Maybe It's Yahootie...

 

...as in the Matrix.

The Mama always referred to the instigator of these mysterious disappearances as Yahootie. He was the 'blind' partner in games, and definitely the reason why doors didn't get shut. "Were you born in a barn?" my dad would say. Well, Pa, you know I wasn't... 

must have been You-know-hootie.

P.S. Yahootie (actually spelled 'Yehudi,' according to Wikipedia) was a real person! His first name became late 1930s slang for a 'mysteriously absent person.' When I mentioned this to the Brick (who is a bit Jewish himself), he mentioned Yehudi Mehuin, the violinist whose moniker started the whole thing. Here Menuhin is, in the flesh -- considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ('Yehudi' means 'Jew' in Hebrew.) 

He played a Stradivarius...beautifully.

No doubt Menuhin, a very serious person, was NOT amused. I'm thinking this was not a slam at the Jewish nation -- in fact, I didn't even realize  there was a connection until the Wikipedia entry. It's more the unusual name - and Mehudin's appearance on a 1930s radio show. The announcer thought his name 'sounded funny.' Poor guy.

P.P.S. According to the Brick, Yahootie is also the person who turns off the light in the refrigerator when you shut the door -- and closes doors when you want them open.