Charles R. "Groovy" Grove was a police officer an member of Dick Tracy's department. He had light hair and a moustache.
Groovy Grove served in the Navy and had been trained as a diver/frogman.
Prison and Release[]
Groovy Grove was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1958. He was innocent, but had been present at the scene of the crime and was convicted on circumstantial evidence.
At the time, he had recently married and his wife was expecting their first child. His wife divorced him while he was in prison, and she gave birth to a daughter whom Groovy did not meet. Groovy's ex-wife then married a man named Burns, and she and her husband perished in a fire approximately 3 years later. Groovy's daughter survived (though she was blinded in the fire) and went to live with a relative.
Groovy's conviction was over-turned and he was released from prison in 1970 when the real killer confessed. Grove approached Dick Tracy about joining the police force, since he had studied law in prison. Grove also showed an interest in engineering and developing new technology for law enforcement. Grove completed police academy training and joined Tracy's department. He soon found himself at odds with former prison inmate Diamonds.
New to the Police Force[]
Diamonds wanted Groovy to act as a underworld mole inside the police force, but Grove refused. Diamonds tried to blackmail Groovy, and later kidnapped Groovy's blind daughter Tinky in an attempt to coerce the new officer. Grove eventually killed Diamonds in the line of duty.
For a time, Groovy was aware that Tinky was his daughter, but he kept this information from her. It was eventually revealed, and they became a presence in each other's lives.
Groovy Grove, as drawn by Rick Fletcher
Grove served with distinction as a uniform officer, and was often assigned to support Tracy and the Major Crimes Unit. Groovy worked on several significant cases. He participated in the investigation of the Mole and his granddaughter. He was also one of the three police officers (along with Sam Catchem and Lizz) who rescued Tracy when he was being held captive at the replica Santa Maria ship by Angeltop. Later, Groovy was on the scene when the cosmetic surgeon Dr. Will Carver was the victim of a hit-and-run murder attempt by Mumbles.
Groovy developed a romantic relationship with policewoman Lizz. The two dated for some time. Groovy refused to marry Lizz for most of their time together because Lizz insisted that he must quit the force before they could wed. Lizz had already lost one husband and feared that it would happen again.
Death of Groovy Grove[]
In December 1984, Groovy told Lizz about his intention to leave the police force and take a job as head of security for a large chemical company on the west coast. He proposed to Lizz and asked her to go with him, but before she could respond, the two were attacked by the gunman known as The Cipher. Groovy chased the Cipher down an icy fire escape. Groovy slipped and was severely injured in the fall.
Groovy was taken to the hospital where Lizz had the chaplain perform a marriage ceremony. Groovy died shortly thereafter (12/30/1984) and was buried with honors.
Notes[]
- The appearance of the chaplain who married Groovy and Lizz was modeled on Chester Gould. However, it is presumably not the same character at Uncle Ray Tracy, as Uncle Ray is a Protestant Minister and the chaplain was a Catholic Priest. Furthermore, the Priest and Tracy did not seem to be familiar with each other.
- Since he received last rites (a Catholic practice) on his deathbed, it is reasonable to assume that Groovy was Catholic.
- In some instances, Groovy has been described by readers as a "hippie". While Groovy's introduction did serve as an effort by Gould to reflect some of the more modern culture in the strip (and Groovy was said to have a "hippie" look), Groovy was a firmly pro-establishment character. This "hippie" term is apparently derived from the fact that his name was "Groovy" and he had a moustache.
- It was established that Groovy was an especially skilled marksman, nearly the equal of Dick Tracy.
- Groovy's badge number was 4012.