The Tango Frogs returned to their original location on Lower Greenville, where they once sat atop the Tango nightclub.
Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, the sculptor who created the Tango Frogs on Lower Greenville, died Monday of heart failure. He was 76.
The Austin-based artist died at his home, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Wade’s 10-foot-tall frogs can be seen dancing and playing instruments on top of the Taco Cabana at 1827 Greenville Ave.
The sculptures are beloved pieces of neighborhood art, but when they first appeared in the early 1980s, they were the focal point of local controversy. Six Tango Frogs, called the Six Frogs Over Greenville, once sat atop the Tango nightclub, where the Taco Cabana now stands.
When they were installed, the City of Dallas told Tango nightclub owner Shannon Wynne that the frogs violated the sign ordinance and had to be taken down. The nightclub closed in 1984, and the frogs were moved to a truck stop on Interstate 35, the Dallas Morning News reported.
After a fire at the truck stop, Chuy’s bought three of the frogs, and Taco Cabana CEO Tim Taft purchased the others. They returned to their original home in 2014.
Wade was born in Austin in 1943 and earned degrees from the University of Texas and the University of California-Berkeley. In addition to his public sculptures, he also sold prints and posters.
