Fun Fact #497 Tuckerization
Fun Fact #497
Tuckerization
Have you ever wondered why seemingly irrelevant characters get names in modern movies, comics, Novels, and even operas? The answer can be found at an electrician’s grave on the outskirts of Peoria, Illinois.
Wilson “Bob” Tucker had always had a love of Science fiction growing up to the point that he created the first Fanzine The Planetoid (magazine run by fans of a given genre) in 1936. Over time he would coin many of the terms used today including “Space Opera” which you may recognize from Star Wars. Why make a Fanazine in the first place? Well before the internet it was the best way to spread and learn what was going on in genres of fiction as “Bob” would hunt answers to his reader’s questions and then publish them along with some stories of his own to pad the magazines a bit.
Because every story was stand-alone he wound up running through character names fairly quickly and so began using alterations of friends’ names and even those who submitted Story ideas, allowing those in the know to recognize them while remaining harmless to those unaware. This practice quickly became known as “Tuckerization” and has been adopted by most other fictional story groups such as Dark Horse Comics, and movie companies like Paramount or Sony. This allows these stories to grow and evolve around unexpected interest in side characters. More importantly, it looks better on a resume for actors to have named roles –even when those names are just slight variations of the actor’s own name– meaning this is a great way to introduce fresh blood to the Film Industry.
As for Mr. Tucker –before his death in 2006– he received multiple Hugo awards, Ran the Bloomington Newsletter (now called “The Pantagraph”), and was inducted into The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2004. His magazines and novels are even still reprinted and distributed throughout Kansas City to this day (you can often find magazines being given out at Chief’s Games while the Novel sales support the city’s foodbank).
Tucker's "The Princess of Detroit" was the cover story for the June 1942 issue of Future.
