Donald Love

File:Love.jpg

Donald Love

Donald Love is a Grand Theft Auto 3 media mogul and CEO of Love Media, "the fastest growing US-run media conglomerate in the past five years". Operating from his apartment and office in south Bedford Point, Staunton Island, he primarily tasks Claude to complete jobs related to receiving a mysterious "package" delivered by plane. Following Claude's help in retrieving an authenticated secret package Love disappears, leaving only an opened and empty box in his penthouse garden.

Donald Love is believed to had only begun doing business in Liberty City from early-2001 onwards, indicating that Love Media was quick in founding or acquiring many companies in Liberty City within months (the time period of the Grand Theft Auto III is supposedly late 2001). This was done as a response to the return of Barry Harcross, a recently acquitted businessman and long time rival of Donald Love, to the city.

While little background information is known of Love, he is seen as a former apprentice of real estate mogul Avery Carrington, who appeared in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as a boss for Tommy Vercetti; the most evident sign of his link with Carrington is his use of a phrase that was also heard from Carrington, when Love asks that Claude assassinate Kenji Kasen:

"Nothing drives down real estate prices like a good old-fashioned gang war, apart from the outbreak of a plague, but that might be going too far in this case".

Donald Love makes a third appearance in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Love is portrayed as a necrophiliac and possessing a fascination for human corpses, thus explaining his connection to the aforementioned "morgue party" in GTA III. However, several possible continuity errors are also noted: Love had apparently operated in Liberty City in 1998 (although he was seen working in a different office building) and already owns several radio stations and newspapers, contrary to what the aforementioned 2001 Liberty Tree articles claims.

in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, previously depicted as an influential tycoon in Grand Theft Auto III, makes two minor appearances as a young apprentice of real estate tycoon Avery Carrington, learning the tricks of the trade. The Vice City rendition of the character has little voice acting; Love remains silent throughout his appearances, and his second appearance sees him uttering only one or two minor words before being interrupted by Carrington. (Opening cut scene of "Two Bit Hit," Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.)

Donald reappears in Liberty City Stories. It is interesting to note that Love resides and works in another skyscraper in the game, as opposed to the smaller "Love Media" building several blocks away in GTA III (although one mission involves delivering a vehicle to the latter's garage). Donald's current residence is under construction, which he is busy overseeing when Toni meets with him during several pre-mission cut scenes.

Following the killing of incumbent Liberty City mayor R.C. Hole (ordered by Salvatore Leone), Love seizes the chance to run in the mayoral race, using his deep pockets to rig the election. Based on his statements, he is running as a Republican; he is also a close associate of Salvatore Leone. Salvatore is bent on getting "his" candidate in office so he can take control of City Hall. Both candidates are backed by two different mob syndicates; O'Donovan by the Forellis, and Love by the Leones.

Toni Cipriani meets with Donald at his building, where he is overseeing the construction of the tower. Donald has popularity on his side, but O'Donovan's mob associates are rigging the ballots to give themselves an edge. Donald orders the incineration of their ballot machines and the deaths of O'Donovan's campaigners, who have a lock on the youth vote and are protected by armed gunmen. Despite his efforts, the voting polls are still neck-and neck. Making matters worse, Donald cannot make any more public appearances in fear of a Forelli assassination. Donald resorts to stealing some of the uncounted ballots and replacing them with some of his own, using Toni to hijack the ballot vans.

Following this, O'Donovan's men uncover evidence of Love's ties to Salvatore Leone. Love's political career stands at a knife's edge; he orders Toni to get to the docks and steal the evidence from the Forellis (and some Sindaccos) guarding it. When Toni arrives back at Donald's office, a news report blares that Donald Love has been linked to Toni, widely known as a top Leone associate. Donald's image is damaged beyond repair and O'Donovan wins the race. Donald drops his usually-cordial demeanor and erupts, saying he's been bankrupted by the campaign and blaming Toni for everything.

Later on, Toni receives a panicked phone call from Donald Love, who is living out of a flophouse in Shoreside Vale. Literally down to his last dime, Donald is an unshaven mess. Toni is content to leave him to rot, but Donald promises him a cut of something "huge." He arranges the killing of his former mentor Avery Carrington, who is arriving in Liberty City with valuable development plans under his arm. While leaving Francis International Airport with Colombian Cartel escorts, Avery is slain and his plans are stolen by Toni. The reporter Ned Burner witnesses this and is about to go public; Love orders him killed as well.

Donald still needs prime development property to make the deal go through; he selects the highly-populated Fort Staunton area for "demolition." Toni pays demolitions expert 8-Ball to fill a van full of explosives and used the Porter Tunnel (which is under construction) to access an abandoned subway station beneath Fort Staunton. He plants the bombs and they explode all at once, leveling the entire district.

His fortune rebuilt, Love moves into the biggest mansion in Shoreside Vale. The Cartel members who were providing security for Avery decide to blackmail Love in exchange for keeping quiet. Love is forced to flee town after Toni massacres the Cartel force and leaves piles of corpses in his garden. The mansion is abandoned and falls into Cartel hands (which remains so up to GTA III). This act of hostility by the Cartel is suggested to be the origins of Donald's subsequent grudge against the gang later on.

It is revealed in this game that Love is a cannibal and very likely a necrophiliac. Love describes human as tasting, "just like chicken, but more... sentient, if you know what I mean" during a cut scene where a human torso can be seen on the table with Love eating the ribs. Among those presumed to be consumed by Donald are Ned Burner and Avery Carrington, both of whom he takes with him on his flight out of Liberty City so he "won't be traveling alone."

Love's bizarre fetish of necrophilia was hinted at in Grand Theft Auto III when Claude was tasked to destroy pictures of Love at a "morgue party," but it was never fully revealed until this game (in fact, the "morgue party" was also mentioned in Liberty City Stories' dialog twice during Love's mission cut scenes).

Donald Love was voiced by Will Janowitz in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, although Kyle MacLachlan voiced him in GTA III.