RONALD THOMPSON

Here are the very first sketches of Mr. Ronald Thompson. He was first heavily based on the actor Richard E. Grant. Specifically, his character in Gosford Park. Originally the family I was documenting in The Cavalier Mr. Thompson were named Thompson. Ronald was Sam's name at the time, but that was such a boring name and it later bothered me that I was placing my love for Jim Thompson's work too much on my sleeve, so I went through other names like Nick Ford (a mixture of Lou Ford and Nick Corey from Thompson's The Killer Inside Me and Pop. 1280. Although, Nick Ford does end up in the book, as The Hills' hotel detective) and Lou Dillon, Nick McCoy, etc. etc. It was only when I'd come across the old term "Sam Hell" on Wikipedia and discovered that it later was softened to "Sam Hill" that I knew I'd finally struck gold! Anyhow, here's our first incarnation, Mr. Ronald Thompson...