Matthew Scudder

Matthew Scudder
First appearance	The Sins of the Fathers
Last appearance	A Drop of the Hard Stuff
Created by	Lawrence Block
Portrayed by	Jeff Bridges Liam Neeson
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Private detective
Nationality	American

Matthew (Matt) Scudder is a fictional character, the most famous and enduring creation of American crime writer Lawrence Block.

Scudder debuted in 1976's The Sins of the Fathers as an alcoholic ex-cop who had recently quit the NYPD and left his family after accidentally causing the death of a young girl. Living in a rent-controlled hotel room in Hell's Kitchen, he earns his living as an unlicensed private investigator—or, as he puts it, "doing favors for friends." The series' overarching theme is mortality: the early entries are filled with scenes of Scudder alone in churches, compulsively tithing his small income, lighting candles for whatever deceased figures happen to be on his mind—and always for the girl whose life he had inadvertently taken.

The fifth entry, 1982's Eight Million Ways to Die not only featured a more intricate plot than the earlier novels, but is the first to notably move the character forward: the novel concludes with Scudder introducing himself at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Block planned to end the series there, but a promise he'd made to supply an editor friend with an original short story resulted in "By the Dawn's Early Light," a story set during Scudder's drinking days in the 1970s (Abe Beame is mentioned as New York mayor) but told in from the perspective of a recovering addict. The story was well-received, winning a Shamus Award for best short story of 1985. Block would go on to expand on that success with 1986's When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, which not only resurrected the series, but proved a favorite of both the author and his fans.

From then on, Scudder's circumstances rarely remain the same for long: 1990's A Ticket to the Boneyard reunites him with Elaine Mardell, a hooker from his days on the force, and concludes with him staging the suicide of a man who had threatened their lives—a decision he recalls in a number of subsequent volumes. 1991's A Dance at the Slaughterhouse introduces TJ, a young Times Square hustler who becomes Scudder's protégé and closest ally. 1992's A Walk Among the Tombstones sees him struggling with Elaine's role as a prostitute (as well as a pair of violent kidnappers), while 1994's A Long Line of Dead Men ends with the two marrying.

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