John Dortmunder
| John Dortmunder | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | The Hot Rock |
| Last appearance | Get Real |
| Created by | Donald E. Westlake |
| Portrayed by |
Robert Redford George C. Scott Teo Teocoli Paul Le Mat Gary Coleman Christopher Lambert Herbert Knaup Martin Lawrence |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Criminal |
| Nationality | American |
John Archibald Dortmunder is a fictional character created by Donald E. Westlake, and who is the protagonist 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, reacquired, stolen again, lost again (and so forth), 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 for DAB beer, spelled the acronym out to be "Dortmunder Actien Bier", which provided 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.
Dortmunder is tall with stooped shoulders and "lifeless thinning hair-colored hair" and has a disreputable "hangdog" face which rarely smiles. He shares an apartment with longtime girlfriend May Bellamy, a supermarket cashier, 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.
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 sent to prison for the rest of his life with no chance of parole.
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Wikipedia