Hurd Hatfield

Hurd Hatfield Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: December 7, 1917

Death Date: December 26, 1998

Birth Place: New York City, New York

An extremely handsome leading man, Hurd Hatfield rose to fame when eccentric director Albert Lewin tapped him to play the title role in "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1945), based on the Oscar Wilde novel about a dandy who retains his youth while his portrait reflects the aging process. The actor had trained at England's Michael Chekhov Studio and had earned some notoriety on the Broadway stage before he was brought to Hollywood and cast in support of Katharine Hepburn and Walter Huston in "Dragon Seed" (1944). His starring role the following year divided critics, with some praising his personification of evil while others called him stiff and expressionless. In either case, Hatfield had the kind of role that should have propelled him to stardom, but somehow, his career foundered. He acquitted himself well as Judith Anderson's rebellious son in "The Diary of a Chambermaid" (1946) but was virtually overshadowed as the chaplain advising Ingrid Bergman's "Joan of Arc" (1948).

Hatfield spent much of the 1950s on stage, making the occasional film appearance (e.g., "The Left-Handed Gun" 1958). In 1961, he was memorable in the small but pivotal role of Pontius Pilate in George Stevens' biblical epic "King of Kings." During the early 60s, Hatfield also appeared in several "Hallmark Hall of Fame" productions, earning an Emmy nomination as Rothschild in "The Invincible Mr. Disraeli" (NBC, 1963). He lent the proper air of sangfroid to his portrayal of Paul Bern opposite Carol Lynley as "Harlow" (1965) and was also quite good in an extended cameo as a sex deviant suspected of being "The Boston Strangler" (1968). While his work since the 70s has been sporadic, Hatfield has remained busy. He offered a fine portrait of a thinly-veiled Maxwell Perkins in the 1979 CBS TV-movie "You Can't Go Home Again" and returned to the big screen as Ahimelech in the biblical "King David" (1985). He followed with a turn as the hospitalized grandfather of the trio of sisters in "Crimes of the Heart" (1986) and in support of Paulina Porizkova and Tom Selleck in "Her Alibi" (1989), both directed by Bruce Beresford. The still handsome actor also appeared with "Dorian Gray" co-star Angela Lansbury on her series "Murder, She Wrote" and continued to make public appearances and act on stage into the 1990s.

Credits

Her Alibi

Actor
Troppa
Movie
1989

Crimes du coeur

Actor
Movie
1986

Crimes of the Heart

Actor
Old Granddaddy
Movie
1986

Amazing StoriesStream

Actor
Series
1985

King David

Actor
Ahimelech
Movie
1985

Murder, She WroteStream

Guest Star
Leo Peterson
Series
1984

Knight RiderStream

Guest Star
Ariel Marsden
Series
1982

The Fall GuyStream

Guest Star
Series
1981

You Can't Go Home Again

Actor
Foxhall Edwards
Movie
1979

KojakStream

Guest Star
Don Luiz Cabrillo
Series
1973

The Norliss Tapes

Actor
Charles Langdon
Movie
1973

The House and the Brain

Actor
Movie
1973

Thief

Actor
Herman Gray
Movie
1971

Le Baron Rouge

Actor
Anthony Fokker
Movie
1971

Von Richthofen and Brown

Actor
Anthony Fokker
Movie
1971

The Boston StranglerStream

Actor
Terence Huntley
Movie
1968
88%

Ten Blocks on the Camino Real

Actor
Movie
1966

The Wild, Wild WestStream

Guest Star
Series
1965

Mickey One

Actor
Castle
Movie
1965

Harlow

Actor
Paul Bern
Movie
1965

The Double-Barreled Detective Story

Actor
Father
Movie
1965

A Cry of Angels

Actor
Frederick
Show
1963

The Invincible Mr. Disraeli

Actor
Lionel Rothschild
Show
1963

Hombres y Mujeres de Blanco

Actor
Movie
1962

El Cid

Actor
Arias
Movie
1961
93%

King of KingsStream

Actor
Pontius Pilate
Movie
1961
85%

BonanzaStream

Guest Star
Series
1959

The Count of Monte Cristo

Actor
Movie
1958

The Left Handed Gun

Actor
Moultrie
Movie
1958

The Prince and the Pauper

Actor
Show
1957

Alfred Hitchcock PresentsStream

Actor
Paul Tallendier
Series
1955

Climax!Stream

Actor
Series
1954

Masterpiece Playhouse

Actor
Star
Show
1950

Destination: Murder

Actor
Stretch Norton
Movie
1950

Tarzan and the Slave Girl

Actor
Prince of the Lionians
Movie
1950

SuspenseStream

Actor
Series
1949

Chinatown at Midnight

Actor
Clifford Ward
Movie
1949

Studio OneStream

Actor
Series
1948

The Unsuspected

Actor
Oliver Keane
Movie
1947

The Beginning or the End

Actor
Dr. John Wyatt
Movie
1947

Diary of a Chambermaid

Actor
Georges Lanlaire
Movie
1946

The Picture of Dorian GrayStream

Actor
Dorian Gray
Movie
1945
93%

Dragon Seed

Actor
Lao San Tan
Movie
1944