Wargo Wargo - who is he? what is he? how did it all start?

Hello all,

Kevin Vogrin here - the multimedia designer at Marywood University, artist, and many other things as well. I recently started working on a project with a faculty member at Marywood that had been put on the back burner and slowly fading away. This project is titled "Let's Get Cozy With Larry Wargo" and is shown as a TV program similar to a talk show in the style of Conan, Letterman, etc. Larry is an odd looking creature who is apparently quite a world traveler. Though his adventures he has stumbled upon many interesting puppets (will get to this later, and local celebrities). During the show, Larry will interview these guest, cut to clips of his travels and adventures, cut to clips of puppet and other skits, along with his co host Lou, a mafia like crudely mannered and well dressed puppet. Larry often tries to keep order, while Lou tries to disrupt him.


How did it all start out?

When talking with Dennis Corrigan, the creater of the show, and designer of the puppets, I was told that Larry was resembled after a person he found in a newspaper, and Lou after a sketch on a piece of paper, which was then traced onto wood, cut out, assembled, and then painted. The Wargo show was named after  Wargo actor, Arryan Decatur, found a sign at a yard sale that read "The Wargos", and Mr. Larry Wargo himself, a take off of Robin Leach.


Stage One:

Dennis and his fellow improv friends, in a basement, a piece of ply wood holding a black background, and a camera in front of them. Many of the early character based skits were made this way, while Larry and Lou sat in a library introducing each. Most of the characters would perform in a wood TV which Dennis had made out of plywood - most having a very tiny body in which the performer would place their head through the black curtain over top of the body (small body, big head!). The puppets and actors would often just free act, with no given ideas before.


Stage Two:

Tom Cura, a once Marywood faculty, and now a WVIA employee, somehow managed to get the show rolling with AEO outfitters TV company, and became the producer and director of the Wargo show. Tom would set up the filming, while Dennis scheduled the guests. The show aired a few epsoides.


The Guests:

The original concept for having guests was to spot light local talent that most people in the area were unaware of. Below is a sample of guests, and their spotlight talent

Mark Husky - Special Effects artists, worked on the movie Dogma, as well as Coopers Seafood Forests and Sea Creatures

Charles Woods - Underground building architect

Rob Latery - Photographer

Mark Schultz - Creator of Dinosaurs and Cadillacs comic books and Tv show, also a writer for The Superman comics

Al Williamson - Cartoonist for Flash Gordon, Agent Corrigan, Star Wars comics

Hannah Gorman - A puppet maker from Czech Republic