William Hurlbut

William James Hurlbut (1878 or July 13, 1883 – May 4, 1957) was a playwright, screenwriter, and artist.

He was the grandson of Stephen Augustus Hurlbut. His father served as mayor of Belvidere, Illinois and invented an "instantaneous camera". William Hurlbut was involved in local theater productions and graduated from Belvidere High School. He traveled with his family to New York with a stop in Peru while the Panama Canal was being constructed. In 1896 he was listed as a student at Washington University's School of Fine Arts.

His plays had female leads. One of his plays was about tenement life. Another was about a girlfriend from Europe coming to a town in America.

He was sued for making alterations and subletting a New York City apartment. He never married and had no children.