Biografia

Became lifelong friends with Dame Angela Lansbury when they were making Il ritratto di Dorian Gray (1945) together; he appeared three times on her successful television series La signora in giallo (1984) and she convinced him to buy property close to hers in Ireland.

Hatfield eventually came to resent his having initially come to the public's attention playing the title role in Il ritratto di Dorian Gray (1945). He believed that the film was ahead of its time and that its undertones of narcissism and bisexuality typecast him and stymied his hopes for a successful career as a mainstream leading man.

Like Dorian Gray, Hurd Hatfield maintained a good, relatively youthful appearance well into his seventies. He credited this to the fact that he neither drank nor smoked and exercised regularly.

Years later, a friend of his bought the painting of young Dorian Gray that was used in the movie Il ritratto di Dorian Gray (1945) at an auction, and gave it to Hatfield.

Always maintained that he preferred comedic to dramatic roles, and always regretted that he got to play in so few of them because he was typed as an elegant menace.