Dick Hallorann

Hallorann first appears in The Shining, where he is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. While packing away for winter one day, Hallorann meets the new caretaker, Jack Torrance and his family: his wife, Wendy and son Danny. Hallorann discovers that Danny carries the same psychic abilities as him. He tells Danny that, when Hallorann was a child, he discovered that he and his grandmother could carry conversations with each other without even moving their lips. She called this telepathy “shining.” Hallorann warns Danny that the Overlook can be dangerous, especially to those who “shine.” Later, Hallorann is contacted by Danny, who reveals that his father had become influenced by Delbert Grady and the other spirits inhabiting the hotel. Hallorann returns to the hotel in an attempt to rescue Danny and Wendy from Jack, and the three of them escape together as the hotel explodes and kills Jack.

Hallorann is mentioned in Stephen King's 1986 horror novel, It, as being one of the founders of The Black Spot, a bar in Derry, Maine which catered towards African-American soldiers. The Black Spot was eventually burned down in an act of racial hatred by a group titled "The Maine Legion of White Decency". Hallorann uses his Shining ability to find survivors and rescue them, one of them being Will Hanlon, who went on to become the father of Mike Hanlon, a central character in It. It is suggested that the arson of The Black Spot was initiated by Pennywise, the novel's main antagonist.[2][3] The Black Spot was also referenced in King's novel, Insomnia.[4]

In Stephen King's 2013 sequel, Doctor Sleep, which occurs several years after the events of The Shining, Hallorann remains close with Wendy and Danny, and becomes something of a mentor to the latter. One night, Danny wakes up to use the restroom, only to encounter Lorraine Massey, one of the spirits from The Overlook, prompting Wendy to call Hallorann for help. Hallorann reveals that, as a child, he was emotionally, physically and sexually abused by his granduncle, Andy. After Andy's death, Hallorann was haunted by his ghost, but his grandmother taught Hallorann how to lock away such ghosts in an imaginary "lockbox". Hallorann teaches Danny this technique.

Years later, Danny (now going simply by "Dan") attempts to locate Hallorann for help protecting fellow "Shiner" Abra Stone from the True Knot Cult. Dan discovers that Hallorann had died in 1999, but he is still able to communicate with and advise Dan by briefly possessing the body of Eleanor Ouellette, a woman in the hospice where Dan works.[5]

Hallorann was portrayed by musician Scatman Crothers in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation The Shining. While the film departs from King's novel in many ways (much to King's chagrin), one of the most notable changes is Hallorann's death. In King's novel, Hallorann survives Torrance's rampage. However in the film, Hallorann arrives at the Overlook Hotel after sensing that Danny and Wendy are in danger. Torrance subsequently strikes Halloran in the chest with an axe, killing him. His dead body is then discovered by Wendy when the Overlook attempts to trick her.[6][7][8]

Before the role was cast, the original choice for the role of Hallorann was Slim Pickens, who worked with Kubrick on Dr. Strangelove. However, Pickens refused to work with Kubrick again after being annoyed with the director's perfectionism during the filming of that project. The role eventually went to Crothers, who had stated that he had wanted to play the role of Hallorann before the film had even started production. Crothers had a difficult time filming with Kubrick, who had a reputation for repeating takes multiple times to get the perfect shot. For example, Kubrick did 148 takes of the scene in which Hallorann explains The Shining ability to Danny, at the end of which Crothers burst into tears. The shot of Hallorann in a state of shock and horror after being contacted by Danny while staying in Miami also took another 60 takes, which again proved strenuous to Crothers.[9][10][11]

In Stephen King's 1997 miniseries adaptation of the novel directed by Mick Garris, Hallorann is portrayed by Melvin Van Peebles. In this interpretation, Torrance attacks Halloran with a croquet mallet rather than an axe, and Halloran survives the encounter, as in the novel. While the miniseries itself earned mixed reviews, Van Peebles' performance as Hallorann was critically acclaimed.[12][13]

Hallorann appears in the operatic adaptation of King's novel portrayed by Arthur Woodley in a baritone part. In this adaptation, he is again attacked with a mallet by Torrance, but is left unconscious and remains in The Overlook Hotel when it explodes.[14]

Similarly to the novel, Hallorann's ghost instructs Dan to use "lockboxes" to lock away the bad apparitions. Hallorann's spirit later appears again to instruct Dan to protect Abra.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Prior to the release of Doctor Sleep, Warner Bros. had enough confidence in the film that they hired Mike Flanagan to script a prequel focusing on the character, with the working title Hallorann. Following the disappointing box office performance of Doctor Sleep, however, the future of the project is unclear.[23]