| Farley Drexel "Fudge" Hatcher | |
|---|---|
| Fudge books character | |
| First appearance | Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing |
| Last appearance | Double Fudge |
| Created by | Judy Blume |
| Portrayed by | Luke Tarsitano (TV series) |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Fang (by Peter in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing) |
| Aliases | Farley Drexel Hatcher Egduf Muriel |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Family | Anne (mother) Warren (father) Peter (brother) Tootsie (sister) Uncle Feather (bird) |
| Relatives | Flora, Fauna, and Mini-Fudge (cousins) Muriel (grandmother) Howie (uncle) Eudora (Aunt) |
| Nationality | American |
Farley Drexel Hatcher (A.K.A. Fudge) is a fictional character in the Fudge series. In the television series, he was played by Luke Tarsitano.
Contents |
Farley Drexel Hatcher was born in New York, and is the younger of two sons of Warren and Anne Hatcher. Nicknamed Fudge early in his life, he is eight years younger than his older brother, Peter.
The character of Fudge debuted in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing as a bratty 2-year-old toddler whose antics and temper tantrums frustrated and embarrassed Peter. Peter believes that Fudge gets away with everything and is annoyed at his parents' (especially his mother's) overprotectiveness of Fudge; however, he comes to realize that Fudge did not always get away with things (for instance, Fudge is spanked when he scribbles over a poster Peter was working on for a class project). Despite Peter's frustration and sometimes scornful attitude toward his brother, he does love Fudge very much and worries about him when, after swallowing his turtle whole one afternoon, he is hospitalized and is told the doctors may need to operate.
In Superfudge (the follow-up to Tales), Peter and Fudge -- who by this time are 11 and 5, respectively -- welcome a baby sister, Tamara Roxanne (who is quickly nicknamed "Tootsie"), into the family; Tootsie is born shortly before the Hatcher family moves to New Jersey. Fudge greatly resents his younger sister, much the same way that Peter resented Fudge. However, Fudge's attitude warms toward Tootsie; also by this time, Peter's resentment toward Fudge had softened considerably, although he was still annoyed at times by his brother. At this time, Fudge begins kindergarten, but is unable to get along with his teacher Mrs. Hildebrandt, who refuses to call him "Fudge" (considering the nickname inappropriate); the situation escalates to the point where he climbs atop the cabinets in the classroom and refuses to come down, and only is resolved when he is moved to the other teacher's class. Also in Superfudge, Fudge gets a pet myna bird named Uncle Feather for his good cooperation in school, which greatly annoys Peter; and becomes best friends with Daniel Manheim, a Jewish boy who is raised by a single mother. As in Tales, Peter becomes worried over Fudge's well-being, this time after Fudge and Daniel ride off on their bikes to a local resort without permission -- as Peter had refused to invite Fudge on an outing with his friends -- and the two boys fail to return home ... only to return hours later safe and sound. It is also apparent that Fudge is very intelligent, but remains his rambunctious, hyperactive self.
In Fudge-a-Mania, Fudge wanted to marry Peter's rival, Sheila Tubman, due to the fact that marital partners often sleep in the same bed and Fudge wanted protection from the "monsters" under his bed. When the Hatchers and Tubmans go on a vacation in Maine, Fudge befriends Mitzi Apfel, the granddaughter of one of Peter's favorite baseball players. Fudge later develops stomach pains from eating too many of Peter and Jimmy Fargo's blueberries and develops a great dislike for the fruit, as shown in his refusal to eat the blueberry wedding cake belonging to his grandmother, Muriel, and her new husband, Buzzy Senior. Fudge was also the ring bearer at their wedding and made Mitzi his assistant, and he was also the captain of a team during a baseball game with Big Apfel along with Isobel, Peter's crush.
In Double Fudge Fudge becomes greedily obsessed with money and meets his long-lost cousins, Howie, Eudora, their slightly overindulged, drama-queen twin daughters, Fauna and Flora, and the recently-nicknamed "Mini-Farley" who coincidentally shares Fudge's real name. Flora and Fauna, wanting to give their brother a nickname, nearly nickname Farley "Fudge" until Fudge whines about it. Fudge then grows a dislike to "Mini-Farley," for causing Uncle Feather to get into an accident (which he survives), and then swallowing Fudge's first baby tooth.