Hurd Hatfield

William Rukard Hurd Hatfield was born on December 7, 1917, in New York City, the son of William Henry Hatfield, an attorney who served as deputy attorney general for New York, and his wife Adele. After graduating from Boonton High School in 1937, Hatfield studied at Columbia University before relocating to London, where he trained in drama and began his theatrical career. In 1996, Boonton High School inducted him into its inaugural hall of fame.

Hatfield made his film debut in Dragon Seed (1944), portraying a Chinese peasant alongside Katharine Hepburn, Akim Tamiroff, Aline MacMahon, and Turhan Bey. His second film, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), brought him widespread recognition in the title role of Oscar Wilde's ageless anti-hero. Despite the acclaim the performance generated, Hatfield remained ambivalent about it throughout his life, later stating that the role's decadence and hints of bisexuality had effectively isolated him within Hollywood. He also expressed doubt about his own casting, remarking that he never understood why he had been chosen for the part and that he spent his career regretting it. Films in Review reported that he felt the role had typecast him permanently.

Several successful films followed, including The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946), The Beginning or the End (1947), and The Unsuspected (1947), though Joan of Arc (1948) proved both a critical and financial failure. As his film momentum slowed through the 1950s, Hatfield returned increasingly to the stage. Later film appearances included supporting roles in The Left Handed Gun (1958), King of Kings (1961), in which he played Pontius Pilate, El Cid (1961), Harlow (1965), in which he portrayed Paul Bern, and The Boston Strangler (1968). His subsequent film work included King David (1985) and Her Alibi (1989).

Hatfield's Broadway career spanned 1941 to 1959 and encompassed productions including Much Ado About Everything, The Duchess of Malfi, Lovers, Anastasia, and Camino Real. His television work was equally substantial. In 1952, he appeared as Joseph in Westinghouse Studio One's The Nativity, a commercial network staging of a 14th-century mystery play adapted from the York and Chester plays. He appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the episode "None Are So Blind," which aired on October 28, 1956, and in 1957 appeared in Beyond This Place, directed by Sidney Lumet. His performance in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production The Invincible Mr. Disraeli (1963) earned him an Emmy Award nomination. He made two appearances on The Wild Wild West, first in the 1966 episode "The Night of the Man-Eating House" and again in the third-season episode "The Night of the Undead," in which he played Dr. Articulus. He also appeared in the second episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, titled "The City Beneath the Sea," as the villain. Hatfield made three guest appearances on Murder, She Wrote opposite Angela Lansbury, his co-star from The Picture of Dorian Gray and a lifelong friend.

From the early 1970s, Hatfield lived at Ballinterry House in Rathcormac, County Cork, Ireland, a property he purchased to prevent its demolition and spent 24 years restoring. It was Lansbury, who maintained a home in County Cork, who had first introduced him to Ireland. A collector of antiques and art, Hatfield described Ballinterry House as a painting he would never finish. He also performed several times in the Soviet Union and developed a deep interest in Russian culture and religion; a Russian Orthodox priest attended him on his deathbed and officiated at his funeral. Hatfield never married. His close friend and colleague Maggie Williams inherited both Ballinterry House and his collection, maintaining the property as it was at the time of his death until its sale in late 2006. The contents of the Hurd Hatfield Collection were auctioned on the premises in March 2007.

At the time of his death, Hatfield was writing his autobiography. He died in his sleep of a heart attack on December 26, 1998, aged 81, at a friend's home following a Christmas dinner. He was cremated and his ashes scattered.