GWAR founding member CHUCK “Sexecutioner” VARGA dead at a 68
29-04-2026
Chuck Varga, a founding member of GWAR and the man behind The Sexecutioner from 1985 to 2022, has died after a battle with cancer.
Varga‘s death was announced Friday night (September 25) in a social media post shared by Beefcake The Mighty, also known as Casey Orr, the bassist for the heavily costumed theatrical shock/thrash metal band.
Orr wrote: “Chuck Varga has left this earthly realm. He passed peacefully, his beloved wife Bambi holding his hand.
“He was one of a kind. As an artist, as a performer; as a scholar and a gentleman. I’m better for having known him and the world is lesser for his leaving.
“He is most likely being welcomed into Valhalla right now by (Dave) Brockie (who fronted GWAR under the name Oderus Urungus) and Smooty (GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot) and all who went before.
“Raise your glass and tell his tales. Legends never die. Hail Varga! Hail Sexecutioner!”
This past June, GWAR created a fundraiser to help cover the mounting expenses associated with Chuck‘s care, including cancer treatments, hospice care, specialized medical equipment, and additional nursing support. It was also supposed to help offset the cost of maintaining Chuck‘s Brooklyn apartment while Bambi had stepped away from work to care for Chuck full-time.
For more than four decades, Chuck had been an integral part of the GWAR family and helped shape the band’s legacy from its earliest days. Through his work as a performer, artist, creator, and founding member, he helped build one of the most unique and enduring acts in heavy music history. His creativity, humor, and dedication have left an indelible mark on generations of fans, artists, and misfits around the world.
When the above-mentioned fundraiser was first announced, GWAR‘s Bob Gorman, a.k.a. Bonesnapper, said: “Chuck Varga‘s contributions to the GWAR and Slave Pit collective are enormous. The influence of his illustrations, character designs, performances, and artistic vision can still be felt throughout GWAR today. Chuck‘s over-the-top underground art aesthetic helped define an entire universe and inspired generations of artists and fans around the world. His legacy will remain with us forever.”
Varga‘s work as the Sexecutioner has left a permanent mark on GWAR‘s legacy. Now fans have the chance to give something back. Find a blood bank, take part, and help make a difference. Give blood. Celebrate the Sexecutioner. Keep the legacy alive.
Varga was a founding member of GWAR, which formed in 1984, and as the intergalactic Sexecutioner, his job was “making sure the blood goes in all the right places.” Varga sang in the band and created many of the group’s costumes. He told Entertainment Weekly almost a decade ago: “I describe it as a full-body stunt mat. It gives me special powers. I have fallen off stage five feet onto a concrete floor and bounced like a Super Ball.”
Chuck likes to describe himself as one part comic book illustrator, one part special effects designer, two parts sculptor, shaken over some science fiction novels, poured into a rubber mask, and garnished with a twisted sense of humor. In 1985 he co-founded Slave Pit Studios and formed the theatrical rock sensation GWAR. He collaborated on eight major productions, over 1,000 live performances and co-authored two feature length films with two Grammy nominations and a gold record. At this time Varga performed as the Sexecutioner. His art has been described as “eye popping, twisted and over the top, way over!”
In 1995 he partnered up with Don Drakulich to form Hyperreal Productions, an art effects venture producing public sculptures and collectable figures. In 1997, Chuck moved to New York to work on Broadway and feature film productions. He would occasionally perform with GWAR and finally retired on Halloween Scumdog Reunion 2021. Along the way he befriended the likes of Joe Coleman and Robert Williams and many other outsider artists.
Varga met his soon-to-be-wife Bambi The Mermaid at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. It was love at first sight and the two were married there in 2017. He merged his absurdist theatre with her neo-burlesque performances and became a staple at the legendary not-for-profit arts organization Coney Island USA where he reigned as resident Neptune.
Varga divides his time between fine art and underground theater projects, continuing to evolve the blend of spectacle, satire, and handcrafted fantasy that defined his GWAR years with a delightfully unwholesome splash of neo-burlesque charm.
Brockie was found dead in his home in Richmond, Virginia in March 2014. According to Virginia’s State Medical Examiner’s Office, he died from acute heroin toxicity by accidental means.
Dave Brockie was last remaining original member of GWAR, which was founded 42 years ago. He was 50 years old.
The satirical metal band earned a following for its macabre, over-the-top costumes, offensive lyrics and graphic, gore-soaked shows, in which the bandmembers performed as the descendants of alien warriors who arrived on Earth to enslave and slaughter the human race.
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