Is Waldo based on a real person who liked to hide?

Waldo is for some reason a (Funny-Sounding) name, Mr. Emerson notwithstanding. There was a character on Deputy Dawg (Sic) called Sheriff Waldo and he was a comic relief character. there was and is a Waldo avenue in Jersey City and once a very busy signal tower visible from the PATH near Journal Square. Waldo was a PRR signal tower with possibly some Path cross-connections, it was torn down years ago. So there you have it, it is a funny-sounding name and was probably chosen for that reason for the Maze series.