| Agro is an Australian puppet and media personality, operated by comedian Jamie Dunn. 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 vetted before broadcast, but in the adult-oriented shows (and in the Christmas tapes 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. The original Agro puppet was created by BTQ-7 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 ... |
