Waldo Faldo

Waldo Geraldo Faldo is a supporting character on the 1990s ABC/CBS American television situation comedy Family Matters. Waldo was portrayed by actor Shawn Harrison.
Waldo was part of Family Matters from 1991 to 1996. For most of the time Waldo was featured on the show, he was friends with Eddie Winslow (the son of the show's main characters, Carl and Harriette Winslow) and the Winslows' quintessential nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel. Like Urkel (the show's most famous character), Waldo was an outlandish, almost surrealistic character. While Urkel was the resident nerd, Waldo was the resident idiot.
About Waldo
Waldo's most famous trait was his dimwittedness and uncanny ability to misinterpret a simple question, comment, or directive. This action has come to the point where it even annoys Steve Urkel.
Examples of this behavior are:
* His frequent saying of "cool"
* Every time someone calls his name, he replies by saying "'sup" (what's up).
* A Halloween episode in which he takes Eddie's cousin Richie trick-or-treating and accidentally brings home another child. Waldo wears a mask with his face on it as his "costume." In the same episode, he comes to believe that Carl Winslow is Zorro just because he dressed as Zorro.
* Similarly, Waldo sees Carl wearing a dreadlock wig. He then exclaims to Eddie, "It's Rick James!" When Eddie informs Waldo that it's just his father, Waldo says, "Your dad is Rick James?!" (however, Carl said to the man who gave him the wig that he indeed looked like Rick James, before Waldo and Eddie entered the room)
* When Steve was showing Eddie and Waldo his baseball card collection, Steve showed two 1952 Topps Mickey Mantles (which were erroneously called his rookie cards) to his friends, to which Waldo replies, "There were two Mickey Mantles!? Did they play on the same team!?"
* Once when walking into a class, Waldo comes in with a weird look on his face and is looking around when he walks into the classroom. Laura asks him, "Why weren't you here yesterday?" Waldo replies saying, "You mean this class is everyday?" When Laura replies saying yes, Waldo responds saying, "I wish people would make up their minds. I waited here all summer!"
* In the episode where Waldo, Laura, and Urkel took a home-ec class together, Waldo did the best job there. When Ms. Steuben commented on his cooking for the turkey she says, "Waldo what a turkey!" then Waldo replies, "Hey, you don't have to like my cooking but please don't call names." Later on in the episode when Urkel's yeast explodes Waldo takes out tiny paper cups to stop it.
* While in the Winslow's kitchen, Eddie and Waldo are making sandwiches and Eddie asks Waldo how things are going with Max, his girlfriend. Waldo replies, "Not so good. Her dog's got worms." Eddie responds saying, "No. I meant how are things going between you two?" Waldo easily answers, "Fine. I mean I'm not gonna stop petting him just because he got worms." Eddie then gives up on that subject saying, "Man, my head hurts."
* When finding out Waldo's sister, Quesadilla, was going to the prom with Weasel, Eddie suggests to Waldo that he should keep a close eye on him. Waldo responds to Eddie: "I'm gonna be on him like ketchup on spaghetti."
* When Eddie, Waldo, and Weasel bet on NFL games and end up losing 10 of 12 games they bet on, Weasel tells Eddie: "May remind you that we also won two games, Mr. Glass Is Half Empty." Waldo jumps up off the couch and responds, "Hey! I want an Indian name too."
* After arriving back home with the Golden Spatula Award for 1st place in the chef cook-off, Waldo remembers that he left the stove on where the cook-off took place. When Eddie asks him, "Can't you just call?" Waldo responds saying, "Don't be stupid. A stove can't answer the phone."
* Eddie once asked Waldo if it was hard to get in the fraternity at his cooking school. Waldo replied, "No, they have a big door right in front."
* When Urkel was building the homecoming float for the school, Waldo saw the supplies laying around and asked Eddie, "What's all this stuff for?" Eddie said, "Steve's building a float." Waldo then replied, "Why doesn't he use ice cream and root beer like everybody else?"
* In the homecoming float episode, Maxine asks Waldo if he wants to help Urkel and Laura put it together. Waldo responds, "Sure, I worked on the float every year I was in high school." Waldo thinks for a second: "Let's see...that'd be 7 floats."
* Waldo and Maxine rented a 2 person bicycle for the day (Waldo in the front and Maxine in the back). Waldo said, "Max is amazing. No matter how fast I pedal, she's right behind me."
* Waldo wore a sun dial wrist watch and Eddie asked him how he used it at night-time. Waldo replied, "I use a flashlight."
* An episode in which Waldo is hired at the Mighty Weenie (where Eddie is a shift manager), and he accepts IOUs with gag names and botches inventory. Eddie ponders firing Waldo, but remembers that Waldo is an exceptional cook. Earlier in the same episode, Waldo asks for an order at a drive-thru at the Mighty Weenie and walked up to the delivery area. When asked why he did not simply order inside, he replies that he likes talking to the clown outside. Also when Eddie tells Carl that he hired Waldo he replies Waldo Faldo? The guy who thinks Mt Rushmore was created by lighting?
* His joining the Army (by merely following a bunch of other troops) simply because Eddie called him "an idiot". It turns out however, Waldo did not sign any enlistment papers so he never really "joined" the Army in the first place.
* He once tried to mail himself to see Maxine, who was out of town at a cheerleading competition and staying at a hotel. Unfortunately, all he wrote on the side of the box was "Maxine's Room. The Big Hotel. Nebraska". When asked as to why he was mailing himself instead of taking an airplane, he simply replyed that a plane trip was "too expensive".
* In the Walt Disney World episodes, Waldo and Eddie get lost while driving to Florida. While looking at the road map, Waldo claims that they are arriving in a town called "Cañada", which Eddie corrects as being Canada. Eddie then exclaims that Waldo has been "driving the wrong way for the past four hours!", to which Waldo replies, "Well now's a fine time to tell me!"
* When Urkel asked him to state his name, Waldo responded: "Illinois." Urkel then clarified: "No. State your name. Not name your state." Finally, Waldo corrected himself: "Oh. Waldo Faldo... from Illinois."
*When Waldo is told the door is open (i.e. unlocked) and he walks into the door itself. He then opens the door, walks through, and exclaims "You tricked me bad"
* When Eddie pulled a prank in one episode: pasting a picture of a supermodel on a math chart, before he left, Waldo said to Eddie, "Don't forget your poster.", and the teacher caught him. After Waldo left, Eddie shouted, "Thanks a lot, Waldo!", and Waldo comes by and replies, "No prob, Bob.".
* In one episode, Carl tells Eddie and Waldo that he knew one of the Psycho Twins, to which Eddie exclaims "Get out of here!" in surprise. Waldo then tells Eddie "Gosh darn it, Eddie. Have some respect for your own father. You can stay Mr. Winslow."
* Waldo sometimes does not see the point of things. In one episode, Waldo said "Last night you said I would win gold metal in the 'Stupid Olympics'. Well, I looked it up and there was no such thing."there was also an episode where Waldo and Maxine went to a drive in movie theater and brought 2 chairs instead of his truck.Then when Maxine wants to go he replies "its the middle of the movie. If we leave now we'll look stupid."
* On his first date with Maxine they went to see Malcolm X, but Waldo referred to the movie as Malcolm 10.
*On one occasion, he owes Steve ten dollars. He mentions, "I left it in my other pants." and proceeds to remove his pants to show that he has a pair of pants underneath, taking a ten dollar bill out of his pocket. When Steve inquires why he was wearing two pairs of pants, Waldo replies that he "didn't want to get the other pair dirty". Steve then gives him the ten dollars and sarcastically suggests that Waldo "buy himself a clue".
Despite his simple mind, Waldo is shown to have a talent for cooking. Where as Urkel fares miserably in Home Economics, Waldo excels. He is a highly accomplished tap dancer, becoming highly proficient after two weeks of lessons (Technically 13 days due to observing the birthday of Gregory Hines). Waldo also has a firm moral code. When Eddie was considering cheating on a test, Waldo said, "I for one am appalled... I may get Fs, but by God, I earn them."
*Eddie was going on a date and he asked Waldo "How do I look?" Waldo said "With your eyes"
Love interests
Waldo's main love interest was Laura Winslow's friend, Maxine Johnson (Cherie Johnson). There was indication that Waldo had a long time crush on Maxine, but felt insecure saying why would someone like her fall in love with a knucklehead like himself. However, the two were paired thanks to a five-way phone conversation between Urkel and the Winslows. While on the date, Waldo put his jacket in a puddle for her, then put it around her shoulders. Realizing that he made a faux pas, he sat in the mud so that they could match. A longstanding romance ensued.
In a later episode, Eddie hits on two girls, bringing them to the apartment he shared with Waldo. Maxine stopped by and grew angry with Waldo, thinking he was trying to cheat on her. The two girls were so moved by Waldo's tears over losing Maxine and disgusted by Eddie's attitude that they took him over to her home and explained the whole issue to Maxine.
Prior to dating Maxine, Waldo was seen in one episode as having two dates for a homecoming dance. He had a crush on one, but the other had a car, so he asked both. When the car turned out to be a two-seater, the two ladies rode together and Waldo took the bus.
Also, Waldo, along with Steve and Eddie, appeared on the dating show Dudes, getting negative feedback from two female contestants and failing to locate the home of a third.
Character history
Harrison's first appearance on Family Matters was in the 1990 episode "The Big Party" (where Eddie hosts a house party in his parents' absence, despite a "no guest" rule). Harrison was credited simply as "Guy in Towel" — indeed, he is not referred to by name — and makes only a few brief appearances. However, many fans have considered this to be Waldo's first appearance.
Later, Waldo was paired with Willie Fuffner (Larenz Tate), a bully who menaced Urkel and wanted to date an unwilling Laura. The two appeared together in two episodes: "Requiem For an Urkel" and "Life of the Party." In the latter episode, Waldo and Willie are arrested when they smuggle alcoholic beverages into a rooftop party and spike some punch, which results in Urkel nearly falling off the building. It is presumed that Waldo broke off his friendship with Willie following this episode.
Waldo was softened for the 1991-1992 season, when he became a friend of both Eddie and Urkel, and his behavior changed to that of a good-natured, all-around good guy.
Waldo continued to appear on Family Matters until 1996, when Harrison left the series. It was explained Waldo was attending culinary school in New York.
His personality is often referred to as "comical." "You guys think you can walk all over me because I'm dumb. But I have feelings too. If you cut me, do I not cough? If you hit me, do I not sneeze? And if you call me names, do I not eat?"
In one episode when he, Eddie, and another guy went to the Winslows' house to go watch sports. They (and Carl, who was sitting on the couch at the time) were talking about how rude Eddie and his friends were. Carl said "Hi, my name is Carl. And they call me before they come over.", referring to Eddie and his friends' rudeness. Waldo replies " 'Before they come over?' What kind of a sorry nickname is that?"
Family
Waldo has several family members, including:
* his father, the stewardess. In the episode "Life of the Party," Laura asks him how he got all the tiny bottles of alcohol, and Waldo replied that his dad was a stewardess.
* his sister, named Quesadilla. Waldo explained that she was born at a Taco Bell restaurant and that her parents — in typical Faldo fashion — decided that a second possibility for a name, Burrito Grande, was not a good choice.
* his brother, named Ronaldo Geraldo Faldo.
* Uncle Jalapeño, whose two sons are named Nacho and Gary. When Waldo was asked about Gary (due to his "normal" name), Waldo replied, "He's a bit of an oddball."
* his cousin Sabre, from American Gladiators
* his cousin Bob and Marco Faldo Robinson. Laura asked him if it was short for Robert, and he responded, "No, it's short for Bobbalobbadingdong".
* a cousin that is a member of a famous singing group, Portrait, and sang at a school dance. Waldo stated that his cousin would do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't reveal they were related. Steve eventually discovered him, as he replied to Steve by saying, "Sup?"
* a cousin named Reynaldo Faldo
* a cousin named Doofus

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