Characters
- Jake Stonebender: The narrator of the Callahan stories; he tried to commit suicide after losing his wife and daughter to a car accident which he believes to be his fault. His physician, 'Doc Webster', saved him and sent him to Callahan's. Jake is a master with his guitar, whom he calls "Lady Macbeth".
- Mike Callahan: The owner of the bar, he is always ready with a drink and a friendly word.
- Sam "Doc" Webster: M.D.; one of the oldest regulars and a master of puns. He works shifts at Smithtown General.
- Fast Eddie Costigan: The bar's piano player; he jams with Jake and is equipped with a blackjack to discourage nosy questions.
- Long Drink McGonnigle: One of the oldest regulars; a night watchman and also skilled at puns.
- Tom Hauptman: An ex-minister and widower, who was locked away for ten years with his wife in a Latin American banana republic. He believes missing out on ten years of sociological development means he cannot do his job. Callahan offers him the job of assistant bartender after he tells his story.
- Noah Gonzalez: A sergeant in the police force, he works on the bomb squad.
- Michael "Mickey" Finn: He is a humanoid alien who was sent to destroy Earth. Coming to Callahan's makes him want to reconsider; with the assistance of the patrons he is able to become his own being and save the planet.
- Tommy Janssen: A teenager who comes to Callahan's and gives up his heroin addiction.
- Tom Flannery: One of the former regulars who has eight months to live at the start of the series.
- "Slippery" Joe Maser: He is bigamous; both wives are aware of one another.
- Marty Matthias: had a gambling issue, but got it fixed after he came to Callahan's.
- Rachel: A woman, which is a rarity in itself at Callahan's. She also may be immortal, but is long-lived at the very least.
- Shorty Steinitz: Had his appendix removed by Doc Webster on Callahan’s bar; world's worst driver; makes a living restoring antique vehicles.
- Big Beef McCaffrey: Was kicked out of the bar in 1947 by Mike Callahan, without opening the solid oak door first. The door has been since mended, but poorly.
- Mary: Mike Callahan's daughter and woman blacksmith. The love of Jake Stonebender's life and the wife of Mickey Finn.
- Ralph Von Wau Wau: Mutant talking dog and regular customer. Regular at Lady Sally's. Also, skilled ventriloquist.
Read more about this topic: Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“To marry a man out of pity is folly; and, if you think you are going to influence the kind of fellow who has “never had a chance, poor devil,” you are profoundly mistaken. One can only influence the strong characters in life, not the weak; and it is the height of vanity to suppose that you can make an honest man of anyone.”
—Margot Asquith (1864–1945)
“There are characters which are continually creating collisions and nodes for themselves in dramas which nobody is prepared to act with them. Their susceptibilities will clash against objects that remain innocently quiet.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“Philosophy is written in this grand book—I mean the universe—
which stands continually open to our gaze, but it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and interpret the characters in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it.”
—Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)