FORMER DOWNTOWN JERSEY CITY RESIDENT

THE LATE SAL PIRO, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW SUPERFAN

By Tris McCall

Richard O’Brien, Tim Curry, and Susan Sarandon made the Rocky Horror Picture Show a hoot.

Sal Piro made it a phenomenon.

He did not do it from the screen, or from the director’s chair, or from behind a camera, or from the offices of a movie studio. The Jersey City native did it from the audience. Piro, who died at 71 after a highly unusual and consequential career in show business, spent decades as the president of the Rocky Horror Picture Show Fan Club. In that role, he helped transform fandom from the passive activity it had been into the creative act that it is today — something akin to artistry.

“He was a brilliant person,” testifies his younger sister Lillias Piro, who grew up with him on Brunswick Street in Jersey City’s Downtown. “He was going to be a priest. He had a scholarship to enter the seminary, but the thing that made him happiest was always the movies. He loved musicals, he loved theater, and he shared that love with everyone. He certainly shared that love with me.”

Sal Piro wasn’t the first viewer to shout a witticism back to the screen during a showing of the 1975 satirical musical and midnight movie. But he was the one who encouraged, organized, and sometimes choreographed the growing crowd response. He was the master of ceremonies with kind words for the growing community of obsessive Rocky Horror repeat viewers — the leader on the floor whose elaborate routines before and after the lights went down swiftly took on the character a parallel event.

He also provided a welcoming environment for offbeat individuals who hadn’t always been encouraged to express themselves. Dressing up and attending a midnight movie was great fun, of course. But it was also an act of courage.

“People may not remember: the Village wasn’t too friendly in 1977,” recalls Lillias Piro. “My brother’s life was threatened. There were known gangs of thugs attacking and killing gay people.”

Sal Piro’s search for a safe home for the Rocky Horror experience prompted him to shepherd the community from the embattled Waverly Theatre on 6th Avenue in Manhattan to the Orion Theater in Queens, and finally back to Manhattan and the 8th Street Playhouse in 1979. There it would stay for decades and become a cornerstone of New York City entertainment — as entrenched as The Fantastiks, or the Bronx Bombers, or carriage rides in Central Park.

Lillias Piro was part of the experience. Her big brother first took her to see Rocky Horror at the Waverly Theater when she was thirteen. She became a founding member of the Fan Club, and eventually a member of the 8th Street Players, the group of talented performers who put on Rocky Horror-themed shows of their own at the theater. It wasn’t exclusively a LGBTQ+ scene: luminaries, weirdos, and zany characters of all kinds were drawn to that lipsticked leer. But the importance of Rocky Horror to the growing gay community in the Village is tough to overstate. It wasn’t merely

Sal and Lillas Piro a matter of visibility. It was about finding a safe place to play.

“So many of the people who came to Rocky Horror credited Sal with saving their lives,” says Lilias. “Sal was always so accepting, so funny, and kind to everyone. There were transgender kids who were prostituting themselves and didn’t know where to go. They found a home with Rocky Horror.” enshrinement in the Library of Congress for its historical significance. Many of the customary components of 21st century fandom, including cosplay, fanfiction, direct interaction with stars and creators, and meticulous attention to minor storytelling detail, were anticipated by Rocky Horror obsessors. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is now recognized as one of the most successful standalone films in cinema history, grossing hundreds of millions of dollars. Not bad for a lighthearted spoof of ‘50s monster movies — and not something that would’ve happened without Sal Piro.

“The crowd participation was never mockery,” says Lillas Piro. “For Sal, Rocky Horror was love at first sight. The music from the film is superb. That’s what really turned Sal on — Sal and countless others. Tim Curry’s performance is great. Over the years we’ve tried to watch out for the integrity of it because what we created in the ‘70s is so important for so many people.”

“Rocky Horror is a satire, but the filmmakers didn’t write it for people to scream back at it. If you watch Rocky Horror without the audience, it can lag. When I saw it on television, I realized that there were a lot of pauses in it. It’s almost like it was waiting to be yelled at.”

It was waiting for Sal Piro.

From 8th Street, Rocky Horror bloomed. MTV and VH1 sent cameras to chronicle the party. The fandom grew, and so did the international reach of Rocky Horror: there were conventions, parodies, revivals, eventual Sal and Lillas Piro photo http://www.rockyhorrorwiki. org/

Jersey City’s Newest Three Brand Restaurant

Ribbon Cutting

In attendance for the

February 16th Ribbon

Cutting and Grand

Opening of Jersey City’s Newest Three Brand

Restaurant (Center)

Jersey City Mayor Steve

Fulop,Assia Wilson

Owner/ Operator (far left) Mike Coogan

Company rep Cold Stone / Blimpie / Great

Steaks

Mira Prinz-Arey

Councilwoman ward B

Denise Ridley

Councilwomen Ward A and far right restaurant employee.

The Three Brand Restaurant featuring a Blimpie, Great Steak and Cold Stone Creamery is located in the Greenville Section of Jersey City at the Suburan Drive Strip Mall (next to Acme)

321 Route 440 the restaurants are open from 11am to 9pm 7 days a week.

551-225-3416

On Friday February 24th the Bayonne Chamber of Commerce along with the City of Bayonne and the Bayonne UEZ, held the Annual Chili Cook Off. The first held since 2019 due to COVID closure.

Pictured (L to R) Jack Kennedy, Janet Coviello, 2nd Ward Bayonne Councilwoman Jacqueline Weimmer, 3rd Ward Bayonne Councilman Gary LaPelusa, Bayonne 1st Ward Councilman, Neil Carroll, Renata

Swierzbinski, Michelle Byrd, Bayonne Councilman at-Large

Juan M. Perez, Lisha Smerda, Annette Rubin, Tish Kraszyk and Andrew Perera, from Andrew’s Cafe in Bayonne.Not pictured Cindy Guarini and Jackie Farber of the Bayonne UEZ. Bayonne Chamber Committee proudly wore their Chili CookOff Crew T-Shirts for the event which brought out a large participation

The Division of Transportation Planning has partnered with a team of NYU Wagner graduate students to develop the Jersey City Greenway Connectivity Plan that will help the City provide connections in our existing and proposed future greenway network. The plan will focus on connections between greenways and between greenways and Jersey City’s bike lanes, sidewalks, parks, and other key destinations. The Greenway Connectivity Plan wouldlike to hear from the public March 2, 2023 (InPerson):6:30 – 8:30pm 4 Jackson Square (39 Kearney Avenue) https://docs.google. com/forms/d/

Hudson Happenings

Fulop Administration Further Elevates Arts & Culture in Jersey City with Powerhouse Partnership to Create NJ’s Largest Visual Arts Event

First Annual Jersey City Art Week Announced for October 11-15

Mayor Steven M. Fulop recently joined the Office of Cultural Affairs and Art Fair 14C Executive Director Robinson Holloway to announce the premier of Jersey City Art Week – a new partnership between Jersey City’s largest visual arts events.

The Jersey City Art and Studio Tour (JCAST) and Art Fair 14C are joining forces to host concurrent events in October, creating a super-sized visual arts experience that will showcase Jersey City’s vibrant arts and culture scene.

Jersey City Art Week will attract local, national, and international artists to

Jersey City alongside fine art exhibitors.

“By leveraging the strong relationships we have built over the years with our artists and arts organizations, especially Art Fair 14C, we can really amplify our impact and showcase our talented artists on a much bigger stage. By combining forces, we will create the biggest and best arts and culture event on the East Coast, bar none. This event will attract residents and visitors from throughout the region to come to Jersey City for the arts and stay for everything we have to offer,” said Mayor Fulop.

The combination of JCAST and Art Fair 14C will elevate the entire visual arts ecosystem.

Jersey City Art Week will be a premier arts and culture event with open studios, gallery receptions, and curated exhibitions. The fifth edition of Art Fair 14C serves as the centerpiece of the week’s events.

The inaugural Jersey City Art Week will also host the renowned Conference of the International Sculpture Center (ISC), bringing the annual conference hosted by the New Jersey-based organization to our state for the first time. The conference will draw hundreds of prominent sculptors and three-dimensional artists from around the world to Jersey City and contribute unique programming for Art Week.

For 33 years, JCAST has been a celebrated City-run event highlighting art and the creative process every year and attracting residents and visitors from all over the region with free curated tours, art demos, and panel discussions featuring artists, arts organizations, and collectives from all over Jersey City.

Last year, JCAST featured more than 650 artists at over 125 locations spanning the entire City.

To read the entire article visit www.riverviewobserver.net

Piero’s Music Presents JACK GRACE

The man slings more than a few sparks from his big hollow -body Gibson.

What sets his songs apart from the rest of the country or alt-country scene is his laugh-outloud absurdist witNewYork Free Press

If You Go: Jack Grace

March 18 doors open at 7pn Show at 8pm Piero’Music

942 Broadway, Bayonne tickets available online and in store