Beautiful Hurt
he wrote. “A 6’2” daddy-type wreathed in world-weary mystery, the man was on fire in the 80s, starring in a series of critically acclaimed hits—Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), and Children of a Lesser God (1986)—about love and passion and the reconciliation of desire and difference.”Davis goes onto explain the problematics of Hurt the human, rather than the actor: he was famously abusive to partner Marlee Maitlin.
He drank. He wasn’t, in essence, a very nice person. And he’s dead now, per a report from his children: at 72, one of the most dominant onscreen lovers of the 80s has left us.
And how exactly are we supposed to feel about that? Maybe it’s just me who takes these kinds of deaths personally: public figures who burn hot and then fade into obscurity fascinate me, and not just because they bear out the fine print in fame’s contract.
It’s a reminder of just how random and moment-specific career success can be. Some actors know how to play the long game–perhaps it’s the agent they choose, or the parties they go to, or the way they do or don’t market themselves as a brand outside of acting.
