| “ | Without the Jerry Caesars, there would be no moral outrage. And what's the good of moral outrage unless you have something tangible to direct it against? By this time tomorrow, thanks to that poison gas you've been tracking like some flu-ridden bloodhound, Mr. Caesar will be sitting in that great big jacuzzi in the sky, and I'll control both sides of the equation. | „ |
| ~ Whirley explaining his plan to take over Jerry Caesar's for empire and profit from protesting against it |
Jonathan Whirley is the main antagonist of the 1987 film Dragnet. He is the leader of P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness and Normalcy) while pretending to be a moral advancement activist to the public. However, his criminal activities are interrupted by Joe Friday and Pep Streebek, making them his archenemies.
He was portrayed by the late Christopher Plummer, who also portrayed Charles F. Muntz in Up, Grand Duke of Owls in Rock-a-Doodle, 1 in 9, Commodus in The Fall of the Roman Empire, Harlan Caruthers in The Clown at Midnight, General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Barnaby Crookedman in Babes in Toyland, Ralph Nickleby in Nicholas Nickleby, Arthur Case in Inside Man, and King Herod in The Star.
Biography[]
Jonathan Whirley is the leader of a cult of devil worshippers known as P.A.G.A.N. who are terrorizing Los Angeles. To the public though, he is a moral advancement activist who leads a moral campaign against Jerry Caesar, who publishes pornographic magazines. Due to his charisma and contributions, Whirley has become famous and well-respected by the people of Los Angeles, often preaching on TV.
While investigating a series of bizarre thefts, Joe Friday and his partner Pep Streebek are lead to P.A.G.A.N.. After investigating Caesar's limousine driver Emil Muzz, who is in truth a P.A.G.A.N. member, Friday and Streebek find out about the time and place of a secret ceremony of P.A.G.A.N.'s, and disguise themselves as members to sneak in. During the ceremony, Whirley uses the stolen items for a ritual to sacrifice a virgin named Connie Swail to a giant anaconda. The two intervene and rescue Connie, and a chaos ensue when the three are trying to escape. During the chaos, Connie accidentally knocks off Whirley's mask, revealing his true face to her.
Connie later identifies Whirley as the P.A.G.A.N. leader to Friday, leading to the latter attempting to arrest him. However, Kirkpatrick, whose mayoral campaign is secretly enrolled by Whirley and Caesar, takes Friday off duty. When Friday takes Connie home, they are kidnapped by Muzz, who takes them to the Griffith Observatory, where Whirley reveals that he's planning to kill Caesar at a reunion party for the models of the latter's magazine Bait. Whirley then has Connie taken to his private jet and prepares to kill Friday, only to be interrupted by Streebek, who had forced Muzz to reveal Friday's whereabouts at gunpoint. Streebek rescues Friday, inflitrates Caesar's mansion and disrupt P.A.G.A.N.'s plans, but Whirley sets the stolen magazines on fire to cover his escape. Captain Bill Gannon then reinstates Friday so he can arrest Whirley. Whirley meets Kirkpatrick at the airport before abandoning her and taking off with Connie. However, Friday catches up to him the following morning, forcing him to land only to be surrounded by the police, who apprehend him. He is then convicted of multiple charges and sentenced to 43 consecutive 99-year prison terms.
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