Art Weber was an officer in the British military who worked at Nang Tao Airport in Shanghai, not far from Club Obi Wan.
Biography[]
In 1935, Art Weber was working out of a British airport office in Shanghai when he was approached by a young boy named Short Round trying to acquire three plane tickets. Reluctant to serve the child, Weber nevertheless accepted the payment when Short Round insisted he was the assistant to the famous professor Indiana Jones on a "very important government case".[2]
With such short notice, Weber was unsure that he could secure three seats on the same plane. He changed his stance, however, when he spied a dagger on the boy who offered him a bribe as well. Weber took the money and wondered when the London Office would transfer him back to civilization.[2]
Weber managed to get three seats for Jones, Short Round and a woman he recognized as famous American vocalist Willie Scott on a flight out of China, but could only get them on board a plane that was carrying live poultry, which he considered only a slight inconvenience.[1]
The plane was actually part of Lao Che Air Freight, owned by Jones' pursuer, Lao Che, and would soon crash in a mountainous area of India in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to kill Indy and his comrades.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Dan Aykroyd and Harrison Ford on the Temple of Doom set.
Weber was portrayed in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom by comedian and The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters actor Dan Aykroyd. Aykroyd had earlier appeared in director Steven Spielberg's film 1941.
Weber's first name appears as 'Art' in Temple of Doom's DVD and streaming subtitles. However, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: The Illustrated Screenplay indicates that the line of dialogue in which the character says his name is "Ah, Dr. Jones, I'm, ah, Weber".[3]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom novel
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom comic
Sources[]
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: The Illustrated Screenplay
- From Star Wars To Indiana Jones - The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives
The Temple of Doom: Dapper and Dan on IndianaJones.com (backup link on Archive.org)- The Diaries of Indiana Jones