Mary Beth Hurt, 'Interiors' and 'The World According to Garp' actor, dies at 79

Mary Beth Hurt, a Tony Award-nominated histrion who appeared successful films including “Interiors,” “The World According to Garp” and “The Age of Innocence,” has died. She was 79.

Hurt died Saturday of Alzheimer’s disease, her girl Molly Schrader announced Sunday successful an Instagram post. Hurt’s husband, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Paul Schrader, confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that she died astatine an assisted surviving installation successful Jersey City, N.J.. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s successful 2015.

“She was an actress, a wife, a sister, a mother, an aunt, a friend, and she took connected each those rolls with grace and a benignant ferocity,” Molly Schrader wrote successful her post. “Although we’re grieving determination is immoderate comfortableness successful knowing she is nary longer suffering and is reunited with her sisters successful peace.”

Hurt made her New York signifier debut successful a 1973 successful an off-Broadway accumulation of “As You Like It,” according to Playbill. She made her Broadway debut successful 1974, appearing successful little productions of “Love for Love” and “The Rules of the Game.” She appeared successful 15 Broadway productions full implicit the people of her career.

While Hurt told the New York Times successful 1989 that she was pleased with her career, she besides said that “there’s not excessively overmuch reward” for doing theatre successful New York.

“You can’t marque a surviving doing it,” she told the outlet. “I americium blessed with my career, but it’s precise hard to maintain. I don’t sing. I can’t bash musicals. The lone mode I tin marque a surviving doing theatre is connected Broadway. And it’s a unspeakable situation. There aren’t galore consecutive plays connected Broadway. And Broadway needs consecutive plays. They supply a peculiar dependable that shouldn’t beryllium stilled.”

She earned her archetypal Tony Award information successful 1976 for portraying Rose Trelawny successful Arthur Wing Pinero’s “Trelawny of the ‘Wells.’” Hurt’s 2 different nominations were for her roles successful Beth Henley’s “Crimes of the Heart” (1982) and Michael Frayn’s “Benefactors” (1986).

Hurt made her movie debut successful Woody Allen’s 1978 drama, “Interiors,” wherever she portrayed the directionless would-be creator Joey other her much palmy siblings Renata and Flyn, played by Diane Keaton and Kristin Griffith, respectively. Her show earned her a BAFTA nomination.

In “The World According to Garp” (1982), Hurt played Helen Holm, the eventual woman of Robin Williams’ titular T.S. Garp. She besides appeared successful Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence” (1993) and her hubby Paul Schrader’s “Light Sleeper” (1992) and “Affliction” (1997).

Born Mary Beth Supinger successful Marshalltown, Iowa, connected Sept. 25, 1946, Hurt studied play astatine the University of Iowa earlier pursuing postgraduate studies astatine New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She joined histrion William Hurt successful 1971 and took his sanction earlier they divorced successful 1982. She joined Schrader, whom she met done a publicist, successful 1983.

“Mary Beth saved me,” Schrader, who has been unfastened astir his occupation with drugs and intoxicant successful the 1980s, told the New Yorker successful 2023. After moving her to a attraction installation successful 2019 pursuing her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Schrader moved Hurt during the pandemic backmost to their New York water house, wherever he’d built her a greenhouse due to the fact that she loved gardening.

One of Hurt’s puerility babysitters was chap Marshalltown autochthonal Jean Seberg, a household acquaintance who would spell connected to prima successful films specified arsenic Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” and Otto Preminger’s “St. Joan” earlier her tragic decease successful 1979. Hurt played Seberg, successful voiceover, successful Mark Rappaport’s “From the Journals of Jean Seberg” (1995).

David Hare, who directed Hurt successful “The Secret Rapture,” described her arsenic “a good ensemble actress” to the New York Times successful 1989.

“She has the champion of the English and the champion of the American traditions,” Hare told the outlet. “What marks English actors is that they tin crook connected a sixpence — determination isn’t thing technically they can’t do. They’re supple, similar musicians, and from the method installation they get freedom. And successful Mary Beth’s lawsuit determination is simply a benignant of improvisatory gift, a willingness to marque the show caller each time.”

Hurt is survived by her hubby and 2 children, Molly and Sam.