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Richard Harrow (played by Jack Huston) was a disfigured war veteran, criminal, and friend of Jimmy Darmody. He acted as Darmody's bodyguard and bootlegging partner. Richard Harrow is a seemingly calm but deeply troubled and ultimately tragic character. He is not just surrounded by death but finds himself useful chiefly as an instrument of death.

Biography[]

Background[]

Harrow was a sniper in the US Army during World War I. A war injury caused substantial damage to the left side of his face; he lost his eye, most of his cheek bone, the left half of his upper jaw and endured heavy scarring. In order to enter society with the least amount of distress, Harrow covers his scars with a tin plate that was molded to his face and painted to match his skin tone. 

After the war, Harrow returned home to Wisconsin where his twin sister, Emma, provided care for him as his wounds healed. He had a very close relationship with his sister growing up, but found it difficult to reconnect with her after being exposed to the horrors of war. Soon after he was well enough to care for himself, Harrow left to live in Chicago. It is there, in an army hospital, where he meets Jimmy Darmody. After feeling an instant kinship through their shared war experiences, Jimmy invites Harrow to stay with him to become a part of his bootlegging crew. His duties generally include keeping guard while Jimmy negotiates deals, delivering liquor orders and being a hitman when situations call for it.

Harrow keeps a scrapbook of pictures found in GQ and newspapers of family, sweethearts and houses. He alludes to wanting a family of his own, but has spoken of how difficult it is to connect with another human being on a deeper level due to his injuries.

Season 1[]

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Richard Harrow meets with Jimmy Darmody.

When Jimmy Darmody visits a Chicago army hospital to have his leg examined, he notices Harrow sitting in the waiting room staring out a window. As Harrow turns his head, Jimmy sees that Harrow's face is badly scarred and the two make eye contact for several seconds. While seated in a waiting room for psychiatric evaluations, Harrow starts a conversation with Jimmy and the two bond over war experiences. From his leather bag, Harrow pulls out a German sniper mask that he managed to collect in the war after waiting for three days to put a bullet underneath the German soldier's eye. Jimmy seems somewhat impressed and the two continue discussing how awkward and intrusive the psychiatric evaluation will be. Harrow hints that he's a virgin and informs Jimmy that they'll ask if you've ever made love to a woman on the test. At this point, Jimmy decides that he does not want to take the test and persuades Harrow to leave the hospital with him. ("Home")

Jimmy takes Harrow to where he is staying at the Four Deuces brothel. After a few drinks and a conversation about guns they like to use, he introduces Harrow to a prostitute named Odette who has a whole "ticker-tape parade" ready for him. Later, Harrow utilizes his pinpoint accuracy to kill Jimmy's enemy, Liam. Harrow fires from a hotel room across the street and hits Liam below his right eye as he is seated in a North Side restaurant. ("Home")

Jimmy's former mentor Nucky Thompson is the boss of a political and criminal organization controlling Atlantic City, New Jersey. Jimmy has been living in exile in Chicago because he has been linked to the murders he committed carrying out the Hammonton hijacking by both Arnold Rothstein and Prohibition Agents. When one of Nucky's casinos is robbed and his brother Eli is shot Nucky suspects that Rothstein is responsible. Fearing a war with Rothstein, Nucky meets with Jimmy at the Four Deuces to invite him back to Atlantic City. Harrow accompanies Jimmy to the meeting and is introduced to Nucky as a war buddy. ("Hold Me in Paradise")

Harrow then accompanies Jimmy to Atlantic City where he becomes Margaret Schroeder's bodyguard after an assassination attempt is made on Nucky Thompson by Sixtus D'Alessio. ("Belle Femme")

While in the Schroeder home, Harrow's injury and mask frighten Margaret's children, and is even somewhat disturbing to her. He is awoken from a dream about Odette by Emily Schroeder screaming at the sight of his unmasked face. Harrow had taken it off in order to sleep comfortably. One night, as Margaret read The Wizard of Oz to her children, Harrow was invited to sit and listen to the story. He playfully told them that he was the Tin Woodsman from the book and tapped on his tin mask as proof. The children giggled and became more comfortable with Harrow from that point forward. ("The Emerald City")

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Richard Harrow, about to murder Pius D'Alessio.

In an effort to find the D'Alessio brothers, Harrow suggests to Jimmy that they could kill their extended family members to draw them out of hiding. ("Paris Green") This tactic is not needed, however, as Nucky strikes a deal with Arnold Rothstein which involves the latter giving up the location of the remaining D'Alessio brothers. Now aware of their whereabouts Harrow is sent to kill Ignacious and Pius, while Jimmy and Al Capone are sent for others. ("A Return to Normalcy")

Season 2[]

Main article: Richard Harrow Season 2

Season 3[]

Main article: Richard Harrow Season 3
Richard_Harrow_Tribute_-_His_role_in_Boardwalk_Empire

Richard Harrow Tribute - His role in Boardwalk Empire

Season 4[]

Finally returned to Atlantic City and managed to send his new family to Wisconsin with his sister after a lengthy custody battle. Harrow made an agreement with Nucky to recover Jimmy's body to seal the deal in the conviction of Gillian, with his obligation being to help Chalky kill Dr. Narcisse. Accidentally Chalky's daughter steps in the path of the bullet and is killed. In shock over the accident, he reacts slowly when bullets fly his way. He is shot but manages to escape and dies quietly on the beach sometime later that night. His last visions are of returning home where his family awaits him on the porch. As his sweetheart comes to greet him, we see that Harrow's disfigurement has disappeared, and as the scene shifts to his actual death under the Boardwalk, we see a slight smile on Harrow's face.

Relationships[]

Personal life

Racketeering

Victims

  • Liam: Murder victim, Chicago gangster, shot in the face on orders from Jimmy Darmody
  • Ignacious D'Alessio: Murder victim, Philadelphia gangster, shot in the chest on orders from Jimmy Darmody
  • Pius D'Alessio: Murder victim, Philadelphia gangster, shot to death on orders from Jimmy Darmody
  • Jackson Parkhurst: Murder victim, Rich investor, scalped on orders from Jimmy Darmody
  • Klansman victim 2: Murder victim, Ku Klux Klan member, shot in the chest for not giving information on Herb Crocker or Dick Heatherton
  • Jim Neary: Murder victim, Atlantic City politician, shot in the mouth to make it look like suicide on orders from Jimmy Darmody
  • Manny Horvitz : Murder victim, Philadelphia gangster, shot in the face out of revenge for the murder of Angela Darmody
  • Manny's driver : Murder victim, shot in the side of the head to get to Manny
  • 55 other unnamed people, certainly during the World War I (as mentioned in "Bone for Tuna" )
  • At least 11 gangsters of Gyp Rosetti at the Artemis Club in order to rescue Tommy
  • Bert: Murder victim, Shot in Warsaw, Indiana, paid by Carl Billings to have murdered
  • Archie: Murder victim, throat slit in Warsaw, paid by Carl Billings to have murdered
  • Franklin Werner: Shot in his office in Michigan, paid by Carl Billings to have murdered
  • Fitzy: Murder victim, killed in self-defense, while trying to kill Richard
  • Maybelle White: Accidently shot while trying to murder Valentin Narcisse on orders from Nucky Thompson

Memorable Quotes[]

  • (To Jimmy)' "What's it like? To have everything?"
  • (referring to Jimmy's gun) "You use it to kill people. It's very good for that." ("Home")
  • "Mmm, I have one of those...and a Smith & Wesson triple lock...A Roth-Steyr, a Webley .455, a mauser 1914...very small, Mmm, Enfield 1917 30-06, telescopic sight...very accurate, accurate to 700 yards. Mmm."
  • "And then they'll tell us if we're normal or not. They're interested in what's in our heads, so next time we'll fight better." ("Home")
  • "Sometimes I forget what I look like. Then I pass a mirror and I remember. I stare sometimes...at my face...and I can't recall who I was before."
  • "I hear they ask if you've ever made love to a woman."
  • "You live here? This...is a whore house."
  • "Mmm, the Tin Woodsman...that's me. Mmm, I think I need some oil."
  • "It occurred to me, the basis of fiction is that people have some sort of connection with each other...mmm, but they don't." ("Home")
  • (In regards to inquiry about his face) "I put my nose... where it didn't belong"
  • (In response to Parkhurst's question of "Who are you?) "A soldier." ("Gimcrack and Bunkum")
  • (to Jimmy) "Would you fight for me?" (Gimcrack and Bunkum)
  • (Expressing his surprise that Luciano, and Lansky are working with Nucky. Notably the first instance in the series in which he has cursed.) "I don't fucking...believe this!"
  • "I remember in the war..Mmm.. Ration's..Mmm..Rifle..I'd' come back..Mmm.. To the trenches..Mmm.. And hear other men talking..Mmm.. That's where I belonged" ( To Jimmy ) ("To the Lost")
  • "Jimmy was a soldier. He fought..Mmm.. He lost. You and your family were good to me..Mmm..You have nothing to fear." ("Bone for Tuna")
  • "Would you pay a dime to see this?" (about his face in regards to being called a "sideshow freak") ("A Man, A Plan")
  • "Just because you don't believe in something, doesn't mean it isn't true".

Appearances[]

Season one appearances
Boardwalk Empire The Ivory Tower Broadway Limited Anastasia
Nights in Ballygran Family Limitation Home Hold Me in Paradise
Belle Femme The Emerald City Paris Green A Return to Normalcy
Season two appearances
21 Ourselves Alone A Dangerous Maid What Does the Bee Do?
Gimcrack & Bunkum The Age of Reason Peg of Old Two Boats and a Lifeguard
Battle of the Century Georgia Peaches Under God's Power She Flourishes To the Lost
Season three appearances
"Resolution" "Spaghetti and Coffee" "Bone for Tuna" "Blue Bell Boy"
"You'd Be Surprised" "Ging Gang Goolie" "Sunday Best" "The Pony"
"The Milkmaid's Lot" "A Man, A Plan..." "Two Imposters" "Margate Sands"
Season four appearances
"New York Sour" "Resignation" "Acres of Diamonds" "All In"
"Erlkonig" "The North Star" "William Wilson" "The Old Ship of Zion"
"Marriage and Hunting" "White Horse Pike" "Havre De Grace" "Farewell Daddy Blues"
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