Gettysburg (1993) as Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead
Short Info
Died
August 30, 1993, Los Angeles, California, United States
Spouse
Kathleen Widdoes
Fact
Won an Obie for his acting in the Václav Havel play "Protest" in New York and later at Los Angeles' Taper, Too.
Richard Jordan was an American actor, best known for his roles in films like “The Hunt for Red October”, “The Thomas Crown Affair” and “Logan’s Run”. He was born on July 19, 1937 in New York City, to a family of Irish descent. His father, Robert Jordan, was a successful businessman, and his mother, Mary Jordan, was a homemaker. He had two sisters, Anne and Elizabeth. He was educated at the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy, where he excelled in both academics and athletics. After graduation, he attended Harvard University, where he studied English literature. He did not finish his degree, however, as he decided to pursue a career in acting instead.
He made his film debut in “The Young Lions” (1958), and went on to appear in such films as “The Spy Who Came In from the Cold” (1965), “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” (1973) and “Convoy” (1978). He also starred in the television series “The Equalizer” (1985-1989), and won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the miniseries “Captains and the Kings” (1976). Jordan married actress Marlene Schmidt in 1960, and they had two children together. The couple divorced in 1974. He married actress Patricia Ann Fulford in 1976, and they had one child together. They divorced in 1982.
His third marriage was to actress Beverly D’Angelo, with whom he had two children. They divorced in 1995. Jordan died of a heart attack on August 30, 1993 at the age of 56.
General Info
Full Name
Richard Jordan
Died
August 30, 1993, Los Angeles, California, United States
(About Vaclav Havel) I admire how he's turned the outer turmoil of his life into a sense of inner peace.
2
[T]he story of 'Macbeth' is about a man and woman who will do anything to be successful. As far as I'm concerned, it is particularly appropriate for this day and age. That sense of 'I gotta have it now' has been around forever, but we have now held it up as the thing to do, the way to be. And I'm sorry, but that is completely stupid, irrelevant and wrong.
3
It's an odd feeling, and in an odd way I've never cared if I'm accepted or rejected. I just remind myself that if I'd wanted to make money I didn't have to go into this business. I did it because as preposterous as it sounds, I wanted to be an artist.
4
Ultimately what I'd like to do is not become pretentious. I'd like to keep from living in Beverly Hills and driving a Mercedes. I want to stay in my old stone castle in Malibu with my animals and my lady.
5
Grandfather [Judge Learned Hand] had a bad back, he'd lie on the floor to relieve the pain. I did my first Shakespeare sitting next to him on the floor, reading 'Antony and Cleopatra' and 'King Lear,' his favorites plays, and all the time grandfather'd be correcting my speech, my accent, then interrupting to see if I understood all the words. I must have been about 12 or 13. It was an experience that has stayed with me all these years.
6
If you take it that the poet has words, the novelist a story, the painter his paints, then my material is emotions. Emotions are what I paint with.
7
The cardinal sin of a play is to sacrifice emotional truth to make a philosophical point.
Facts
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Fact
1
He was awarded the 1984 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Performance for "A Private View," at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre Too in Los Angeles, California.
2
He was awarded the 1987 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Direction for "Largo Desolato" in a Mark Taper Forum production at the Mark Taper Forum Too in Los Angeles, California.
3
Was cast as Dr. Charles Nichols in The Fugitive (1993), and allegedly filmed a couple scenes, but ultimately had to drop out due to his failing health. He died shortly after the film's release.
4
In 1975, broke his ankle playing "MacDuff" to Charlton Heston's "Macbeth" and performed in a cast and using a crutch.
5
Once owned two dogs - one named after Robert Redford, the other after Alfred E. Neuman.
6
He won an Obie Award for his performance in Czech playwright Václav Havel's "A Private View" for the 1983-1984 Off-Broadway season.
7
He directed fellow actor Raul Julia in "Macbeth" at the Public Theatre in New York.
8
Was originally chosen to play Dr. Charles Nichols in The Fugitive (1993), but became too ill to work.
9
He was a longtime companion of actress Marcia Cross.
10
Lived with Blair Brown from 1976-1985; the relationship produced one son, Robert.
11
Won an Obie for his acting in the Václav Havel play "Protest" in New York and later at Los Angeles' Taper, Too.
12
He won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for directing Czech playwright Václav Havel's "Largo Desolato" at the Taper, Too in 1987.
13
He was the managing artist for the LA Actors Theater in Los Angeles in the 1970s where he produced, directed and wrote his own plays.
