Why Marlee Matlin was “afraid” to accept an Oscar from William Hurt
Marley Matlin and actor William Hurt arrive at the 1987 Academy Awards.
Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty ImagesMarley Matlin looks back on her stormy two-year relationship with the actor William Hatt And what she called his “habit of abuse.”
Matlin, 59, met Hurt, who died in 2022 at the age of 71during filming in 1986 Children of a lesser God. She portrayed Sarah, a deaf woman who falls in love with her speech teacher James (Hunt). The role landed her Oscar for best actressmaking her the first deaf actress to ever win the award.
Hunt was the one presenting the night, and Matlin said she was dreading going up on stage and accepting the Oscar.
“I was afraid when I walked up the stairs to receive the Oscar,” she recalls in Marley Matlin: Not alone anymorea new documentary about his life that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this month. “I was scared because I knew in my gut that he wasn’t happy. Because I saw the look on his face and my thought was, ‘S!’
Valerie Macon/AFP Marley Matlin is not happy with CBS. CBS was one of several networks to broadcast Super Bowl LVIII Live on Sunday, February 11. Although the American Sign Language (ASL) performers – Anjel Piñero, Shaheem Sanchez and Daniel Durant – were introduced before their respective performances, the network has now shown them on (…)
Matlin described approaching the stage and hesitating, afraid to take the award from her boyfriend’s hands.
“I wish it was different,” she admitted. “I wish I could show my joy. But I was afraid because he was standing here.”
Marley Matlin and actor William Hatt
Bettmann/Getty ImagesThis isn’t the first time Matlin has talked about that night. U Dave Karger‘s 2024 Book, 50 Oscar NightsMatlin recalled an exchange she had with Hertha that minimized her accomplishment.
“” So you have this little person next to you. What makes you think you deserve it? ” she recalled him saying. “I looked at him like, ‘What do you mean?’ what you got with one movie.”
The documentary also features sign language interpreter Matlin Jack Jasonwho recounted an incident involving two on a private plane. Matlin, he claimed, was in the room with the patient and came out with a black eye.
In 2023, fans of celebrity memoirs have received a huge bounty, with stars including Britney Spears, Prince Harry and Barbra Streisand dropping books filled with juicy memories. Harry started the year with his highly confused ‘The Stock’ memory, which included a lot of tea on the royals. In one chapter, Harry claimed that he and his brother (…)
Children of a lesser God director Randa Haynes Reminds that seeing the alleged bruises on Matlin during filming.
“I saw that they had arguments, fights,” she said. “I remember noticing a bruise once. But I didn’t know. No one felt like they had a license to get into a private relationship or comment on it or ask questions about it.”
Haynes also talked about how hurt he “told jokes and turned (Matlin’s) back so she couldn’t see.”
“I tried to understand what was going on,” she added. “But I saw that she was suffering from it.”
Before his death, Hurt said he apologized to Matlin.
“My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a lot to heal our lives,” he said in a statement. And! News In 2009. “Of course I did and I’ve apologized for any pain I’ve caused. And I know we’ve both grown. I wish Marley and her family nothing but good.”
English