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Sam Westing
Samuel W. Westing
Samuel W. Westing, aka. Sam "Windy" Windkloppel, Barney Northrup, Sandy McSouthers, and Julian R. Eastman
A multimillionaire whose apparent death spurs the whole plot.- Adaptational Villainy: In the movie, he was the one who forced his and Crow's daughter into the Arranged Marriage, and made Crow the prime suspect of the game because he felt bitter at her, for not trying to cancel the marriage before their child became Driven to Suicide.
- Bad Boss: Sam Westing's employees and colleagues do not have positive things to say about him. Sandy especially holds a grudge, as Westing personally fired him from the paper mill after he tried to form a union. Sandy, however, is Sam Westing himself; it's ambiguous whether this is Westing showing remorse, him trying to better play the part, or a complete invention.
- Character-Driven Strategy: Sam Westing is a successful entrepreneur and notably good at chess. Most notably is his sacrifice of a queen, allowing him to get a Surprise Checkmate, an analogy for his ability to manipulate the title game's contestants even when they believed themselves onto something.
- The Chessmaster: Never mind the fact that he ends up creating three other very different identities, none of which are picked up on by any of the heirs except Turtle—the game itself requires an extreme amount of manipulation, guile, and intelligence in every one of its layers, from planning out the clues and what the missing ones spell out, to the writing of the will (including sections which he slipped into a locked desk drawer only after listening to the heirs debate, seconds before they would be read), to employing bribes of money to get certain people to even be willing to play (and in pairs where both must agree and sign the checks to receive it), to Faking the Dead twice, to whom he sets up as the various pairs, and more. He also possesses and makes use of great insight into each of the characters' personalities and motivations, particularly Ford's, Grace's, Crow's, and Turtle's.
- Eccentric Millionaire
- Embarrassing Last Name: Turns out that like Grace, he changed his name from Windkloppel."After all, who would buy a product called Windkloppel's Toilet Tissues? Would you?"
- Faking the Dead: He does it twice.
- False Teeth Tomfoolery: Played for Drama. False teeth are a key part of Sam Westing's disguises as bucktoothed Barney Northrup, chip-toothed Sandy McSouthers, and uneven-toothed Julian R. Eastman.
- It Amused Me: The entire plot amused Sam Westing. As just one example among many, although he chose sixteen people as his "heirs" who (seemingly) had nothing to do with him or each other, he rather tongue-in-cheekly calls them his "sixteen nieces and nephews" in the will...even though most of them were the wrong age, or race! However, Westing does call Grace "my niece" in the epilogue.
- Location Theme Naming: Windy Windkloppel and his various aliases scattering to the four winds... WESTing, NORTHrup, EASTman, and McSOUTHers.
- Smart People Play Chess: Was a master chess player. Only Turtle, the "winner" of his game, is shown to have beaten him.
- Themed Aliases: Windy Windkloppel chose the aliases "Sam Westing", "Barney Northrup", "Sandy McSouthers" and "Julian R. Eastman".
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Bordering on Gambit Roulette. Westing pretty much manipulated everyone, but as Sandy points out he did make at least one mistake by including Sydelle Pulaski. Of course, Westing is Sandy...
Westing Heirs
As a Whole
- Hidden Depths: Applies to nearly all of the heirs. Turtle is not merely the Bratty Half-Pint she seems while Angela is far more than just the dutiful and pretty good daughter; their mother, meanwhile, has good reason for being so pretentious and grasping while their father is secretly a bookie. Seemingly insane and ridiculous Otis Amber is actually a private detective and also aids Crow (another apparently mentally-unbalanced character) in working at a soup kitchen for the homeless. The quiet Madame Hoo who cannot speak English is a thief because she is attempting to gain enough money to travel back to China. Her husband, struggling restauranteur James Hoo, invented the disposable paper diaper. Flora Baumbach, who otherwise appears to be a somewhat-vapid dressmaker, lost a daughter with Down syndrome and is clearly still dealing with her pain. Sydelle Pulaski, who tries to draw attention with fake illnesses and flamboyant clothes, is much smarter (and more unhappy) than she seems. And of course Sandy McSouthers is actually Sam Westing, as well as Barney Northrup, and in the process of exploring Westing's past it's made clear how many layers there were to the man and how he has grown and changed due to his own tragedies.
- One Degree of Separation: While at first it seems none of the heirs have anything in common other than Sunset Towers, or even a reason to be heirs, it turns out every character or their family does have a connection to the Westings.
- The Wexler family are actually related through Grace.
- The Theodorakis family are connected through Theo and Chris's father, who was Violet Westing's lover.
- Flora Baumbach made Violet's wedding dress.
- Judge Ford's family worked for Westing and he put her through school.
- The Hoo family connection is that Mr. Hoo was an inventor who tried to sue Westing for stealing his invention.
- Crow is Westing's ex-wife.
- Otis Amber is a private investigator who'd been employed by Westing.
- Sandy McSouthers worked at the Westing factory but is really Sam Westing himself.
- Sydelle Pulaski is the lone exception, having been included after she was confused for a friend of Crow's named Sybil Pulaski.
Table 1
Madame Sun Lin Hoo
Wife of Mr. Hoo and Doug's stepmother.
- Adapted Out: Doesn't appear in the movie.
- Hidden Depths: Is a thief because she is attempting to gain enough money to travel back to China.
- Sticky Fingers: Madame Hoo is the thief, in hopes of raising money for a return to China. She confesses in the middle of Turtle's trial, having misinterpreted it as being connected to her activities, and returns the things she stole.
Jake Wexler
A podiatrist with offices in Sunset Towers. Wife of Grace and father of Angela and Turtle.
- Demoted to Extra: Doesn't get to play the game in the movie.
- Informed Judaism: Aside from his last name and a couple comments, you never would have guessed.
Table 2
Turtle Wexler
Daughter of Jake and Grace and younger sister of Angela.
Later becomes the "winner" of the Westing Game.
- Adaptational Dumbass: Downplayed in the 1997 movie; while Turtle is still the one to put together all the clues and figure out both that the clues were implicating Crow, but that the real mystery was who the "Fourth" was, she no longer is involved in trading on the stock market and it takes a discussion with Sydelle to realize that her sister is the bomber.
- Berserk Button: Don't pull Turtle's braid unless you want a good hard kick in the shin.
- Big Sister Instinct: Inverted. She's extremely protective of her shy older sister Angela. She freaks out when she thinks Theo knows Angela's the bomber, so Turtle takes the blame for all the bombings to protect Angela.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Her temperamental, shin-kicking ways earn her this reputation.
- Consummate Liar: Tells a number of lies across the whole book. Some of them last quite a while.
- Death by Newbery Medal: She has to face death: first by finding Westing's (fake) dead body, then by witnessing the (fake) fatal collapse of her doorman friend Sandy, and finally (as a grown woman) by staying at the bedside of the (really) dying Mr. Eastman.
- Embarrassing First Name: Her real name is Tabitha-Ruth Wexler. In the epilogue, she takes a cue from Judge Ford's book and goes by T.R. Wexler.
- Little Girls Kick Shins: Kicking shins is a major emotional defense mechanism for Turtle, which becomes important to the plot because several clues involve people limping.
- Nobody Touches the Hair: Mess with Turtle's braid and you'll get a good kick in the shin. The fact that she lets Flora braid her hair is a key indication of how much Turtle comes to trust and care about her Game partner.
- Smart People Play Chess: Becomes the only person to beat Sam Westing at his own game – in more ways than one.
- Taking the Heat: The bomber was Angela, but Turtle willingly takes the blame to protect her sister.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Angela's girly girl.
- Too Clever by Half: Including when she outsmarts herself, such as assuming the clues are stock options and the will's directive to "Buy Westing Paper Products!" is to be taken literally.
- The Unfavorite: She's ignored and insulted by her mother because she's not an obedient girly girl like Angela.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Her "trial" near the end of the book shows that she is quite capable of this.
Flora Baumbach
A dressmaker who's making the bridal gown for Angela's wedding. Also made the bridal gown for Violet Westing.
- Adapted Out: Doesn't appear in the movie.
- Parental Substitute: Slowly becomes this to Turtle, due to her being ignored by Grace.
- Stepford Smiler: Is a very cheery and smily person (to the point where some people compare her to an elf). Turns out though that she lost a daughter with Down syndrome and is clearly still dealing with her pain.
Table 3
Christos "Chris" Theodorakis
Theo's younger brother. Confined to a wheelchair due to a nervous condition. Birdwatches in his spare time.
- Disability Alibi: Sydelle teases Chris that maybe he's the one getting away with murder, since his neurological disability gives him the perfect alibi. Keep in mind that because of his condition, Chris is paraplegic, has extremely poor motor control, and a severe Speech Impediment. Needless to say, he loves the attention.
- "Rear Window" Witness: Not a crime, but Chris is a witness to Dr. Sikes going into the Westing House just before Westing's body is discovered, thanks to his bird-watching.
- Speech Impediment: Because of Chris's neurological disorder, he frequently stutters or has difficulty forming words or complete sentences at all. This sometimes causes others to mistakenly believe that Chris is mentally disabled as well — which is a Berserk Button for his brother Theo.Theo: My brother is not an infant, and he's not retarded, so please, no more baby talk.
D. Denton Deere
A medical intern specializing in plastic surgery and Angela Wexler's fiancée.
- Delusions of Eloquence: Sometimes sententiously (and incorrectly) diagnoses people's ailments.
- Demoted to Extra: Only gets one scene in the movie.
- Insufferable Genius: Starts off as one, insisting on diagnosing all the guests despite only being an intern. He gets better.
- Only Sane Man: Among the heirs, Dr. Deere often acts like he's this.
Table 4
Alexander "Sandy" McSouthers
See Samuel W. Westing
Doorman at Sunset Towers and a former employee at the Westing paper mill who was fired for trying to start a union.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Acts less innocent in the movie — as one example, note how more certain he sounds that the will means one of the players murdered Westing.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Sandy, the jolly doorman who befriends both Turtle and Judge Ford, is kind to even the most unlikable characters, and doesn't have a harsh word for anyone (outside of one brief scene where he lambastes Westing for firing him) is actually Sam Westing himself, The Chessmaster behind the entire situation.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Seems a bit slow on the uptake, but is actually one of Windy Windkloppel aka. Sam Westing's multiple alternate identities.
- Secret Message Wink: Sandy the doorman playfully winks at Turtle whenever he secretly references a past clue that might help them solve the game, and she loves it when he does. This turns out to be important when he winks as he appears to be dying, revealing that he isn't actually dead, his identity as Sandy is fake and he wanted to pull his character out of the game.
- Walking Spoiler: Courtesy of being Sam Westing in disguise.
Judge J.J. Ford
The first black woman judge in the state of Wisconsin. Is also the daughter of two of Sam Westing's servants and lived in the Westing House for a time. It was also Sam Westing who financed her education.
- Embarrassing First Name: Turns out J.J. Ford stands for Josie-Jo Ford.
- Debt Detester: Resents the fact that she's endebted to Sam Westing for paying for her education and setting her up for her first job, and suspects that he did it to have a judge in his debt. Later on, she's chagrined to discover that when she gave the $10,000 dollars to Sandy to help with his financial issues, Westing (as Sandy) was making her pay back the debt!
- Not So Stoic: Invokes this trope so people will take her seriously.
- Only Sane Woman: Probably the biggest example of this in the book.
- Smart People Play Chess: Is one of the most intellectual of the heirs and was a regular chess opponent of Sam Westing as a child – though he beat her every time.
Table 5
Grace Windsor Wexler
Wife of Jake Wexler and mother to Turtle and Angela Wexler.
- Adaptational Name Change: In the movie, Grace's maiden name has changed from "Windkloppel" to "Klopplehoff". She also doesn't use a fake maiden name, and admits to Turtle that she felt disgusted when Sam Westing dropped that name.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Grace doesn't treat Turtle as The Unfavorite in the movie.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Has a tendency to list her maiden name as "Windsor" instead of "Windkloppel." Ironically, this name confirms she may indeed be related to Sam Westing.
- Parental Favoritism: Very clearly prefers Angela to Turtle. Worth noting is that this is shown to arguably be worse to Angela, as Grace's micromanaging her life makes her snap and lash out with bombs.
- Pretty in Mink: During the reading of the will.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Is a pretentious social climber who likes to posture herself as the one true heir of Sam Westing.
James Shin Hoo
Owner of Shin Hoo's Restaurant on the top of Sunset Towers. Also the inventor who tried to sue Sam Westing before he disappeared.
- Adaptation Name Change: His first name in the movie is changed from "James" to "George".
- Trademark Favorite Food: Eats plenty of chocolate bars during the course of the novel – usually as a stress food.
Table 6
Berthe Erica Crow
Cleaning lady at Sunset Towers. Later turns out to be Sam Westing's ex-wife.
- The Atoner: It's heavily implied that she realized her role in her daughter's death and now wants to avoid Angela meeting a similar fate. At the second meeting at the Westing House, everyone deduces that the clues point to her, but Judge Ford shames the other heirs by pointing out that there's no evidence against Crow except Westing's clues, which are of suspect provenance, so nobody says anything. It winds up being Crow herself who officially states that the answer is her name, and states that she will split her inheritance between the Good Salvation Soup Kitchen and Angela, before willingly turning herself in, even though she has committed no crime.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Seems a bit out to lunch. Later implied to be residual trauma from the death of her daughter.
- December–December Romance: She and Otis Amber, who are both in their 60s-70s and who end up getting married near the end of the book.
- Last-Name Basis: Everyone calls her Crow – even Otis Amber, who she's closest to.
- My Greatest Failure: The death of her daughter – and her role in it – still haunts her to this day.
- Parental Substitute: Inverted. She becomes quite caring to Angela, as she reminds her of her late daughter Violet.
- Recovered Addict: Was an alcoholic for a while after losing her daughter and marriage, but gave up drinking when she took up religion.
- Riches to Rags: Was once wife to a powerful multimillionaire. But after her daughter died and she divorced Sam Westing, she developed a drinking problem and was reduced to poverty before giving up drink, starting a soup kitchen, and becoming a humble cleaning lady. Now even Judge Ford – one of the few people who got a good look at her when she lived at the Westing House – doesn't recognize her until she starts trying to track Mrs. Westing down.
- Turn to Religion: Her reason for giving up the bottle. She's now easily the most devout character in the book.
Otis Amber
The 62-year-old Sunset Towers delivery boy. An eccentric man, until it turns out he's actually a private investigator who was hired first by Sam Westing to keep an eye on his wife, then by Barney Northrup and Judge Ford to look into the other heirs.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the movie, it's him, not Mr. Hoo, who holds a grudge against Sam Westing for taking credit for one of his inventions.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Doesn't act as naïve in the movie as he did in the book.
- Catchphrase: Exclaims "Boom!" at random times to scare people after the first two bombings.
- Chekhov's Gunman: A fellow who at first seems to just be a rather ditzy delivery man (or "boy", as he's first introduced even as he's also noted oxymoronically to be an old man), turns out to have Hidden Depths in his love for Crow and participation in her soup kitchen, then is revealed by Judge Ford to be a private detective, when she looks one up in the phonebook to investigate the heirs, who also was hired by Barney Northrup to locate all the tenants for Sunset Towers, and also was hired years ago by Westing himself.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Appears to be one of these, but it's actually Obfuscating Insanity.
- December–December Romance: With Crow. Both are in their 60s-70s and end up getting married near the end of the book.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Is actually a private detective working for multiple people involved with the Westing estate.
- Private Detective: Judge Ford hires him to investigate the other heirs, in hope of figuring out what Westing was up to and to conduct background checks on the other heirs. Turns out he's also secretly been working for Westing (under two names) as well.
Table 7
Theo Theodorakis
Chris's older brother.
- Adapted Out: Doesn't appear in the movie.
- Berserk Button: Never talk down to Chris in front of Theo.
- Big Brother Instinct: Is very protective of Chris.
- Smart People Play Chess: Is one of the more brainy of the children at Sunset Towers, and tries to play Chess with Sandy in the Westing House. He loses.
Doug Hoo
Son of Mr. Hoo. An high school running prodigy.
- Demoted to Extra: Isn't an heir in the movie.
- Flat Character: Doesn't have much character, aside from resenting his dad's constant nagging to "go study."
- Jerk Jock: Downplayed, as Doug Hoo is nice to his stepmother and seems friendly with Theo (though Theo doesn't take kindly to Doug ignoring the game in favour of his upcoming race), but he's often a smartass towards his dad and treats Turtle quite poorly, even going as far as to intentionally provoke her by yanking on her braid before running away.
Table 8
Sydelle Pulaski
Private secretary to a sausage company executive. Turns out to have absolutely no Westing connection whatsoever.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the movie, she was secretary to Sam Westing.
- Attention Whore: Feigns her sickness because she felt no one was paying attention to her. Later revels in the attention the other heirs give her when trying to get their hands on her shorthand copy of the will.
- Captain Obvious: When trying to get one of the heirs to admit to being a twin.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: She's… a bit out there. But she's by no means stupid.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Invoked. She always paints her crutches to match her clothing as a form of attention. Played for particular relevance when she dresses in patriotic red, white, and blue to sing "America the Beautiful".
- Forgettable Character: Was this until she started Playing Sick and made a shorthand copy of the Westing will.
- Hartman Hips: A non-fanservice example. It's mentioned that she has to get out of a car "large end first" because she's wide-hipped from years of secretarial sitting.
- Missed the Call: It's revealed that she was the "mistake". The intended heir was a Sybil Pulaski who had been childhood friends with Crow, but Otis Amber screwed up and found Sydelle Pulaski instead.
- Playing Sick: Her "wasting disease."
- Properly Paranoid: After her notebook – containing a shorthand copy of the will – is returned to her by Mr. Hoo, she reveals that she wrote it not just in shorthand, but in Polish to prevent anyone from reading it. Since Mr. Hoo and Grace had attempted to peek at it after finding it, it paid off.
- Sassy Secretary: Downplayed. We never actually see her in her capacity as secretary, and she's shown to be very loyal to her boss (she even marries him in the epilogue). However, she's certainly a wisecracker, and has her finger on the pulse of things more often than not. At least one audiobook version added to this by giving her a Joisey accent.
- Too Clever by Half: She makes a number of theories about who the murderer is based on the facts in front of her that sometimes wind up following the same kind of logic as the correct answer. This culminates in her realizing the clues are all lyrics from "America the Beautiful" (which is correct), but thinking it names Otis Ambernote as the murderer (which is incorrect).
Angela Wexler
Daughter of Jake and Grace Wexler, and older sister of Turtle and fiancée to Denton Deere.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Angela, the beautiful Wexler daughter who is kind and sympathetic with almost everyone (witness especially how she's one of the few who treats Chris as more than his disability and the only one who sees past Sydelle's fake illnesses and attention-getting behavior to genuinely befriend her), is the bomber.
- Big Sister Instinct: Angela cares a great deal for Turtle, and gets herself hurt when she yanks the third bomb away from Turtle's face.
- Did You Think I Can't Feel?: This is heavily implied to be the reason why she became the bomber. nobody, least of all her own mother, ever treats her like a person, making all of her decisions for her and limiting their conversations to compliments ("How pretty you look, Angela"). The only exceptions are Turtle, Sydelle, and Crow, and they're largely spared from her bombing campaign for it. The trope is lampshaded by Judge Ford, who unthinkingly refers to Angela as "a pretty young thing" and then realizes how dehumanizing she, and everyone else, has been to her.
- Scars Are Forever: Angela keeps the scar she gets from shielding Turtle from the third bomb.
- Stepford Smiler: It's slowly revealed that she's chafing from having her mother micromanage her life, to the point where she snaps and becomes the bomber.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The girly girl to Turtle's tomboy.
Other Characters
Ed Plum
A young lawyer tasked to read Sam Westing's will.
- Ascended Extra: He replaces Dr. Deere as Angela's fiancée in the movie.
- Only Sane Man: Ed Plum seems to think he's this when compared to the heirs, particularly when Ford and Turtle call their gathering a "court" to which he must submit the rest of the will before fleeing Sunset Towers.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After briefly being suspected by the police in Sandy's "death," he announces his resignation from all matters concerning the Westing estate, and after handing the final parts of the will to Judge Ford, quickly excuses himself.
Barney Northrup
The landlord of Sunset Towers.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The smarmy landlord who sells everyone their apartments in Sunset Towers turns out to be one of Sam Westing's aliases.
George & Catherine Theodorakis
Theo and Chris's parents and the only residents of Sunset Towers to not be Westing heirs. Run the coffee shop on Sunset Towers' first floor.
- Out of Focus: They rarely appear and, outside one Backstory conversation, have hardly any lines, and are the only residents of Sunset Towers to not be heirs. It's never made clear why they aren't heirs, despite George having been Violet Westing's lover, while other characters with more tenuous Westing connections – including their own sons – are. Sandy speculates a few reasons, and considering that he is Sam Westing, it's possible that all of them are correct, or some of them, or none of them.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: George Theodorakis was this with Violet Westing, thanks to her mother breaking them up.
- Second Love: Catherine seems to be this to George, after Violet Westing.
Violet Westing
Sam Westing's daughter, who drowned the eve of her wedding in what was rumoured to be a suicide.
- Arranged Marriage: Was set to be married to a crooked State Senator by her mother before her death.
- Driven to Suicide: Drowned on the eve of her wedding. It's rumoured that she killed herself rather than marry a man she hated.
- Posthumous Character: Died years and years before the beginning of the book.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Wanted to be with her childhood sweetheart, George Theodorakis, but her mother broke them up.
Dr. Sidney Sikes
The County Coroner, and an old friend of Sam Westing.
- The Coroner: Which makes him an important accomplice to Westing's scheme.
- Secret-Keeper: Is actually an old friend of Westing's and in on the game with him, particularly in aiding in (and being aware of) both his Faking the Dead moments. (It isn't clear if he was aware of every aspect, but he at least knew Westing was Sandy, and a line during the epilogue when Westing is actually dying (asking Turtle to send for Sikes) implies he also knows Westing is Eastman.)
