Count Olaf's associates

In the book series by Lemony Snicket, "A Series of Unfortunate Events", Count Olaf originally had ten people in his theater troupe. Throughout the series he gained more of these associates, or rebegan work with older associates, including such primary characters as Esmé Squalor and the judges. Although most of these associates acted in plays, they also helped Olaf with his schemes. Eventually, each associate left or was killed, one by one, starting with Dr. Orwell and ending with Esmé Squalor and the judges.

Original troupe

Fernald (the hook-handed man)

An assassin-like figure and spy for Count Olaf. Frequently was exposed by the revelation that his alter-ego's hands were false, concealing hooks underneath.

The bald man with the long nose

Infobox character
colour = orange
name = "Flacutono"


caption =
first = "The Bad Beginning"
last = "The Carnivorous Carnival"
cause =
nickname =
alias = Mr. Flacutono
species = Human
gender = Male
age = Adult (deceased)
born =
death =
occupation = Actor and criminal
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer = Luis Guzmán
creator = Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler)The bald man with the long nose (or rarely, the bald-headed man) is one of Olaf's original troupe. His alias was Flacutono, an anagram of "Count Olaf".

The bald-headed man helped with many of Count Olaf's schemes. In "The Miserable Mill", wearing a white, curly wig and a surgical mask, he disguised himself as Foreman Flacutono, the foreman at Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Upon meeting the children, he said, "Children, midgets, what do I care?". He tripped Klaus Baudelaire several times, causing Klaus' glasses to break. The plan continued, as Klaus was then hypnotised at the optometrist's office where Count Olaf and his associate Dr. Orwell were working. His identity was revealed at the end of the book when he fled the mill with Count Olaf.

Violet has stated that she found the bald man the scariest of Olaf's people, possibly because of the threat he gave her in "The Bad Beginning".

There is no other appearance of the bald-headed man until "The Hostile Hospital". In this book, diguised in a costume similar to his disguise in "The Miserable Mill", he calls himself Doctor Flacutono. He and Count Olaf's other associates attempt to perform the world's first cranioectomy (head removal) on Violet Baudelaire, with the intention of her death being ruled an accident, but she is saved by her siblings when they stall the surgery.

The bald-headed man met his end in "The Carnivorous Carnival", when he fell into the carnival's lion pit, and was devoured by the lions along with Madame Lulu.

The wart-faced man

The wart-faced man made his first and only appearance in "The Bad Beginning". He is also described as "important-looking". He was in control of the lighting at Count Olaf's play and had the job to shut down the stage lights so Olaf and the troupe could escape. This character was never mentioned again, but some fans believe that he is the bald-headed man, who was described on the audiobook's accompanying song as being a "long-nosed bald man with warts". However, this information was never supported in any of the books. A picture of him was seen in an online game, wherein he had a suit and tie explaining why he was described as "important-looking"; gray hair, and warts all over his face.

The one who looks like neither a man nor a woman

Infobox character
colour = orange
name = "Liza"


caption =
first = "The Bad Beginning"
last = "The Hostile Hospital"
cause = Presumably burnt to death in the fire of Heimlich Hospital
nickname = " [Olaf's] large associate"
alias =
species =
gender = unknown
age = adult (presumably deceased)
born =
death =
occupation = actor and criminal
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer = Craig Ferguson
creator = Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler)First described as "a person who was extremely fat, and who looked like neither a man nor a woman", the one who looks like neither a man nor a woman (also called the Brobdingnagian creature [p. 194, "The Wide Window"] , the person of unknown gender and great girth [p. 175, "Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography"] or, in the film, the person of indeterminate gender) is so extremely obese that he/she resembles neither a man nor a woman. Both the narrator and the characters talk about this person using phrases such as "he or she", "it", "the creature", "the person", "the massive creature", "the mountainous person" and "the big one". Even Olaf's other henchmen use such language, which suggests that they, too, are unsure about the person's gender. The author frequently refers to him or her as "the overweight accomplice".

He or she is often guarding something for Count Olaf, due to his/her size, such as the tower where Sunny is kept in "The Bad Beginning", and the keys to the sailboats in "The Wide Window". He or she has been shown to have the strength to swing Violet over his or her shoulder with one hand. In the books, he or she is often described as having a blank expression, making it even more difficult to distinguish his or her gender.

The Baudelaire children never hear this person speak, even when he or she is addressed by others. However, it apparently has power of communication, as it informs Count Olaf, disguised as Captain Sham, that the Baudelaires stole the sailboat in "The Wide Window". The protagonists later hear the person of indeterminate gender laugh in "The Hostile Hospital"; this is described as "an odd laugh that sounded like a squeal and a howl at the same time".

The character speaks a few times in the film, with a slight Scottish accent. This person is also much slimmer in the film than as described as in the book. Here, he or she is a very minor character, only appearing at Olaf's dinner party and at the wedding scene, where he or she wears half of a bridesmaid gown sewn to half of a tuxedo.

Sunny Baudelaire refers to the person as "Orlando" at one point, a literary allusion to the Virginia Woolf novel, "", whose hero is a man who turns into a woman. Orlando is based on Vita Sackville-West, who was briefly Woolf's lover. In the film version of the story, the person of indeterminate gender (played by then future late night host Craig Ferguson) is referred to as "Lisa", but it is not known whether this name was given by the author or by the director. In the books, the character is never identified by name.

In "The Hostile Hospital", his or her final appearance, he or she is seen as one of Count Olaf's henchpeople, disguised as a guard at Heimlich Hospital, first seen guarding a door where two more of Olaf's associates were hidden. This person does not speak even with his or her co-workers, as he or she does not speak to Esmé or Klaus and Sunny, whom he or she thinks are the two white-faced women. The character is not seen again after this until the final scene. It is the only one absent amongst Olaf's troupe that is trying to capture the Baudelaires in the Operating Theatre; however, as they escape, they whiz past him or her. He or she sees them, roars and chases after them, producing the second and last sound it is heard to make. The Baudelaires manage to escape from inside a closet, leaving the person inside as the hospital burns to the ground, where he or she most likely perishes. This marked the first death of one of Olaf's colleagues. Whilst the hook-handed man and the bald man show regret the loss of this person, Olaf claims that he or she was a fool and was not worth waiting around for.

The white-faced women

Infobox character
colour = orange
name = "Tocuna and Flo"


caption =
first = "The Bad Beginning"
last = "The Slippery Slope"
cause =
nickname =
alias = Flo and Tocuna
Lunch ladies at Prufrock Preparatory School
species =
gender = female
age = adult
born =
death =
occupation = actresses and criminals
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer = Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Adams
creator = Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler)

The two white-faced women are original members of Count Olaf's theatre troupe. Not much is actually known about them, other than the fact that they had another sibling, who died in a fire. The fire was implied to be caused by Count Olaf. However, since in the book, they state that "we lost a sibling in that fire"; thus it is implied that their sibling died in the fire of the mountain headquarters. Therefore, their sibling is probably a member of V.F.D., from whom they were divided in the schism. In this case, the two white-faced woman are shown to care about their sibling still, as they leave Count Olaf's troupe because of that fact. The women's most distinguishing feature is they always put white makeup on their face. They have stated that they consider their makeup freakish, but it is not said why they still put it on. Their aliases are Flo and Tocuna, which, if combined, are an anagram of "Count Olaf".

The women helped with Count Olaf's scheme in "The Austere Academy". Disguised as two cafeteria workers with metal masks, they watched the Baudelaires and Duncan and Isadora Quagmire during the book. At the end, they forced the Quagmires into Count Olaf's automobile and drove away with them.

In "The Hostile Hospital", they came into Violet Baudelaire's cranioectomy late, so that Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire were mistaken for the two white-faced women before they arrived. Shortly after the real White-Faced Women arrived, the Baudelaires ran to escape all of Count Olaf's associates in the operating theatre.

Tired with Olaf's continuous treachery, in addition to feeling sympathy for Sunny Baudelaire when she was kidnapped, the two sisters left Olaf's troupe in "The Slippery Slope". The narrator states that he does not know what happened to the women after they walked away in the mountains, despite countless days of research, though there are many rumours about their fate.

Associates introduced later

Esmé Squalor

Dr. Orwell

Infobox character
colour = orange
name = Dr. Georgina Orwell


caption =
first = "The Miserable Mill"
last = "The Miserable Mill"
cause = Cut in half by a saw
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = female
age = adult (deceased)
born =
death = cut in half by saw
occupation = optometrist, hypnotist
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler)

Dr. Georgina Orwell was an optometrist living in the town of Paltryville. In "The Miserable Mill", Dr. Orwell was a hypnotist and hypnotized Klaus Baudelaire. Although it is likely that she was a genuine optometrist (having fixed Klaus' glasses), it is unclear whether Dr. Orwell had recently embarked on a new career as a hypnotist, whether it is merely a hobby of hers, or whether she has always been a hypnotist in some capacity. She sides with Count Olaf, as they had agreed to split the Baudelaire fortune equally, before the Baudelaires arrived at the mill.

She was described as tall woman with blonde hair in a tight bun with big black boots on her feet. She wore a long white coat with a name tag that reads 'Dr. Orwell' and held a long black cane with a shiny red jewel on the top. In the same novel, she and Sunny Baudelaire had a swordfight in which Georgina pushed the red jewel on her cane, whereupon it instantly transforms into a sword.

Dr. Orwell was killed when she accidentally backed into a scrolling sawblade used for cutting wood.

Dr. Orwell's full name is Georgina Orwell, based on that of author George Orwell. The Big Brother eye and the hypnotism plot are links to Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four."

She may also have been a former member of V.F.D., as the optometrist disguise described in "" matches her appearance.

The judges

Infobox character
colour = orange
name = 'Man with a beard but no hair'
and the
'Woman with hair but no beard'


caption =
first = "The Slippery Slope"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male and female, respectively
age = adult
born =
death =
occupation = criminals and attorneys of law
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Lemony Snicket

The man with a beard but no hair and the woman with hair but no beard are two fictional, villainous judges first appearing in "The Slippery Slope". The man and women are said to have an "aura of menace", and even intimidate Count Olaf. They are so terrifying that Lemony Snicket claims himself afraid to so much as mention their names. They are first seen by the Baudelaires at the peak of Mount Fraught. They burned down V.F.D. headquarters and came to see Olaf. They had captured and retrained the V.F.D. Eagles, which obey their orders and even carry the sinister pair with them when they fly.

In "The Penultimate Peril", it was revealed that the pair of them were two of the judges on the High Court (aside from Justice Strauss), and have been pretending to be interested in the Baudelaire case so that they could obtain all the information Justice Strauss had about the children. They then told Count Olaf everything they know to help him. At the end of "The Penultimate Peril", a large fire consumes the Hotel Denouement and destroyed it while the two villains were inside, though it is unknown if they lived or died, as they were not seen in "The End".

Associates gained later

= Colette=Infobox character
colour = orange
name = Colette


caption =
first = "The Carnivorous Carnival"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = female
age = adult
born =
death =
occupation = Sideshow freak
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler)

Colette is a contortionist. She first appears in "The Carnivorous Carnival", in which she is employed at the Caligari Carnival in the House of Freaks.

When Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire were running from the authorities, for crimes they had not committed, the three children disguised themselves as freaks. This resulted in working with Colette and her co-workers. They lived in a caravan at the carnival with their colleagues and fellow freaks, Hugo, a hunchback and Kevin, who is ambidextrous. At the end of "The Carnivorous Carnival", Colette, Hugo, and Kevin joined Count Olaf's associates.

Colette appears again as a minor character in "The Slippery Slope" and "The Penultimate Peril". In "The Penultimate Peril", she diguises herself as a chemist to help with Count Olaf's latest scheme. Whether she survives the fire in Hotel Denouement is unknown.

Fiona

"See Supporting characters in A Series of Unfortunate Events#Fiona"

Fiona is the step-daughter of Captain Widdershins and the sister of the hook-handed man. She joins Count Olaf reluctantly in order to stay with her brother and find her stepfather.

Hugo

Infobox character
colour = orange
name = Hugo


caption =
first = "The Carnivorous Carnival"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death =
occupation = Sideshow Freak
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Hugo, a hunchback, first appears in "The Carnivorous Carnival". He is most likely named after Victor Hugo, the author of the well known book "Hunchback of Notre Dame".

When the Baudelaires are running from the authorities, for crimes they did not commit, they disguise themselves as freaks. Violet and Klaus disguise themseveles as a two-headed freak in the Caligari Carnival, while Sunny is Chabo the wolf baby. They then find themselves working with Hugo, Colette, and Kevin. At the end of "The Carnivorous Carnival", Hugo is bribed by Count Olaf and Esmé Squalor to join their evil troupe. Hugo also appears in "The Slippery Slope" as a very minor character.

Hugo the Hunchback appears again in "The Penultimate Peril", disguised as an attendant in Hotel Denouement as part of one of Count Olaf's schemes. It is unknown whether he survived the fire that consumed the hotel.

= Kevin =Infobox character
colour = orange
name = Kevin


caption =
first = "The Carnivorous Carnival"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death =
occupation = Sideshow Freak
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Kevin is first seen in "The Carnivorous Carnival" as a member of Madame Lulu's freak show. His talent is that he is ambidextrous. He is very self-conscious about his ambidexterity, which seems to be utterly ridiculous. Kevin agrees to join Count Olaf's troupe after the Caligari Carnival is burned down. In the "The Penultimate Peril", Kevin is disguised as a laundry maid in Hotel Denouement. It is unknown whether he survived the fire.

Sources