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Topic: John Hurt dies at 77

Barry Attwood
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1411
From: Enfield, U.K.
Registered: Aug 2003

posted January 28, 2017 01:02 AM

Another sad day, one of my favourite actors has died, John Hurt was 77, but for the past 2 years has been battling Pancreatic Cancer (my brother died of this, I know what he went through!).

Although his break through role was in "Alien", I thought his best performance was under layers of make up as he portrayed "John Merrick" - "The Elephant Man", not many actors could have given such a performance, and he had to contort his body as well to get the right look for "Merrick", boy what an actor he was!

R.I.P. John.

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David Skillern
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 582
From: South Wales
Registered: Apr 2006

posted January 28, 2017 03:10 AM

Hi Barry,

this is sad news - a fine actor - I saw him once at the Bristol Old Vic in Chekhov's "The Seagull" he played Trigorin - he was amazing - another great stage and screen actor lost to us - but preserved in the memory and celluloid.

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Mark Mander
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1236
From: Dunstable ,Bedfordshire.
Registered: Jan 2005

posted January 28, 2017 03:32 AM

He's had a very varied career, I was watching the Sweeney the other day and he popped up in an episode, also liked him in Midnight Express which i think he won an Oscar for? Mark

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Brian Fretwell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1785
From: London, UK
Registered: Jun 2014

posted January 28, 2017 04:34 AM

Very sad, he even did a Dr Who episode in the new series. I only have 2 reels from the Derann release of The Elephant Man (white box seconds) but do that the DVD.

He attended the opening of British Film Year and took part in a demonstration of how his Make-up for the Elephant Man was applied. I saw this and took a couple of photos. I was not very close so these are just parts of the frame :-

Sadly this year looks as bad as last for losing people.

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David Hardy
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 955
From: Johnshaven Village , Montrose, Scotland
Registered: Jan 2015

posted January 28, 2017 04:56 AM

One of the UKs greatest actors now sadly gone.

It was his performance as Quentin Crisp in the tv drama
'The Naked Civil Servant' and his role in the film ' The Ghoul'
that first introduced me to him.

A remarkable actor who managed to avoid type casting all his career.

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Dave Groves
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 508
From: Southend on Sea, Essex, UK
Registered: Feb 2015

posted January 28, 2017 12:57 PM

I'd just got married following several months of recovery from a motor bike accident that had occured nine day before the original date. We went to Bath for the honeymoon. I was walking or perhaps it should be limping with a stick. For three solid days it rained. We bought an umbrella and sheltered in the shops till I couldn't walk anymore. 'Let's go to the pictures' I said to my new young wife who, thankfully agreed. We found the Cinema and it was showing 'The Elephant Man' which had received glowing reviews. I gratefully dropped into a seat to see a film I might otherwise have missed. John Hurt said 'I can't say I worry about mortality....We're all just passing time, and occupy our chair very briefly'. Now he's left his chair permanently empty, but 'The Elephant Man' and 'Alien' and countless other films will remind us of his genius. Bath, that long gone cinema, a deeply moving story and John Hurt's towering performance are fond memories that still linger and enrich me.

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Dave

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