Dr. Tangalanga

Julio Victorio De Rissio (10 November 1916 – 26 December 2013), better known by the stage name of Dr. Tangalanga, was a popular Argentine comedian known for his humorous prank phone calls to unsuspecting recipients.

Career

Born in the Balvanera neighbourhood of Buenos Aires to Italian Argentine immigrants, De Rissio worked in a shoe factory during his early years. He began making and recording prank calls in the mid-1960s to provide comic relief for a bedridden friend. Since 1989, he has released over 40 albums of collected calls, having sold over 250 thousand copies, arguably becoming the most famous prank call artist ever in the Spanish speaking world. He made extensive use of Argentine Lunfardo vernacular, and his tapes have been praised by critics as varied as humorist Carlos Loiseau and philosopher Alejandro Rozitchner.

Style

The general format of his jokes is to make a polite call requesting information about some product or service, to then randomly insult or otherwise antagonize the person on the other end in order to produce a verbal altercation or exchange of insults. Part of the humor is to use crude language in absurd contexts, exploiting the reactions of his victims and provoking their often agitated response.