HH
Hurd Hatfield
Actor
Born December 7, 1917Died December 26, 1998 (81 years)
William Rukard Hurd Hatfield was an American actor, best known for often playing characters of handsome, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film The Picture of Dorian Gray. Hatfield was born in New York City to William Henry Hatfield, who died in 1954, an attorney who served as deputy attorney general for New York, and his wife, Adele (née McGuire). Hurd was educated at Columbia University, then moved to London, England where he studied drama and began acting in theatre.
He returned to America for his film debut in Dragon Seed, in which he and his co-stars (Katharine Hepburn, Akim Tamiroff, Aline MacMahon, Turhan Bey) portrayed Chinese peasants, some more convincingly than others. Hatfield's second film, The Picture of Dorian Gray, made him a star. As Oscar Wilde's ageless anti-hero, Hatfield received widespread acclaim for his dark good looks as much as for his acting ability. However, the actor was ambivalent about the role and his performance. "The film didn't make me popular in Hollywood," he commented later. "It was too odd, too avant-garde, too ahead of its time. The decadence, the hints of bisexuality and so on, made me a leper! Nobody knew I had a sense of humor, and people wouldn't even have lunch with me."
His follow-up films, The Diary of a Chambermaid, The Beginning or the End, and The Unsuspected), were successful, but Joan of Arc was a critical and financial failure. Hatfield's film career began to lose momentum very quickly in the 1950s, and he returned to the stage. Subsequent movies included supporting roles in The Left Handed Gun, King of Kings (as Pontius Pilate), El Cid, Harlow (as Paul Bern), and The Boston Strangler. He cut back on performing in the 1970s. His later movies included King David and Her Alibi.
He appeared frequently on television and received an Emmy Award nomination for the Hallmark Hall of Fame videotaped play The Invincible Mr. Disraeli). In 1957, he appeared in Beyond This Place, directed by Sidney Lumet. Other television credits include three guest appearances on Murder She Wrote, opposite his Picture of Dorian Gray costar Angela Lansbury, who had become a lifelong friend. He also appeared as the villain in the second episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents in "None Are So Blind".
In 1952, Hatfield appeared as Joseph in Westinghouse Studio One's The Nativity. This was a rare commercial network staging of a 14th-century mystery play, adapted from the York and Chester plays.
According to the magazine Films in Review, Hatfield was ambivalent about having played Dorian Gray, feeling that it had typecast him. "You know, I was never a great beauty in Gray...and I never understood why I got the part and have spent my career regretting it", he is reported to have said.
He died in his sleep of a heart attack at a friend's home, aged 81, after celebrating Christmas dinner.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Hurd Hatfield, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
He returned to America for his film debut in Dragon Seed, in which he and his co-stars (Katharine Hepburn, Akim Tamiroff, Aline MacMahon, Turhan Bey) portrayed Chinese peasants, some more convincingly than others. Hatfield's second film, The Picture of Dorian Gray, made him a star. As Oscar Wilde's ageless anti-hero, Hatfield received widespread acclaim for his dark good looks as much as for his acting ability. However, the actor was ambivalent about the role and his performance. "The film didn't make me popular in Hollywood," he commented later. "It was too odd, too avant-garde, too ahead of its time. The decadence, the hints of bisexuality and so on, made me a leper! Nobody knew I had a sense of humor, and people wouldn't even have lunch with me."
His follow-up films, The Diary of a Chambermaid, The Beginning or the End, and The Unsuspected), were successful, but Joan of Arc was a critical and financial failure. Hatfield's film career began to lose momentum very quickly in the 1950s, and he returned to the stage. Subsequent movies included supporting roles in The Left Handed Gun, King of Kings (as Pontius Pilate), El Cid, Harlow (as Paul Bern), and The Boston Strangler. He cut back on performing in the 1970s. His later movies included King David and Her Alibi.
He appeared frequently on television and received an Emmy Award nomination for the Hallmark Hall of Fame videotaped play The Invincible Mr. Disraeli). In 1957, he appeared in Beyond This Place, directed by Sidney Lumet. Other television credits include three guest appearances on Murder She Wrote, opposite his Picture of Dorian Gray costar Angela Lansbury, who had become a lifelong friend. He also appeared as the villain in the second episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents in "None Are So Blind".
In 1952, Hatfield appeared as Joseph in Westinghouse Studio One's The Nativity. This was a rare commercial network staging of a 14th-century mystery play, adapted from the York and Chester plays.
According to the magazine Films in Review, Hatfield was ambivalent about having played Dorian Gray, feeling that it had typecast him. "You know, I was never a great beauty in Gray...and I never understood why I got the part and have spent my career regretting it", he is reported to have said.
He died in his sleep of a heart attack at a friend's home, aged 81, after celebrating Christmas dinner.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Hurd Hatfield, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
| 1992 | Legends of the West · as Actor In 'the Left Handed Gun' |
| 1991 | Lies of the Twins · as Gil Selwyn |
| 1989 | |
| 1986 | Crimes of the Heart · as Old Granddaddy |
| 1986 | Blacke's Magic (TV Series) |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories (1985) (TV Series) · as Logan Webb |
| 1985 | Lime Street (TV Series) |
| 1985 | King David · as Ahimelech |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) · as Jean-Pierre Dusant |
| 1982 | Knight Rider (TV Series) · as Ariel Marsden |
| 1981 | The Fall Guy (TV Series) · as Grant Coleman |
| 1981 | The Manions of America (TV Series) · as British Agent |
| 1978 | The Word (1978) (TV Series) · as Cedric Plummer |
| 1974 | The Lives of Benjamin Franklin (TV Series) · as John Church |
| 1973 | Kojak (TV Series) · as Don Luiz Cabrillo |
| 1973 | The Norliss Tapes · as Charles Langdon |
| 1973 | Wide World of Mystery (TV Series) · as Warlock |
| 1972 | Search (TV Series) |
| 1972 | Between Time and Timbuktu · as Dr. Hoenikker |
| 1971 | Thief · as Herman Gray |
| 1971 | Von Richthofen and Brown · as Anthony Fokker |
| 1968 | The Boston Strangler · as Terence Huntley |
| 1966 | Ten Blocks on the Camino Real · as Jacques Casanova |
| 1965 | Mickey One · as Castle |
| 1965 | The Wild Wild West (TV Series) · as Liston Day |
| 1965 | The F.B.I. (TV Series) · as Karole Schumann |
| 1965 | Harlow · as Paul Bern |
| 1964 | NET Playhouse (TV Series) · as Jacques Casanova |
| 1964 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV Series) · as Leopold Zeraff |
| 1963 | Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre (TV Series) · as Tsezar |
| 1963 | General Hospital (TV Series) · as Pilgrim |
| 1961 | King of Kings · as Pontius Pilate |
| 1961 | El Cid · as Arias |
| 1959 | The Play of the Week (TV Series) · as Don Juan |
| 1959 | |
| 1958 | The Left Handed Gun · as Moultrie |
| 1957 | The DuPont Show of the Month (TV Series) · as Sir Hugh |
| 1956 | Playhouse 90 (TV Series) · as Harry Ivers |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) · as Paul Tallendier |
| 1955 | The Millionaire (TV Series) · as Jack Miner |
| 1954 | Camera Three (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1954 | Climax! (TV Series) · as Ted |
| 1953 | Ponds Theater (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1953 | You Are There (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1952 | Omnibus (TV Series) |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall Of Fame (TV Series) · as Prince Frederic |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (TV Series) |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Dobbins |
| 1950 | The Web (1950) (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1950 | Tarzan and the Slave Girl · as Prince Of The Lionians |
| 1950 | Destination Murder · as Stretch Norton |
| 1950 | The Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theatre (TV Series) · as Gringoire |
| 1949 | Chinatown at Midnight · as Clifford Ward |
| 1949 | Suspense (TV Series) |
| 1948 | Joan of Arc · as Father Pasquerel, Joan's Chaplain |
| 1948 | Studio One (TV Series) · as Harry Vane |
| 1947 | The Unsuspected · as Oliver Keane |
| 1947 | Kraft Television Theatre (TV Series) · as Lord Overbury |
| 1947 | The Beginning or the End · as Dr. John Wyatt |
| 1946 | Lights Out (TV Series) |
| 1946 | The Diary of a Chambermaid · as Georges Lanlaire |
| 1945 | The Picture of Dorian Gray · as Dorian Gray |
| 1944 | Dragon Seed · as Lao San Tan - Youngest Son |