# Tuckerization > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tuckerization > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tuckerization.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckerization > Source revision: 1329290032 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Humorous use of real names in fiction}} '''Tuckerization''' (or '''tuckerism'''{{Cite web|url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tuckerisms|title=Themes : Tuckerisms|website=www.sf-encyclopedia.com|language=en|access-date=2018-07-27}}) is the act of using a person's name in an original story as an [in-joke](/source/in-joke). The term is derived from [Wilson Tucker](/source/Wilson_Tucker_(writer)), a pioneering [American](/source/United_States) [science fiction](/source/science_fiction) writer, [fan](/source/science_fiction_fandom) and [fanzine](/source/science_fiction_fanzine) editor, who made a practice of using his friends' names for minor characters in his stories.{{cite book |author=Prucher |first=Jeff |title=[Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction](/source/Brave_New_Words%3A_The_Oxford_Dictionary_of_Science_Fiction) |publisher=[Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press) |year=2007 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bravenewwordsoxf00pruc/page/342 342]}}{{cite web|last=Baen|first=Jim|title=The Tucker Circle|url=http://www.baensuniverse.com/tucker.html|work=Jim Baen's Universe|access-date=8 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512062621/http://www.baensuniverse.com/tucker.html|archive-date=12 May 2013}} For example, Tucker named a character after [Lee Hoffman](/source/Lee_Hoffman) in his novel ''[The Long Loud Silence](/source/The_Long_Loud_Silence)'', and after [Walt Willis](/source/Walt_Willis) in ''Wild Talent''.{{cite web|last1=Langford|first1=David|title=Tuckerisms|url=http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tuckerisms|website=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction|publisher=Gollancz|access-date=3 December 2014}} In most cases, tuckerization is used for "bit parts" (minor characters), an opportunity for the author to create an [homage](/source/Homage_(arts)) to a friend or respected colleague. However, an author sometimes attaches a friend's name, description, or identifiable characteristics to a major character, and in some novels, nearly all characters represent friends, colleagues, or prominent persons the author knows. When that happens, tuckerization can rise to the level of a ''[roman à clef](/source/roman_%C3%A0_clef)''. Tuckerization is generally for wink-and-nod homages: characters with suspiciously similar names or features. It should not be confused with the direct inclusion of real people in fiction, a form of story that is usually called [biographical fiction](/source/Biography_in_literature) when it is the main focus. == Notable examples == Before Wilson Tucker (1914–2006), Mary Jane, [Buster Brown](/source/Buster_Brown)'s sweetheart after whom the [Mary Jane shoe](/source/Mary_Jane_(shoe)) style was named, was inspired by [Richard Felton Outcault](/source/Richard_Felton_Outcault)'s daughter of the same name. In Outcault's and his daughter's own words, she was the only character drawn from life in the ''Buster Brown'' strip (1902- ) although "she resembled Outcault's wife".{{cite news |title=MISS OUTCAULT WEDS GEN. PERSHING'S NEPHEW; Cartoonist's Daughter, Original Mary Jane of Buster Brown, Marries Capt. F.E. Pershing. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/03/20/archives/miss-outcault-weds-gen-pershings-nephew-cartoonists-daughter.html |access-date=11 July 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=20 March 1921}} In the early 1930s, before [Jerry Siegel](/source/Jerry_Siegel) and [Joe Shuster](/source/Joe_Shuster) created the comic-book superhero ''[Superman](/source/Superman)'', they had written and illustrated a [fanzine](/source/fanzine) story, "[The Reign of the Superman](/source/The_Reign_of_the_Superman)", featuring a super-powered villain. The story includes one of the first tuckerizations: a character named after fandom-famous [Forrest J Ackerman](/source/Forrest_J_Ackerman) (1916–2008). [H. P. Lovecraft](/source/H._P._Lovecraft)'s acquaintance [Robert Bloch](/source/Robert_Bloch) published "The Shambler from the Stars", in the September 1935 ''[Weird Tales](/source/Weird_Tales)''; its unnamed, doomed protagonist is a weird-fiction author closely resembling Lovecraft. As a genial return, Lovecraft's "The Haunter of the Dark", published in the December 1936 ''Weird Tales'', introduces [Robert Harrison Blake](/source/Robert_Harrison_Blake), who shares Bloch's [Milwaukee](/source/Milwaukee) street address and is killed off in an equally horrible fashion.{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia= [The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](/source/The_Encyclopedia_of_Science_Fiction) |url= https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsc00ies1 |author= Langford, David R. |author-link= David Langford |editor= [John Clute](/source/John_Clute), [Peter Nicholls](/source/Peter_Nicholls_(writer)) |title= Tuckerisms |date= November 10, 2014 |edition= Online |publisher= St Martin's Griffin |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-312-09618-2 |url-access= registration }} Bloch wrote a third story after Lovecraft's death, "The Shadow from the Steeple" (1950), in which the events of the first two stories are further explored. [Evelyn Waugh](/source/Evelyn_Waugh) featured absurd, preposterous or dishonest characters named Cruttwell, after [C. R. M. F. Cruttwell](/source/C._R._M._F._Cruttwell), the [dean](/source/Dean_(education)) of [Hertford College](/source/Hertford_College) when Waugh was a student and Waugh's [tutor](/source/tutor), who tried to get Waugh to fulfil the conditions of his [scholarship](/source/scholarship) and study. It was only after Cruttwell suffered a mental breakdown in 1939 and his death in 1941 that his name disappeared from Waugh's works. In his novels up to ''[The Anti-Death League](/source/The_Anti-Death_League)'' (1966), [Kingsley Amis](/source/Kingsley_Amis) featured characters named Caton, after [R.A. Caton](/source/Reginald_Caton) of the [Fortune Press](/source/Fortune_Press), who published Amis's first book of poems, ''Bright November'', however in Amis's view, did not promote it properly. More mercifully than Waugh, in ''The Anti-Death League'', Caton dies and his name disappears from Amis's work. [Philip K. Dick](/source/Philip_K._Dick) employed tuckerization in his 1964 short story "Waterspider", in which he sent fellow author [Poul Anderson](/source/Poul_Anderson) ahead in time to a future where science fiction authors were seen as having precognitive abilities.{{cite book|title=The Minority Report: 18 Classic Stories |last=Dick|first=Philip K.|date=2002|publisher=Citadel Press Books|pages=176–198|access-date=}} In a sense, Dick tuckerized himself in 1981's ''[Valis](/source/Valis_(novel))'', creating a character named Horselover Fat, Dick's translation of his own name.{{cite web |last=Robinson |first=Kim Stanley |author-link=Kim Stanley Robinson |date=Fall 1988 |title=An Afterword to Philip K. Dick's Valis |url=https://philipdick.com/literary-criticism/essays/an-afterword-to-philip-k-dicks-valis/ |website=philipdick.com |access-date=October 10, 2025}} Other characters in this novel include David, who is based on [Tim Powers](/source/Tim_Powers), and Kevin represents [K.W. Jeter](/source/K.W._Jeter). Beginning in 1971, [Isaac Asimov](/source/Isaac_Asimov) tuckerized several friends in sixty-six short mystery stories published mostly in ''[Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine](/source/Ellery_Queen's_Mystery_Magazine)'' and later collected into six volumes. Himself a member of a club called the [Trap Door Spiders](/source/Trap_Door_Spiders), Asimov invented minor bafflements{{cite web |author=Giskard |date=July 2, 2025 |title=Tales of the Black Widowers |url=https://asimov.learntosolveit.com/tales-of-the-black-widowers/ |website=Asimov Universe |quote=One might hinge on a cryptic clue, another on clever wordplay or a forgotten historical fact. Sometimes the solution lies buried in a misremembered detail, an obscure scientific principle, or even a misused idiom. The stakes in these intellectual puzzles are rarely grand in the traditional sense; they are often personal, focusing on a forgotten name, a misunderstood phrase, or a seemingly meaningless habit. |access-date=October 16, 2025}} brought by guests to his "[Black Widowers](/source/Black_Widowers)," a fictional men-only dining club, where the puzzle would be discussed and solved.{{cite web |last=Lengeman III |first=William I. |date=March 26, 2012 |title=Isaac Asimov's Black Widowers |url=https://www.criminalelement.com/isaac-asimov-black-widowers-traditional-mysteries-intellectual/ |website=Criminal Element — Mysteries, Thrillers, and all things Killer! |quote=Asimov was a member of the [Sherlock Holmes](/source/Sherlock_Holmes) fan organization, [The Baker Street Irregulars](/source/The_Baker_Street_Irregulars), and [The Wolfe Pack](/source/The_Wolfe_Pack)... But it's his membership in another group, the [Trap Door Spiders](/source/Trap_Door_Spiders), that led to the creation of some of his most popular mystery stories. The Spiders, like their fictional counterparts, the [Black Widowers](/source/Black_Widowers), were an all-male group that convened regularly to eat, drink, discuss, debate and whatnot. Like Asimov, a number of the members of the Spiders were popular science fiction authors, including such notables as [L. Sprague de Camp](/source/L._Sprague_de_Camp), [Lin Carter](/source/Lin_Carter) and [L. Ron Hubbard](/source/L._Ron_Hubbard) (in his pre-messianic incarnation). The Black Widowers were six men from the upper strata of society. Much like the Spiders they would met every now and then for dinner—typically with a single guest on hand—and ended up solving some manner of puzzle presented to them by that guest. In most cases it's the group's unofficial seventh member who ends up solving the puzzle. ... Henry commands the respect of everyone else in the group (who spend no small amount of time bickering with each other) and has rather keen insights into all of the issues that are presented. |access-date=October 16, 2025}} Asimov's friends and their fictional counterparts are: ::* [L. Sprague de Camp](/source/L._Sprague_de_Camp) = Geoffrey Avalon, a patent attorney ::* [Lester del Rey](/source/Lester_del_Rey) = Dr. Emmanuel Rubin, a mystery novelist acquainted with Asimov ::* [John Drury Clark](/source/John_Drury_Clark) = Dr. James Drake, a chemist ::* [Gilbert Cant](/source/Gilbert_Cant) = Thomas Trumbull, a government [cryptographer](/source/Cryptography) ::* [Lin Carter](/source/Lin_Carter) = Mario Gonzalo, an artist ::* [Donald R. Bensen](/source/Donald_R._Bensen) = Roger Halsted, a high school mathematics teacher Club waiter Henry Jackson, who inevitably solves the mystery after the diners have chewed over the details, was inspired by [P. G. Wodehouse's](/source/P._G._Wodehouse) character [Jeeves](/source/Jeeves). The deceased founder of the club, Ralph Ottur, was based on the real-life founder of the Trap Door Spiders, [Fletcher Pratt](/source/Fletcher_Pratt). In one story, "The Cross of Lorraine," a guest is a stage magician, The Amazing Larri, and he was based on [James Randi](/source/James_Randi);{{Cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |author-link=Isaac Asimov |year=1980 |title=[Casebook of the Black Widowers](/source/Casebook_of_the_Black_Widowers) |location=New York |publisher=[Doubleday](/source/Doubleday_(publisher)) |isbn=0-449-24384-2}} an arrogant science writer Mortimer Stellar ("When No Man Pursueth") was based on Asimov himself.{{Cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |author-link=Isaac Asimov |year=1994 |title=[I. Asimov: A Memoir](/source/I._Asimov%3A_A_Memoir) |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=0-385-41701-2}} In his 1980-1981 ''To the Stars'' series, [Harry Harrison](/source/Harry_Harrison_(writer)) has a character named "Old Lundwall, who commands the ''Sverige'', should have retired a decade ago, but he is still the best there is." [Sam J Lundwall](/source/Sam_J_Lundwall) is a well-known [Swedish](/source/Sweden) science fiction publisher and writer, as well as the godfather of Harrison's daughter, and ''Sverige'' is the Swedish word for Sweden. A tuckerization can also be the use of a person's character or personal attributes with a new name as an in-joke, such as Ian Arnstein in [S. M. Stirling](/source/S._M._Stirling)'s 1998 ''[Island in the Sea of Time](/source/Island_in_the_Sea_of_Time)'' trilogy, clearly modeled on his good friend [Harry Turtledove](/source/Harry_Turtledove), albeit an alternate history Turtledove. [Larry Niven](/source/Larry_Niven) and [Jerry Pournelle](/source/Jerry_Pournelle) have written works in which nearly all the characters represent people the authors know. In 1976's ''Inferno'', about half the people the main character meets are famous people, and in 1991's ''[Fallen Angels](/source/Fallen_Angels_(science_fiction_novel))'', nearly everybody who assists the effort to return the "angels" (astronauts) to orbit is either a well-known fan (Jenny Trout = [filksinger](/source/Filk_music), author, and political activist [Leslie Fish](/source/Leslie_Fish)), a friend of Niven & Pournelle (Dan Forrester = [Dan Alderson](/source/Dan_Alderson)), or somebody who paid (through donation to a fan charity) for the privilege of appearing in the book. In this case, the first and second categories are not true tuckerizations, since the individual's real names are not used (however recognizable many of them may be). A similar effect is seen in Niven's collaboration with [David Gerrold](/source/David_Gerrold), ''[The Flying Sorcerers](/source/The_Flying_Sorcerers)'' (1971); all the gods are well known science fiction or media personalities (Ouells = [H. G. Wells](/source/H._G._Wells), Rotn'bair = [Star Trek](/source/Star_Trek) creator [Gene Roddenberry](/source/Gene_Roddenberry), etc.). [Tim Sullivan](/source/Tim_Sullivan_(writer)) tuckerized his friend [Gardner Dozois](/source/Gardner_Dozois) in the phrase "the garden world of Doazwah," in his novel ''Destiny's End'' (1988).{{cite book |last= Sullivan |first= Tim |chapter= Prologue |title= Destiny's End |location= New York |publisher= Avon Books |year= 1988 |page= 1 |isbn= 0-380-75352-9}} [Michael Swanwick](/source/Michael_Swanwick) features an appearance by Linda Deck, Director of the [Bradbury Science Museum](/source/Bradbury_Science_Museum) at [Los Alamos National Laboratory](/source/Los_Alamos_National_Laboratory), in his 2002 novel ''[Bones of the Earth](/source/Bones_of_the_Earth)''. Many science fiction and military novelists see their names borrowed in the [Axis of Time](/source/Axis_of_Time) trilogy (2004-2006) by [John Birmingham](/source/John_Birmingham), and the Lachlan Fox thriller series (2006- ) by [James Clancy Phelan](/source/James_Clancy_Phelan). The British science fiction writer [Simon R. Green](/source/Simon_R._Green) repeatedly tuckerizes ''[Ansible](/source/Ansible_(magazine))'' editor [David Langford](/source/David_Langford) by killing him off in various grisly ways and then gleefully notifying ''Ansible'' about the latest killing. Similarly, the science fiction fan Joe Buckley, who maintains a website dedicated to detailing information about the publications of [Baen Books](/source/Baen_Books), has been tuckerized in books by a number of Baen authors, including [Eric Flint](/source/Eric_Flint) and [David Weber](/source/David_Weber), dying a variety of unpleasant deaths. Weber has also tuckerized various other fans and authors, including Flint, [Timothy Zahn](/source/Timothy_Zahn), and [Jordin Kare](/source/Jordin_Kare), even crewing one small spacecraft with a collection of [hearts](/source/Hearts_(card_game))-playing [Chattanooga](/source/Chattanooga%2C_Tennessee)-based science fiction fans. Science fiction scholar [Fiona Kelleghan](/source/Fiona_Kelleghan) has been tuckerized (sometimes in comically unpleasant ways) by authors whom she wrote about: in ''[Corrupting Dr. Nice](/source/Corrupting_Dr._Nice)'' by [John Kessel](/source/John_Kessel), in ''Galveston'' by [Sean Stewart](/source/Sean_Stewart), in ''Run'' by [Douglas E. Winter](/source/Douglas_E._Winter), twice in the ''[WWW Trilogy](/source/WWW_Trilogy)'' by [Robert J. Sawyer](/source/Robert_J._Sawyer) (once as a character under her maiden name, "Feehan", and once as her real-world self), and in ''Spondulix'' by [Paul Di Filippo](/source/Paul_Di_Filippo). ===In other media=== One notable example of tuckerization outside the world of science fiction is the 1997 film ''[Good Will Hunting](/source/Good_Will_Hunting)''. The female lead of the film is named Skylar in honor of the co-writer and star [Matt Damon](/source/Matt_Damon)'s college girlfriend, Skylar Satenstein (who later married the [Metallica](/source/Metallica) drummer [Lars Ulrich](/source/Lars_Ulrich)).{{cite web|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/12/183971/is-good-will-hunting-based-on-a-true-story|title=The Surprising True Story Behind Good Will Hunting|first=Elena|last=Nicolaou|website=Refinery29|date=December 5, 2017|accessdate=July 8, 2022}} [Matt Groening](/source/Matt_Groening) named the members of the [Simpson family](/source/Simpson_family) (apart from [Bart](/source/Bart_Simpson)) after his parents and sisters. Elsewhere in the world of animation, ''[South Park](/source/South_Park)'' creators [Trey Parker](/source/Trey_Parker) and [Matt Stone](/source/Matt_Stone) named [Randy and Sharon Marsh](/source/Randy_and_Sharon_Marsh) and [Gerald and Sheila Broflovski](/source/Gerald_and_Sheila_Broflovski) after their parents, and [Liane Cartman](/source/Liane_Cartman) after Parker’s ex-fiancée Lianne Adamo. Parker had also used the name "Liane" for [Alferd Packer](/source/Alferd_Packer)’s unfaithful horse in his student film ''[Cannibal! The Musical](/source/Cannibal!_The_Musical)''.{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Jeff |title='South Park' Creator Trey Parker Revealed He Wrote His First Movie to 'Ridicule' His Ex-Fiancée |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/south-park-creator-trey-parker-revealed-wrote-first-movie-ridicule-ex-fiancee.html/ |website=CheatSheet |date=30 April 2022 |access-date=17 March 2023}} The British webseries [Eddsworld](/source/Eddsworld) has also examples of tuckerization. The main character Edd is named after the series creator [Edd Gould](/source/Edd_Gould) while his three other friends are named after Gould's real life friends. Tom after [Thomas Ridgewell](/source/Thomas_Ridgewell), Matt after Matthew Hargreaves and Tord after Tord Larsson. Edd's enemy and rival Eduardo is named after a Spanish [Mario Kart](/source/Mario_Kart) player with whom Gould played. Gould was winning the race when Eduardo suddenly left which led to the character's creation. A supporting female character Laurel is named after Gould's another friend Laurel Dearing. Some [science fiction authors](/source/science_fiction_authors) auction off tuckerizations at [science fiction conventions](/source/science_fiction_conventions) with the proceeds going to charity.[Nielsen Hayden, Patrick](/source/Patrick_Nielsen_Hayden). [http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/008541.html "Mike Ford memorial benefit auction"]. ''Making Light''. January 15, 2007[http://boingboing.net/2009/11/28/charity-auction-whos.html][Doctorow, Cory](/source/Cory_Doctorow). "Charity auction for characters names in forthcoming sf novels by great writers" ''[Boing Boing](/source/Boing_Boing)'' November 28, 2009 At one of these, [Ken Follett](/source/Ken_Follett) gave his surname to the head of the [Discworld](/source/Discworld) Assassins' Guild in ''[Night Watch](/source/Night_Watch_(Pratchett_novel))'' (2002) by [Terry Pratchett](/source/Terry_Pratchett).{{cite web |last=Langford |first=David |author-link=David Langford |title=Tuckerisms |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tuckerisms |work=[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](/source/The_Encyclopedia_of_Science_Fiction) |access-date=October 10, 2025}} ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{Cite web|url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tuckerisms|title=Themes: Tuckerisms|website=[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](/source/The_Encyclopedia_of_Science_Fiction) |language=en}} Category:In-jokes Category:Narrative techniques Category:Science fiction culture --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tuckerization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckerization) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckerization?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.