Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel The Shining. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is also telepathic, and learns that the evil spirits of the hotel have taken control of Danny's father, Jack.
Hallorann is portrayed by Scatman Crothers in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of the novel. He was later portrayed by Melvin Van Peebles in the 1997 miniseries adaptation, Arthur Woodley in the 2016 operatic adaptation and Carl Lumbly in the 2019 film Doctor Sleep, an adaptation of the 2013 novel of the same name.
Novels
The Shining
Hallorann first appears in The Shining, where he is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. While packing away for winter one day, Hallorann meets the new caretaker, Jack Torrance and his family: his wife, Wendy and son Danny. Hallorann discovers that Danny carries the same psychic abilities as him. He tells Danny that, when Hallorann was a child, he discovered that he and his grandmother could carry conversations with each other without even moving their lips. She called this telepathy “shining.” Hallorann warns Danny that the Overlook can be dangerous, especially to those who “shine.” Later, Hallorann is contacted by Danny, who reveals that his father had become influenced by Delbert Grady and the other spirits inhabiting the hotel. Hallorann returns to the hotel in an attempt to rescue Danny and Wendy from Jack, and the three of them escape together as the hotel explodes and kills Jack.
It
Hallorann is mentioned in Stephen King's 1986 horror novel, It, as being one of the founders of The Black Spot, a bar in Derry, Maine which catered towards African-American soldiers. The Black Spot was eventually burned down in an act of racial hatred by a group titled "The Maine Legion of White Decency". Hallorann uses his Shining ability to find survivors and rescue them, one of them being Will Hanlon, who went on to become the father of Mike Hanlon, a central character in It. It is suggested that the arson of The Black Spot was initiated by Pennywise, the novel's main antagonist. The Black Spot was also referenced in King's novel, Insomnia.
Doctor Sleep
In Stephen King's 2013 sequel, Doctor Sleep, which occurs several years after the events of The Shining, Hallorann remains close with Wendy and Danny, and becomes something of a mentor to the latter. One night, Danny wakes up to use the restroom, only to encounter Lorraine Massey, one of the spirits from The Overlook, prompting Wendy to call Hallorann for help. Hallorann reveals that, as a child, he was emotionally, physically and sexually abused by his granduncle, Andy. After Andy's death, Hallorann was haunted by his ghost, but his grandmother taught Hallorann how to lock away such ghosts in an imaginary "lockbox". Hallorann teaches Danny this technique.
Years later, Danny (now going simply by "Dan") attempts to locate Hallorann for help protecting fellow "Shiner" Abra Stone from the True Knot Cult. Dan discovers that Hallorann had died in 1999, but he is still able to communicate with and advise Dan by briefly possessing the body of Eleanor Ouellette, a woman in the hospice where Dan works.
Other media
The Shining (film)
Hallorann was portrayed by musician Scatman Crothers in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation The Shining. While the film departs from King's novel in many ways (much to King's chagrin), one of the most notable changes is Hallorann's death. In King's novel, Hallorann survives Torrance's rampage. However in the film, Hallorann arrives at the Overlook Hotel after sensing that Danny and Wendy are in danger. Torrance subsequently strikes Halloran in the chest with an axe, killing him. His dead body is then discovered by Wendy when the Overlook attempts to trick her.