# William Hurt - RIP at age 71 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [March 13, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992 "2022-03-13T21:46:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/41 "2022-03-14T23:02:51Z")
(snerk) Yeah, just keep telling yourself that. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/42 "2022-03-14T23:05:34Z")
I associate William Hurt with Altered States, Big Chill, and Body Heat. I probably saw a few other movies that I’ve forgotten. I plan to rewatch Big Chill. It’s has a wonderful cast and good story. Love the music too. He had a knack for playing intense characters. RIP ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/43 "2022-03-14T23:10:14Z")
nm nm nm nm nm ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/44 "2022-03-14T23:43:36Z")
I haven’t seen most of Mr. Hurt’s films and in the few I have seen, he was either unmemorable or bad (e.g., _The Plague_, 1992). Nevertheless, I thought he was abysmal in _Altered States_ (“For God’s sake, check my data!”), but it was clear he and the other actors had been directed to rush through all their lines, which didn’t help anyone’s performance. As such, I was surprised that in _A History of Violence_ (2005), he was pretty good – indeed, never better after he gets shot in the head – though the film as a whole was not so good. Perhaps “his” best performance was Kevin Spacey’s impression of him on _SNL_’s version of the Letterman show: one creep does another… while the guy playing Letterman mugs mercilessly. Alas, I was unable to find a clip, probably because I didn’t look very hard. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/45 "2022-03-14T23:57:07Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > D’oh! I even made sure I spelled Kathleen right True fact: they almost cast Kathleen Freeman instead of Kathleen Turner ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/46 "2022-03-15T10:05:21Z")
I have to admit, for years I thought of William Hurt as “bland Jeff Bridges”. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/47 "2022-03-15T13:16:53Z")
I’d forgotten how many of his films I’ve seen until reading this thread. By far my favorite is **Mr. Brooks** , as @Sherrerd already mentioned. RIP sir; you were a fine actor. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/48 "2022-03-15T17:50:34Z")
_Body Heat_ is probably pretty close to being in my top 10 movies of all time, and the only time I saw him as a lead. A modern noir film. He played the local yokel lawyer perfectly. We knew he was a crap lawyer right from the beginning, but he didn’t know it. The way Turner reels him in and sets him up for the fall is excellent. I can’t think of any way that movie could have been better. It had fantastic atmosphere, music, plot and dialogue. Plus, Ted Danson dancing badly. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/49 "2022-03-15T18:08:03Z")
> [@Dandan](#): > > But don’t just watch it for the scenery - this was an adaptation of a prize-winning novel, and a very sweet story I came to the book very late, but I deeply love it. I’m afraid to watch the movie – that it’ll spoil my memory of the book. You do recommend it? ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/50 "2022-03-16T13:04:24Z")
Thanks for the reply - I haven’t read Tuck …just because I’m an avid reader, and I always have a huge stack of stuff ahead. But I checked, and a local library branch has a copy on hand, and I’ll pick it up this afternoon. I’ll read it, and you can watch the film, and we will, I think, congratulate ourselves. Because I don’t insist that an adaptation tracks exactly with my preconceptions, which we’ve seen fluttering around “Reacher”, with a number of folks insisting that Jack had to be huge and nonverbal, or it just wasn’t right. I’ve read all the Reacher novels, save the last 2 or 3, and despite not being much of a Tom Cruise fan, I got a kick out of his casting against the book’s character. So, what I’m saying is that I won’t be upset if the story deviates from the movie - I don’t think it will, much; during the production there was constant discussion in the art department about sticking to the book. Since I haven’t watched Tuck, I can’t say how successful we were. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, I’ve watched the movie three times, and I haven’t watched any other project I’ve worked on more than once (and some not at all). Dan ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/51 "2022-03-16T14:48:56Z")
Thanks for the info, Dan! And I have to say I _always_ notice set decoration. Not always with as much attention on first watch as I do during re-watches, but it’s something I notice and appreciate when it’s done well. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/52 "2022-03-16T15:03:14Z")
Funny, I remember him best from Spielberg’s A. I., where he played the chief scientist / engineer who created the android boy (the main character). ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/53 "2022-03-16T17:30:27Z")
I can’t remember anyone hoping for a non-verbal Reacher. A 5’7" grinning idiot didn’t exactly fit the bill, but hey, you can’t have everything. Looking over Hurt’s IMDB, I’d like to see _I Love You to Death_ again. It was an odd flick, and maybe the first time Hurt branched in a smaller role. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992/54 "2022-03-17T18:15:10Z")
Am I the only one who confused him with Jeff Daniels? I remember Hurt mainly from Broadcast News, a fine performance in a great film which though it was made 35 years ago feels very topical in its analysis of TV news. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-rip-at-age-71/960992.md?page=2)