Duclos: The inner
Melbourne Suburb of Brunswick, full of wogs, spicks, grease balls. Who would
of dared call these new Australian those names ten years ago? But now
everything is sweet mate. Thanks to this young zany ethnic comedian Lou
Interligi, or as he's known to his Roman legion of fans, Alfonso Capricciosa,
dago is not a dirty word.
Lou: You can take the boy out of Brunswick, but you can't take
Brunswick out of the boy. I feel really humble when I'm with my people, when
I'm.. when I'm talking to my fans. They don't tell me that they love me,
they don't have to I.. I can feel the respect but believe it or not I'm the
same person I've always been. I haven't changed at all, not a bit, not a
bit. Making people laugh, that's always been in my blood. All the time. I
remember when I was a kid I use to mime my mum's Dean Martin records in the
lounge room.
(footage of Lou at a bar
in 1977)
Lou: I've always
loved that kind of humour. I feel exactly the same way now. I mean
sure the material, now that's changed. The material now has become more
developed, it's confronting now, it's got edge.
(footage of Lou at a bar
in 1993)
Duclos: Lou insists
he's just a new spick on the block, but just how did this young ethnic first
shift into the white Anglo Saxon neighbourhood of show business?
Lou: September 11
1982. That's a date I will never forget. It was the first time I ever got up
on stage in front of a live audience. It was me and my old school buddy,
Joey Spagnulo. We were under age. We would do our act anywhere we could. I
tell ya, we had a couple of characters there, sometimes I'd wear a hat.
Sometimes I'd wear a purple suit even. We were breaking down the ethnic
barriers. We were holding a mirror up to multicultural society. People were
stunned. I mean you gotta think everyone's doing the wog humour now, but
back then in the early 80's there was, I dunno, there was eleven or twelve
of us. That's all.
Duclos: In late
1984 Lou and Joey added two ingredients to their multicultural melting pot.
Lou: Wog Day
Afternoon, that was first show that all four of us did together and.. in
fact that was.. that was the birth of Alfonso and Connie Capricciosa. That
was the first time they were seen. I mean, back then they weren't as complex
as they are now.. like err.. I wasn't wearing the white striped suit and I
didn't have the gold chain and ah.. and Connie didn't have the big hair and
stuff.. but ah.. I was singing about my Valiant and I definitely was saying
Sweet Mate.
Duclos: Things got
even sweeter for these two mates as the shows rolled on, Lou and Christina,
or should I say Alfonso and Connie had become the main attraction.
Lou: I think it was
"Dances With Wogs". Yeah it was. It was after that show some
guy from Triple M FM comes in and he signs me up to be a regular funny voice
on the.. on the breakfast shift. We used to do outside broadcasts. I used to
get swamped. I got to sing a duet with that Shirley guy that used to be in
Skyhooks. Can you believe that?
(Lou and Shirley Strahan
singing "All My Friends Are Getting Mazdas" 1988)
Duclos: In the late
80's Lou put the finishing touches on Mr. Sweet Mate, Alfonso Capricciosa.
Once he'd donned his sunglasses and started doing the now legendary cornuto
finger gesture everybody wanted a slice of his pizza pie.
Lou: I was still
very interested in breaking down the ethnic barriers and holding up the
mirror to multicultural society. But I still wanted to get into the business
side of things. Not that money is important to me. Hey you can take the boy
out of Brunswick, but you can't take Brunswick out of the boy. But ah.. I
did set up my own production company, Sweetmate Productions.
Duclos: And what a
move. "It's A Wog, Wog, Wog, Wog World" began in January 1989 and
sold out every show until August 1991. The rest is Roman history.
Lou: Australia's
biggest grossing, non-musical show ever. Can you believe that? Can you.. not
that the money was important to me, hey, I was too busy breaking down the
ethnic barriers and holding up a mirror to multicultural society. Um.. I
felt like I was a messenger, you know, and.. and people were paying money to
receive my message, so I thought, you know, we should send that message to
as many people as possible.
Duclos: But if
success was the main course, this was just the antipasto.
Lou: Research
showed us that ah.. Alfonso and Connie, they were the main attraction, so
ah.. we stitched up a record deal.
(Clip from
"Sweet Mate" - Mushroom Records 1991)
Brigit: Not
surprisingly, "Sweet Mate" was a sweet success. But national notoriety
was only a wop, spick and a jump away, for at the start of last year Lou and
Christina were approached to write and perform their very own sitcom.
Pizza Nut.
Connie (Christina): awww,
what are you doing Alfonso you crazy malaka?
Alfonso (Lou): Relax Sis. Some
guy asked for a pizza, but asked me to hold the anchovies.
Lou: That's not a one-off
joke. Every show has to be that funny, has to be that kind of
confronting.
Alfonso (Lou): Don't
worry about it Sis'. Everything's sweeeeet mate!
Lou: Our show's going out to a
big range of people, like ah.. from kids as young as seven ah.. right up to
um, I dunno, yesterday a twelve year old came up to me and told me he liked
the show. As for Christina, what a.. she's doing with Connie. That's..
that's out there, that's on the edge.
Christina: I'm breaking down
ethnic barriers. I'm holding up a mirror to multicultural society. I'm
standing up and representing all second-generation migrant woman. I'm giving
them someone to look up to.
Woman in street: She makes me
feel really good about being a dumb slut.
Christina: I'm always playing
the funny comedian but I'm a serious actor.
Duclos: Ethnic jokes aside
success is a double-edged sword. Today there's a storm in a cappuccino cup
when old friends Joey and Nikki see Lou's disco light on and decide to drop
in.
Joey: Improving on our act..
Lou: We've got a film crew
there and I'd appreciate it..
Joey: No great come in, no
come down here.. we got a story for you..
Joey: You take our souls and
we see them on stage in your show.
Lou: I'm sorry?
Joey: You should be, you
should be.
Nikki: What I turn on the
television I see Christina doing a fat woman. You know that was mine, the
beard, everything, that was mine.
Lou: That fat woman was you?
Nikki: That was mine.
Joey: That was hers.
Nikki: You don't know how that
hurts me. I don't feel funny anymore.
Joey: that's right!
Nikki: I don't feel like I
could perform..
Lou: Have I got news for you.
Maybe you weren't that funny in the first place.
Joey: What, what this white
suit gives you the power..
Lou: This white suit payed for
your bills for five years..
Joey: Maaate! I'd like to see
some of those bills payed mate. What about the stuff that I contributed to
you, lies mate, dor, dor, what d'ya know, that was mine.
Lou: I put the (whistle) at
the end.
Joey: Who cares about the end.
Nikki: Oh big deal!
Joey: What about.. (hand
gestures).. bananas! That was mine.
Lou: And I heard you did that
in Perth without my permission mate, I'm gonna sue you again, I
promise..
Joey: You wanna sue me..
Lou: TV Week photographer!
Duclos: What's a Grecian Urn?
Well in the business world multicultural mirth means big bucks.
Lou (on mobile): I said I wanted
three Turks and a Chink.. hang on I just can't talk now okay, hang on, hang
on. The Wog industry. That is the fastest growing industry in the southern
hemisphere, did you know that? You know the word dago? I owned it. I own the
rights. People need to use the word dago, they need to lease it from me. do
you think my business, do you think my business stops here in the town. I'm
global. I'm going every where.
Leo: 'Scuse me Louie. New Guinea's
a goer. You can do a show there.
Lou: New Guinea's a goer?
Leo: Is this all right?
Lou: That's okay mate. There
here for the day.
Leo: Wog potential 92 percent.
Lou: 92 percent?
Leo: Frizzy hair. We can do
Jackson Five send-ups. Don King send-ups. Lou, listen to me. Buck!
Duclos: Do you ever think all
this is a little..
Lou: Cynical?
Duclos: Yeah.
Lou: You think this is cynical?
Duclos: Well..
Lou: I'm breaking down the
ethnic barriers. That's what I'm doing. I'm.. I'm holding up a mirror to
umm.. multicultural society. I'm... Leo what's that other thing I say?
Duclos: But what ever you think
about this clever Calabrese, one thing's for certain, his future will surely
be sweet mate.
Lou: You can take the boy out of
Brunswick, but you can't take Brunswick out of the boy.
Fade to super.
"The producer wish to thank Lou
for his time, patience and permission to use the word "dago".
Lou: Leo I just had an idea. Can
we buy Brunswick?
