“ | Hey, hippie, don't you answer when you're spoken to? That ain't nice. | „ |
~ Curly Shepard bullying M&M Carlson. |
Curly Shepard is a major antagonist in S.E. Hinton's 1971 novel That Was Then, This is Now, and its 1985 adaptation of the same name. He is the younger brother of Tim and a member of the Shepard Gang. He is also mentioned several times in The Outsiders by Ponyboy Curtis, whom he is good friends with. Despite this, he didn't appear during the novel, because he got himself locked up.
He was portrayed by Matthew Dudley.
Biography[]
The Outsiders[]
Curly is mentioned by Ponyboy and the others several times throughout The Outsiders. He was the one who told on Dally after catching him slashing Tim's tires. Furthermore, Ponyboy mentions that because he got himself arrested for attempting to break into a liquor store, he didn't partake in the rumble. Ponyboy wishes that he was there as that way he would have someone closer to his age backing him up.
That Was Then, This Is Now[]
Curly and the other Shepards are obsessed with picking on hippies, such as M&M Carlson and are archenemies of Bryon Douglas and Mark Jennings. One night, Curly and his cronies corner M&M in an alleyway and beat him up. Fortunately, Bryon and Mark arrive in the nick of time and engage in a fight against Curly and his gang. Bryon and Mark manage to fend off the Shepards and they flee, while cursing out at them.
After Bryon and Mark cut off their sister, Angela's hair for nearly getting Mark killed in a fight, the Shepards set out to get revenge. Tim, Curly and their cronies eventually manage to find Bryon at Terry Jones' residence and they confront him. Tim inquires if Bryon was responsible for Angela's haircut, to which Bryon admits to doing so. Bryon apologizes for the incident, but the Shepards gang up on Bryon and severely beat him up. Mark and Terry stay by Bryon's side and Mark vows to get revenge on the Shepards. However, Bryon realizes that he does not hate his attackers and states that he doesn't want to fight the Shepards anymore, so he decides to put their feud to an end.
[]
Template:S.E. Hinton Villains