Like hundreds of Louisianans, Leonard Lavigueur and his girlfriend, Michelle Marchand, sought refuge in Dallas this week from Hurricane Gustav. But unlike the others, Lavigueur spent much of his time here dressed in a giant, foam/latex cockroach costume. Find out why after the jump.
Lavigueur, who’s known around New Orleans as the Nola Roach, thinks cockroaches are misunderstood.
“I like ’em because nobody else likes ’em,” he said, decked out in his costume yesterday in Dallas’ Merriman Park neighborhood. He and Michelle were staying there temporarily with Michelle’s brother Gary Marchand and Gary’s wife, Dee.
Cockroaches “aren’t out to hurt anybody,” Lavigueur went on, waving one big roach claw at a passing car. “If you find them in your house, they really just want to stay the night.” When he spots the insects outdoors, he even feeds them the likes of “regurgitated icees,” fried foods, pizza, maybe some chicken wings.
Lavigueur comes by his preoccupation honestly. Back home in The Big Easy he’s a movie prop master, having worked on such flicks as Mardi Gras (with Carmen Electra) and Open Road (Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake). His career goal: to be a late-night-TV horror host, like Elvira.
Monday night found him at the Double Wide Bar on Commerce Street. Much revelry was reported as many Dallasites had their photos taken with the oversized evacuee from New Orleans.
And, here you thought everything was bigger in Texas.
