Hurd is known for his lead role in John Cassavetes' debut 1959 feature film Shadows and for his organizing activities for African-American actors.
[1][2][3] He also had roles in The Winner (1963), For Love of Ivy (1968), The Hot Rock (1972), Blade (1973), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), The First Deadly Sin (1980), Liebestraum (1991), Jumpin' at the Boneyard (1992), and Who's the Man?
[4][5] Hurd was active in organizing work that combated racial discrimination against African Americans in general and African-American actors in particular.
In the late 1950s at the Village Gate nightclub, he co-organized with Godfrey Cambridge and Maya Angelou to fund raise $9,000 for Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement.
They had three daughters; Denise, Adrienne, and Michelle Hurd, known for her roles in television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Blindspot and Star Trek: Picard.