Judith Jordan, 61; Actress

Judith Jordan, a gifted character actress with credits in film and on television and the Broadway stage, has died. She was 61.

Jordan died of complications from ovarian cancer Sept. 13 in Malibu.

Born in Newark, N.J., Jordan moved to New York City in 1958 and studied with the leading acting teachers of the day, including Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner. She was cast in “Enter Laughing” and “Fiorella” on Broadway. Passionate about the theater, she appeared in more than 100 Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theater and stock productions.

Colleagues recalled that she was often more willing to do a Chekhov play in Des Moines than something in New York by someone she had little respect for.

Actress Charlotte Rae, who worked with Jordan in “Norman . . . Is That You?” at the Public Theater in New York City, recalled her as “delightful and terribly funny.”

Rae also said Jordan was serious about the classics, “especially the work of Chekhov, Brecht and O’Casey.”

“She was a wonderful actress and generous to work with,” Rae said.

In 1975, Jordan moved to Los Angeles and got roles in several films. She also appeared in episodes of several popular television shows, including “L.A. Law,” “Roseanne,” “Knots Landing,” “Quincy,” “The Fall Guy” and “Highway to Heaven.” She also had recurring roles on “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless.”

Among the productions that Jordan appeared in on the Southland stage were “The Totem Pole” and “Cock a Doodle Dandy” at the L.A. Actors Theater, “Passion Play” at the Mark Taper Forum, and “Brighton Beach Memoirs” in Orange County.

Jordan also worked for the Theater Arts Program of Los Angeles, which took a variety of productions to locations including community centers, schools and homes for the elderly. Actor and director Jeremiah Morris, who worked with Jordan in both capacities, recalled her as a “calming and soothing presence on a production.”

“She was a delightful actress and very professional,” Morris said. “Not only beautiful but witty . . . with a marvelous comic sense.”

She is survived by her husband, Gennaro Montanino, a brother, Michael Gottlieb, and a sister, Patricia Cecire.