Hurt Prevails in Court Again

New York’s highest court today upheld a decision that Oscar-winning actor William Hurt did not have a common-law marriage with a woman who subsequently bore his son.

The state Court of Appeals upheld two lower court decisions by refusing to hear an appeal from Sandra Jennings, a former New York City Ballet dancer and the mother of Alexander Devon Hurt. The appeals court issued a two-sentence statement denying Jennings’ request for a hearing.

Jennings lived with the movie star from 1981 to 1984.

She had sought to prove a marriage existed so she could sue for divorce and a share of Hurt’s assets, estimated during a six-day trial in 1989 at $10 million.

Trial testimony revealed Hurt paid Jennings $64,000 annually and let her live in an apartment he owns in Manhattan.