The Governor of Dick Tracy's state was a man named Otis (last name unrevealed). He was a heavyset man with light, wavy hair and a dark moustache. He typically wore eyeglasses.
While the Governor seemed to have some genuine principles, he was also very concerned about public appearances, and he was prepared to change his position on issues if they became unpopular. He also had difficulty controlling his attraction to women.
The Dade Plenty Affair[]
The Governor set about trying to reform the criminal fashion designer Dade Plenty so that he could design a dress for Lyda, the Governor's wife. When this started to affect his political career, he destroyed the dress Dade had been working on. This angered his wife who stabbed him with a sword.
While the Governor was recovering, his wife was poisoned. To honor her memory, the Governor pardoned Dade with encouragement from his maid, Marie (with whom the Governor had a secret romantic involvement). Marie hid Dade in a fallout shelter on the grounds of the mansion where he was later discovered by the Governor. The three engaged in a struggle wherein Marie was killed by a ricochet bullet. Marie's death was ruled an accident, and it was discovered that she had killed the Governor's wife.
After this, the Governor met and became attracted to Perfume Plenty. While on a date, the couple was approached by two of Dade's old criminal associates who asked the Governor to pardon their brother. The Governor refused and the two men abducted him and Perfume. The criminals stranded Perfume and the Governor at the top of a Ferris wheel during a snow storm, intending that the couple would die of exposure. The Governor fell to his death, but Perfume survived and was rescued.
Notes[]
- While the Governor has some physical traits that are similar to the earlier Governor shown in the strip, there is little to indicate that they are meant to be the same person.
- The Dade Plenty/Governor storyline was the final storyline in the strip on which creator Chester Gould worked before his retirement.