Mary Beth Hurt Obituary: Celebrated Actor of Stage and Screen Passes at 79
The thoughtful and understated actor Mary Beth Hurt, who has died aged 79, enjoyed a career that intersected with an unusually intellectual moment in American cinema. She earned a Bafta nomination for her role in Woody Allen's Interiors and delivered a memorable performance opposite Robin Williams in The World According to Garp.
Early Career and Breakthrough Roles
In Interiors (1978), Hurt made her movie debut as the directionless Joey, attempting to save her overbearing mother from drowning. This Chekhov-via-Bergman experiment, Allen's gloomiest vision, grossed $10 million from a $3 million budget. Though she lost the Bafta for most promising newcomer to Christopher Reeve, the film's success heralded her four-decade screen career.
Her role in The World According to Garp (1982) proved central to one of cinema's most unforgettable scenes. Playing Helen Holm, wife to Robin Williams's TS Garp, her character's infidelity leads to a catastrophic car crash that kills one child and blinds another. This tonal rollercoaster, featuring John Lithgow as a transsexual football player, became both a critical and commercial hit.
Stage Success and Personal Life
Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, Hurt studied drama at the University of Iowa and acting at New York University. Her early stage career showcased remarkable versatility, including a debut playing a 98-year-old Vietnamese man. She earned three Tony nominations for performances in Trelawny of the 'Wells', Crimes of the Heart, and Benefactors.
After marrying actor William Hurt in 1971 and divorcing in 1982, she wed director Paul Schrader in August 1983. She appeared in several of his films including Light Sleeper and Affliction. Hurt is survived by Schrader and their two children, Molly and Sam.
Later Career and Legacy
Throughout her career, Hurt consistently chose supporting roles that intrigued her. She played Manhattan grandes dames in The Age of Innocence and Six Degrees of Separation, and earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for The Dead Girl. Her final film was Change in the Air in 2018, before an Alzheimer's diagnosis.
Reflecting on her career in 2009, Hurt explained her preference for secondary roles: "I never felt very beautiful or incredibly smart or witty, so I was always looking for something about these roles that intrigued me... It's the secondary things that fascinate me more than the gold medal moments."
