Deaf Entertainment Briefs
William Hurt dies
Here are two deaf entertainment news briefs.
The first — hearing actor William Hurt, who is known to many deaf people for his main role opposite Marlee Matlin in the 1986 film “Children of a Lesser God,” passed away on Sunday. He was 71 years old and had prostate cancer.
Matlin received her Oscar award for Best Actress from her role in “Children of a Lesser God.” During the Academy Awards, Hurt happened to be the presenter for the Best Actress Oscar and announced that Matlin won.
Matlin wrote in her autobiography, “I’ll Scream Later” that the two once had a romantic relationship but that Hurt was verbally, physically, and sexually abusive to her and that there was an incident of rape. So it is a mixed legacy for Hurt, as an actor and also as an abuser.
Matlin said in an interview with ET on Sunday that “we’ve lost a really great actor.” Here is a clip.
[Video clip - Credit: Entertainment Tonight]
Marlee Matlin: We’ve lost a great actor. And… working with him on the set of “Children of a Lesser God” will always be something that I’ll remember and value, where he taught me a lot as an actor.”
I reached out to Matlin for further comment and she said she can only add that she offers her condolences to Hurt’s children and family.
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Troy Kotsur and CODA wins more awards
The second deaf entertainment news brief is that Deaf actor Troy Kotsur and the film “CODA” have brought in even more awards on Sunday.
Kotsur won the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) award for Supporting Actor and a Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a father and fisherman in “CODA.” He gave an acceptance speech at the BAFTA awards in England and joked that he should be the next 007, but that his designation should be “008.”
“CODA” director Siân Heder won a BAFTA award for Adapted Screenplay.
There is one more awards show coming up — the biggest one of them all — the Oscars. That will happen on Sunday, March 27. Kotsur, Heder, and the film have multiple nominations.
That’s the two deaf entertainment news briefs.
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/marlee-matlin-william-hurt-death-rape-allegation-1235204607/