Macavity
Macavity the Mystery Cat, also called the Hidden Paw, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. He also appears in the Andrew Lloyd Webber 1981 musical Cats, which is based on Eliot's book. Macavity is a cunning criminal and con artist; he possesses mystical powers and is the antagonist of the musical.
For the literary award for mystery writers, see Macavity Awards.Macavity
- Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
- 5 October 1939[1]
John Thornton, Ken Ard, Bryn Walters, Idris Elba
Macavity the Mystery Cat
Hidden Paw
Napoleon of Crime
Cat
Criminal
England
Origins and etymology[edit]
T. S. Eliot was a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle and the character of Macavity is a literary allusion to Professor Moriarty, the criminal mastermind in the Sherlock series.[2] Evidence that Macavity was based on Moriarty was first presented by H.T. Webster and H.W. Starr in 1954,[3] and later rediscovered by Katharine Loesch.[4] In a letter to Frank Morley, Eliot wrote, "I have done a new cat modeled on the late Professor Moriarty, but he doesn't seem very popular; too sophisticated perhaps."[5] The name "Macavity" is thus a pun on "Moriarty".[5] The word 'cavity' also implies a hole or void or absence of something, and Macavity is described in the poem as being "not there" at the time or location of any crime.
Film[edit]
In the film Cats (2019), Macavity is played by Idris Elba. This version had a major role as a deranged villain with the intent of getting to the Heaviside Layer by any means. Throughout the film, he kidnapped all the other contestants so that he would be made the Jellicle choice by default.
In popular culture[edit]
Mystery Readers International presents the Macavity Awards annually in several categories, including Best Mystery Novel, Best First Mystery Novel, Best Bio/Critical Mystery Work, Best Mystery Short Story.
Polish author Maciej Wojtyszko's children's books feature a character named Macavity the Cat (polish Kot Makawity), a criminal mastermind who loses a chess duel with dog detective Kajetan Chrumps and is then persuaded to become Chrumps' assistant.
In the 1976 movie Logan's Run, Peter Ustinov's character says, "You're full of secrets as Macavity" and then quotes from the poem.
Gillian Robert's schoolteacher detective Amanda Pepper has an elderly male companion cat whose métier seems to be relaxation.[18] The following books by Roberts feature Macavity the cat: Claire and Present Danger (2003), Helen Hath No Fury (2001), Adam and Evil (1999), The Bluest Blood (1998), The Mummer's Curse (1996), How I Spent My Summer Vacation (1995), In the Dead of Summer (1995), With Friends Like These… (1993), I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia (1992), Philly Stakes (1989), Caught Dead in Philadelphia (1987).
In 1995, New Jersey punk band Gimp released an album called Smiles for Macavity.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, when still Chancellor of the Exchequer, was likened to Macavity by Liberal Democrat Shadow Leader of the House, David Heath, who labelled Brown "the Macavity of the Cabinet" when talking about tax credits during Business Questions on 23 June 2005.[19] Lord Turnbull echoed this two years later, opining that "the chancellor has a Macavity quality. He is not there when there is dirty work to be done."[20]
After Harold Pinter received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature, Mary Liddell of The Guardian said: "Pinter has become the Macavity of English letters".[21]
Macavity is the name given by several bus drivers from the West Midlands, England to a white odd-eyed cat which, since January 2007, has been observed to regularly use the local bus service on its own.[22][23] Macavity's fur is reported to be completely white, he has a green left eye and a blue right eye, and he wears a purple collar. His owner and true name are unknown.