Richard Harrow (died 1924) was a US Army sharpshooter who became a bodyguard for Jimmy Darmody and a hitman for Nucky Thompson during Prohibition. Harrow lost the left side of his face during World War I, so he covered it with a tin mask to make his face appear somewhat normal. He carried out several murders during Prohibition, only to be murdered by heroin dealer Valentin Narcisse's men in 1924.
Biography[]
Harrow in 1920
Richard Harrow was born in Plover, Wisconsin, and he was drafted into the US Army during World War I. Harrow served as a sharpshooter, and he lost a large portion of the left of his face due to an explosion during the trench warfare. Harrow covered his scars with a tin plate that modeled the rest of his face, and he also took comfort whenever he looked at a German sniper's mask that he had captured after killing the man using it during the war. In 1920, Harrow met fellow veteran Jimmy Darmody at a veterans' hospital in Chicago, Illinois, and they both talked about the war; Harrow mentioned how he had a large collection of weapons at his house. Harrow and Darmody decided to work together, and Harrow became Darmody's bodyguard, hitman, and liquor delivery driver. The two of them moved to Atlantic City during the autumn of 1920 to assist Darmody's employer, Enoch Thompson, during his war with the D'Alessio brothers. Harrow was sent to guard Thompson's girlfriend Margaret Schroeder and her children, who were initially afraid of him. However, Schroeder began to take a liking to the gentle Harrow, inviting him to sit as the family read The Wizard of Oz; Schroeder told her children that Harrow was the "Tin Woodsman", and Harrow told the children that it was true, tapping his tin mask. Harrow would later be called on to perform the assassinations of Ignatius D'Alessio and Pius D'Alessio, killing Ignatius at his home and Pius at a warehouse. After the job was done, Harrow stayed with Darmody, joining him when he formed his own organization.
Family life []
After Darmody was killed by Thompson in 1920, Harrow was without a job, and he stayed at Gillian Darmody's "Artemis Club" bordello (Louis Kaestner's mansion) as a guardian of Tommy Darmody, Jimmy's young son. Harrow often disagreed with Gillian, as she attempted to pass herself off as Tommy's mother, and Harrow also opposed the fact that Tommy was being raised with prostitutes. Harrow made the acquaintance of Philippine-American War veteran Paul Sagorsky at the American Legion hall, and he befriended his daughter Julia, helping her in standing up to Paul's alcoholism on a few occasions. On Thanksgiving Day of 1923, Harrow threatened to kill Sagorsky when he attacked Tommy Darmody for entering his late son's bedroom while exploring the house, and Sagorsky would end his alcoholism after Harrow again threatened to kill him for insulting Harrow's growing love for Julia. Harrow and Julia began a relationship, although it was strained by Harrow's murder of dozens of Masseria crime family men at the Artemis Club in a shootout; Harrow took Tommy Darmody from the bordello and delivered him to the Sagorskys, knowing that he would be safe. Paul Sagorsky convinced Harrow to return to Julia, and Harrow and Julia Sagorsky married. Harrow and Sagorsky won a custody battle for Tommy Darmody against the heroin-addicted Gillian, and Harrow was able to get a job as a dishwasher in Atlantic City thanks to the help of Enoch Thompson.
Downfall[]
Harrow after being shot
Harrow became enraged when Darmody's mother murdered a man who looked like her son in order to claim her son's fortune; the police needed for her to present a body in order to ensure that she could inherit his money. Harrow decided to work for Thompson in exchange for convicting Gillian Darmody, and he was sent to assassinate Valentin Narcisse with a sniper rifle as a favor to Chalky White. Narcisse and White had a sitdown at the Onyx Club, where Narcisse and White discussed swapping hostages; White would hand over Daughter Maitland in exchange for Narcisse handing over Maybelle White. Harrow used his sniper rifle to aim at Narcisse from the balcony above, but he accidentally shot Maybelle as she was brought towards White, and a gunfight broke out. Harrow was shot by Narcisse's bodyguards, and he limped out of the club and headed to the pier, where he began to bleed to death. Harrow had visions of reuniting with his sister Emma, the Sagorskys, and Tommy in Wisconsin, where they were meeting each other, and he died under the boardwalk.