Agro
Encyclopedia
Agro is an Australia
n puppet
and media personality, operated by comedian
Jamie Dunn
.
slang
for 'aggravation', and may be used as an adjective to describe someone with a bad temperament. Agro is sometimes said to have the surname Vation, though the puppet is rarely formally credited with a surname.
before broadcast, but in the adult-oriented shows (and in the Christmas tape
s of Agro's Cartoon Connection
) his antics were well-received. Unlike many characters, particularly children's puppets, Agro often broke the fourth wall
, making reference, for example, to the facts that he was a puppet, that his limbs did not move, and that a hand was up his back.
Agro was a fan of retired Australian rugby league
player Wally Lewis
. Agro wrote and sung many songs about him.
employee Garry Rhodes. It was reputedly made from a bathmat
, and Agro frequently described himself as a 'talking bathmat'.
However the puppet is really an altered Muppet Animal
. The fisher price soft toy of Animal sold in the early 1980s was trimmed to produce the Agro puppet.
The puppet is unusual in its construction. The puppeteer can open and close the mouth, and can also slide the 'eyebrows' back and forth. This allows Agro to make a sexually-suggestive 'leering
' expression which he often uses. The eyes and limbs do not move.
There was some squabbling between Rhodes and Jamie Dunn as Dunn attempted to claim creative ownership of the puppet. BTQ-7 and the parties involved reached a settlement that allowed Jamie Dunn to retain the rights.
In 2001 Channel Seven Productions enlisted puppeteer and puppet builder Warren Duxbury to rebuild Agro when the original Agro had deteriorated beyond repair. The new puppet was built for use on the revival of dating show Perfect Match
. The nose of the new puppet was noticeably different to the old one.
Agro also occasionally appears as a panel member on Channel Seven Perth Telethon
except in 2009; he helps many people donate with his humour, but is usually put on after 10:00 for obvious reasons.
Agro was a guest host
for Tonight Live with Steve Vizard
on four occasions. He has also appeared as a guest on Tonight Live numerous other times.
He has also appeared on a number of Australian telethons, particularly those that raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane.
game, an arcade game (Agro's Fantastic Arcade Game), and a range of merchandise including action figures, stickers, lunchboxes, and children's clothing. He is patron of the Shandar Smith Foundation, a charity for children with cancer.
Dunn has never appeared alongside Agro, as a typical ventriloquist might. When Agro appears on camera or on stage, Dunn is always hidden, often by furniture.
Dunn aspired to become a show-business personality in his own right, and so in time he appeared in promotional material for the B105 FM Morning Crew as himself. He used the 'Agro' character as a kind of alternative, more disinhibited personality (for example, when making prank telephone calls). The puppet itself was seldom seen during the 2000s. Dunn said at one point that Agro was 'in a suitcase somewhere'. More recently, Agro has appeared in promotional material for Zinc 96.
In March 2009 Agro returned to television screens in South East Queensland to promote a $7,000 cash giveaway on Radio Station 4BC
.
He also received a Penguin Award
for "Best Presenter of Light Entertainment".
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
and media personality, operated by comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Jamie Dunn
Jamie Dunn
Jamie Dunn is an Australian comedian.Starting his entertainment career as a singer, Jamie Dunn moved into television, working the puppet Agro on Agro's Cartoon Connection.- Radio :Up until 2005, Dunn was a member of a radio breakfast show in Brisbane...
.
Name
The word 'agro' (also spelled 'aggro') is EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
for 'aggravation', and may be used as an adjective to describe someone with a bad temperament. Agro is sometimes said to have the surname Vation, though the puppet is rarely formally credited with a surname.
Personality
Agro's humour was rather adult, with much sexual innuendo, cursing and disinhibition. He would often appear with an innocent-acting female offsider, who would be subjected to mocking and sexual behaviour. His pre-taped performances in those shows intended for a juvenile or family audience were obviously vettedCensorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
before broadcast, but in the adult-oriented shows (and in the Christmas tape
Christmas tape
In relation to British television, Christmas tapes are unendorsed videotapes compiled by technical staff for their personal amusement. The name originates from the 1950s, when the material was filmed at the staff's Christmas parties where impromptu sketches were carried out...
s of Agro's Cartoon Connection
Agro's Cartoon Connection
Agro's Cartoon Connection was an Australian children's television show that aired on the Seven Network from 1989 to 1997. Shown on weekday mornings, it was primarily hosted by Agro, a puppet played by comedian Jamie Dunn...
) his antics were well-received. Unlike many characters, particularly children's puppets, Agro often broke the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
, making reference, for example, to the facts that he was a puppet, that his limbs did not move, and that a hand was up his back.
Agro was a fan of retired Australian rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player Wally Lewis
Wally Lewis
Walter James "Wally" Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. Currently a commentator of the sport, he is widely regarded as the greatest rugby league player of all time...
. Agro wrote and sung many songs about him.
Construction
The original Agro puppet was created by BTQ-7BTQ-7
BTQ is the Brisbane station of the Australian Seven Network. BTQ was the second television station to launch in Brisbane, going to air on 1 November 1959, after QTQ launched three months earlier....
employee Garry Rhodes. It was reputedly made from a bathmat
Mat
A mat is a generic term for a piece of fabric or flat material, generally placed on a floor or other flat surface, and serving a range of purposes including:* providing a regular or flat surface, such as a mousepad....
, and Agro frequently described himself as a 'talking bathmat'.
However the puppet is really an altered Muppet Animal
Animal (Muppet)
Animal is the primitive man and crazed drummer of Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, the fictional band from The Muppet Show. He is one of the Muppets originally created by Michael K...
. The fisher price soft toy of Animal sold in the early 1980s was trimmed to produce the Agro puppet.
The puppet is unusual in its construction. The puppeteer can open and close the mouth, and can also slide the 'eyebrows' back and forth. This allows Agro to make a sexually-suggestive 'leering
Staring
Staring is a prolonged gaze or fixed look. In staring, one object or person is the continual focus of visual interest, for an amount of time. Staring can be interpreted as being either hostile, or the result of intense concentration or affection. Staring behaviour can be considered a form of...
' expression which he often uses. The eyes and limbs do not move.
There was some squabbling between Rhodes and Jamie Dunn as Dunn attempted to claim creative ownership of the puppet. BTQ-7 and the parties involved reached a settlement that allowed Jamie Dunn to retain the rights.
In 2001 Channel Seven Productions enlisted puppeteer and puppet builder Warren Duxbury to rebuild Agro when the original Agro had deteriorated beyond repair. The new puppet was built for use on the revival of dating show Perfect Match
Perfect Match (Australian game show)
Perfect Match is an Australian dating game show based on the format of The Dating Game. Perfect Match was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation.It originally aired on Network Ten for 30 minutes most weekdays from 5:30pm between 1984 and 1989...
. The nose of the new puppet was noticeably different to the old one.
Television host
Agro hosted the following Australian television shows:- Boris' Breakfast Club (? - 1989)
- Wombat (1983 - 1990)
- Agro's Cartoon ConnectionAgro's Cartoon ConnectionAgro's Cartoon Connection was an Australian children's television show that aired on the Seven Network from 1989 to 1997. Shown on weekday mornings, it was primarily hosted by Agro, a puppet played by comedian Jamie Dunn...
(1989 - 1997) - Super Sunday Show (aka Super Saturday Show)
- Perfect MatchPerfect Match (Australian game show)Perfect Match is an Australian dating game show based on the format of The Dating Game. Perfect Match was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation.It originally aired on Network Ten for 30 minutes most weekdays from 5:30pm between 1984 and 1989...
(2002 revival)
Agro also occasionally appears as a panel member on Channel Seven Perth Telethon
Channel Seven Perth Telethon
The Channel Seven Perth Telethon, known simply as Telethon, is an annual telethon produced by TVW, a Seven Network owned television station in Perth, Western Australia for two main beneficiaries; Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, plus...
except in 2009; he helps many people donate with his humour, but is usually put on after 10:00 for obvious reasons.
Agro was a guest host
Guest host
A guest host is a host, usually of a talk show, that substitutes for the regular host if they are, for example, ill or have other commitments...
for Tonight Live with Steve Vizard
Tonight Live With Steve Vizard
Tonight Live with Steve Vizard was a nightly Australian comedy chat show broadcast on Seven Network in Australia. It was a one hour live studio based show broadcast nationally 5 nights a week from February 1990 to November 1993, usually commencing at 10.30 pm every week night...
on four occasions. He has also appeared as a guest on Tonight Live numerous other times.
Television appearances
Agro has also appeared as a guest on the following television shows:- Everybody
- Hey Dad..!Hey Dad..!Hey Dad..! was an Australian sitcom produced by Gary Reilly Productions, originally airing from 1987 to 1994 on the Seven Network.-Synopsis:Architect Martin Kelly singlehandedly raises his children Simon, Debbie and Jenny...
- Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune (Australian game show)Wheel of Fortune was an Australian television game show produced by Grundy Television. The programme aired on the Seven Network from 1981 to 2004 and November 2005 to July 2006, and is mostly based on the same general format as the original US version of the programme...
- Family Feud (with his "family" father Star, mother Ellie and younger brother Neville)
- The Main Event
- Talk With the Animals
- ConcentrationConcentration (game show)Concentration was an American TV game show based on the children's memory game of the same name. Matching cards represented prizes that contestants could win...
He has also appeared on a number of Australian telethons, particularly those that raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane.
Radio host
Agro's radio credits include:- The Morning Crew (1990-2005), B105 FMB105 FMB105 is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting on 105.3 MHz in Brisbane, Australia. It is part of the Austereo Radio Network. B105's primary audience is 10 to 24 age group.-History:...
's breakfast show. Agro performed prank telephone callsPrank callA prank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders...
and also presented a segment Agro to the Rescue, in which he would provide money or resources to a family or individual in trouble. Eventually the 'Agro' performances were credited to Jamie Dunn, and the 'Agro' character was marginalised. - The Zinc Morning Zoo (2006-), with Ian Calder and Courtney Burns on Sunshine CoastSunshine Coast, QueenslandThe Sunshine Coast is an urban area in South East Queensland, north of the state capital of Brisbane on the Pacific Ocean coastline. Although it does not have a central business district, by population it ranks as the 10th largest metropolis in Australia and the third largest in...
FMFrequency modulationIn telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
radio stationRadio stationRadio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
"Zinc 96".
Other
Agro has released four albums, a Game BoyGame Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
game, an arcade game (Agro's Fantastic Arcade Game), and a range of merchandise including action figures, stickers, lunchboxes, and children's clothing. He is patron of the Shandar Smith Foundation, a charity for children with cancer.
Dunn has never appeared alongside Agro, as a typical ventriloquist might. When Agro appears on camera or on stage, Dunn is always hidden, often by furniture.
Current status
Agro's on-camera roles became less frequent in the late 1990s as his radio commitments grew and the novelty of the character wore off. When Agro performed on radio, Jamie Dunn would sit in the studio and provide the Agro voice without actually operating the puppet. In time, these performances were credited to Dunn himself.Dunn aspired to become a show-business personality in his own right, and so in time he appeared in promotional material for the B105 FM Morning Crew as himself. He used the 'Agro' character as a kind of alternative, more disinhibited personality (for example, when making prank telephone calls). The puppet itself was seldom seen during the 2000s. Dunn said at one point that Agro was 'in a suitcase somewhere'. More recently, Agro has appeared in promotional material for Zinc 96.
In March 2009 Agro returned to television screens in South East Queensland to promote a $7,000 cash giveaway on Radio Station 4BC
4BC
4BC is a radio station in Brisbane, Queensland on 1116kHz AM. 4BC is Brisbane's only commercial talkback station, using the promotional phrase "News Talk 1116". Like most talk radio stations, it caters to a predominantly conservative audience...
.
Awards
Logie Awards:- 1987Logie Awards of 1987The 29th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 3 April 1987 at the Hyatt on Collins in Melbourne and broadcast on the Ten Network...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Wombat - 1988Logie Awards of 1988The 30th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 11 March 1988 at the Hyatt on Collins in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Wombat - 1989Logie Awards of 1989The 31st Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 17 March 1989 at the Hyatt on Collins in Melbourne and broadcast on the Seven Network for the very first time...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Wombat - 1990Logie Awards of 1990The 32nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 9 March 1990 at the Hyatt on Collins in Melbourne and broadcast on the Network Ten...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Wombat - 1991Logie Awards of 1991The 33rd Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 15 March 1991 at the World Congress Centre in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Agro's Cartoon ConnectionAgro's Cartoon ConnectionAgro's Cartoon Connection was an Australian children's television show that aired on the Seven Network from 1989 to 1997. Shown on weekday mornings, it was primarily hosted by Agro, a puppet played by comedian Jamie Dunn... - 1992Logie Awards of 1992The 34th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 13 March 1992 at the Radisson President Hotel in Melbourne and broadcast on the Seven Network...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Agro's Cartoon Connection - 1993Logie Awards of 1993The 35th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 19 March 1993 at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne and broadcast on Network Ten. Bert Newton hosted the evening for the 18th time...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Agro's Cartoon Connection - 1994Logie Awards of 1994- Gold Logie :Most Popular Personality on Australian TelevisionPresented by Michael Crawford- Gold Logie :Most Popular Personality on Australian TelevisionPresented by Michael Crawford- Gold Logie :Most Popular Personality on Australian Television...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Agro's Cartoon Connection - 1995Logie Awards of 1995The 37th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 28 April 1995 at the Concert Hall in Melbourne and broadcast on the Seven Network. Andrew Daddo from Cluedo, and Noni Hazelhurst from Better Homes And Gardens were the Master of Ceremonies for the evening...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Agro's Cartoon Connection - 1996Logie Awards of 1996The 38th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 21 April 1996 at Melbourne Park Centre and broadcast on the Nine Network. Daryl Somers from Hey Hey It's Saturday was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Agro's Cartoon Connection - 1997Logie Awards of 1997The 39th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 18 May 1997 at Crown Casino in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network. Daryl Somers from Hey Hey It's Saturday was the Master of Ceremonies for the second year in a row...
: Most Popular Children's Program: Agro's Cartoon Connection
He also received a Penguin Award
Penguin Award
The Penguin Award is an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954.The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin....
for "Best Presenter of Light Entertainment".