Is a disappearer original to Breaking Bad?
I am not asking if such people really exist although there are certainly people who will provide false documents -- I am asking if this profession was invented by the writers of Breaking Bad (which of course would not be true if indeed it is a real profession) or occurred in other works of fiction.
The book The Getaway has the town of El Rey (also mentioned in From Dusk 'til Dawn) which is a place where criminals are given refuge for a price which guarantees eventual starvation.
And in real life, there is witness protection which is actually quite close to what the "disappearer" provides, but the difference is that the disappearer is freelance and is actually providing an illegal service.
Best Answer
Browsing the dreaded site for the trope master forger, I found in the entry description for 'Escape to Victory' (1981)
he goes to a fellow POW identified only as "The Forger". He not only has made his own camera to take pictures for the documents, but he's also gotten samples for all kinds of official documents
I didn't see this movie, (nor Breaking Bad), so I can't guarantee that it matches, but I'm pretty sure the trope of the 'technically evil' paper forger goes way earlier than Breaking Bad.
On the same page, the entry for 'Allo-Allo' (1980) states:
Monsieur Roger LeClerc is a professional forger who provides whatever papers, passports and anything else the resistance need to implement whichever Zany Scheme they are trying this episode.
And made me think of the French Resistance in France (check Adolfo Kaminsky), in 1940ish. That in turn made me think of the Underground Railroad.
While today both the resistance and the Underground Railroads are seen as heroes, they were outlaws in their own time.
So it matches the definitions of freelancers providing illegal services.
Pictures about "Is a disappearer original to Breaking Bad?"
Who is the Disappearer Breaking Bad?
Relationships. Edward "Ed" Galbraith, also referred to as the Disappearer, is a vacuum cleaner repairman and salesman who owns Best Quality Vacuum. He also offers the clandestine service of taking people (mostly criminals) and giving them new lives and identities.Who is the vacuum man in El Camino?
Though Robert Forster only appeared in one episode of Breaking Bad as Ed the Disappearer, the vacuum salesman with a side hustle giving criminals new identities, the character is still a fan favorite, especially after he reappeared when Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) was looking for a new life in Netflix's El Camino.What was the vacuum password Breaking Bad?
Gonzalez: The Vacuum Cleaner: A Breaking Bad Movie, in which we learn about Ed, played by Robert Foster, the mysterious Disappearer who will give you a new identity and relocate you to parts unknown if you call and speak the following specific code words: \u201cI need a dust filter for a Hoover Max Extract\xae 60 Pressure Pro\u2122 ...Best Quality Vacuum Compilation | Breaking Bad
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