Stanley Kowalski

Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire.

In the play

Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella (née Dubois), and is employed as a factory parts salesman. He was an Army engineer in World War II, having served as a Master Sergeant. He has a vicious temper, and fights often with his wife, leading to instances of domestic violence. Near the beginning of the play, Stanley announces that Stella is pregnant.

Stanley's life becomes more complicated when Stella's sister Blanche shows up at their door for a seemingly indefinite "visit". He resents the aristocratic Blanche, who derides him as an "ape", and often calls him a Polack. His resentment intensifies when Blanche starts dating his friend, Mitch, and lets Stella briefly take refuge with her after an argument in which he hits her.

Stanley starts asking questions of a street merchant who knew Blanche in her old life, and finds out that Blanche is staying with the Kowalskis because she is homeless; her family's ancestral mansion, Belle Reve, has been mortgaged. He also learns that she was paid to leave Mississippi to quell gossip about her many affairs, which she began after her husband, a closeted homosexual, committed suicide. Overjoyed to have the upper hand, Stanley tells Mitch about Blanche's past, which scares Mitch into ending the relationship.

Stanley Kowalski (Due South)

Detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski (aka "Ray Kowalski") is a fictional character in the television series Due South. He is a Polish-American detective with the Chicago Police Department, serving with the 27th Precinct. The character is portrayed by actor Callum Keith Rennie.

Character

Kowalski's father was a fan of Marlon Brando; who played Stanley Kowalski in the 1951 film version of A Streetcar Named Desire; hence his name. Kowalski however prefers to go by his middle name, Ray. To add to the Streetcar connections, Kowalski's ex-wife - the Assistant States Attorney - is called Stella. They still care about each other, but broke up because he wanted kids and she didn't. Kowalski's family includes his parents Damian and Barbara, and a brother who is only referenced on the show's official webpage and never made an appearance on the show.

Kowalski was brought into the series at the start of Season 3. Ray Vecchio had suddenly been sent deep undercover with the mob in Las Vegas, and to protect Ray's identity Kowalski was brought in to impersonate him until the real Vecchio returned. This meant taking on Ray's friend and unofficial partner, Mountie Benton Fraser, who was on vacation at the time of the "switch" and returned to find Kowalski at Ray's desk claiming to be Ray Vecchio. After being let into the secret, Fraser and Kowalski became true friends and partners.