Alan_Grofield
Alan Grofield
Fictional criminal created by Richard Stark (pseudonym of Donald E. Westlake)
Alan Grofield is a fictional character created by Donald E. Westlake. He is the main protagonist of four of the 28 novels Westlake has written under the pseudonym Richard Stark, and a supporting character in an additional four. Grofield's first appearance was in the novel The Score, which was published in 1964.
A career criminal and professional thief, Grofield is a devilishly handsome and charming womanizer whose main passion in life is the stage. This love of theatre does not extend to cinema; Grofield has a deep, almost pathological disdain for television and film acting, which he considers an unacceptable perversion of the actor's craft. Accordingly, even though film and TV roles can be lucrative, Grofield will under no circumstances pursue acting opportunities in these fields.
Grofield owns a summer stock company, which operates out of a converted barn in (fictional) Mead Grove, Indiana. The primary reason he steals is to keep his money-losing theatre company running, and he might well quit his second profession if he could make a living through his first. Nevertheless, Grofield finds his second profession fulfilling as well.
During the events of The Score, Grofield meets his future wife and acting partner, Mary Deegan, a hostage taken during the heist in that novel, who insists on leaving town with him. She is referenced in the Grofield novels, and features prominently in Lemons Never Lie. She helps him run his theater, and serves as his leading lady. Grofield is very happy with her but feels no compunction about being with other women when he's away on a heist.
Unlike his frequent companion Parker, Grofield is a somewhat inconsistent character, and his adventures run the gamut from hard-boiled crime stories (Lemons Never Lie) to more fanciful, James Bond-style globetrotting and intrigue (The Damsel, The Dame, and The Blackbird). Grofield also differs significantly from Parker in that he can be friendly, chatty, and gregarious in all types of company — but, similar to Parker, Grofield does not hesitate to use brutal violence (when necessary) in the furtherance of his goals.
Grofield is not mentioned in any of the eight Parker novels after Butcher's Moon.