Hurd Hatfield, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Hurd Hatfield
Acting

Hurd Hatfield
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1917-12-07,New York City, New York, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
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.

Filmography

5.8

Mickey One
1965-09-27

The Boston Strangler

6.7

The Boston Strangler
1968-10-08

The Unsuspected

6.667

The Unsuspected
1947-10-11

Destination Murder

5.2

Destination Murder
1950-06-09

7.137

King of Kings
1961-10-11

The Left Handed Gun

6.038

The Left Handed Gun
1958-04-30

The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus

4

The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus
1952-12-22

The Diary of a Chambermaid

6.231

The Diary of a Chambermaid
1946-02-15

The Picture of Dorian Gray

7.1

The Picture of Dorian Gray
1945-03-03

Chinatown at Midnight

6

Chinatown at Midnight
1949-11-17

5.403

Her Alibi
1989-02-03

The Beginning or the End

6.423

The Beginning or the End
1947-02-19

6.722

Dragon Seed
1944-07-20

You Can't Go Home Again

3

You Can't Go Home Again
1979-04-25

The Double-Barrelled Detective Story

9

The Double-Barrelled Detective Story
1965-12-31

Tarzan and the Slave Girl

5.594

Tarzan and the Slave Girl
1950-06-23

0

Mellow Moon
1985-01-01

The Checkered Coat

8.25

The Checkered Coat
1948-07-16

The House and the Brain

7

The House and the Brain
1973-05-24

The Norliss Tapes

6.196

The Norliss Tapes
1973-02-21

7.375

Thief
1971-10-09

10

Montserrat
1971-03-02

5.649

King David
1985-03-29

Lies of the Twins

4.458

Lies of the Twins
1991-08-21

4.667

Harlow
1965-05-14

The Invincible Mr. Disraeli

8

The Invincible Mr. Disraeli
1963-04-03

A Cry of Angels

0

A Cry of Angels
1963-12-15

6.8

El Cid
1961-10-24

Crimes of the Heart

6.106

Crimes of the Heart
1986-12-12

Ten Blocks on the Camino Real

8

Ten Blocks on the Camino Real
1966-10-07

Von Richthofen and Brown

6.233

Von Richthofen and Brown
1971-06-30

Héroes de blanco

7

Héroes de blanco
1962-07-27

6.134

Joan of Arc
1948-12-22

Murder, She Wrote

7.534

Murder, She Wrote
1984-09-30

5.64

The F.B.I.
1965-09-19

7.53

Knight Rider
1982-09-26

7.155

Kojak
1973-10-24

5.385

Studio One
1948-11-07

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.848

The Ed Sullivan Show
1948-06-20

Hallmark Hall of Fame

8.75

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951-12-24

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

7.8

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02

The Wild Wild West

7.6

The Wild Wild West
1965-09-17

The Millionaire

5.75

The Millionaire
1955-01-19

7.1

Search
1972-09-13

Lux Video Theatre

6.714

Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

7.2

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951-10-05

6

Lime Street
1985-09-21

3.833

Climax!
1954-10-07

5.083

Suspense
1949-01-06

Robert Montgomery Presents

6

Robert Montgomery Presents
1950-01-30

6.75

Blacke's Magic
1986-01-05

6

Lights Out
1949-07-19

Amazing Stories

7.478

Amazing Stories
1985-09-29

Murder, She Wrote

7.534

Murder, She Wrote
1984-09-30

4.8

The Word
1978-11-12

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

7.8

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02

5.385

Studio One
1948-11-07

5.385

Studio One
1948-11-07

Hallmark Hall of Fame

8.75

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951-12-24

Hallmark Hall of Fame

8.75

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951-12-24

3.833

Climax!
1954-10-07

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

5.875

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963-10-04

DuPont Show of the Month

7.4

DuPont Show of the Month
1957-09-29

DuPont Show of the Month

7.4

DuPont Show of the Month
1957-09-29

3.833

Climax!
1954-10-07

Murder, She Wrote

7.534

Murder, She Wrote
1984-09-30

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

7.737

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1964-09-14

6.333

Omnibus
1952-11-09

Appointment with Adventure

7.667

Appointment with Adventure
1955-04-03