Richard Morgan (The Ring)

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Richard Morgan (1930-2002) was a fictional character in the 2002 movie The Ring, portrayed by Brian Cox. In the movie, he and his wife, Anna, owned and operated the Morgan Ranch on Moesko Island, Washington, where they were award-winning horse breeders. They had a daughter (later revealed to be adopted) named Samara Morgan, who apparently drove Anna insane by psychokinetically feeding her horrifying visions. Richard seemed to resent Samara for this, and paid most of his attention to the horses. When Anna's visions and Samara's disturbed behavior became too intense, he checked them both into a mental institution for observation and analysis, but later terminated their sessions despite doctors' protests. He moved Samara into the barn, hoping the distance would alleviate Anna's symptoms. This did not work, and in addition, the horses in the barn went insane, breaking through the fences and drowning themselves in the nearby ocean. Not long after, Anna murdered Samara by suffocating her with a plastic bag and then throwing her corpse down a deep well (supposedly with Richard's approval and/or encouragement). Anna later committed suicide.

When Rachel Keller approached Richard 24 years later about a possible message from Anna (via the cursed videotape), Richard recognized it immediately and realized Samara would never stop her reign of torment, and rather than deal with it any further, he committed suicide by electrocuting himself in a bathtub.