William Hurt & Me

 

William Hurt has always been one of my favorite actors. For most of the obvious reasons, I enjoyed and related to his film work. Kiss of the Spider Woman won him an Oscar. But my connection comes from one of my most treasured films - The Big Chill (1983). 

Skip forward to 1988. I am at a "family party" in Redondo Beach, California. This family being my L.A. family from the 80s. On the far side of the room, a conversation turns to film roles that mirror someone in our gang. After glancing around the room, someone begins this conversation.

"Oh, Tim is easy."

"What film?" someone asks.

"The Big Chill."

"Oh, of course, the William Hurt character."

"You're right, I never made that connection."

"Wait, which role was that?"

"You know the rebel with the pills, the war injury, the camera."

"Right, yep that's Tim."

"Hold on," I jumped in, "this appears to be a conspiracy."

The conversation became very one-sided, basically me against anyone and everyone who had seen the film. I attempted to make some points by implying this was a Southern California assessment and those who knew me before would not see me in that role.

To prove my point I got on the phone and called one of my best friends from the early 70s in Michigan. Took a few minutes to locate this number, but he was home.

"Lee, it's Tim."

"How are you, it's been a long time."

"I know, look I will call you tomorrow to catch up, but I need you to settle an argument we are having."

"Let's hear it."

"I'm putting you on speaker.You've seen The Big Chill, right?"

"Of course, the movie where William Hurt plays you."

[inset long pause with background chorus of laughter]

R.I.P. William Hurt and many thanks.