J. Tucker Hennessy was the patriarch of a wealthy family in Dick Tracy's city. At the time of his death, he had white hair and a thick black moustache.
The Hennessy Property Plot[]
At some point in the past, J. Tucker Hennessy suffered some financial trouble and lost much of his fortune. He then became the target of a scheme by his son and a man named Smart. Smart wanted to take advantage of J. Tucker's Hennessy situation and buy the Hennessy Mansion for a fraction of its value.
After the paperwork for the sale was completed, J. Tucker Hennessy's son shot and killed him. J. Tucker was then left in the Mansion with the appearance of having hanged himself. The bullet was found in his body, though, and his death was ruled a murder that went unsolved for some time. The Hennessy Mansion was abandoned and developed a reputation for being haunted.
The Haunted Mansion[]
The younger Hennessy went into hiding and Smart was elected Governor. Some time later, Smart agreed to spend a night in the Mansion along with Dick Tracy and Mayor Headstrong as a charity stunt. During the night, Hennessy abducted Smart and held him captive in a secret room in the Mansion. Hennessy communicated with Tracy through a speaker hidden in the wall behind a portrait of J. Tucker Hennessy.
During the course of the evening (and the following morning), the truth about the real estate purchase and the murder of J. Tucker Hennessy came to light. The younger Hennessy was killed, and Smart was taken into police custody, pending an ethics investigation.
Notes[]
- Forensic analysis was unable to determine if the real estate documents that J. Tucker Hennessy had signed were genuine or not. If they were genuine, it is possible that he was forced to sign under duress (i.e. at gunpoint). Presumably, J. Tucker was killed by his son in order to prevent J. Tucker from raising objections to the sale at a later time.