| Shep Proudfoot | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Vital statistics | |
| Occupation: |
Mechanic |
| Affiliation: | |
| Status: |
Alive (as of 1987) |
| Fate: |
Fugitive |
| Portrayer: | |
| Appears in: |
Fargo (film) |
| Shep Proudfoot Gallery | |
Shep Proudfoot is a character in the movie Fargo. An ex-convict, he puts Jerry Lundegaard in touch with kidnappers.
Biography[]
As a young man, Shep was a petty criminal. At some point, he became acquainted with Gaear Grimsrud. Eventually, he was arrested for dealing narcotics and sent to Stillwater Prison. In the mid-eighties, Shep was released on parole and got a job at Gustafson Motors as a mechanic.
In January 1987, his boss Jerry Lundegaard approached him due to his criminal past and asked if he could vouch for anyone who would stage a kidnapping of his wife so he could extort money from his wealthy father-in-law. Shep arranged for him to meet with Grimsrud in Fargo, North Dakota.
Fargo[]
Shep is again approached by Jerry, who is having second thoughts and also informs him that Grimsrud was accompanied by a second man whom Shep does not know. He tells Jerry he does not have a way to contact Grimsrud.
Grimsrud's accomplice, a man named Carl Showalter, attempts to call Shep at 3:00 AM, but he does not answer. In response to this call, Shep receives a visit at work from Marge Gunderson, the Police Chief of Brainerd, Minnesota. She informs him that she is searching for two men who are responsible for a triple homicide, and that associating with them would violate his parole and land him back in Stillwater, forcing him to give her their names.
Enraged by the prospect of returning to prison, Shep hunts down Carl Showalter in a motel room having sex. He badly beats him, assaulting Showalter's hooker and another motel visitor in the process, and then leaves. After this incident, the motel visitor he attacked presses charges, and a warrant is issued for his arrest for assault and parole violation. Shep goes on the run, becoming a fugitive.