Oscar-winning actor William Hurt has died at 71 over three years after announcing he had terminal prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time. Born March 20, , in D. Agency for International Development. Hurt made his TV debut on the cop series "Kojak" and his film debut in the high-concept sci-fi movie "Altered States" After appearing with Sigourney Weaver in 's "Eyewitness," he and Kathleen Turner became household names starring in the steamy neo-noir thriller "Body Heat" In a surprise , he won for "Kiss of the Spider Woman," in which he played a gay man imprisoned with a leftist revolutionary in Brazil during its military dictatorship.
William Hurt. So sad to hear this news. Working with him on Broadcast News was amazing. He will be greatly missed. His final film appears to be this year's "The King's Daughter" , and at the time of his death he was providing a voice to the TV series "Pantheon.
As an actor, he was revered. Upon hearing of his passing, many peers took to social media to express their grief, including Mark Ruffalo, who wrote , "Wow, another Major loss to the acting community. Great actor. Great mind. I admired his acting so much and watching his commitment in person was remarkable.
My thoughts are with his family. But Hurt was also remembered for a tumultuous relationship with his "Children of a Lesser God" co-star Marlee Matlin, one she explicitly defined as abusive.
In her book "I'll Scream Later," Matlin β who was 19 when she met Hurt, who was 35, wrote that he berated her acting abilities on the night she won the Oscar for their film together, that they got into violent arguments that left her bruised and with cuts, and that he attacked her sexually once while drunk. Hurt said in a statement at the time, "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 both have grown.
