Sad News Berkshires, Oscar-Winning Actor William Hurt Dies At 71

I was greeted with some sad news this morning, Berkshire County. As a fan of movies and great acting performances, I was saddened by the news that actor William Hurt died yesterday. He was 71.

I still remember the very first movie I ever saw with William Hurt. He was part of the terrific ensemble cast of 1983's "The Big Chill". In a movie filled with fantastic performances, it was Hurt's performance that stood out to me for whatever reason.

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After that, I started following his career and I watched whatever I could get my hands on. 1980's "Altered States", 1981's "Body Heat"(one of my all-time favorite movies, by the way), "Gorky Park"(another fave) from 1983, 1986's "Children of a Lesser God", 1987's "Broadcast News"(yet another fave of mine), the list goes on and on...

I remember watching "Kiss of the Spider Woman" from 1985 and being so blown away by his performance(and the performance of his co-star, Raul Julia), that I remember thinking at the time that he should win an Academy Award. Sure enough, he did. Hurt won the Best Actor Oscar for that performance.

Hurt was nominated for other performances, but that was his only win. Hurt went on to numerous other film and TV projects after his popular 1980s heyday. Hurt is probably most familiar to today's audiences as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Hurt portrayed General Thaddeus Ross in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk"(the Edward Norton "Hulk"), and followed that up with "Captain America: Civil War", "Avengers: Infinity War", "Avengers: Endgame", and "Black Widow".

In 2018, Hurt had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Apparently, Hurt used an alternative form of chemotherapy which he said saved his life. In a statement, Hurt's son said he passed away peacefully from natural causes surrounded by his family at his home in Oregon.