RIP William Hurt…

Incredibly sad news to report….acclaimed Actor William Hurt died just a week before his 72nd birthday.

Hurt’s son, Will, posted today that his father has died. It was announced in May 2018 that the elder Hurt had terminal prostate cancer that had spread to the bone.

“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.”

As Deadline.coome reports:

Hurt had three consecutive Academy Awards nominations for Best Actor in the mid-1980s. These included Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), Children of a Lesser God (1986) and Broadcast News (1987.), He won for Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Here is one of his most acclaimed performances: I worked in TV News, and this film captured that world perfectly.

Broadcast News!

William Hurt, Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks starred in this terrific 1987 film that was nominated for Best Picture and more. This movie took an incisive look at the changing world of television News. 

Here is the trailer for this Oscar-nominated film:

Albert Brooks played a bitter network News Reporter who watches as Tom Grunick, played by William Hurt, gets promoted based solely on his looks.

The best dialogue – in a film full of great dialogue – is when Brooks explains to Holly Hunter who he thinks handsome Anchorman Tom Grunick really is:

“I believe that Tom, while a very nice guy, is the Devil…what do you think the Devil is going to look like if he’s around? Nobody is going to be taken in if he has a long, red, pointy tail. No. I’m semi-serious here. He will look attractive and he will be nice and helpful and he will get a job where he influences a great God-fearing nation and he will never do an evil thing… he will just bit by little bit lower standards where they are important. Just coax along flash over substance… Just a tiny bit. And he will talk about all of us really being salesmen. 

After this heartfelt, serious critique of the universal decline of broadcast news standards, Brooks finishes with a line that is even more telling:

“And he’ll get all the great women.”

Hurt brought the perfect blend of sex appeal and folksiness to the role…a film that is as relevant today as when it was made.

Hurt also starred in one of the greatest modern day “film noirs” ever: click here for an in-depth look at the riveting “Body Heat!”

Hurt had roles in so many great films and TV shows…

RIP William Hurt…

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