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Hugh Lincoln Hurd (February 11, 1925 – July 15, 1995) was an American actor and civil rights activist. Hurd is known for his lead role in John Cassavetes' debut 1959 feature film Shadows and for his organizing activities for African-American actors.

Biography

Hugh Lincoln Hurd was born on February 11, 1925. His most notable acting roles were as the male lead in the 1959 film Shadows directed by John Cassavetes and a major role in the Japanese film The Catch (1961), as a prisoner of war. He also had roles in The Winner (1963), For Love of Ivy (1968), The Hot Rock (1972), Blade (1973), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), The First Deadly Sin (1980), Liebestraum (1991), Jumpin' at the Boneyard (1992), and Who's the Man? (1993). He performed other minor roles in television and commercials. His last film appearance was in the 1995 documentary Anything for John. Hurd performed minor theatrical roles in The Threepenny Opera, The Little Foxes, and Four Saints in Three Acts.

Hurd was active in organizing work that combated racial discrimination against African Americans in general and African-American actors in particular. In the late 1950s at the Village Gate nightclub, he co-organized with Godfrey Cambridge and Maya Angelou to fund raise $9,000 for Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement. He co-founded the Committee for the Employment of Negro Performers with Godfrey Cambridge in 1962.

In 1964, Hurd was the subject of a portrait painted by the noted artist Alice Neel. The painting is titled "Hugh Hurd" and is currently held by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Hurd died on July 15, 1995, in New York City within Greenwich Village at St. Vincent's Hospital. According to his family, Hurd died from complications from hypertension and kidney failure.

Personal life

Hurd was married once, to Dr. Merlyn Hurd (née Purdy), an actress and later a clinical psychologist, who he met when they appeared in the same Broadway show. They had three daughters; Denise, Adrienne, and Michelle Hurd, known for her roles in television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Blindspot and Star Trek: Picard. He also had a fourth daughter from a previous relationship.

Filmography

See also

• List of avant-garde films of the 1950s

References

1. ^ "Hugh Hurd - Filmography". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
2. ^ "Hugh Hurd - Filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
3. Lentz, Harris M. (1995). Obituaries in the Performing Arts. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0253-3.
4. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (July 20, 1995). "Hugh Hurd, 70, Actor with Role in Early Civil Rights Movement". New York Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
5. "Hugh L. Hurd". The Broadway League. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
6. Neel, Alice; Hills, Patricia (1980). Alice Neel: Paintings of Two Decades Boston University Art Gallery, October 9 Through November 2, 1980. Boston University Art Gallery. OCLC 894173571.
7. "Hugh Hurd". Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Retrieved March 3, 2019.

Further reading

• Hoover, Clara; Hurd, Hugh (1963). "An Interview with Hugh Hurd". Film Society of Lincoln Center. 1 (4): 24–27. JSTOR 43754229.

External links

• Hugh Hurd at IMDb
• Hugh Hurd at the Internet Broadway Database
• Hugh Hurd at TV Guide
• Hugh Hurd - 1964 painting by Alice Neel held by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

• 1925 births
• 1995 deaths
• 20th-century African-American male actors
• 20th-century American male actors
• Male actors from New York City
• American male film actors
• Activists for African-American civil rights
• Deaths from kidney failure in New York (state)