Peter J. Ingersoll / Fred Dobbs (played by Jerry Lewis) is a protagonist in Hook, Line and Sinker.
Protagonist and main focus of the plot. An insurance salesman misdiagnosed as terminally ill who fakes his death to avoid debt and allow his wife to collect insurance. Returns years later to find his wife married to his doctor, then attempts to sabotage their scheme before ending up in a perilous surgical situation in Chile. Dr. Scott Carter (played by Peter Lawford) appears in Hook, Line and Sinker.
Peter's physician who misdiagnoses him and later conspires with Peter's wife to fake his death for insurance money. Engages in an affair with Nancy and marries her, ultimately facing malpractice and fraud investigations. Nancy Ingersoll (played by Anne Francis) appears in Hook, Line and Sinker.
Peter's wife who encourages his fishing trip and later plots with Dr. Carter to fake his death for an insurance payout. Marries the doctor and becomes the center of an insurance fraud controversy. Perfecto (played by Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez) appears in Hook, Line and Sinker.
Jimmy Ingersoll (played by Jimmy Miller) appears in Hook, Line and Sinker.
Jennifer Ingersoll (played by Jennifer Edwards) appears in Hook, Line and Sinker.
Head Surgeon (played by Phillip Pine) appears in Hook, Line and Sinker.
Part of the Chilean operating team that encounters Peter when he wakes up on the operating table with a marlin piercing his chest. Mrs. Durham (played by Eleanor Audley) appears in Hook, Line and Sinker.
Hook, Line and Sinker (1969) character relationship network mapped with AI analysis. Explore the connections, alliances, and conflicts between characters.
Characters
Peter J. Ingersoll / Fred Dobbs
(played by Jerry Lewis) — protagonist
Protagonist and main focus of the plot. An insurance salesman misdiagnosed as terminally ill who fakes his death to avoid debt and allow his wife to collect insurance. Returns years later to find his...
Dr. Scott Carter
(played by Peter Lawford) — supporting
Peter's physician who misdiagnoses him and later conspires with Peter's wife to fake his death for insurance money. Engages in an affair with Nancy and marries her, ultimately facing malpractice and f...
Nancy Ingersoll
(played by Anne Francis) — supporting
Peter's wife who encourages his fishing trip and later plots with Dr. Carter to fake his death for an insurance payout. Marries the doctor and becomes the center of an insurance fraud controversy.
Perfecto
(played by Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez) — supporting
Jimmy Ingersoll
(played by Jimmy Miller) — supporting
Jennifer Ingersoll
(played by Jennifer Edwards) — supporting
Head Surgeon
(played by Phillip Pine) — supporting
Part of the Chilean operating team that encounters Peter when he wakes up on the operating table with a marlin piercing his chest.
Mrs. Durham
(played by Eleanor Audley) — supporting
Karlotta Hammercher
(played by Sylvia Lewis) — supporting
Foreign Mortician
(played by Felipe Turich) — supporting
Kenyon Hammercher
(played by Henry Corden) — supporting
Miss Freitas (uncredited)
(played by Elizabeth Germaine) — minor
Toothpick Man (uncredited)
(played by Art Lewis) — minor
Credit Card Man (uncredited)
(played by Anthony Larry Paul) — minor
Burial Spectator (uncredited)
(played by Al Bain) — minor
Dr. Everson (uncredited)
(played by Norman Leavitt) — minor
Funeral Director (uncredited)
(played by Byron Foulger) — minor
District Attorney (uncredited)
(played by Harlan Warde) — minor
Delivery Man (uncredited)
(played by Frankie Darro) — minor
Mrs. Hardtack - Baby Sitter
(played by Kathleen Freeman) — minor
Story Analysis
A man fakes his death to escape debt, only to return to a world upended by his wife's betrayal and an absurd medical fate.
