THE JARMUSCH CLAN

I really enjoyed Kristine McKenna’s intelligently written feature in last Sunday’s Calendar on my brother, Jim Jarmusch, and his new film, “Dead Man.” Her piece (“ ‘Dead’ Man Talking”) is one of the best I’ve read on Jim, his respect for actors, artists and cultures, and his approach to filmmaking. I would like, however, to correct a few errors stated about our family.

Most important: There are three of us kids, not two. Tom Jarmusch, 34, also works in film and video. He wrote and directed a video called “Friends” (1995), which has been shown at many festivals and theaters. Tom also has played small roles in films such as “Living in Oblivion” and “Johnny Suede” and has a walk-on in Jim’s “Stranger Than Paradise.” He art-directed Robert Frank’s short film “Last Supper,” which was screened at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in April.

Second: We grew up near, not in, Akron, Ohio, in an idyllic area that seemed eons away from the stinky, grimy “Rubber Capital of the World.” And our father worked for B.F. Goodrich, not Goodyear.

I am sure Ms. McKenna meant no disservice, but her article is among those perpetuating the implication that Dad was a company man in a one-industry town. In fact, Dad left Goodrich when we were very young and eventually became president of a small manufacturing company in Cleveland. His independent-minded business acumen, dedication and political action to help save inner-city jobs all influenced Jim far more than the Goodrich days.

Finally, your readers might like to know that our mother, accurately described in the article as a former newspaperwoman, was the Akron Beacon-Journal’s film and theater critic when, as Lyle Lovett would say, Jim, Tom and I were “just a kiss.”

ANN JARMUSCH

San Diego