, March 13. Hurt, 71, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer that metastasized to his bones in 2018, and passed away peacefully among family, his son Will said.
William McChord Hurt was born in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 1950. He studied acting at the Juilliard School in New York, and made his film debut in 1980’s sci-fi horror Altered States. He won an Oscar for 1985’s prison drama Kiss of the Spider Woman, and was nominated again in the following years for Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News, as well as in 2006 for A History of Violence (based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke.) Other major film roles included Body Heat, 1998’s Lost in Space and Dark City, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Village, and Mr. Brooks.
Hurt first played the role of the Hulk’s nemesis, General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, and eventually returned as the newly promoted Secretary of Defense in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, as well as Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame (in a non-speaking cameo role), and Black Widow. During the final years of his career, he also appeared in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, The Host, and Race, as well as the TV shows Humans, Goliath, Condor, and Mythic Quest (which marked his final live-action performance.) His last onscreen appearance came in 2022’s The King’s Daughter, which was shot in 2014, while his final performance will appear in AMC’s upcoming animated sci-fi series, Pantheon.
He was married to Mary Beth Hurt (née Supinger) from 1971 to 1982, and Heidi Henderson from 1989 to 1992. In the interim, he dated ballet dancer Sandra Jennings, with whom he had his first child, Alexander, and his Children of a Lesser God co-star Marlee Matlin. Both Jennings and Matlin alleged Hurt was an alcoholic, and a verbally, physically, and sexually abusive partner. Hurt responded to Matlin in 2009, “My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives. Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we have both grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good.”
Hurt met Henderson while they were both in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. They had two sons, Will and Samuel. After they divorced, he dated French actress and director Sandrine Bonnaire, with whom he had a daughter named Jeanne. He is survived by all of his partners and their children, as well as three grandchildren, and his brothers James and Ken. Matlin commented at last night’s Critics’ Choice Awards, “We’ve lost a really great actor, and working with him on set in Children of a Lesser God will always be something that I will remember very fondly. He taught me a great deal as an actor, and he was one-of-a-kind.”
If you have been affected by this story, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY), for free, confidential 24 hour support. The Deaf Hotline and ADWAS can also offer help and support for deaf and deafblind survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
