Laszlo Carreidas is a wealthy entrepreneur and millionaire with about ten million dollars in his personal bank account (a large sum of money in the 1960s). He was involved in many fields of business including aircraft construction, clothing, oil, cinema, the press and the drink brand Sani-Cola. He is only seen in Flight 714 and Tintin and Alph-Art. He is assisted by his employee Spalding.
The name "Carreidas" is a pun on "carré d'as" which is the French for the poker term "four aces", hence his company's logo (seen on the tailfin of the Carreidas 160) includes the four suits of a pack of playing cards (clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades).
Carreidas' logo on the tailfin of the Carreidas 160.
Hergé based Carreidas on Marcel Dassault, who possessed a similar combination of wealth, aeronautical engineering genius, and quaint notions of fashion (Dassault's wardrobe remained frozen in the mid-1930s).
Laszlo Carreidas as seen in the book series.
Personality[]
As a millionaire with no family, he is alone and moody and was known as "the millionaire who never laughs." Yet, upon meeting Tintin, Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus, he laughs three times within a very short period, and this astounds him. Generally, he does not like to talk much, but this aspect of his personality also undergoes considerable change in the story. When kidnapped by Rastapopoulos, who uses truth serum in an effort to force Carreidas to reveal his Swiss bank account number, Carreidas unexpectedly becomes quite garralous—about everything except the coveted bank account number. Laszlo's cold, shabby and miserable appearance led Captain Haddock initially to conclude that the millionaire was a beggar in the Kemayoran airport. Carreidas loves money, but appears to have sympathy with no one.
Carreidas' Hat
Carriedas is extremely irritable without his favourite hat, a prewar "Brosse and Clackwell," which he is seen to wear everywhere. He becomes fixated about his hat whenever he loses it, to the point where it interferes with escaping from Rastapopolous and then from an erupting volcano.
It is revealed later that Carreidas begun his career as an amoral and selfish young person.
Carreidas using closed-circuit television to cheat in the game of Battleships.
He is especially fond of the game "Battleships" but he cheats his opponents by means of a concealed closed-circuit television camera mounted above the passenger seats in his personal jet.
History[]
Carreidas as seen in the book series.
Carreidas was born around 1899. His grandfather was a preparator of rahat lukum in Erzurum and although a positive influence, it did not stop Laszlo from grow dishonest. In 12 September 1903 he stole a pear from a grocery store. Six months later he stole his mother's ring, accusing their maid, Odille. Later he stole 2176 of an unknown currency from his elder sister's handbag.
In Flight 714 he was in Kemayoran Airport flying to the astronautics conference in Sydney. There he met Tintin, Haddock and Cuthbert Calculus, the last of whom he grew especially fond of, as he made him laugh for several times that day. He insisted on inviting them to travel with him to Sydney on his personal jet, the Carreidas 160.
However his jet, and Carreidas himself, were targets of Roberto Rastapopoulos, who knew his pseudonym and the fake signature he used for his Swiss bank account. The aircraft was hijacked and landed on Pulau-Pulau Bomba. He was interrogated by Doctor Krollspell to reveal his account number. However, he was rescued by Tintin, and the team escaped with the help of Mik Kanrokitoff, yet he seems to be more focused his lost hat. He is seen wearing a new hat when he, along with Tintin and his companions, board Flight 714 to Sydney.
Motives[]
Among the possible references, the character is said to be inspired by Marcel Dassault, in terms of the planes, the style of dress, the areas of activity, and the opening scene, which is very similar to an episode in Dassault's life. Moreover, for the album edition of the story, Casterman recommended that Hergé remove the references to “cinema and press” from the list of Carreidas's fields of activity, which he had included in the serialized version. The aim was to avoid too many reminders of Marcel Dassault. The cartoonist complied and replaced them with “electronics”... which did not solve the problem. The first person to make the connection between the French magnate and Hergé's character was Philippe Bouvard in the daily newspaper France-Soir. The entrepreneur recognized himself in this character. Far from being offended, he was delighted to appear in an episode of Tintin. As his authorized biographer Claude Carlier wrote, when he discovered it, he declared, “That's me.” He even sent a letter of congratulations to the cartoonists.
Hergé denied any connection and, as is often the case when he creates characters, he does not base them on a single model. Similarities have also been drawn with Enzo Ferrari, nicknamed “Il Commandatore,” the same title used by steward Gino when addressing his boss. His character as a man who never laughs is said to be based on American industrialist Paul Getty. As for his obsessive hygiene, it is said to be inspired by Howard Hughes, another aircraft manufacturer.
Trivia[]
- Carreidas' hat is a 'prewar' Brosse and Clackwell. Brosse and Clackwell is a play on Crosse and Blackwell, a British food company.
- In the Japanese dubbed version of Ellipse-Nelvana TV series, he uses first person pronoun 「わし(washi)」 which is used in media for portraying arrogant old man.