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Richard Lawson is the main antagonist of Stephen King's 1974 short story Sometimes They Come Back, as well as the 1991 made-for-TV adaptation of the same name.
In the TV movie, was portrayed by Robert Rusler.
Biography (TV Movie)[]
Richard Lawson was the leader of a local gang of greasers consisting of himself, Vincent "Vinnie" Corey, David Garcia (Replaced by David North in the film), and Charles "Bleach" Splonder (Replaced with Carl Mueller in the film).
In 1957 (1963 in the film), Lawson and his gang corner two boys named Jim and Wayne Norman in a train tunnel, demanding that they pay. However, during the confrontation, Lawson stabs Wayne in the chest, mortally wounding him.
In the novella, it is simply said that the gangs died in a car accident by crashing into a telephone pole, electrocuting them. The film tells a different story, however. Before Robert and his gang could deal with Jim, a train approaches, prompting them to try and escape. However, Jim steals the keys to the car and Mueller escapes just before the train hits the car, destroying it and killing Lawson and his remaining cohorts.
Sixteen years later (twenty-seven in the film), Jim is now married with a son and is a high school teacher. Lawson and his gang chase down one of Jim's students named Billy Sterns in their car, causing Billy to run his bike off a bridge to his death. After that incident, Lawson was now attending Jim's class.
Later on, Lawson and his gang murder another student named Kate before hanging her body in a barn nearby, making Vinnie appear in Jim's class as a result. The next night, the gang captures another student named Chip Conway and drive him around in their car before dismembering him on a bridge and throwing his remains into the river, causing North to appear in school the next day.
That very same day, Lawson and his gang attempt to run over Jim's son, Scott, in their car, but Scott manages to escape. When Jim arrives at Milford Cemetery, Lawson and his gang harass him again. Later, Lawson and his boys arrive at Jim's house and to kidnap Jim's wife, but Jim arrives and shoots at Lawson, but Lawson survives before he and his gang leave the house.
When Jim and Mueller leave Jim's old home to find the bullies, Lawson and his gang destroyed Jim's van and kidnap Mueller before driving to the church where Jim's family is hiding. They try to enter the building, but the power of the church prevents them from doing so. After harassing Sally and Scott, one of the greasers imitates Jim's voice and manages to capture them both before taking them and Mueller to the abandoned train tunnel. When Jim arrives, Lawson, Vinnie, and North start replicating the events that happened 27 years ago. When Mueller tries to defend Jim, Lawson stabs him with his switchblade, killing him.
However, this proves to be a fatal mistake as Mueller's death causes Wayne to appear from purgatory. A fight breaks out with Jim and Wayne fighting Lawson and his gang, but then a ghost train starts approaching. After Jim saves his family, Lawson and his remaining gang try to escape in their car once again, but the train hits them, sending them to Hell.
Trivia[]
In the original short story, Lawson's first name is Robert.
He and Billy Nolan are the first two in the line of Greaser bullies in King's works.
