Sal Valvo, bodyguard for Twisted Sister, FZ, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden
ZapRatz
by Ben Johnson/Staten Island Awe
Tuesday December 02, 2008, 4:50 PM
http://www.silive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/12/staten_island_bodyguard_sal_va.html
http://blog.silive.com/entertainment_impact_music/2008/12/small_SalValvoCropped.jpg
Salvatore Valvo
From what I've heard, a lot of people knew Salvatore Valvo. I wrote
this piece about him in September, when Twisted Sister played South
Shore rock club L'Amour to raise money for Sal, who was struggling
with leukemia and diabetes. He worked for many years as the band's
head of security, and lived most of his life on Staten Island. Sal
also worked for Iron Maiden, Frank Zappa, and Judas Priest over the
years, making his security credentials pretty major.
I just got a visit from Sal's brother, Richie, who gave me information
for Sal's Obituary, which will run in the Staten Island Advance
Tomorrow. If you knew Sal or knew of him, feel free to leave your
memories here in the form of comments. Please keep them respectful.
Richie tells me family and friends are working on a time to meet and
escord Sal's remains from the funeral home.
This is Sal's Obituary:
Salvatore Valvo, 53, of Annadale, a longtime bodyguard and security
specialist for heavy metal band Twisted Sister, died Monday at Staten
Island University Hospital South of complications from leukemia and
diabetes.
Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Valvo lived most of his young and adult life on
Staten Island, where he attended Tottenville High School. Through his
work for Twisted Sister and other famous rock bands and artists like
Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Frank Zappa, however, Mr. Valvo had the
chance to travel all over the world.
"He was my oldest brother, he taught me a lot," said Richard Valvo.
"Sal was known world-wide. He had friends in Germany--all over the
place. He was quite the ladies man."
When he wasn't working security for Twisted Sister, Mr. Valvo loved to
ride his '66 Electra Glide Harley Davidson motorcycle, make his own
fresh mozzarella, and spend time with his two cats. Family members
remember him as an accomplished amateur chef, who for a short time in
the 1980s owned his own catering business.
"Sal is such an onion. On the outside he's this huge guy - a monster -
but you peel back the layers and you find out he's a ... guy who also
wrote poetry," Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider told the Advance in
September. "He's lethal though. We had this song off our first record
called 'Destroyer.' I always kind of think of Sal when we play that
song."
In addition to his brother Richard, Mr. Valvo is survived by his wife
of two months, Deborah Bain Valvo; and two brothers, Nicholas and
Paul.
Funeral arrangements, including direct cremation, are being handled by
Scamardella Funeral Home, West Brighton.
--
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ZapRatz
<zapratzR...@newsguy.com> wrote:
>From what I've heard, a lot of people knew Salvatore Valvo. I wrote
>this piece
http://www.silive.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2008/09/music_a_twisted_tale.html
>about him in September, when Twisted Sister played South
>Shore rock club L'Amour to raise money for Sal, who was struggling
>with leukemia and diabetes. He worked for many years as the band's
>head of security, and lived most of his life on Staten Island. Sal
>also worked for Iron Maiden, Frank Zappa, and Judas Priest over the
>years, making his security credentials pretty major.
--