Wilfred

**Wilfred** is a major supporting character in the *Divine Comedy*.

One of the many powerful Overlords in Hell, Wilfred rules over the film industry in the Inferno, being the face of "Hellywood", the founder of Black Mark studios and is among the most influential film stars both in Hell and on Earth.

Wilfred is infamous for his sheer perfectionism and ruthless nature in the working environment of his sets while also being highly unpredictable for he can be silly, energetic, and eccentric one moment then cruel, cold, and manipulative the next. Regardless, he would end being a major supporting character after he was invited by Alastor alongside Mephisto to aid in Charlie's endeavours with the hotel.

## History

### Background

Wilfred was born as Vincenzo Florentino Bergmann to an Italian man and a German mother making him German-Italian. He did not learn English until his parents moved to America where he spent the remainder of his life. Growing up, both Vincenzo and his mother would suffer under the emotional abuse inflicted by his father. He states that his father was weak when he was a boy and wanted to instill cruel discipline into his son in order to strengthen him, only to have a toxic household manifest in the process. Wilfred was timid, shy, and easily frightened a far cry from how he is now. Things took a turn for the worst when his mother committed suicide as she could no longer bear to be under her domineering husband and the latter disappearing.

Vincenzo was out on his own and tried to survive on scraps and petty theft. During one of his many feeble attempts at theft, Vincenzo was nearly jumped by a gang of ruffians who nearly beat him to a pulp until they were driven off by his current childhood best friend: Mephisto then known as Matthew Andolini . From Matthew, Vincenzo learned how to stand up for himself and be more confident in how he feels to speak it out loud from his thoughts. Not knowing at the time that Matthew was also the son of a powerful mob boss, he had him work in a grocery store belonging to a friend of his father's where he was treated kindly and was visited by Matthew frequently. He worked there for several months and his spark for theater was ignited when he first experienced a live Broadway performance.

### Rise to Stardom

With the support of both his childhood friend and shopkeeper, he would begin to work on Broadway and started off small as part of the backstage staff but soon grew rather rapidly, going from his vaudeville to broadway and later film itself. His penchant for talent evolved and adapted which caught the eyes of many powerful entertainment mongols. One of which was Charlie Chaplin himself who took the young star under his wing and mentored him in the art of acting, molding him into a titan of Los Angeles, befriending many famous celebrities and was associated with many powerful individuals. He soon abandoned his birth name and went by his stage name; Wilfred Lionel.

However, Wilfred's spiral down a dark path accumulated when he started to envy and hate other actors that took the roles he desired, even less if he perceived them as too mediocre for the role. As a result, he began to get rid of the competition by murdering them, becoming something of a fable or bogeyman in Hollywood that spread around like a wildfire. Even so, Wilfred was very meticulous in his killings and was never caught, thus allowing him to continue on with his rising career. Despite his underlying sinister nature, Wilfred was rather intimate with several stars, most prominent of which are Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn. He was also something of a father figure to Shirley Temple.

As the years went by, Wilfred's friendship with Matthew was never snuffed out as the latter not only became the head of a powerful crime family but was also a famous and charismatic singer on par with Frank Sinatra. The two were also said to have been invited onto Alphonse Guidry's radio talk show to which they formed a deep friendship with one another and thereby becoming the "Rat Pack" as they were dubbed in the papers. Wilfred, alongside his cohorts, was eyed and adored by all; heiresses, broadway directors, news publishers, gossip columnists, and politicians. All while in the shadows he engaged in murderous acts with none being the wiser. Occasionally he would even be joined his companions Matthew and Alphonse which also included Cameron herself, a popular model who was also the infamous Vamp of Chicago.

### Arrival in Hell

It was not until the 1950s that Wilfred's life came to an abrupt end. During a Red Carpet premiere of one of Wilfred's latest movies, he was caught in a crossfire from a botched hit planned by one of the Colombos who intended to shoot Marilyn Monroe but instead fatally shot various actors and reporters with Wilfred being among them. He died of his wounds on the Red Carpet.

For his acts of murder and envy, Wilfred was condemned to Hell - the Pride Circle - and while a regular sinner at first, he quickly rose to the top again by killing the previous Overlord that controlled the silent movie genre only to be usurped by Wilfred who would come to rebuild his empire in the Inferno. Despite being relics, the movies were hit after hit in Hell which only served to increase Wilfred's hold on the populace, becoming the new Overlord of film and sinners dubbing him as the Movie Demon. In addition, Wilfred reunited with his compatriots - who now go by Alastor and Mephisto - and reformed as the whimsically infernal trio known as the Rat Pack.

Wilfred also developed a deep seated hatred towards Valentino, though it is no mere rivalry like that of Alastor and Vox or Mephisto and Velvette, it is rather that Valentino's very existence is an affront to Wilfred's ideals. His rivalry is mainly with Arcade, the Video Game Demon, with the two frequently competing against one another in terms of whose influence can spread the quickest thereby profiting the most; movies or video games.

At a later point in the series, Wilfred was one of the few cohorts that was invited by Alastor to help in Charlie's endeavours regarding her views on redemption. Amused at first, Wilfred decided to lend his support but mainly because it might serve as inspiration for a comedic film. However, unbeknownst to most, Wilfred's true intentions in lending his aid to the hotel was to see if it is truly possible to redeem sinners in the hopes of having his mother ascend to Heaven.

## Trivia

* The name "**Wilfred**" is of Old English origin and means "desiring peace". This is ironic considering Wilfred is drawn to drama and his name is actually a stage name.
* His theme song would be "LA Devotee" by Panic! At the Disco.
* The series creator states that Wilfred is a composite of several real-life people, most notable being Dean Martin and Jim Carrey in terms of his charm and energetic personality respectively.
* Wilfred is able to perfectly mimic the mannerisms and personalities of various characters performed by many famous actors during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
	+ He makes continuous references to popular scenes from black and white films.
* Wilfred never blinks and has even been shown sleeping with his "eyes" open.
* He is a chainsmoker and Mephisto even joked that he once saw him eat a cigar.
* Several of the characters noted that Wilfred smells like vinegar from a rotting film reel.
* Wilfred deeply dislikes having his hair being touched though there are very few exceptions such as his mother, Rosie, and even Charlie on one occasion.
* According to Acrylic, Wilfred cannot see color and only views everything in monochrome.
* His favorite holiday is Halloween.
* Like Alastor and Mephisto, Wilfred is a "momma's boy"