Bill Sykes

### Personality

Brutal, shadowy, sarcastic, psychotic, impatient, uncaring, clean-shaven, eerily charming, evil, cruel, slightly naive, cunning, opportunistic, murderous, ruthless, greedy, sadistic, mischievous, rough, pugnacious, serious, insensitive, kooky, emotionless, stoic, strict, heartless, knowledgeable, efficient, self-absorbed, brainy, industrious, level-headed, stern, mysterious, keen, educated, sophisticated, intimidating and villainous

### Description

Slender, big, muscular, half bald gray haired man wearing square spectacles and a business suit; smoking a cigar

### Occupation

Loan shark
Shipyard agent
Warehouse operator
Implied crime boss
Fagin's ex-boss
Roscoe and DeSoto's owner

### Goal

To have his money paid back by Fagin on the third day; later, to ransom Jenny (failed)

### Enemies

Fagin, Oliver, Dodger, Jenny, Winston, Georgette, Tito, Rita, Francis, and Einstein

### Powers

Above average strength, creative abilities, power, intimidation, high level intellect

### Fate

Gets run over by a train and is destroyed along with his car, thus, sending them both into the Hudson River.

### Quote

"I don't think you grasp... the *severity* of the situation."
"Now I lent you money. And I don't see it. Do you know what happens when I don't see my money, Fagin? People get hurt. People like you get hurt. Do I make myself clear?"
"Three sunrises. Three sunsets. Three days, Fagin."
"You've got 12 hours. And, Fagin? This is your last chance."
"Now don't cry, little girl. They only eat when I tell them to."
"This has all been very entertaining. But the party is over."
"FAGIN!!!" (his last words)

**Bill Sykes** is the main antagonist in Disney's *Oliver & Company*. He is a Mafia crime boss/loan shark who operates as a shipyard agent out of a warehouse by the docks and the owner of two vicious Dobermans, Roscoe and DeSoto. He was voiced by the late Robert Loggia.

## Description

Sykes is a slender, big, muscular, half bald gray haired man wearing square spectacles and a business suit to further emphasize his role as an intelligent businessman in command of a situation. Due to constantly smoking cigars, he speaks with a hoarse voice, which makes his character more menacing. He is one of Disney's most heavy-set villains, usually shown in shadows like most stereotypical villains. During a scene with Fagin at his warehouse, he is clearly heard discussing on the phone with a supposed underling about their manner of torturing and murdering some unknown victim, which proves that he is also a ruthless, brutal murderer.

Although he seems to care a lot about his two Doberman minions, Roscoe and DeSoto, most of the time, in the final chase, when determined to get Jenny back, he didn't seem to notice his dogs' deaths and even if he did, he proved to be rather careless at the end before meeting his own untimely demise.

He is shown to be brutal, shadowy, sarcastic, psychotic, impatient, uncaring, clean-shaven, eerily charming, evil, cruel, slightly naive, cunning, opportunistic, murderous, ruthless, greedy, sadistic, mischievous, rough, pugnacious, serious, insensitive, kooky, emotionless, stoic, strict, heartless, knowledgeable, efficient, self-absorbed, brainy, industrious, level-headed, stern, mysterious, keen, educated, sophisticated, intimidating, and villainous.

## Appearance

### *Oliver & Company*

At some point in his life, Bill Sykes has lent an unknown large amount of money to a pickpocket thief named Fagin for an unknown reason and now, after an unknown period of time, wants it back.

One night, on the day of the deadline, Sykes arrives at Fagin's home in a barge near the City Docks in his Cadillac with his two loyal Dobermans, Roscoe and DeSoto and sends them out to fetch him. Unfortunately, Fagin has somehow spent all the money on something, therefore, leaving him completely broke and unable to pay Sykes back. Despite Fagin trying to pay him back with junk and garbage in a box as a minor compensation, Sykes is dissatisfied and throws the box into the bay. When Sykes points out to Fagin that he doesn't grasp the severity of the situation, Fagin tries to convince him otherwise before accidentally breaking one of his side mirrors and dropping it into the bay. As Fagin is about to fall while panicking, Sykes violently grabs and drags Fagin back and then, calmly explains to him the outcome of his situation, stating that people like Fagin who don't pay him back the money they owe him on time eventually get hurt or worse as he tortures Fagin by strangling him with his closing car window and smoking in his face as a means of demonstration.

However, as an act of mercy, when Fagin desperately begs for more time, Sykes gives him only three more days to pay him back while threatening him, his dogs, and his home. Even more worried than before, Fagin states he's having a bad day until Sykes honks his horn to call his dogs back, which startles Fagin, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the dock and into the bay.

On the night of the second day, at his warehouse, Sykes receives a visit from Fagin whom he gracefully welcomes in along with one of his dogs, Dodger. While on the phone with an unknown hitman about a possible upcoming murder, Sykes allows Fagin and Dodger to enter his office as he finishes his private phone conversation. Once finished, Sykes asks Fagin if he brought him the money at last but Fagin, slightly intimidated by the former, discusses his plan about ransoming his former pet cat, Oliver recently adopted and owned by a new wealthy owner rather awkwardly at first, which causes Sykes to quickly lose his patience and order his dogs to attack with one snap of the fingers. During the attack, while Dodger protects Fagin and fights the Roscoe and DeSoto off, Sykes listens to Fagin discuss his plan properly and loudly this time as he’s working on a boat model until Fagin shows him Oliver as proof. Convinced, Sykes snaps his fingers again to order his dogs to cease the attack. Noticing the address inscribed on Oliver’s collar, Sykes is satisfied and states how proud of Fagin he is for starting to think big, assuming that he is actually planning a ruse to kidnap and ransom the cat owner rather than Oliver. As a last chance, Sykes offers Fagin 12 more hours while feeding biscuits to his dogs and smoking his cigar as both Fagin and Oliver come to Dodger’s aid due to lying injured and unconscious with severe (but invisible) injuries from the attack.

Later, on the same night, Sykes and his dogs unknowingly watch Fagin meeting and talking to Oliver's owner who turns out to be in fact, a little girl named Jenny Foxworth but with very little money in a piggy bank she brought as payment to get Oliver back in his car from a distance. Hearing his dogs growling, Sykes tells them to calm down. When he sees Fagin giving up the ransom by freely returning Oliver to Jenny without asking for ransom money, he drives straight towards Jenny to make his move, kidnaps her, and throws Oliver out the window while ignoring Fagin's pleas to do otherwise. Before driving away, Sykes tells Fagin to keep his mouth shut and to consider their account closed.

Back at his warehouse, listening to Jenny cry due to being afraid of his growling dogs, Sykes taunts her as he maliciously jokes about the fact that they only eat when he tells them to while tying her up to a chair in his office. Then, alerted by some noise (actually Oliver breaking through a window in a football helmet after being launched by Francis with a seesaw), Sykes sends his dogs to investigate the source.

Later, Sykes is seen speaking on the phone with Jenny's family's butler and driver, Winston, asking him to get in touch with Jenny's parents about ransoming their daughter since they are away on a business trip around Europe as he keeps a close eye on her, not knowing that Oliver and the dogs have entered the warehouse and sabotaged one of the security cameras behind him and are now watching them above his office.

Suddenly, Sykes finds himself distracted by Tito, Francis, and Einstein posing as a pizza delivery guy. Knowing he obviously didn't order any pizza, Sykes loads his gun and exits his office to go look for his incompetent dogs while Oliver and the rest of the dogs sneak in to help Jenny.  Finally, Sykes finds his dogs trapped under a tarpaulin net; thanks to Georgette, and scolds at them as he frees them before making their way back into the office, only to find the door locked. Thinking that Jenny had something to do with it, Sykes warns her to open the door and begins to break it down. Luckily, when Rita's efforts to chew the ropes off of Jenny proves futile, Jenny, Oliver, and the dogs are carried up to safety once Tito manages to operate the crane to send it down then back up again just in time before Sykes and his dogs break through the locked door. All goes well as they are being carried away in another direction by the crane until Sykes takes out a fire axe and destroys the crane’s controls, which causes everyone to fall and land on a long slide, only to find themselves cornered by their enemies at the end of the slide unfortunately.

Slightly amused, Sykes admits that he's found all this very entertaining but further states that the party is over as he is about to snap his fingers so as to order his dogs to attack again. Luckily, when all hope seems lost, Fagin arrives in his scooter breaking through a window just in time to save and drive everyone out to safety until Sykes tries to catch up to them in his car. Thinking Sykes won't bother following them any further, Fagin drives everyone down into a subway station but Sykes, driving like a madman, pursues them nonetheless. Once they drive into a tunnel, Sykes still pursues them and then, deliberately collides his car with Fagin's scooter, causing Jenny to fall and land on the hood of his car. When Sykes tries to pull Jenny back in, Oliver jumps in to save her by biting his hand, only for Sykes to throw Oliver in the backseat where he finds himself cornered by Roscoe and DeSoto. Then, Dodger jumps in to rescue Oliver by fighting off and allowing Roscoe to fall to his death on the electric railway caused by the friction between Sykes' ruined car tires and the railway itself before Oliver comes to Dodger’s rescue by scratching and allowing DeSoto to also fall to his death in the same manner when the latter tries to kill Dodger in vain as payback for Roscoe's death. Then, Dodger saves Oliver again just in time before meeting the same fate as well. Nevertheless, oblivious to the event, Sykes continues chasing his enemies.

On the Brooklyn Bridge, when Fagin comes to Jenny's aid while Tito takes command of the scooter, Sykes comes out of his car, grabs Jenny by the leg, and tries to pull her back in but then, Oliver and Dodger arrive just in time to save her by jumping on and fighting Sykes off, thus, enabling Jenny to jump back into Fagin's scooter.  Suddenly, a train is heard and seen heading their way. Luckily, Tito manages to save everyone at the last minute by driving them up to safety on one of the bridge's cables while Oliver and Dodger stay behind to fight Sykes off. After Sykes throws Dodger and Oliver off, he finally notices the train approaching his way at the last minute until it suddenly collides with him still in his car, thus, killing him and sending both him and his car down the Hudson River.

## Trivia

* Sykes was based on Bill Sikes of Charles Dickens' *Oliver Twist*, the Dickens novel that inspired the animated film. In the original novel, Sikes was simply just a thief and murderer whose death was finally caused by accidentally hanging himself while trying to escape the law for murdering his girlfriend, Nancy whom he was falsely led to believe that she betrayed him in the end by Fagin. Also, Sykes' name is written as "Sikes" and he only had one dog, a bull terrier named Bull's-eye, whom he would beat until it needed stitching.
* Sykes is clearly seen loading a handgun. This was the first time a modern pistol was seen in Disney.
* Robert (Salvatore) Loggia is famous for playing the role of gangsters and mob bosses, including a gangster named Salvatore (his actual name) "The Shark" Macelli in *Innocent Blood*.
* Sykes is the last male villain until Hades not to sing a song. Percival C. McLeach technically did not have an original number either, but he was heard singing a parody of "Home on the Range" in one scene and one of "The Crawdad Song" in another.
* Along with Roscoe and DeSoto, (both electrocuted by the subway tracks), Sykes' death is one of the most graphic, violent, and brutal deaths in Disney history.
* Sykes appears as more of a main antagonist to Fagin while Roscoe and DeSoto are secondary ones to him.
* Sykes' appearance may have been an inspiration to John Silver as they are both pot-bellied, tall, and some of their facial expressions are similar. Also, they were both animated by Glen Keane, which could also explain the same physical appearances. Coincidentally, in the 1990's Swedish redubs, they had the same voice actor.
* Marlon Brando was offered the role of Sykes by Michael Eisner himself. He, however, turned it down, fearing the movie would bomb. Despite Brando's concerns, the movie ended up becoming a modest success at the box office. James Coburn was also considered for the role as well.
* Although he is the main villain, Sykes has little screen time, as a majority of the film focuses on Oliver's scenes with either Dodger or Jenny.
* The sign on Sykes' front door of his warehouse reads: POSITIVELY NO SOLICITING; suggesting that Sykes doesn't approve of solicitors.