Willie Garvin
Encyclopedia
Willie Garvin is a character in the long-running British
comic strip
series Modesty Blaise
, as well as a series of novels based upon the strip. The character was created by Peter O'Donnell
in 1963 and, alongside Modesty Blaise, made his first appearance in the story La Machine, appearing for the first time in strip no. 21. Willie Garvin also appears in every volume of the Modesty Blaise book series.
What is known can be pieced together from the many tidbits revealed by O'Donnell over the years. Willie Garvin is British and has a rather shady background. He was born to an unwed mother who died young, leaving him in the care of his "auntie"—an aged and alcoholic prostitute—who "taught him how to duck." He was then put in an orphanage which he ran away from after crossing a bully known as Dicer and losing his virginity to a girl nicknamed "Annie the Bang". He served in the French Foreign Legion
, including the gruesome Battle of Dien Bien Phu
, and later lived in Thailand
, where he learned his skills as a Thai boxer.
It is during his time as a Thai boxer in Saigon (or Bangkok
, O'Donnell changed the story at some point) that he first meets Modesty Blaise, who despite being only twenty, runs a powerful (but moralistic) criminal organization called The Network. Modesty sees Willie in one of his fights, and sees him getting arrested afterwards ("for the brawl he'd been involved in the night before"). Modesty buys him out of jail and tells him that she believes he is capable of being more of a man than he currently is. She tests him by having him collect money owed by a person in Hong Kong
. This simple order gets so complicated that Willie actually has to break the man out of a prison in mainland China just to complete the mission. Modesty is astonished and impressed by Willie's intrepidity and she invites him to join The Network. Willie accepts and spends six months training with Modesty to the point where they trust each other as much as they trust themselves. Willie becomes Modesty's most trusted man in The Network, and stays on for six years until Modesty shuts the organization down. Afterwards, the two remain close friends -- Willie opening a pub 25 miles (40 km.) from London called The Treadmill -- and when Sir Gerald Tarrant offers Modesty a chance to put her skills to work on behalf of British Intelligence, she easily recruits Willie to fight by her side.
, as he was once imprisoned for a year in Calcutta with only a psalter
to read. Very sociable, he has a number of female acquaintances, and is often reminded of anecdotes of them in the most unusual situations (such as when swimming in shark-infested waters or when hauling heavy objects up slopes). The one exception to his romantic conquests is Modesty Blaise; feeling that he owes her a debt greater than anything physical can offer, he refuses to consider her in a romantic light and Modesty, in return, reciprocates by treating Willie as her one trusted friend. Willie rarely refers to Modesty Blaise by her name; his preferred nickname for her is "Princess". On occasion, he literally provides a shoulder for her to cry on (one of Modesty's character traits is that she occasionally weeps following the conclusion of a particularly nasty mission).
Willie Garvin is a tall,6 feet 3 inches(190 cm), and extremely strong man, though not heavily muscle-bound. He has a scar on his right hand made by an man named Suleiman, who was later killed by Modesty because torturing Willie. Like Modesty, he is a polymath of the first order: adept in safe-cracking
and lock-picking, micro-electronics, expert at military tactics and a student of the criminal arts. He speaks several languages, including German
, Spanish
, Arabic
and French
; his English
has a heavy cockney
tone to it, though he is able to turn it on and off like a switch. Willie is a master knife thrower
and can throw almost any object with extreme precision. He makes his own knives and is deadly with them at ranges up to 90 feet. He doesn't like pistol
s (because he thinks that guns give people too much confidence), and he and Modesty have also stated that he is a poor shot, but he has shown himself to be capable on the rare occasions that he uses such weapons. As an ex-soldier, he is skilled with rifles and submachine guns, and has on occasions also used a sniper rifle.
Willie, like Modesty, has a strong sense of right and wrong that is governed more by his morals than by the law. Although he avoids using deadly force whenever possible, usually taking his cue from Modesty as to whether to fight "for keeps" (the duo's euphemism for killing), he won't hesitate to kill to protect Modesty (see, for example, the conclusion to the 1975 comic strip "Cry Wolf").
Willie and Modesty both smoke Gauloises (Sabretooth).
. That story is told in first person
from Willie Garvin's point of view.
n publication the next year), chronologically his final appearance comes in the closing story of the 1996 short story collection Cobra Trap
. (This last story is also called "Cobra Trap," like the book.)
The story takes place a number of years into the future, with Modesty in her early fifties and Willie approximately 60 years of age. During a caper to protect a trainload of innocent people, including some children, from a group of rebels, Modesty suddenly kisses Willie romantically (for the first and only time) and reveals to him that she is dying of a brain tumor. She orders Willie to leave with the train, allowing her to die alone in battle against the rebels. Before he can react, Modesty is shot dead, and moments later, in a mortar attack, Willie's ankle is broken. Willie buries Modesty and then moves off slowly, hoping to escape through the jungle, but then Willie is also shot dead. As the story ends, O'Donnell describes Willie meeting Modesty in an ethereal environment, some kind of afterlife.
in mind when he created Willie Garvin, and would have liked to see him portray him, but this never happened.
Willie Garvin has been portrayed on film on a couple of occasions.
Terence Stamp
portrayed Willie Garvin in the 1966 film version of Modesty Blaise
, a year after the publication of the first novel. In this film, Willie is portrayed as slightly psychotic when he first appears on screen. Later, the writers of the film choose to break O'Donnell's anti-romance taboo and have Willie and Modesty fall in love and even talk about getting married.
Willie Garvin next appeared on screen in a 1982 made-for-television film
based upon the character, which was produced as a pilot
for a possible television series. In this version, Willie is portrayed by Lewis Van Bergen
.
Also in the early 1980s, John Thaw
recorded an audio adaptation of "I Had a Date with Lady Janet" which he performed in character as Willie Garvin.
One of the Modesty Blaise novels, Last Day in Limbo, was adapted as a BBC World Service radio drama in 1978 with James Bolam
as Willie.
The 2003 film My Name Is Modesty
was produced as a prequel
to the comic strip and novels; as such it is the only Modesty Blaise adventure in which Willie Garvin does not appear.
Footnotes
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
series Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by Peter O'Donnell and Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows the adventures of Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents and a criminal past, and her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin...
, as well as a series of novels based upon the strip. The character was created by Peter O'Donnell
Peter O'Donnell
Peter O'Donnell was a British writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of Modesty Blaise, a female action hero/undercover trouble-shooter/enforcer...
in 1963 and, alongside Modesty Blaise, made his first appearance in the story La Machine, appearing for the first time in strip no. 21. Willie Garvin also appears in every volume of the Modesty Blaise book series.
Character background
Willie Garvin appears throughout the Modesty Blaise series as Modesty's confidant and right-hand man. His background is never presented in an ordered, chronological context, but rather in bits and pieces over the course of the comic strip, which ran from 1963 to 2002, and the literary series, which shared a more-or-less common continuity and ran from 1965 to 1996.What is known can be pieced together from the many tidbits revealed by O'Donnell over the years. Willie Garvin is British and has a rather shady background. He was born to an unwed mother who died young, leaving him in the care of his "auntie"—an aged and alcoholic prostitute—who "taught him how to duck." He was then put in an orphanage which he ran away from after crossing a bully known as Dicer and losing his virginity to a girl nicknamed "Annie the Bang". He served in the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
, including the gruesome Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
, and later lived in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where he learned his skills as a Thai boxer.
It is during his time as a Thai boxer in Saigon (or Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, O'Donnell changed the story at some point) that he first meets Modesty Blaise, who despite being only twenty, runs a powerful (but moralistic) criminal organization called The Network. Modesty sees Willie in one of his fights, and sees him getting arrested afterwards ("for the brawl he'd been involved in the night before"). Modesty buys him out of jail and tells him that she believes he is capable of being more of a man than he currently is. She tests him by having him collect money owed by a person in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. This simple order gets so complicated that Willie actually has to break the man out of a prison in mainland China just to complete the mission. Modesty is astonished and impressed by Willie's intrepidity and she invites him to join The Network. Willie accepts and spends six months training with Modesty to the point where they trust each other as much as they trust themselves. Willie becomes Modesty's most trusted man in The Network, and stays on for six years until Modesty shuts the organization down. Afterwards, the two remain close friends -- Willie opening a pub 25 miles (40 km.) from London called The Treadmill -- and when Sir Gerald Tarrant offers Modesty a chance to put her skills to work on behalf of British Intelligence, she easily recruits Willie to fight by her side.
Character traits
Peter O'Donnell often joked that he was in love with Modesty and best friends with Willie, and that that was why he could write them so vividly. Willie has a well-developed, if slightly dark, sense of humour, and often jokes about his and Modesty's lifestyles. He is given to quoting psalmsPsalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, as he was once imprisoned for a year in Calcutta with only a psalter
Psalter
A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...
to read. Very sociable, he has a number of female acquaintances, and is often reminded of anecdotes of them in the most unusual situations (such as when swimming in shark-infested waters or when hauling heavy objects up slopes). The one exception to his romantic conquests is Modesty Blaise; feeling that he owes her a debt greater than anything physical can offer, he refuses to consider her in a romantic light and Modesty, in return, reciprocates by treating Willie as her one trusted friend. Willie rarely refers to Modesty Blaise by her name; his preferred nickname for her is "Princess". On occasion, he literally provides a shoulder for her to cry on (one of Modesty's character traits is that she occasionally weeps following the conclusion of a particularly nasty mission).
Willie Garvin is a tall,6 feet 3 inches(190 cm), and extremely strong man, though not heavily muscle-bound. He has a scar on his right hand made by an man named Suleiman, who was later killed by Modesty because torturing Willie. Like Modesty, he is a polymath of the first order: adept in safe-cracking
Safe-cracking
Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or key. It may also refer to a computer hacker's attempts to break into a secured computer system, in which case it may be shortened to "cracking" or black hat hacking....
and lock-picking, micro-electronics, expert at military tactics and a student of the criminal arts. He speaks several languages, including German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
; his English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
has a heavy cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
tone to it, though he is able to turn it on and off like a switch. Willie is a master knife thrower
Knife throwing
Knife throwing is an art, sport, combat skill, or variously an entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapons thrown, and a target.-A throwing knife:...
and can throw almost any object with extreme precision. He makes his own knives and is deadly with them at ranges up to 90 feet. He doesn't like pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
s (because he thinks that guns give people too much confidence), and he and Modesty have also stated that he is a poor shot, but he has shown himself to be capable on the rare occasions that he uses such weapons. As an ex-soldier, he is skilled with rifles and submachine guns, and has on occasions also used a sniper rifle.
Willie, like Modesty, has a strong sense of right and wrong that is governed more by his morals than by the law. Although he avoids using deadly force whenever possible, usually taking his cue from Modesty as to whether to fight "for keeps" (the duo's euphemism for killing), he won't hesitate to kill to protect Modesty (see, for example, the conclusion to the 1975 comic strip "Cry Wolf").
Willie and Modesty both smoke Gauloises (Sabretooth).
I Had a Date with Lady Janet
With one exception, all of the literary adventures of Modesty Blaise are told in the standard third person. The sole exception to this is the short story "I Had a Date with Lady Janet", which first appeared in the collection Pieces of ModestyPieces of Modesty
Pieces of Modesty is a short story collection by Peter O'Donnell featuring his action heroine, Modesty Blaise, first published in 1972. It was O'Donnell's first such collection of stories ....
. That story is told in first person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
from Willie Garvin's point of view.
Fate
Although Willie Garvin continued to appear in the Modesty Blaise comic strip until O'Donnell retired in 2002 (actually he retired in 2001, but a book-length strip based upon one of his short stories subsequently appeared in a ScandinaviaScandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n publication the next year), chronologically his final appearance comes in the closing story of the 1996 short story collection Cobra Trap
Cobra Trap
Cobra Trap is the title of a short story collection by Peter O'Donnell featuring his action/adventure heroine Modesty Blaise. The book was published in 1996, and is the thirteenth, and final book in the Modesty Blaise series which began in 1965. Cobra Trap was released 11 years after the previous...
. (This last story is also called "Cobra Trap," like the book.)
The story takes place a number of years into the future, with Modesty in her early fifties and Willie approximately 60 years of age. During a caper to protect a trainload of innocent people, including some children, from a group of rebels, Modesty suddenly kisses Willie romantically (for the first and only time) and reveals to him that she is dying of a brain tumor. She orders Willie to leave with the train, allowing her to die alone in battle against the rebels. Before he can react, Modesty is shot dead, and moments later, in a mortar attack, Willie's ankle is broken. Willie buries Modesty and then moves off slowly, hoping to escape through the jungle, but then Willie is also shot dead. As the story ends, O'Donnell describes Willie meeting Modesty in an ethereal environment, some kind of afterlife.
Portrayals
O'Donnell has said that he had Michael CaineMichael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
in mind when he created Willie Garvin, and would have liked to see him portray him, but this never happened.
Willie Garvin has been portrayed on film on a couple of occasions.
Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
portrayed Willie Garvin in the 1966 film version of Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise (1966 film)
Modesty Blaise was a comedic spy-fi motion picture produced in the United Kingdom and released worldwide in 1966. It was loosely based upon the popular comic strip Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell, who wrote the original story and scenario upon which Evan Jones based his screenplay...
, a year after the publication of the first novel. In this film, Willie is portrayed as slightly psychotic when he first appears on screen. Later, the writers of the film choose to break O'Donnell's anti-romance taboo and have Willie and Modesty fall in love and even talk about getting married.
Willie Garvin next appeared on screen in a 1982 made-for-television film
Modesty Blaise (1982 film)
This version of Modesty Blaise is an American TV pilot program, intended to be the start of a TV series. It was written by Stephen Zito, directed by Reza Badigi, with Barney Rosenzweig as Executive Producer...
based upon the character, which was produced as a pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for a possible television series. In this version, Willie is portrayed by Lewis Van Bergen
Lewis Van Bergen
Lewis Van Bergen is an American actor, best known for his role as Jon Sable on the short-lived 1987 television series Sable.- Biography :He became famous by being humiliated and beaten by Warren Beatty in the film Bugsy.- Film :...
.
Also in the early 1980s, John Thaw
John Thaw
John Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...
recorded an audio adaptation of "I Had a Date with Lady Janet" which he performed in character as Willie Garvin.
One of the Modesty Blaise novels, Last Day in Limbo, was adapted as a BBC World Service radio drama in 1978 with James Bolam
James Bolam
James Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
as Willie.
The 2003 film My Name Is Modesty
My Name is Modesty
My Name Is Modesty is a 2003 American action film that was released direct-to-DVD. The film is based on the early years of the character Modesty Blaise, a former crime boss turned secret agent....
was produced as a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the comic strip and novels; as such it is the only Modesty Blaise adventure in which Willie Garvin does not appear.
Sources
- Modesty Blaise comic strip checklist sayyide.de
Footnotes