Ralph "Papa" Thorson

Ralph Edgar "Papa" Thorson Jr. (July 11, 1926 – November 17, 1991) was an American bounty hunter. In 1976, he was the subject of a biography by Christopher Keane. In that biography, Sue Lyon states, "He's the only man I know who can do a bastard's job with taste and come off looking like a nice guy.". The 1980 movie The Hunter starring Steve McQueen was based on Christopher Keane's novel.

At 310 pounds and six-foot-two, Keane states there is a "different Papa than the modern day bounty hunter. Papa is also "a church bishop; Master bridge champion; renowned astrologer; criminology alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley; child nutritionist, aficionado of classical music."

Papa was born on 11 July 1926 in Anaconda, Montana. His mother, the former Margaret Hayford, had married his father, Ralph Edgar Thorson, Sr., in 1923. The Thorson family had immigrated from Norway in 1886, while the Hayford family had immigrated from England in 1635.

Papa served in the US Navy during World War II, first in flight training and then on board the USS Ingersoll. Following the war, he returned home to Anaconda, but moved to San Rafael, California with his mother, after his father died. At 22, he had a short duration marriage to a "rich girl" named Samantha while simultaneously attending Berkeley, working as a Juvenile Counselor and building a house.

In June 1948, Papa was a pre-med major at Berkeley, while working the summer vacations bartending at Hoberg's Resort Hotel in Lake County, California. There Papa met a San Francisco bail bondsman named Boyd "Pooch" Puchinelli, whom he started working for in early Sept. Papa changed majors to criminology, learned how to scuba dive and play bridge, then moved to L.A. in 1958. There he started working for bail bondsman Richie Blumenthal. In 1968 Papa bought a two bedroom North Hollywood home across from James Doohan.

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