Joseph Cotten passed away 31 years ago today.  Cotten appeared in a lot of good films and worked with many important directors but he will always be remembered for bringing to life Jedidiah Leland, the drama critic in Citizen Kane.  I liked the character so much that I paid tribute to him with my penname, though I substituted an A for the first I.

Cotten played Jedidiah as both a young man and an old man in Citizen Kane.  The first time I saw the movie, I reacted to the young Leland.  With each passing year, I think I understand better what the older Leland was talking about when he said that memory is the greatest curse ever inflicted on the human race.

(Even retired and living in what appears to be a nursing home, Jedidiah Leland still spoke like a drama critic.)