Oscar Putney

Oscar Putney is a fictional business owner and a supporting character featured on the Showtime television series Penny Dreadful. Played by actor David Haig, He first appeared in the premiere episode of season two titled "Fresh Hell".

Biography
Oscar Putney was a middle-aged business man who lived in London, England in the latter half of the 19th century. He had a wife named Olivia, and a blind daughter named Lavinia.

The Putney family owned the Putney's Family Waxworks, which was a wax museum in London and was established to compete with Madame Tussaud's. Octavia Putney handled the business end of things while Oscar Putney worked as curator and took a hands-on role in the craftsmanship of the museum.

By the year 1891, Putney's Family Waxworks had fallen upon hard times. Very few people were patroning the establishment, preferring instead to be entertained by the more well-known Madam Tussaud's. In the hopes of boosting sales, Oscar Putney attempted a new gimmick and created the "Chambers of Crime", which were morbid tableaus detailing homicide scenes plucked from the headlines. Features here included the infamous Jack the Ripper killing Annie Chapman and the more recent Mariner's Inn Massacre.

The reanimate known as John Clare went to the museum searching for work. In fact, Putney's was one of the few places in London that were hiring. Oscar attributed the lack of interest in employment to people finding the place "unnerving". Clare however, found it all quite familiar. Oscar offered Clare a job for a pittance, but told him that he would have to get approval from his wife first.

Octavia met with John Clare, and also introduced them to their daughter, Lavinia. Octavia conceded to giving John the job, but privately expressed her concerns to Oscar, telling him that Clare's scarred face would drive away customers.