The story behind Bill Correira “Woo”’s nickname-surname conveys the fun-loving spirit that endeared him to many. According to Jon La Budde, owner of Jonny Reno’s: “He was sitting in the courtyard at the old Big Catch [a ‘90s hotspot] on First Street when a car load of girls came by and yelled “Woo!” and may or may not have flashed him. For some reason, others around him thought his name was ‘Bill Woo’ and it stuck; true story.”
The artist/gallery owner of Gallery Woo, on the 600 Block of downtown St. Pete, died after a five-year struggle with brain cancer on Nov. 26. He created his iconic fish until the final moments of his life. After his last surgery, he was told that his motor skills would be too impaired to paint, but he proved the doctors wrong.