Obituary: Richard Jordan

MUCH mention was made in David Shipman's obituary of Richard Jordan (6 September) of Jordan's capable performances in films that were not particulary memorable (or were memorable, such as Raise the Titanic, for the wrong reasons) or of fine performances which were merely cameos, but what was probably his finest performance for the big screen was omitted, writes Steven Gibbons.

Jordan's role as the psychopath using the newspaperman Kurt Russell as a confidant to his murders, as the storms brew over Miami, in The Mean Season (1985), is an excellent lesson to any aspiring actor of how such a character should be crafted. Rather than the flashy view of a psychopath as offered by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, Jordan provides a character of far greater depth, full of nervous energy, but ultimately fallible due to over-confidence.

His performance, coupled with Frank Tidy's fine photography, provide a chilling animosity that makes the film his most memorable for all the right reasons.