Walt Longmire: Difference between revisions

'''Walter Longmire''' is a fictional character created by American author [[Craig Johnson (author)|Craig Johnson]] (b. 1961).

Longmire is the [[title character]] of ''Walt Longmire Mysteries'', a series of [[western fiction|western]] [[mystery fiction|mystery novels]] first published in 2004. The novels were adapted into ''[[Longmire (TV series)|Longmire]]'', a [[crime drama]] television series which premiered in 2012 and was developed by John Coveny and Hunt Baldwin. On the show, Longmire is portrayed by Australian actor [[Robert Taylor (Australian actor)|Robert Taylor]].

| title = Sheriff of Absaroka County, WYWyoming

| children = <br /> Cady Longmire (daughter)

| data32 = 1972–20171972–present

===Walt Longmire's fictionalFictional biography===

Walt is a native of Durant, [[Wyoming]], the [[county seat]] of fictional Absaroka County, named after the real-life [[Crow people|Absaroka Native Americans]], the [[Absaroka Range]], and the 1930s effort to declare a [[Absaroka (proposed state)|U.S. state called Absaroka]] out of territory from three existing states.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Craig |date=July 2014 |title=Welcome To Wyoming |url=https://www.cowboysindians.com/2014/07/welcome-to-wyoming/ |magazine=Cowboys and Indians Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

HeLongmire attended the [[University of Southern California]], where he played offensive lineman for the [[USC Trojans]] and graduated with a degree in [[English literature]]. He then served in the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] and completed [[United States Marine Corps Recruit Training|boot camp]] at [[Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island]] and [[Officer Candidates School (United States Marine Corps)|Officer Candidates School]] at [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]]. He was assigned to the [[1st Marine Division (United States)|1st Marine Division]] as a military police officer, and served in country at [[Tan Son Nhut Air Base]] during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="The Cold Dish">{{cite book |last= Johnson|first= Craig|date= December 29, 2004|title= The Cold Dish|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780143036425|url-access= registration|publisher= Penguin Books}}</ref> He served in the Marines for four years, and earned, among other decorations, the [[Navy Cross]], [[Silver Star]], [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]], and [[Purple Heart]].<ref name="Kindness Goes Unpunished">{{cite book |last= Johnson|first= Craig|date= March 15, 2007|title= Kindness Goes Unpunished|publisher= Penguin Books}}</ref> After serving in Vietnam, Walt spent six weeks assigned as security at [[Johnston Atoll]].<ref name="Any Other Name">{{cite book |last= Johnson|first= Craig|date= May 13, 2014|title= Any Other Name|publisher= Penguin Books}}</ref>

In ''Death Without Company'', Walt investigates the death of a [[Basques|Basque]] woman who was, for a few hours in the 1940s, married to Lucian before her family had the marriage annulled. During his tenure as sheriff "of the least populated county in the least populated state in the union", five murders have occurred in Absaroka County, with three of them taking place since 2004 (in ''The Cold Dish'' and ''Death Without Company'').<ref name="Death Without Company">{{cite book |last= Johnson|first= Craig|date= March 16, 2006|title= Death Without Company|publisher= Penguin Books}}</ref>

In ''Hell is Empty'', Walt becamebecomes lost onin the Big Horn[[Bighorn Mountains]] with a federal prisoner/serial killer.<ref name="Hell is Empty">{{cite book |last= Johnson|first= Craig|date= October 7, 2011|title= Hell is Empty|publisher= Penguin Books}}</ref> (This book was later adapted into the ''Longmire'' season- two episode "Unquiet Mind".)

In ''As the Crow Flies'', Walt assists the newly appointed chief of the [[Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation]] Tribal Police, [[Iraq War]]- veteran Lolo Long, with the investigation into the death of a young woman who fell from a cliff with her child in her arms, while simultaneously preparing for Cady's wedding.<ref name="As the Crow Flies">{{cite book |last= Johnson|first= Craig|date= May 15, 2012|title= As the Crow Flies|publisher= Penguin Books}}</ref>

In ''A Serpent's Tooth'', Walt deals with a multistatemulti-state polygamous cult when he tries to help a [[Lost boys (Mormon fundamentalism)|Mormon "lost boy"]] that leads to [[Big Oil]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], and a Mexican drug cartel, which ultimately costs the life of one of his deputies and the grievous injury of another.<ref name="A Serpent's Tooth">{{cite book |last= Johnson|first= Craig|date= June 4, 2013|title= A Serpent's Tooth|publisher= Penguin Books}}</ref>

In ''Spirit of Steamboat'', Walt flashes back to Christmas Eve 1988 (during his second month as sheriff) when he helps Lucian, and a [[World War II]] veteran of the [[38th Bombardment Group]], and he transport an injured girl (the sole survivor of a car accident) from Durant to Denver during a snowstorm in a decommissioned [[North American B-25 Mitchell]].<ref name="Spirit of Steamboat"/>

During his career, heWalter becomes well-respected by not only by his county, but also by the [[Wyoming Attorney General|Wyoming State Attorney General's Office]] (including the Attorney General, Joe Meyer, himself), the DCI, and even the [[List of Governors of Wyoming|governorGovernor of Wyoming]].<ref name="Kindness Goes Unpunished"/> LaterIt is later mentioned, somewhat jokingly, that if a police officer is murdered in Wyoming, Walt Longmire is on the case.

As sheriff, Walt carries aan [[M1911 pistol|M1911A1]] in .45 ACP (the same one he used in the Marine Corps) as his primary weapon, and drives a pickup truck that he calls the Silver Bullet (or just Bullet).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Craig|title=The Cold Dish|page=4}}</ref>

Walt's closest friend and confidant is Henry Standing Bear. They have been friends since they were 12 years old, and both wentserved toin Vietnam (although Henry was a member of the [[Special Forces (United States Army)|United States Army Special Forces]], while Walt was a Marine MP), where they were both highly decorated. When Cady was born, Walt appointed Henry her godfather.

# ''Hell and Back'' - September 066, 2022

Walt has been the Sheriff of Absaroka County since at least 2005; his immediate predecessor iswas Sheriff Lucian Connally ([[Peter Weller]]), the uncle of Branch.

Laconic and introspective with a strong sense of duty and justice, Walt is a throwback to the iconic lone hero of classical Westernswesterns. He is an able detective with a knack for finding the truth behind various crimes committed in his county.

Walt is investigated by [[Denver Police Department|Denver PD]] Detective Fales ([[Charles S. Dutton]]) for the murder of Miller Beck, a meth-head suspected of murdering Walt's wife, Martha. It is revealed that Fales is pushing the case of Beck, a drug-using suspected mugger and killer, so hard because of Fales' own experience with a small-town sheriff, whose racism and abuse of authority left Fales with a deep distrust of those particular law enforcement officers.<ref name="Bad Medicine">{{Cite episode|title=Bad Medicine|series=[[Longmire (TV series)|Longmire]]|airdate=August 26, 2013|season=2|number=13}}</ref> ItsIt is eventually revealed that Walt's best friend Henry Standing Bear hired Cheyenne mercenary Hector to take care of Beck, but Hector didn't kill him. Throughout the third season, Henry is facing murder charges in Beck's death, but Walt realizes that his deputy Branch Connally's nemesis David Ridges, recently killed in a struggle with Walt, is actually the killer. Using forensic evidence recovered from Beck's body and Ridges' car, Walt is able to clear Henry's name and prove that Ridges was the true killer. In the aftermath, Branch is murdered by his own father after learning that the man had hired Ridges to kill Martha in order to give Branch an advantage in his ultimately failed run for sheriff.

As sheriff, Walt carries aan [[M1911 pistol|Colt Government Model]] in .45 ACP and a [[Winchester Model 1894]] in .30-30 as his primary weapons, and drives a [[Ford Bronco]] as his duty vehicle. He does not own a [[Mobile phone|cell phone]] (although he will on numerous occasions borrow one from his deputies or Henry) and takes his calls on a land line at home or in the office, or over the radio in his vehicle.

At the end of the series, Walt decides to retire as sheriff and encourages his daughter Cady to run for sheriff in his place. Instead, Walt begins a search for Lord Anson Hamilton's buried treasure which Lucian Connally claimed to have found before his death. In the series' final scene, Walt is shown to finally own a cell phone of his own as he commences his search.

# One of Malachi Strand's Henchmenhenchmen – shot ("Goodbye Is Always Implied")