Alonzo Hawk

Alonzo Hawk

Role in the films[]

The Absent-Minded Professor[]

Credited as Alonzo P. Hawk, he's the main antagonist of the movie. He goes as a banker that initially seeks to demolish the failingMedfield College to put up a new series of apartment complexes, especially after his son, Biff, is taken off the basketball team for bad grades. When he stumbles upon Ned Brainard's discovery ofFlubber after seeing the scientists' flying Model T, he schemes to steal Flubber for monetary gain.

When Brainard tries to take Flubber to government officials, Alonzo manages to discredit him by switching out and stealing the flying Model T. When realizing what he's done, Brainard and Betsy go to his house to find the car under the pretense of selling him on the idea of Flubberized shoes. They trick him into trying it out for himself by jumping out the window safely, but he cannot stop bouncing, causing a scene and resulting in the fire department and Medfield's football team working to get him down. He and his men pursue Brainard to his warehouse and engage in a car chase, which results in Hawk's arrest.

Son of Flubber[]

In this sequel toThe Absent-Minded Professor,Hawk still seeks to tear down the school, especially after Brainard's government deal with Flubber falls through and it remains a government secret. When Brainard's experiments with Flubbergas accidentally break glass all over town, Auld Lang Syne Insurance finds itself in a deep debt from having to pay for repairs. Hawk eventually tracks the incident to Brainard and seeks to seize the Flubbergas as a means of perpetuating a glass installation and insurance scam across the country, though when Brainard denies him, Hawk takes Brainard to court for being responsible for the property damage across town. The case is dismissed when it is discovered that the original Flubbergas testing had the side-effect of functioning as a super-fertilizing "dry rain" that could grow giant vegetables that could more than pay off the damages.

Herbie Rides Again[]

He's also the main antagonist in this film where he goes as a ruthless billionaire who makes a living destroying old buildings (some contains great history) to plan on building skyscrapers and shopping malls. He was going to destroy theSteinmetz Firehouse, home ofMrs. Steinmetz, the aunt ofTennessee Steinmetz, the mechanic ofHerbie inThe Love Bug, but got foiled by Herbie and many of his friends, including other Volkswagens. In this incarnation, he's renamed Alonzo A. Hawk, probably by mistake. 

List of Hawk-inspired characters in other productions[]

John Slade[]

In the1976 The Shaggy D.A., the sequel to1959'sThe Shaggy Dog, Keenan Wynn portrays another ruthless billionaire character, named John Slade, which is a lookalike of Hawk in both behavior and look. It remains unknown why Disney didn't simply reuse the name of Alonzo Hawk, as the name is the only difference between Slade and Hawk.

Other Hawk-inspired characters in Disney movies[]

Wikipedia also lists two other characters who aren't exactly Alonzo Hawk but seem to have been somehow inspired by him; the first being Martin Ridgeway from1972's Snowball Express, another bad banker played by Keenan Wynn, but less dishonest than Hawk; and the second (and the only animated one) being J. J. Wagstaff from Fluppy Dogs.

InThe Absent-Minded Professor's1997 remakeFlubber, Hawk's antagonistic role in the story would be taken by Chester Hoenicker. However, that character would actually be the secondary adversary, as the remake's true main bad guy would beWilson Croft (the remake's version of Professor Shelby Ashton).

The character ofHarrison Hightower III fromTokyo DisneySea's version ofTower of Terror appears to take some inspiration from Alonzo Hawk, such as both being diabolical and ruthless businesspeople with similar looking facial hair.

Gallery[]

Alonzo Hawk about to destroy the Steinmetz Firehouse

Alonzo Hawk inSon of Flubber

Alonzo Hawk trying to kidnap Herbie

Alonzo Hawk's defeat inThe Absent-Minded Professor

Alonzo Hawk's defeat inSon of Flubber

Alonzo Hawk's defeat inHerbie Rides Again

Portrait prop fromSon of Flubber

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Media • Characters • Charlie • Betsy Carlisle • • Biff Hawk • Jeffrey Daggett • Shelby Ashton • General Singer • Mrs. Chatsworth • Coach Elkins • Lenny • Officer Kelley • Officer Hanson • Reverend Bosworth • General Hotchkiss • Admiral Olmstead • Sam Wheeler • A.J. Allen • Judge Murdock • Mr. Hurley • Mr. Hummel • Mr. Harker • Desiree de la Roche • Coach Wilson • Mr. Barley • Mr. Osborne • Edna Daggett • Rex Williams • Humphrey Hacker Locations Songs • The Flubber Song Objects Flubber • Model T See Also • •