James R. Hurt, 76, of Champaign, died at 9:26 pm on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 (Bloomsday) at home. He was born on May 22, 1934 in Ashland, KY, to Joseph and Martha Riggins Hurt. His father was an agricultural agent and his mother a public school teacher. After graduating from Harrodsburg High School in 1952, he attended the University of Kentucky (MA 1957), was drafted, and served in the U.S. Army as a flute and piccolo player in the 214th Army band in Alaska. At the University of Kentucky, he played lead roles in Ibsen's "Peer Gynt," an experience that inspired his first book, "Catiline's Dream" (1972). While earning his Ph.D at Indiana University, Bloomington (1965), he taught at Indiana University in Kokomo (1963-66) and then joined the faculty at the University of Illinois, where he taught from 1966 until his retirement in 2003. A much loved and admired teacher, Jim won many teaching awards while teaching courses in drama as well as Irish, medieval, Midwestern, American, and British literature. He taught at the University of Reading, England, as an exchange Professor (1974-75) and at St. Patrick's College, Dublin, Ireland (1987-88). His love for Ireland and James Joyce led to his teaching summer school in Dublin for many years and to his hosting a long-standing reading group that studied Joyce's novel "Finnegans Wake" throughout the 1990s. His books of literary criticism include "Aelfric" (1972), "Catiline's Dream: An Essay on Ibsen's Plays" (1972), and "Writing Illinois: The Prairie, Lincoln, and Chicago" (1992). His textbooks include "Literature: A Contemporary Introduction" (1994) and several editions of "Literature of the Western World" (co-edited with Brian Wilkie). His great pleasures throughout life were music and theater. He helped to found the Depot Theater in Urbana, for which he wrote plays including "Walden: A Ceremony" and "Angel Band." He directed operas and plays at the University of Illinois and acted in plays by Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. From 1966-1992 he was a member of the Mellotones, a dance band led by Shirley Foltz. In the 1970s he was locally recognized as "Cousin Buddy"a