Farewell Greg "Yellow" Wiggle - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

spindles · 11-29-2006, 05:59 PM

A sad day in children's entertainment today, when Greg Wiggle retired due to ill health. It doesn't seem life threatening but he just can't keep performing.

Quote:

GREG Page has officially handed over his yellow Wiggles skivvy after deciding to quit the kiddies' supergroup because of ill-health.

The singer announced he was standing down in order to better manage his health in Perth this morning.

In a taped address, he thanked his young fans before introducing his now permanent stand-in Sam Moran, who then faced the media with the other Wiggles.

Page said he was suffering from a chronic condition called orthostatic intolerance.

When he stands up his heart doesn't pump enough blood around his body.

"It's not a life threatening condition by any means, but it is one that's going to be with me for the rest of my life," Page, 34, said.

"It means I'll no longer be able to sing and dance the way that I want to and as a result I've decided to stop performing with The Wiggles."

The group has performed without Page for some months, because of his ill-health.

The remaining members of the group, Jeff Fatt, Anthony Field and Murray Cook, said it was an emotional time.

"It's very surreal that Greg's not going to be with us, very sad," said Field.

"The thing about The Wiggles is we love doing it. I know Greg loved doing the shows, it's just that he can't physically do it anymore.

"We love touring, meeting all the families, the children.

"Myself, Murray and Jeff. We actually said to each other, 'do you want to keep going?' and we said 'yes, we'd love to keep going'."

Page's illness became public following a double hernia operation in December last year, and Moran has performed in his place for an estimated 150 shows.

He has been with The Wiggles as a dancer, performer and understudy for 12 years.

For months Page's condition was a mystery.

Page said earlier this month doctors were trying to find the cause of his fainting bouts, which were becoming more frequent.

Today's announcement came as The Wiggles, Australia's highest-earning entertainers for the last two years, launched a new national tour in Perth.

The group was formed 15 years ago after Field, Cook and Page met while studying early childhood education at Sydney's Macquarie University.

They enlisted Fatt, who played with Field in popular 1980s' group The Cockroaches, and The Wiggles were born.

The Sydney-based group has won five ARIA Awards and three APRA songwriter awards and sold in excess of 17 million DVD/videos and five million CD/cassettes worldwide.

They have expanded their multimillion-dollar empire by establishing spin-off Wiggles groups in Taiwan and Latin America.

My 2.5 yo son knows who Greg is and will probably notice that he is missing, but I guess it is business as usual...

How will your kids handle the replacement of Greg?

Cynthetiq · 11-29-2006, 08:53 PM

well it would be great if they did it in a manner like CCW did for Mr. Hooper's death.

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I doubt they will because people like things to be shiny, clean, and without any drama or discomfort.

Charlatan · 12-01-2006, 07:04 AM

And now it's time for a very special episode of The Wiggles...

Average_Joe · 12-01-2006, 07:51 AM

Poor guy. I'm no big fan of The Wiggles, but they always seem to have fun doin' what they're doin'. My kids don't really have much interest in The Wiggles anyway, except we do kind of goof on some of their songs from time to time.

Greg seemed like the ring leader, so I wonder if someone else will step up to become the new front Wiggle or if the new guy can replace Greg completely.

dlish · 12-01-2006, 08:02 AM

greg i think was the cornerstone of the wiggles..he will be sorely missed by my future kids.

Cynthetiq · 12-04-2006, 07:07 AM

well looks like there will be a switch like Lionel Jefferson (The Jeffersons), Darren Stevens (Bewitched), Steve (Blues Clues) before Yellow Wiggle...

Quote:

December 4, 2006
Hush, Mama, Don’t You Cry, a New Yellow Wiggle Will Sing
By JACQUES STEINBERG
LINK
The millions of families with preschool-age children around the world who have bought CDs and DVDs featuring the Wiggles, the Australian foursome known as much for their cheery color-coded jerseys as their catchy tunes, have long treated the band with an ardor reminiscent of the screams that greeted the British pop invasion.

So when Greg Page, 34, the band’s lead singer since its inception 15 years ago, announced on Thursday that he was resigning after being diagnosed with a serious illness that leaves him frequently lightheaded and unable to dance and leap to the group’s most energetic hits, it was the equivalent of John Lennon or Paul McCartney quitting the Beatles. That comparison is not so far-fetched considering Mr. Page’s high visibility within the band, which estimates it has sold more than 15 million DVDs and CDs in the United States alone in less than a decade, and in light of his role as singer and co-writer of most of its repertory of original rock and pop compositions.

And yet, there have already been signs that however much Mr. Page may have meant to the group, the transfer of his trademark yellow jersey to a new yellow Wiggle — a longtime backup singer and dancer for the band named Sam Moran — was not particularly traumatic for the Wiggles’ core audience (children 2 to 5).

The effect on parents is another matter: Mothers attending their concerts have been known to tell interviewers that they regard the nearly 6-foot-5 Mr. Page, among other bandmates, as a matinee idol, and in Australia — where the group is currently on tour — there is now a grass-roots “Wear Yellow to the Wiggles” campaign being organized “to say a proper goodbye to Greg.”

Among the dozens of mothers who have been pouring their hearts out on message boards on the band’s Web site (thewiggles.com) in recent days was one American woman — she lists her hometown as “Greg Rocks!, U.S.A.” — who described how Mr. Page’s singing soothed her during a recent divorce, and went on to say, “I am extremely sad that future live Wiggling experiences won’t mean seeing Greg.” She added, “It will never be the same.”

The band’s young fans may well prove more adaptive, if only because they probably associate Mr. Page as much with his shirt color as his face. Four years ago, another cadre of preschoolers watched Steve, the character who had long been host of Nickelodeon’s “Blues Clues” series, pass the baton to another actor, playing Steve’s brother Joe, with no apparent disruption. And, in its 37-year history, “Sesame Street” has lost several main characters, including Will Lee, the actor who played the shopkeeper Mr. Hooper. Mr. Lee died in 1982, and his passing, both in real life and later in its depiction on the show, became a television touchstone.

Nonetheless, in a ritual repeated in numerous kitchens and playrooms around the world, Wendy Haller, 33, a preschool teacher from Longmeadow, Mass., said she sat her son, Matthew, 3½, down on Thursday morning and — as the band’s TV show played on the Disney Channel — told him: “Greg is not going to be a Wiggle any more. He is going home to be with his family.”

Ms. Haller then logged on to the band’s Web site to show Matthew a video clip that Mr. Page had prepared. In it, he explains that his illness (orthostatic intolerance) often makes him feel unbalanced and faint while standing because of a loss of blood pressure. While chronic, it is not thought to be life-threatening.

In the clip’s most emotional moment, Mr. Page, uncharacteristically clad in a black dress shirt, then presents his successor with the bright yellow jersey — or skivvy, as it is known in Australia — that has forever been his Wiggle uniform, whether on television or in more than 200 live performances a year in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States.

After several viewings, Ms. Haller said her son assured her, in so many words, that he was at peace with the news: “He said: ‘Sam is a new Wiggle. Greg is not going to be a Wiggle anymore.’ And he was fine with it.”

Much is riding on whether families are willing to embrace Mr. Page’s handoff to Mr. Moran, 28, whose original training was as an opera singer. In addition to all those CDs and DVDs with titles like “Yummy Yummy” and “Wiggly Safari,” there are Wiggle toys, books and games inspired by the band and its supporting cast of characters, which include a dinosaur named Dorothy and a dog named Wags. The members of the band, who collectively earned nearly $40 million last year, were the highest-paid entertainers in their native Australia the last two years, according to BRW, an Australian business magazine.

As it turns out, the three remaining Wiggles — Anthony Field (blue), 43; Murray Cook (red), 46; and Jeff Fatt (purple) 53, each an original member — said they had initially struggled over whether to go on permanently without Mr. Page, who only recently received a definitive diagnosis after mysterious, intermittent fainting spells (some backstage) forced him to miss 150 live performances over the last two years. On those occasions, Mr. Moran had stepped in as understudy to Mr. Page, whose last live appearance was at a concert in August in Providence, R.I., after which he collapsed.

In a telephone interview from Sydney early Saturday morning, Mr. Field, his voice breaking, described how, after the farewell video was shown in Mr. Page’s absence at a hastily arranged press conference on Thursday, the reality of the situation had finally sunk in.

“We kept thinking he was going to come back,” said Mr. Field, who returned to Australia late last month after the Wiggles performed to sold-out arenas in two dozen American cities, including several nights at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, all without Mr. Page.

“We thought he was going to get back in the big red car, ‘Toot Toot, Chugga, Chugga,’ ” Mr. Field added, evoking the band’s signature anthem, which they often sing while riding onstage in, naturally, a customized red convertible. “It didn’t happen.”

Mr. Page, through the group’s publicists, has declined all interview requests.

Mr. Field and Mr. Cook said that they and Mr. Fatt ultimately decided to go on because they thought that was what their young audience would want; neither performer mentioned money as a factor. They said they had drawn sustenance from the positive reaction to Mr. Moran — who got visible thumbs-up signals from the crowd after a performance in Perth on Thursday, hours after the press conference.

And was there ever any talk of retiring that yellow skivvy and giving Mr. Moran a new color?

“It did cross our mind,” Mr. Field said. But in the end, the band decided, “the Wiggle colors are those colors.”

spindles · 12-04-2006, 02:04 PM

I think my wife is pleased as they (her and my son) saw the Wiggles in July, just before Greg stopped performing. We told our son that "Greg was sore and couldn't dance anymore" and he seems to be happy with that. Funnily enough they have only just released their latest DVD (just in time for Christmas), which still features Greg.

I find it pleasing that they never mentioned money as a reason to continue - they are already pretty wealthy from this, so you'd have to think it is not a key motivating factor in their continuation...

Daniel_ · 12-04-2006, 03:35 PM

My daughter told me about this story the other day (she's six and had seen it while at her mother's house) - I thought she had it ass-backwards.

Shame - Greg was my favourite.

Baron Opal · 12-08-2006, 01:49 AM

Wow. They're a lot older than I expected.

Well, take care Greg. You'll be missed. Mr. Moran has some big shoes to fill.

Glad you're not dead (as I thought when I saw the tread title).

analog · 12-08-2006, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

well it would be great if they did it in a manner like CCW did for Mr. Hooper's death.

I doubt they will because people like things to be shiny, clean, and without any drama or discomfort.

When I was little, I always watched Sesame Street, and I can remember this show- even though I was no older than 2 when it aired. I don't even really remember the character of Mr Hooper, but I was aware of who he was. I don't remember much else, but looking at it again, it's just done so well...

Of course, this poor Wiggles guy is only 34 and has to retire... hopefully he owns enough of the Wiggles to live off of the royalties for a while.

11-29-2006, 08:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	well it would be great if they did it in a manner like CCW did for Mr. Hooper's death. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GaXiWgDU4i0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GaXiWgDU4i0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> I doubt they will because people like things to be shiny, clean, and without any drama or discomfort. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

12-01-2006, 07:04 AM	#3 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	And now it's time for a very special episode of The Wiggles... __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

12-01-2006, 08:02 AM	#5 (permalink)
dlish Currently sour but formerly Dlishs Super Moderator Location: Australia/UAE	greg i think was the cornerstone of the wiggles..he will be sorely missed by my future kids. __________________ An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay? - Filthy

12-04-2006, 02:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
spindles Mine is an evil laugh Location: Sydney, Australia	I think my wife is pleased as they (her and my son) saw the Wiggles in July, just before Greg stopped performing. We told our son that "Greg was sore and couldn't dance anymore" and he seems to be happy with that. Funnily enough they have only just released their latest DVD (just in time for Christmas), which still features Greg. I find it pleasing that they never mentioned money as a reason to continue - they are already pretty wealthy from this, so you'd have to think it is not a key motivating factor in their continuation... __________________ who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

12-04-2006, 03:35 PM	#8 (permalink)
Daniel_ Evil Priest: The Devil Made Me Do It! Location: Southern England	My daughter told me about this story the other day (she's six and had seen it while at her mother's house) - I thought she had it ass-backwards. Shame - Greg was my favourite. __________________ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗ Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air, And deep beneath the rolling waves, In labyrinths of Coral Caves, The Echo of a distant time Comes willowing across the sand; And everthing is Green and Submarine ╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

12-01-2006, 07:51 AM	#4 (permalink)
Average_Joe Psycho Location: Under the Radar	Poor guy. I'm no big fan of The Wiggles, but they always seem to have fun doin' what they're doin'. My kids don't really have much interest in The Wiggles anyway, except we do kind of goof on some of their songs from time to time. Greg seemed like the ring leader, so I wonder if someone else will step up to become the new front Wiggle or if the new guy can replace Greg completely.

12-08-2006, 01:49 AM	#9 (permalink)
Baron Opal Crazy Location: Oregon	Wow. They're a lot older than I expected. Well, take care Greg. You'll be missed. Mr. Moran has some big shoes to fill. Glad you're not dead (as I thought when I saw the tread title).