19 APRIL 1986, Page 23

Bad likeness

Sir: You mentioned James Cagney in your 'Portrait of the Week' (5 April). He was not a 'Hollywood gangster': he was an actor who played the part of a gangster in some of his films. He was not even a Hollywood actor in the accepted sense since he lived most of his life on the East coast of the United States. To call that grapefruit incident of his 'greatest inspira- tion' is stupid. How could you get so much wrong in one sentence?

Ian Lawrence

22 Maytree Road, Chandler's Ford, Hampshire