- "My name is Fame Douglas, and I'm the CEO of DOATEC."
- —Fame in Dead or Alive Dimensions
Fame Douglas was the head of the DOATEC, and a non-playable character from the Dead or Alive series. Although never seen in the series until his cameo appearance in Dead or Alive 4, then his full appearance in Dead or Alive Dimensions. Although dead for most of it, he is an important key character in the story.
History
The Douglas Family in Dead or Alive 4: Fame is the man in the center with a young Helena next to him.
Fame was the leader of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee: a large and successful international weapons company. His role as leader allowed him to live in luxury, and made him famous worldwide. He was known to have many mistresses: two known affairs led onto Fame having two daughters out of wedlock; Helena with Maria, and Kokoro with Miyako about four years later.
While Helena and Maria stayed within the Douglas family and seemed to either live with or supported by Fame, Miyako took Kokoro away to Japan and raised her alone. Possibly fearing her daughter's life, being related to the infamous DOATEC as an heir, Miyako never told Kokoro who her father was. Fame seemed to know that he had another daughter, as Helena later found out about Kokoro.
Dead or Alive
Fame created the Dead or Alive World Combat Championship, simple as an annual, world-wide fighting tournament for fighters to take part in to win large cash prizes. The first tournament was successful, but shortly after the event, Fame was assassinated by Bayman, working under the orders of Victor Donovan, a DOATEC scientist. It is thought that Fame was opposed to human-gene experimentation proposed by Donovan, which lead to his assassination.
Although Helena took her father's place as head of the company, Donovan secretly controlled the committee behind her back, and he started to use the tournaments to lure in fighters to study them, and even as a trap to kidnap them for genetic projects.
Character
Appearance
Appearing fully for the first time in Dead or Alive Dimensions, Fame appears to be a dark-skinned, middle-aged man, with a broad, strong body, bearing a strong jaw and very defined cheekbones. His black hair is short, combed back, and is graying in strips along the side of his head. He also sports a neatly-trimmed beard and dark eyes. He wears a dark brown business suit, with a white shirt and a red patterned tie.
Personality
It is hard to understand Fame as not much is known about him, and what is known about him gives the impression that he was a man of mixed morals. For example, he was willing to run a company that creates weaponry and firearms, but he seemed to be against human experiments. In addition to this, he was happy to have many mistresses and engage with multiple, careless relationships, even after getting two women pregnant out of wedlock, but he did seemingly take on the responsibility of supporting Helena and Maria.
Etymology
The word "Fame" means "renown; celebrity, either favorable or unfavorable". This name relates well to this man, as everyone knowns him, even after his death, and his impact on those in the story is felt by everyone.
The surname "Douglas" is a anglicized form of the Scottish surname Dubhghlas, which meant "dark river", from the Gaelic dubh meaning "dark" and glais meaning "water, river". Douglas was originally a river name, which then became a Scottish clan name belonging to a powerful line of Scottish earls. This could mean that Fame is of English/Scottish descent.
Relationships
Concept art of Fame's mistresses
Mistresses
Fame Douglas was known to have had at least six mistresses: Goldie, Anne, Maria, Isabella, Miyako, and Anastasia. His relationships with these women before, during, and after their affairs are unknown, but it is known that he had children with both Maria and Miyako. Since Helena, Maria's daughter, was present in Fame's life, it's likely Fame at least kept in contact with Maria even after they stopped being lovers. Miyako never told her daughter, Kokoro the truth about her father, suggesting that Miyako kept her distance from Fame after they ended their relationship.
However, it is implied that his mistresses may have their own work set in DOATEC, due to evidence that Miyako is head of DOATEC Japan.
Children
Although it's said that Helena was deeply saddened by his death, she seemed more actively enraged and upset about Maria's death, and seemed more eager to avenge Maria rather than Fame. She also, in Dead or Alive 3, seemed disinterested in taking the role as head of DOATEC, saying it was her father's company and it had nothing to do with her.
It's unknown whether Fame cared for Helena. He calls her name in his last words after he argued with her on the phone just moments before his death (although in the Japanese he remains silent). Helena, however, had told Kokoro that Fame was a "good man". In Dead or Alive 5, she tells Hayate that she is doing what her father may have done in terms of DOATEC's plans to annihilate Donovan's plans.
In Dead or Alive 4, it is heavily implied that Fame might be Kokoro's father, as her mother Miyako was one of his former mistresses, and Helena suggests that their "blood" brought them together. in Dead or Alive 5, Kokoro said she never knew of her father.
Appearances
Dead or Alive series
- Dead or Alive (mentioned, 1998)
- Dead or Alive 2 (mentioned, 1999 - 2000)
- Dead or Alive 3 (mentioned, 2001-02)
- Dead or Alive 4 (cameo, 2005-06)
- Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (mentioned, 2006)
- Dead or Alive Paradise (mentioned, 2010)
- Dead or Alive Dimensions (non-playable, 2011)
- Dead or Alive 5 (mentioned, 2012-13)
DOA: Dead or Alive
Fame appears in the feature film, DOA: Dead or Alive; he is only seen in a flashback, and only then as a shadow through a screen.
Fame was the creator of the Dead or Alive Tournament and partners with Victor Donovan. Couple of years before the events of the film, Donovan suggested a plan to use the tournament to find the world's best fighters, "harvest" their talents and create a technology where the host will be able to predict and adapt to any fighting style, and therefore defeat any combatant, then sell the technology for a profit. Fame was against the idea and the two argued, resulting with Fame putting an end to Donovan's plan. Later, he was secretly killed by Bayman, under the orders of Donovan, allowing him to develop his plan.
Gallery
| Promotional images |
|---|
 Dead or Alive Dimensions  Dead or Alive Dimensions  Dead or Alive Dimensions |
| v · e · d |
|---|
| Characters |
| Main characters |
| Supporting characters Ayane • Ryu Hayabusa • Max • Victor Donovan •
Weatherby • Zack • Bass Armstrong • Hayate • Bayman • Leon |
| Minor characters Brad Wong • Eliot • Fame Douglas • Gen Fu • Hitomi • Jann Lee • Leifang • Pirates |
| Terms |
| Acupuncture • Central Intelligence Agency • Dead or Alive World Combat Championship • DOATEC • Donovan's Glasses ID Bracelet • Katana • Nanobots • Needle • Ninja • Nunchaku • Runaway Shinobi • Shuriken • Volleyball |
| Other terms Character Relationships |
| Locations |
| Ishikari Mountains • South China Sea • Hong Kong • DOA Island • Buddha • Waterwheel • Bamboo Forest • Forbidden Square • Gray Steps • Lab Complex • DOA Compound • Tina's Yacht • Ninja Clan |
| Music |
| DOA: Dead or Alive Original Soundtrack |
| Archives |
| Promotional Artwork |