William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. He was known for playing characters of handsome,

narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...

young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American period ...

'' (1945).

Early life

Hatfield was born in New York City to William Henry Hatfield (died 1954), an attorney who served as deputy attorney general for New York, and his wife, Adele. He was educated at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, then moved to London, where he studied drama and began acting in theatre.

Career

Hatfield returned to the U.S. for his film debut in '' Dragon Seed'' (1944), in which he and his co-stars (

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tamiroff developed a pr ...

Aline MacMahon Aline Laveen MacMahon (May 3, 1899 – October 12, 1991) was an American actress. Her Broadway stage career began under producer Edgar Selwyn in ''The Mirage'' during 1920. She made her screen debut in 1931, and worked extensively in film, the ...

Turhan Bey Turhan Bey (born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Şahultavi, 30 March 192230 September 2012). was an Austrian-born actor of Turkish and Czech-Jewish origins. Active in Hollywood from 1941 to 1953, he was dubbed "The Turkish Delight" by his fans.. Aft ...

) portrayed Chinese peasants, some more convincingly than others. Hatfield's second film, ''

'' (1945), made him a star. As

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

'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 Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, ...

and so on, made me a leper! Nobody knew I had a sense of humour, and people wouldn't even have lunch with me." His follow-up films, '' The Diary of a Chambermaid'' (1946), '' The Beginning or the End'' (1947), and '' The Unsuspected'' (1947), were successful, but ''

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

'' (1948) 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. His subsequent movies included supporting roles in '' The Left Handed Gun'' (1958), ''

King of Kings King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...

'' (as

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...

) (1961), ''

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and ruler in medieval Spain. Fighting both with Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ("the Lord" or "the Master"), which would evolve i ...

'' (1961), ''

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

'' (1965) (as

Paul Bern Paul Bern (born Paul Levy; December 3, 1889September 5, 1932) was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and film producer, producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he became the assistant to producer Irving Thalberg. He helped la ...

), and '' The Boston Strangler'' (1968). He cut back on performing in the 1970s. His later movies included ''

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

'' (1985) and '' Her Alibi'' (1989). He appeared frequently on television and received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

nomination for the ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

'' videotaped play ''The Invincible Mr. Disraeli'' (1963). In 1957, he appeared in '' Beyond This Place'', directed by

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

. Hatfield's other television credits include three guest appearances on ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' opposite his ''Picture of Dorian Gray'' costar Angela Lansbury, who had become a lifelong friend, and who had a home in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. He also appeared as the villain in the second episode of '' Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', titled "The City Beneath the Sea". He appeared in ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' in "None Are So Blind", which first aired October 28, 1956. In 1952, Hatfield appeared as

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

in '' Westinghouse Studio One''s '' The Nativity''. This was a rare commercial network staging of a 14th-century

mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...

, adapted from the

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

plays. In 1966, he appeared on the television series ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...

'' in an episode titled "The Night of the Man-Eating House". In a twist on his Dorian role, his character starts as an old man who, upon entering a house inhabited by the ghost of his mother, is turned back into a youthful Confederate soldier. A second appearance in the third season episode "The Night of the Undead" had him portray the vengeful and mad Dr. Articulus. 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.

Personal life and death

Having been introduced to Ireland by actress and former co-star Angela Lansbury, Hatfield lived at Ballinterry House, Rathcormac, County Cork from the early 1970s. He purchased the structure to save it from demolition and he spent 24 years restoring and renovating it. A keen collector of antiques and art, he referred to Ballinterry House as a painting which he never would finish. He died in his sleep of a heart attack at a friend's home, aged 81, after celebrating Christmas dinner. Hatfield never married. His long-time close friend and colleague Maggie Williams was heir of both Ballinterry House and his collection. She maintained the historic Irish country home exactly as it was at the time of Hatfield's death. The house was sold in late 2006, and the entire contents of the Hurd Hatfield Collection were sold at an auction on the premises by Country House Antique & Fine Art Auction in March 2007. At the time of his death, Hatfield was writing his autobiography. He was cremated, and his ashes scattered. Hatfield was a Democrat, supporting

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers He performed several times in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and developed a deep interest in Russian culture and religion. His interest ran so deep that on his deathbed, a

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

priest attended him and officiated at his funeral.

Selected filmography

*'' Dragon Seed'' (1944) – Lao San Tan – Youngest Son *''

'' (1945) – Dorian Gray *'' The Diary of a Chambermaid'' (1946) – Georges Lanlaire *'' The Beginning or the End'' (1947) – Dr. John Wyatt *'' The Unsuspected'' (1947) – Oliver Keane *'' The Checkered Coat'' (1948) – Steve 'Creepy' Bolin *''

'' (1948) – Father Pasquerel (Joan's chaplain) *'' Chinatown at Midnight'' (1949) – Clifford Ward *'' Destination Murder'' (1950) – Stretch Norton *'' Tarzan and the Slave Girl'' (1950) – Prince of the Lionians *''

'' (TV Series) (1956) (Season 1 Episode 24: "The Perfect Murder") – Paul Tallendier *''

'' (TV Series) (1956) (Season 2 Episode 5: "None Are So Blind") – Seymour Johnston *'' The Left Handed Gun'' (1958) – Moultrie *''

King Of Kings King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...

'' (1961) –

*''

'' (1961) – Arias *''Héroes de blanco'' (1962) *''

'' (1965) – Paul Bern *'' Mickey One'' (1965) – Ed Castle *'' Lamp At Midnight'' (1966) – Sagredo Niccolini *'' The Boston Strangler'' (1968) – Terence Huntley *'' Von Richthofen and Brown'' (1971) – Anthony Fokker *'' The Word'' (1978) – Cedric Plummer *''

'' (1985) – Ahimelech *''

Crimes of the Heart ''Crimes of the Heart'' is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century. The play won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 1986, th ...

'' (1986) – Old Granddaddy *'' Her Alibi'' (1989) – Troppa

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatfield, Hurd 1917 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American expatriates in England Male actors from New York City American expatriates in Ireland Columbia University alumni Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players New York (state) Democrats California Democrats Russian Orthodox Christians from the United States