John Dortmunder
Encyclopedia
John Archibald Dortmunder is a fictional character created by Donald E. Westlake
, and who is the 'hero' of 14 novels and 11 short stories published between 1970 and 2009. He first appeared in the novel The Hot Rock, published in 1970.
Westlake originally intended The Hot Rock to feature his character Parker
and to publish it under his Richard Stark pseudonym. However, the plot involves a precious gem that is stolen, lost, stolen again, lost again, etc., which seemed too comic a situation for a hard-boiled creation like Parker. Westlake therefore rewrote the novel with a more bumbling and likable cast of characters, led by a pessimistic, hard-luck professional thief. A neon sign Westlake spotted, which reported the extended version of the DAB beer acronym "Dortmunder Actien Bier
", suggested the name for the book's new protagonist.
Dortmunder is similar to Parker in several ways. He is a career criminal and a "planner," creating schemes for burglaries
and assigning responsibilities to his team. He is tall and has a disreputable face. He shares a home with a longtime girlfriend, in this case named May, a supermarket cashier; they live in Manhattan on East 19th Street. Unlike Parker, however, Dortmunder is a nonviolent character who devises schemes that are usually outlandish and over-the-top, and the fact that something almost always goes wrong for a long time gave him the reputation of being jinxed (and despite claiming not to be superstitious, he has believed so too). In fact, Dortmunder gets worried when things do go smoothly and seems relieved when something does go wrong. Since Why Me?, he and his team have usually come out ahead in each caper (in addition to not being arrested).
Dortmunder married a nightclub entertainer whose stage name was 'Honeybun Bazoom' shortly before he left the country to serve in Korea in 1952. The marriage took place in San Diego; upon his return from Korea, they were divorced in Reno in 1954.
Dortmunder has been twice convicted of burglary charges, serving time in prison – he is completing the final day of his second prison term at the very beginning of The Hot Rock. Always hanging over Dortmunder's head is the knowledge that a third conviction will mean that he will be placed in prison for the rest of his life, with no chance of parole.
Dortmunder has occasionally used the alias "John Diddums" (he claims to anyone who asks that it's Welsh), a name he dislikes but uses involuntarily in circumstances that preclude using his real name.
The motto of his family crest (which he admits he stole) is "Quid lucrum istic mihi est?" ("What's in it for me?").
As is common with characters in long-running series, Dortmunder and his companions seem to be frozen at the age they were when we first met them. His age is given as 37 in 1970's The Hot Rock; thereafter, Dortmunder would appear to be somewhere in his late thirties or early forties throughout the series' nearly forty-year run.
Kelp and Murch are the only regulars to appear in every novel. Kelp also appears in many of the short stories. Over the course of the series, several other regulars were gradually added to the mix, including:
Also of note are the various wives, girlfriends and female family members of the regulars, who often find their way into the plots. These regulars are sometimes employed directly in the gang's criminal enterprises, other times they are not. But they are all seen frequently, and could certainly be accused of aiding and abetting Dortmunder and his cronies in all their endeavors:
Several other specialists appear less frequently in the series, such as Ralph Winslow (an extremely absentminded lockman), Jim O'Hara (a recently released burglar) and Herman X (a black radical lockman). When planning their heists, the group usually meets in the back room of the O.J. Bar and Grill (whoever gets there first gets the chair facing the door; Tiny is the only one who doesn't mind sitting with his back to the door). At these meetings, Andy and Dortmunder drink the O.J. Bourbon (labeled "Our Own Brand"), Murch drinks Beer and salt (due to his status as a driver he can nurse one beer, and the salt restores the head on it), and Tiny has Red Wine and Vodka mixed (always referred to as looking like "flat cherry soda"). Scenes set in the public areas of the O.J. usually involve the unnamed "regulars" at the bar, who provide comic relief by engaging in heated arguments on various topics of which they are ignorant.
Donald E. Westlake
Donald Edwin Westlake was an American writer, with over a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction or other genres...
, and who is the 'hero' of 14 novels and 11 short stories published between 1970 and 2009. He first appeared in the novel The Hot Rock, published in 1970.
Westlake originally intended The Hot Rock to feature his character Parker
Parker (fictional criminal)
Parker is a fictional character created by Donald E. Westlake. He is the main protagonist of 24 of the 28 novels Westlake wrote under the pseudonym Richard Stark.-Character overview:...
and to publish it under his Richard Stark pseudonym. However, the plot involves a precious gem that is stolen, lost, stolen again, lost again, etc., which seemed too comic a situation for a hard-boiled creation like Parker. Westlake therefore rewrote the novel with a more bumbling and likable cast of characters, led by a pessimistic, hard-luck professional thief. A neon sign Westlake spotted, which reported the extended version of the DAB beer acronym "Dortmunder Actien Bier
Dortmunder Actien Brauerei
Dortmunder Actien Brauerei is a German brewery in the city of Dortmund, founded in 1868 by the businessmen Laurenz Fischer and Heinrich and Friedrich Mauritz together with master brewer Heinrich Herberz...
", suggested the name for the book's new protagonist.
Dortmunder is similar to Parker in several ways. He is a career criminal and a "planner," creating schemes for burglaries
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
and assigning responsibilities to his team. He is tall and has a disreputable face. He shares a home with a longtime girlfriend, in this case named May, a supermarket cashier; they live in Manhattan on East 19th Street. Unlike Parker, however, Dortmunder is a nonviolent character who devises schemes that are usually outlandish and over-the-top, and the fact that something almost always goes wrong for a long time gave him the reputation of being jinxed (and despite claiming not to be superstitious, he has believed so too). In fact, Dortmunder gets worried when things do go smoothly and seems relieved when something does go wrong. Since Why Me?, he and his team have usually come out ahead in each caper (in addition to not being arrested).
Character background
Very little is known of Dortmunder's childhood. It is mentioned in more than one book that he was abandoned at birth and raised in an orphanage in the fictional town of Dead Indian, Illinois, run by the Bleeding Heart Sisters of Eternal Misery.Dortmunder married a nightclub entertainer whose stage name was 'Honeybun Bazoom' shortly before he left the country to serve in Korea in 1952. The marriage took place in San Diego; upon his return from Korea, they were divorced in Reno in 1954.
Dortmunder has been twice convicted of burglary charges, serving time in prison – he is completing the final day of his second prison term at the very beginning of The Hot Rock. Always hanging over Dortmunder's head is the knowledge that a third conviction will mean that he will be placed in prison for the rest of his life, with no chance of parole.
Dortmunder has occasionally used the alias "John Diddums" (he claims to anyone who asks that it's Welsh), a name he dislikes but uses involuntarily in circumstances that preclude using his real name.
The motto of his family crest (which he admits he stole) is "Quid lucrum istic mihi est?" ("What's in it for me?").
As is common with characters in long-running series, Dortmunder and his companions seem to be frozen at the age they were when we first met them. His age is given as 37 in 1970's The Hot Rock; thereafter, Dortmunder would appear to be somewhere in his late thirties or early forties throughout the series' nearly forty-year run.
Associates
Except in a few short stories, where Dortmunder is working alone, each of Dortmunder's plans calls for a crew. Seen most frequently are:- Andy Kelp: All-purpose crook Andy Kelp is Dortmunder's best friend, though Dortmunder would be the first to deny this. Cheerful and optimistic where Dortmunder is dour and relentlessly pessimistic, Kelp is boundlessly enthusiastic and full of (sometimes questionable) ideas. In appearance, he is shorter than Dortmunder, has a pointy nose, and has birdlike mannerisms. An experienced thief, Kelp has a notable penchant for stealing cars with M.D. plates, his reasoning being that doctors have both the money and the ego to provide themselves with the very best. Kelp also loves to adopt the newest electronic gadgets, generally to Dortmunder's disgust. Because Kelp has brought Dortmunder many eventually unsuccessful jobs, Dortmunder has been known to call Kelp a jinx. However, Dortmunder is generally loyal to Kelp throughout the series, even if he sometimes finds him exasperating. Kelp has an older sister, whose adult son Victor (a former FBI agent who wanted the FBI to have a secret handshake) plays a role in some of the gang's misadventures. Although unmarried over the course of the series, he is known to have had prior marriages, presumably dissolved.
- Stan Murch: Stocky, carrot-topped Stan Murch is the gang's usual driver. Genial and uncomplicated, Murch lives with his cab-driver mother (usually referred to as "Murch's Mom," though her first name is eventually revealed as Gladys.) Murch's life revolves around cars; he listens to audio recordings of the Indianapolis 500 for relaxation, and virtually every conversation he has will include a detailed account of his most recent trip in his car.
Kelp and Murch are the only regulars to appear in every novel. Kelp also appears in many of the short stories. Over the course of the series, several other regulars were gradually added to the mix, including:
- Tchotchkus "Tiny" Bulcher: Thuggery specialist Tiny Bulcher is a massive, muscular "man mountain" of Eastern European ancestry (one of the more interesting descriptions of him is "a medium range intercontinental ballistic missile with legs. Also arms, about the shape of fire hydrants but longer, and a head, about the shape of a fire hydrant." – What's The Worst That Could Happen?). He is used to getting exactly what he wants, and due to his size, he doesn't have to ask for it twice. He often tells stories about past crimes that have gone wrong and the dire consequences he has administered on his cronies if they were to blame for the failed scheme. He generally finds Dortmunder and his cronies amusing – much to their relief.
- Rollo: The bartender at the O.J. Bar and Grill on Amsterdam Avenue, the favorite hangout and meeting place for Dortmunder and his people. He remembers all of his customers by their drinking preferences, even when the customer hasn't set foot inside the bar for years, and usually refers to his customers by their drinks. He willingly turns a blind eye to what goes on in the bar's back room, but makes sure that there's no trouble in the main room. He runs the bar for the real owner, who's retired to Florida, but keeps him informed of how things are going.
- Arnie Albright: Dortumunder's usual fence, Arnie Albright lives alone in a squalid apartment on the Upper West Side and collects calendars. Through his appearance and behavior, Arnie repulses every character he encounters, but he is fully aware of this and compensates by offering better terms than his competitors. Even Dortmunder can't always stand dealing with Arnie and from time to time deals with another fence named Stoon instead.
- Judson "The Kid" Blint: Determined to meet the mysterious and elusive J. C. Taylor (see below), Judson Blint arrives unannounced at her offices looking for a job. J. C. immediately sees through him and his fake resumé, but senses his potential and hires him as her assistant to take over the day-to-day running of her mail-order scams. He originally joins Dortmunder's gang in Watch Your Back as something of a mascot/protégé, but by the time of Get Real has been accepted as one of them (even if he hasn't yet settled on what he drinks at the OJ).
- Max: Proprietor of Maximillian's Used Cars, Max is a stereotypically dishonest used car dealer who is perennially unhappy with the state of his business. When Stan Murch (or others in the gang) wants to dispose of vehicles they have stolen in exchange for some quick cash, Max is usually the buyer.
Also of note are the various wives, girlfriends and female family members of the regulars, who often find their way into the plots. These regulars are sometimes employed directly in the gang's criminal enterprises, other times they are not. But they are all seen frequently, and could certainly be accused of aiding and abetting Dortmunder and his cronies in all their endeavors:
- May Walker: Dortmunder's long-standing live-in girlfriend, as of Bank Shot (the second novel). A supermarket cashier, they met when she caught Dortmunder shoplifting. She's thin, a chain-smoker (although she gives this up in later novels, resorting to fake-smoking), and usually more optimistic than Dortmunder (which isn't hard). She also can successfully keep him from becoming discouraged. During lean times, she keeps the two of in them in groceries that she steals from whichever store she's working in at the moment.
- Josephine Carol "J.C." Taylor: Tiny's girlfriend, a sexy, tough business woman who runs several shady mail-order enterprises, including a detective course, a song poemSong poemSong poem usually refers to song lyrics that have been set to music for a fee. This practice, which has long been disparaged in the music industry, was also known as song sharking and was conducted by several businesses throughout the 20th century in North America.- Production and promotion :The...
service, and her best-selling product, by far, a profusely illustrated 'educational' sex manual in which it would appear that J.C. herself (15 or so years younger) is the primary female model. In later books, she delegates the day-to-day operations of these scams in order to focus her attention on Maylohda, a nonexistent country she creates (and acts as the Commercial Attaché for) in order to receive economic development aid. Only Tiny calls her "Josie".
- Anne Marie Carpinaw: A senator's daughter from the midwest, abandoned in New York by her husband, who becomes Andy Kelp's girlfriend in What's The Worst That Could Happen? and the later books of the series.
- Gladys Murch: Almost always referred to as "Murch's Mom", a temperamental cabdriver, usually out for a quick buck.
Several other specialists appear less frequently in the series, such as Ralph Winslow (an extremely absentminded lockman), Jim O'Hara (a recently released burglar) and Herman X (a black radical lockman). When planning their heists, the group usually meets in the back room of the O.J. Bar and Grill (whoever gets there first gets the chair facing the door; Tiny is the only one who doesn't mind sitting with his back to the door). At these meetings, Andy and Dortmunder drink the O.J. Bourbon (labeled "Our Own Brand"), Murch drinks Beer and salt (due to his status as a driver he can nurse one beer, and the salt restores the head on it), and Tiny has Red Wine and Vodka mixed (always referred to as looking like "flat cherry soda"). Scenes set in the public areas of the O.J. usually involve the unnamed "regulars" at the bar, who provide comic relief by engaging in heated arguments on various topics of which they are ignorant.
Novels
- The Hot Rock (1970)
- Bank Shot (1972)
- Jimmy the Kid (1974)
- Nobody's Perfect (1977)
- Why Me? (1983)
- Good Behavior (1985)
- Drowned Hopes (1990)
- Don't Ask (1993)
- What's the Worst That Could Happen? (1996)
- Bad News (2001)
- The Road to Ruin (2004)
- Watch Your Back! (2005)
- What's So Funny? (2007)
- Get Real (2009)
Shorter Works
- Thieves' Dozen (2004), a collection of ten Dortmunder short stories and one related story.
- "Walking Around Money" (2005), a novella in the anthology Transgressions, edited by Ed McBainEvan HunterEvan Hunter was an American author and screenwriter. Born Salvatore Albert Lombino, he legally adopted the name Evan Hunter in 1952...
.
Films
- The Hot RockThe Hot Rock (film)The Hot Rock is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Redford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E...
(1972) stars Robert RedfordRobert RedfordCharles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
as Dortmunder. - Bank ShotBank ShotBank Shot is a 1974 film directed by Gower Champion and written by Wendell Mayes . The film stars George C. Scott, Joanna Cassidy, Sorrell Booke, and G. Wood.-Plot:...
(1974) stars George C. ScottGeorge C. ScottGeorge Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...
as Dortmunder, who was renamed "Walter Upjohn Ballentine" for the film. - Come ti rapisco il pupo (1976), based on Jimmy the Kid, stars Teo TeocoliTeo TeocoliTeo Teocoli is an Italian actor, TV conductor, singer and writer, appearing in about 30 mostly Italian productions since 1975.-External links:...
as the Dortmunder character, renamed "Elia". - Jimmy the Kid (1982) stars Gary ColemanGary ColemanGary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
as Jimmy, and Paul Le MatPaul Le MatPaul Le Mat is an American actor who first came to prominence in the 1973 film American Graffiti, which won him the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor.-Life:...
as Dortmunder. - Why Me? (1990) stars Christopher LambertChristopher LambertChristophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
as Dortmunder, renamed "Gus Cardinale". - Jimmy the Kid (1999) is a German film that stars Herbert KnaupHerbert KnaupHerbert Knaup is a German film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* Run Lola Run * Marlene * Distant Lights * Jerry Cotton * In Darkness -External links:...
as Dortmunder. - What's the Worst That Could Happen?What's the Worst That Could Happen?What's the Worst That Could Happen? is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito. Loosely based on the book of the same name by Donald Westlake, the film's supporting cast includes John Leguizamo, Bernie Mac, Larry Miller, Nora Dunn, GQ, and...
(2001) stars Martin LawrenceMartin LawrenceMartin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and stand up comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably the films Bad Boys, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House...
as Dortmunder, renamed "Kevin Caffery". The film also stars Danny DeVitoDanny DeVitoDaniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
.
Trivia
- The IAV Dortmunder is shown to be the name of an Alliance Capital Cruiser on the television show FireflyFirefly (TV series)Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
. This is possibly a reference to the fact that the main cast consists of thieves and crooks, in the same vein as Dortmunder himself. - Dortmunder also makes a cameo appearance in Spider Robinson's "The Lady Slings the Booze." Late in the novel, the hero takes out a copy of "Good Behavior" and reads several chapters.