Biografia
New Zealander Kerry Jordan was a well-known actor on stage, television, and radio in South Africa. He studied law for four years in New Zealand before becoming a fruit farmer and broadcaster for the New Zealand Broadcasting Service. Later, he earned a double scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in England.
In Britain, his early roles included the 1957 train robbery film The Flying Scot and the BBC television play Theatre Night (1957), where he portrayed Bergerat in Jean-Paul Sartre's Nekrassov. From 1960 to 1961, Kerry played Mr. Macintosh in Glencannon, a comedy series about a chief engineer on a tramp steamer. This British-American co-production aired on ITV.
Kerry Jordan relocated to South Africa in 1964. His final British role was in the BBC thriller Melissa, a six-part serial broadcast that same year. Upon moving to South Africa, he secured a role as the Company Cook in the Michael Caine film Zulu, which also involved director Dennis Folbigge.
He continued his film career in South Africa with roles such as Colonel Anstruther in Majuba (1968), and parts in Mr Kingstreet's War (1971), The Winners (1974) alongside Tony Jay and Clive Scott, and the intense drama Heroes Die Hard (1978). His last film appearance was in Kwagga Strikes Back (1990).
Beyond film, Kerry Jordan found success in South African television, radio, and theater. In the 1980s, his TV roles included Reverend Bellow in the popular mini-series Shaka Zulu (1986) and a Royal Navy admiral in the SABC series Just Nuisance RN (1989). His final television role before his death in 1994 was in the TV movie Where Angels Tread, about early aviation, featuring Diane Appleby, Gillian Garlick, and Clive Scott.
Kerry's radio career in South Africa was extensive. He frequently appeared on Lux Radio Theatre, Tuesday Theatre, and occasionally on the thriller series No Place to Hide. He is best remembered for playing Dr. Watson in The Stories of Sherlock Holmes (1979–1985) on Springbok Radio, alongside Graham Armitage as Holmes. On the English Service, he featured in many Radio Theatre productions, with his last performance in 1989 in the play The Stinger.
