| “ | Bless your soul, Chet. You drunk-driving angel! | „ |
| ~ Ash Williams (DUI) |
Chester "Chet" Kaminski was a childhood friend of Ash Williams, the secret lover of Cheryl Williams, and bartender at the Elk Lounge Bar.
Chet first appeared in the Ash vs Evil Dead Season Two episode Last Call. He was portrayed by Ted Raimi.
Biography
Early Life
There is very little information in regards to Chet Kaminski's early life and upbringing, except at some point during his adolescence he befriended Ash Williams. During the duo's high school years, Kaminski and Williams created an alcoholic concoction known as "Pink Fuck", a mixture of various liquors, lemonade, and ketamine which the two would serve during weekend parties.[1] At another unspecified point in his teenage years, Chet began having an intimate relationship with Ash's younger sister Cheryl. It is unknown which of the two initiated this relationship, but it is known that both parties kept it a secret from Ash, as Chet feared it would damage his friendship with him.[2]
Aftermath of The Cabin Incident
Through wide-spread rumor or from Ash himself, Chet learned of the supernatural incident which had occurred at the Knowby Cabin in October of 1982 that had resulted in Cheryl's death. While distraught over his secret lover's grisly demise, Kaminski remained Ash's friend, even in the years in which Williams was in his self-imposed "exile" from his hometown.
Not much is known about Chet's activities in the 30 years between Ash's departure and return to Elk Grove, although according to Kaminski himself he served in the United States Army during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, though this claim is somewhat questionable as his activities during that time bear some similarity to the 1999 film Three Kings.[1] Chet would find employment as one of the bartenders at the Elk Lounge Bar back in his hometown at another unspecified point.
Return of Ash
After more than three decades of running from his past, Ash Williams returned to Elk Grove to aid the Dark One known as Ruby in stopping her Demon Spawn from finding the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. It was after Ash's beloved 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (which the Ex-Mortis was locked inside of) was stolen by local teenagers that Ash and Chet were reunited for the first time since Williams left 30 years prior. Together, Ash and Chet created a massive batch of their famous Pink Fuck concoction for a party which they hoped the joyriders would come check out.[1]
Unbeknownst to anyone except the teenagers who had taken the car, the Oldsmobile had become possessed by a demonic spirit, and had taken the town sheriff's daughter hostage. After the rampaging Delta made it's presence known by driving past the Elk Lounge Bar and killing Ash's father Brock, Ash and a severely inebriated Chet gave chase in Kaminski's car. The pursuit was short-lived, as eventually Ash deemed this task too dangerous to bring his long-time friend along, and asked Chet to simply drop him off at the Elk Grove Destruction Derby. Kaminski reluctantly agreed after Ash explained the whole "demons and evil book" situation, and dropped Williams off at the old arena.[3]
Not long after leaving Ash, a still-intoxicated Chet hired a transgender prostitute with whom he had prior encounters named Joanie Valentine. Chet and Joanie were spotted by local police, and arrested for drunk driving and solicitation of a prostitute. Inside the police station, Chet was reunited with Ash, who was arrested for a incident inside the Elk Lounge Bar moments prior to the pursuit of the possessed Oldsmobile. Shortly after Ash's arrest, the emotion-manipulating demon known as Baal arrived at the station and proceeded to lock the occupants (including officers, detainees, and visitors) inside. Chet was among those affected by the brewing paranoia after Ruby revealed Baal could jump from body to body, and even believed Ash to be possessed at one point. Baal managed to escape the station, while Chet remained unscathed.[4]
Death
The Deadite Cheryl rips Chet's heart directly out of his chest (Trapped Inside)
Following Baal's escape, the citizens of Elk Grove fell under his influential power, creating an angry mob to hunt down Ash and his cohorts. Chet learned of the mob's plot and raced to Williams Family Home, entering through Cheryl's old bedroom. Ash heard the commotion of Chet's less than graceful entry and found Kaminski in the bedroom. When the two went to head back downstairs, a Deadite duplicate of Cheryl (albeit much older) manifested in the bedroom and confronted the duo. After Cheryl narrowly avoided Ash's attack and escaped into another part of the house, he told Chet to wait upstairs while he dealt with his resurrected sister. Impatient and thirsty for a beer, Chet ignored Ash's order and ventured downstairs, where Ash and Cheryl were locked in battle. The Deadite managed to sneak up behind Kaminski, using him as a human shield (as she knew Ash would never shoot towards Chet). In his state of panic, Chet almost revealed his secret affair with Cheryl from decades prior, though he was continuously interrupted by Ash. Cheryl grew impatient herself, and said that if Ash wasn't going to go through Chet to get to her, she would go through Chet to get to him, and proceeded to punch directly through Kaminski's chest and rip his heart out.[2]
Legacy
Shortly thereafter, Ash would be captured by Baal and placed in the Kenward County Asylum, creating a mass illusion for Williams in order to break him psychologically. Among the illusions shown to Williams was Chet, strapped down to an electroconvulsive therapy machine beside him. Ash argued with the hallucination, saying that Chet died when Cheryl ripped his heart out. The fake Chet responded that he died 30 years ago when Ash killed the real Cheryl. Williams watched as the machine cooked the fake Chet into a charred corpse, quickly taken away by a nurse.[5]
Baal would once again use the image of Chet to distract Ash, this time during a one-on-one fistfight inside the Knowby Cabin. Baal (posing as Chet) lopped of Ash's newly regrown right hand with his own chainsaw.[6]
Later, after Baal had been defeated, the ghosts of the real Cheryl, Brock Williams, and Chet briefly appeared to Ash during a party held by the town of Elk Grove to celebrate the demon's defeat.[6]
In Other Media
Short Films
- Chet (portrayed by Ted Raimi) made a cameo appearance in the Beep Beep short film released on the official Ash vs Evil Dead Twitter on October 18th, 2016.
Gallery
Ash vs Evil Dead Season Two
Episode Stills
Promotional Images
Trivia
The screen-used prop from Ash vs Evil Dead listing Chet's full first name and address.
- After Chet's death, his 1972 AMC Gremlin was later given to Pablo Simon Bolivar.
- Chet's full name of "Chester" was seen on a police report prop created for the episode Confinement, though it is never spoken in the series itself.
- The same prop report lists Chet's address as "13C Rail Drive, Elk Grove".
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ash vs Evil Dead: Last Call (Season 2, Episode 3) (2016)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ash vs Evil Dead: Trapped Inside (Season 2, Episode 6) (2016)
- ↑ Ash vs Evil Dead: DUI (Season 2, Episode 4) (2016)
- ↑ Ash vs Evil Dead: Confinement (Season 2, Episode 5) (2016)
- ↑ Ash vs Evil Dead: Delusion (Season 2, Episode 7) (2016)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ash vs Evil Dead: Second Coming (Season 2, Episode 10) (2016)