Raylan Givens

Last updated
Raylan Givens
Justified and Justified: City Primeval character
First appearance
Last appearance
Created by Elmore Leonard
Portrayed by James LeGros (Pronto)
Timothy Olyphant (Justified)
In-universe information
Full nameRaylan Givens
GenderMale
TitleMarshal Givens
OccupationDeputy U.S. Marshal
Family
  • Arlo Givens (father)
  • Frances Givens (mother)
  • Helen Givens (aunt/step-mother)
SpouseWinona Hawkins (ex-wife)
ChildrenWilla Givens (with Winona)

Raylan Givens is a fictional character created by American novelist and screenwriter Elmore Leonard.

Contents

Givens is a Deputy U.S. Marshal and initially appeared in the novels Pronto and Riding the Rap . (Pronto was adapted as a TV movie in 1997 with James LeGros as Givens.) Leonard later penned the short story "Fire in the Hole", [1] which became the basis for the television series Justified starring Timothy Olyphant. In April 2011, Leonard revealed in an interview that the success of Justified had inspired him to begin work on a new novel about the character. The novel, titled Raylan , came out in 2012, [2] and was Leonard's last work to be published before his death.

Creation

Author Elmore Leonard stated that names were important in the creation of his characters. [3] For Raylan Givens, it was an introduction at a lunch during a book distributor convention which provided the character's name.

It was at a book distributor convention sponsored by Western Merchandisers in Amarillo, Texas, on a Saturday in June 1991. I was the guest speaker at a sales conference luncheon. I remember standing between a Ninja Turtle and a Miss Texas from a few years back. Don't ask me why. But what I remember most is the young man sitting next to me on the dais during lunch.

He introduced himself. 'Hello, Mr. Leonard. My name's Raylan Davis.'

I didn't even hear the last name, I just heard 'Raylan' and knew I wanted to use it. I asked him, 'How would you like to be the star of my next book?' [3]

Overview

In the novel Pronto, Givens is described as about forty years old, thin and rangy, and perpetually wearing a cowboy hat. He is a native of Harlan County, Kentucky. Raylan likes ice cream as mentioned on Justified. He has an intuition about people and their criminal intentions which usually leads to him shooting them despite his best efforts to resolve things peacefully. While Raylan mostly attempts to act righteously, he has cornered certain adversaries with every intention to kill them. This is the very thing that lands Raylan back in Harlan at the start of season one of Justified. In the novels, his hat is described as a flat-brimmed hat akin to the kind worn by the police officers in the photo of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder. According to the novel Pronto , before he became a Deputy Marshal, Givens served in the Marines. [4] After being given the slip by a federal grand jury witness, Harry Arno, at Atlanta Airport, Givens was appointed as a Firearms instructor at the U.S. Marshals Service Basic Training Academy in Glynco, Georgia. Givens, who was an expert marksman with a handgun and an expert at the fast draw with any pistol as well as an expert with other weaponry, perceived this appointment as a demotion or reprimand for losing his witness. [5]

Raylan uses several handguns throughout his appearances. In the novel Pronto, Raylan carries a Colt Python revolver with a 6-inch barrel, which fits his "cowboy" personality. On the show Justified, Raylan carries a SIG Sauer P226 for the shooting of Tommy Bucks, which he draws faster despite Bucks using the faster-drawing Glock 19. Raylan carries a small customized Colt Officer's ACP .45 Handgun during his first case in Harlan and uses this to shoot Boyd Crowder. He then upgrades to a ".45 Glock" (presumably meaning a Glock 21 but the actual pistol shown is a 9mm Glock 17).

Adaptations

Timothy Olyphant at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards with award for Justified Timothy Olyphant at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards.jpg
Timothy Olyphant at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards with award for Justified

Raylan Givens was first portrayed by actor James LeGros in a 1997 television adaptation of Pronto. In early 2010, the FX Network premiered the television show Justified starring Timothy Olyphant in the role of Givens.

On the official Elmore Leonard website, some trepidation was expressed about the television show getting the correct hat for the character.

There appears to be movement toward getting a Raylan Givens TV series on cable. I'm all for it but they better get Raylan's hat right this time. In the TV movie, Pronto, they gave poor James LeGros a George Strait hat that looked like it was ready to take off. The real Raylan hat is what Elmore calls, 'The Dallas Businessman's Special'—a felt city cowboy hat called the Stetson 'Open Road'—Accept no substitute. [6]

While the show Justified does not get the hat exactly correct, Leonard considers the show's portrayal of Givens to be perfect.

My favorite character is Raylan. Timothy Olyphant's perfect because there are not many actors who have delivered the lines the way I heard them when I was writing them. George Clooney was close, and Tarantino was faithful. Richard Boone was in two movies of mine, and every word he said was the way I heard it when I wrote it. I think it's great. [7]

Givens is native to the rural eastern Kentucky mining area of Harlan County but is assigned to Miami Beach, Florida in the novels Pronto and Riding the Rap. For the short story "Fire in the Hole", Leonard has Givens returning to his roots and being assigned to Kentucky as a punishment for his actions in the previous novels.

List of literary appearances

Related Research Articles

<i>Justified</i> (TV series) American neo-Western crime drama television series

Justified is an American neo-Western crime drama television series that premiered on March 16, 2010, on the FX network. Developed by Graham Yost, it is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole". Timothy Olyphant portrays Raylan Givens, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice. The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up. It also features Lexington, Kentucky, where the local U.S. Marshals office is situated. The series, comprising 78 episodes, was aired over six seasons and concluded on April 14, 2015.

<i>Pronto</i> (novel) 1993 novel by Elmore Leonard

Pronto is a crime novel written by Elmore Leonard and published in 1993. Leonard introduces three main characters and gets them moving against each other. Harry is constantly reminiscing about World War II. Tommy carries a picture of the old crime boss Frank Costello in his wallet. Raylan is a U.S. Marshal who wears a cowboy hat. In addition, the inclusion of the Ezra Pound stories add more to the understanding of Harry and his reasons for retiring to Rapallo, Italy.

<i>Justified</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American neo-Western television series Justified premiered on March 16, 2010, on FX, and concluded on June 8, 2010, consisting of 13 episodes. The series was developed by Graham Yost based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its main character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. Timothy Olyphant portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in and around Harlan.

<i>Justified</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the American neo-Western television series Justified premiered on February 9, 2011, on FX, and concluded on May 4, 2011, consisting of 13 episodes. The series was developed by Graham Yost based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its main character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. Timothy Olyphant portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in and around Harlan.

<i>Justified</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third season of the American neo-Western television series Justified premiered on January 17, 2012, on FX, and concluded on April 10, 2012, consisting of 13 episodes. The series was developed by Graham Yost based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its main character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. Timothy Olyphant portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in and around Harlan.

<i>Justified</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of the American neo-Western television series Justified premiered on January 8, 2013, on FX, and concluded on April 2, 2013, consisting of 13 episodes. The series was developed by Graham Yost based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its main character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. Timothy Olyphant portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in and around Harlan.

<i>Justified</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of the American neo-Western television series Justified premiered on January 7, 2014, on FX, and concluded on April 8, 2014, consisting of 13 episodes. The series was developed by Graham Yost based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its main character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. Timothy Olyphant portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in and around Harlan. The fifth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on December 2, 2014.

<i>Justified</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth and final season of the American neo-Western television series Justified premiered on January 20, 2015, on FX, and concluded on April 14, 2015, consisting of 13 episodes. The series was developed by Graham Yost based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its main character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. Timothy Olyphant portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in and around Harlan. The sixth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on June 2, 2015.

"Fire in the Hole" is the series premiere of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. The episode was written by series developer Graham Yost and directed by Michael Dinner. It originally aired on FX on March 16, 2010.

"Fixer" is the third episode of the first season of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. It is the 3rd overall episode of the series and was written by Benjamin Cavell and directed by Fred Keller. It originally aired on FX on March 30, 2010.

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"Hatless" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American Neo-Western television series Justified. It is the 9th overall episode of the series and was written by Dave Andron and directed by Peter Werner. It originally aired on FX on May 11, 2010.

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<i>Justified: City Primeval</i> American Western television miniseries

Justified: City Primeval is an American neo-Western crime drama television miniseries developed by showrunners Dave Andron and Michael Dinner. The series continues the story from Justified taking inspiration from the Elmore Leonard novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit and short story "Fire in the Hole". Timothy Olyphant returns to star as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, with Paul Calderón also reprising his role as Detective Raymond Cruz from the 1998 crime comedy film Out of Sight, a film adaptation of Leonard's 1996 novel of the same name. A world premiere was held on June 1, 2023, at the 12th ATX Television Festival, and the series premiered on FX on July 18, 2023, with back-to-back episodes. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

References

  1. Elmore Leonard, Fire in the hole, browse inside in harpercollins website.
  2. Elmore Leonard Q&A
  3. 1 2 Elmore Leonard. "I Owe it All to Raylan". The Elmore Leonard Website - Weblog.
  4. Pronto, browse inside in harpercollins website, page 61.
  5. Pronto - p.43
  6. "Raylan Givens Cable TV Series". The Elmore Leonard Website - Weblog.
  7. "Interview: Graham Yost & Elmore Leonard Talk Justified". iesb.net.