How William Hurt got his start on $35 a week in Lansing, Grand Ledge playhouses

Bryce Airgood, Lansing State Journal
·2 min read

Oscar-winning actor William Hurt, who performed during his early professional career in the Lansing area, has died at 71.

Hurt’s son, Will, said in a statement to the Associated Press that Hurt died peacefully on Sunday of natural causes with his family present.

It’s been reported he died at his home in Portland, Oregon. He was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to the bone in 2018, USA Today reported.

Hurt was a four-time Oscar-nominated actor, with Oscar nominations for three consecutive years for his roles in 1985's "Kiss of the Spider Woman," which he won, the drama "Children of a Lesser God" and as a TV anchor in "Broadcast News."

William Hurt, a cast member in the Amazon series "Goliath," poses for a portrait during the 2016 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Hurt, the Oscar-winning actor of “Broadcast News,” “Body Heat” and “The Big Chill,” has died. He was 71. Hurt's son, Will, said in a statement that Hurt died Sunday, March 13, 2022 of natural causes.

Some of Hurt’s more recent work includes his role as the Hulk’s nemesis Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the films “The Incredible Hulk,” "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," "Avengers: Endgame," and 2021's "Black Widow."

What some might not know is Hurt performed at what was then known as the Ledges Playhouse in Grand Ledge, later known as BoarsHead Theater in Lansing, in the summers of 1969 and 1972, according to a 1983 Lansing State Journal article.

In 2000, the Lansing State Journal reported that William Hurt recalled the theater’s late founder John Peakes fondly. Hurt met his now ex-wife Mary Beth Supinger, now Mary Beth Hurt, at the theater where they spent two summers before the actors had bigger bankrolls.

“I remember getting $35 a week,'' William Hurt told the paper in 2000. “It was $26.80 on the paycheck.”

Other BoarsHead actors who found success include Anthony Heald, John Bowman, Carmen Decker and Linda Carlson, according to Lansing State Journal archives.

BoarsHead Theater closed in 2010 and Peakes died in 2017 at 83.

Hurt was married to Mary Beth Hurt from 1971 to 1982. While married he began a relationship with Sandra Jennings, whose pregnancy with their son precipitated the couple's divorce, USA Today reported.

In her 2009 memoir, actress Marlee Matlin, who had a relationship with Hurt off-screen and co-starred with him in "Children of a Lesser God," detailed physical abuse and drug abuse during their relationship. Hurt issued an apology, saying: "My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives."

Hurt was born in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 1950. He is survived by four children.

Contact Bryce Airgood at 517-267-0448 or bairgood@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: William Hurt, dead at 71, got his start in Lansing theaters