Arf and Omega Berry

Omega (George Ewart, left) and Arf (Palmer Eiland, right) Berry, on the set of Vileness Fats

### Related characters

· Weescoosa
· Peggy Honeydew

**Arf and Omega Berry** are the deuteragonists of The Residents' unfinished feature film *Vileness Fats*, which the group shot between 1972 and 1976. A pair of conjoined twins, Arf (conjoined at the right arm) and Omega (conjoined at the left arm) are tag-team wrestlers who are hired by the citizens of Vileness Flats to defend the village from invading rebels in Atomic Shopping Carts.

They were portrayed by Palmer Eiland (Arf) and George Ewart (Omega) in all their appearances between 1972 and 1976. Their musical number "Aircraft Damage" appeared on The Residents' debut EP *Santa Dog* in 1972.

Arf and Omega's last known appearance with The Residents was in June 1976 at the group's Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! performance in Berkeley, California.

## History

> ***"Kick a cat, kick a cat, kick a cat today! Fish are dumb, pluck an eye from one!"***
> Arf and Omega, "Aircraft Damage"
>
>

The conjoined twin tag-team wrestlers Arf and Omega Berry were created by Residents, Uninc. in 1972 for their feature film *Vileness Fats*. The roles were written for their friends Palmer Eiland (Arf) and George Ewart (Omega); the decision to make them conjoined twins stemmed from the fact that Ewart only had one arm.

The twins' musical number from the film, "Aircraft Damage", was included on The Residents' debut EP, *Santa Dog*, in 1972. The group shot the film between 1972 and 1976. During this time Eiland lived with them at the Sycamore Street building which doubled as their home and work space. Eiland left San Francisco after a series of failed suicide attempts during filming of the nightclub scene.

The twins later performed "Aircraft Damage" live with The Residents in June 1976, at their Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! live performance in Berkeley, California. This was Eiland and Ewart's last known appearance as Arf and Omega. Ewart died in a car crash in 2011, and Eiland died after a battle with Alzheimer's in 2017.

In the 2001 *Icky Flix* edit of *Vileness Fats*, Arf and Omega's voices are overdubbed by The Singing Resident due to the low sound quality of the original footage.

## In *Vileness Fats*

In order to help save the village of Vileness Flats from invading rebels, Arf and Omega use their fondness of occultism to summon the immortal Indian priestess Weescoosa. When the village is rescued, the Mayor holds a banquet in their honor. At the banquet, the village's spiritual leader Saint Steve delivers a lengthy and boring speech. The twins are disgusted by the broccoli they are fed, throwing it at Steve and mocking him.

Later Arf and Omega find themselves at Uncle Willy's nightclub, where they see a performance by singer Peggy Honeydew. The twins sit and flirt with Honeydew, who (unbeknownst to them) has been planted by the villainous Lonesome Jack in order to distract them. The twins argue over the voluptuous singer, and she suggests that the twins settle the argument with a knife fight.

Willy presents the twins with a pair of knives and blindfolds them. Arf and Omega fight on the dance floor of the nightclub, with Omega fatally stabbing Arf. The twins are last seen as the anguished Omega pathetically drags his dead brother from the room.

## See also

* *Vileness Fats*
* Weescoosa
* Peggy Honeydew
* Uncle Willy (Vileness Fats)
* *Santa Dog*
* "Aircraft Damage"
* Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! (live performance)

## External links and references

* *Vileness Fats* at The Residents Historical
* Arf and Omega at Discogs

1. ↑ "Residents History - Part 14 (continued)", Randy Rose, Maurice and Me, ca. 2013
2. ↑ "The End of Arf" on YouTube
3. ↑ Ryan Sabalow, "Memorial slated for George Ewart of Jefferson Public Radio", Record Searchlight, May 17th 2011
4. ↑ Palmer Eiland obituary at Legacy.com

**Scene by scene**
1: Arf and Omega · 2: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 1 · 3: Town 1 · 4: Mother's House 1 · 5: Weescoosa & Ninnie 1 · 6: Cave 1 · 7: Weescoosa & Ninnie 2 · 8: Weescoosa's Flashback · 9: Weescoosa & Ninnie 3 · 10: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 2 · 11: Town 2 · 12: Desert 2 · 13: Lonesome Jack & Peggy · 14: Desert 1 · 15: Mother's House 2 · 16: Town 3 · 17: Banquet Hall · 18: Cave 2 · 19: Bridge 1 · 20: The Master Plan · 21: Cave 3 · 22: Desert 3 · 23: Night Club 1 · 24: Desert 4 · 25: Night Club 2 · 26: Desert 5 · 27: Cave 4 · 28: Night Club 3 · 29: Desert 6 · 30: Night Club 4 · 31: Cave 5 · 32: Night Club 5 · 33: Mother's House 3 · 34: Night Club 6 · 35: The Window of Never
**Cast and characters**
Saint Steven / Lonesome Jack (Jay Clem) · Weescoosa (Sally Lewis) · **Arf and Omega Berry** (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · Ninnie (Danny Williams) · Steve's Mother (Marge Howard) · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Smyk) · Weenie (Danny Williams) · Uncle Willy (Hardy Fox)
with
Irene Dogmatic · J. Raoul Brody · Barry "Schwump" Schwam · Hugo Olson · Bill Dewalt · Diane Flynn · Homer Flynn · Tony Logan · Dennis Sealy · The Mysterious N. Senada as himself

**Crew**
The Residents: direction, screenplay, music, sets, costumes · Graeme Whifler: lighting, sets, second unit direction · Diane Flynn: costumes · John Kennedy: editing
**Settings**
Vileness Flats (Mother's House · Ninnie's House · Banquet Hall · Willy's Hot Spot) · Motel · The Cave · The Desert · The Window of Never
**Soundtrack music**
"Aircraft Damage" · "The Importance of Evergreen" · "Eloise" · "Kamikaze Lady" · "Lonely At The Top" · "Fever" · "Russian Love Song" · *X Is For Xtra* ("Theme From X" · "Slow Texture" · "Asonarose" · "Soundtrack Music Piece 17")
**Related works**
The Boarding House performance · *Santa Dog* · *Meet The Residents* · *Not Available* (*X Is For Xtra*) · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* (video) · "March de la Winni" · Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! performance · *Fingerprince* · *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?* (soundtrack · *PAL TV LP*) · *Video Voodoo* · *Twenty Twisted Questions* · *Icky Flix* (soundtrack · "The Knife Fight" · *RZ VF*) · *Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents* · *Double Trouble* ("Junior's Double Trouble Nightmare" · trailer) · *Triple Trouble* (soundtrack)
**Related articles**
Atomic Shopping Carts · The Bell Boys · Residents, Uninc. · "My Mammy"· Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · The Ugly Grey Theater

**Side A:** "Fire" by Ivory and the Brain Eaters · **Side B:** "Explosion" by The Delta Nudes
**Side C:** "Lightning" by The College Walkers · **Side D:** "Aircraft Damage" by **Arf and Omega** feat. The Singing Lawn Chairs
**Personnel**
Residents, Uninc. · **Arf and Omega Berry** (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · The Singing Lawn Chairs (Pamela Zeibak)
**Related works**
*Vileness Fats* ·"Santa Dog '78" · "Santa Dog '84" · "Santa Dog 88" · "Santa Dog '92" · *Refused* · "Santa Dog 17" · *Santa Dog 50th Anniversary Collection* · "Santa Dog 2022"
**Related articles**
Western Kennel World · The Ventures ("Peter Gunn" · *Play Guitar With The Ventures Volume 7*) · Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · Porno/Graphics · Richard Nixon · Frank Zappa · *Meet The Residents*