Pictured Sal Piro with Patricia Quinn (Magenta) at a reunion screening of Rocky Horror.
Openly gay Rocky Horror Picture Show International Fan Club President and emcee Sal Piro has been exhorting movie-going audiences to 'do the time warp again' for almost 30 years—surely a record of some kind. The New York-based Piro has hosted shows in Japan, Italy and across the U.S. Besides emceeing screenings of the underground 1975 camp classic, he's also the acknowledged expert on all things 'RH' and he'll preside over Midnight showings Friday and Saturday, Oct. 8 and 9 (and bring along exclusive footage from a 15th anniversary with the stars) when a sparkling new 35mm print of the movie will be shown at the Hollywood Blvd. theatre in suburban Woodridge. A RH character troupe, Completely Crazy, will act out the movie and cue the audience. The theater is one of those intimate movie houses with captain chair seats that serve food and liquor during the movie—so one can conveniently eat, drink and be a sweet transvestite all at once. The midnight screenings will continue throughout the month. wwwatriptothemovies.com
WCT: How long officially have you been doing this?
SP: I guess since '76, '77. I was one of the original group of people at the Waverly Theatre in New York City that's credited with starting audience participation.
WCT: And you're in Fame the movie.
SP: That gave me additional notoriety ... it certified my position as the Rocky Horror emcee.
WCT: Is this what you do fulltime, Sal?
SP: I run the fan club online but I do have other work that I do. I work out on Fire Island during the summertime here on the East Coast as one of the managers of a big club and I've done some freelance writing and I play tournament Scrabble.
WCT: So, almost 30 years of Rocky Horror—don't you ever get sick of it?
SP: No, not really because it's not just a movie; it's all the people involved and that's what's kept me with Rocky. I've seen the children of the original fans coming now. Rocky becomes like a rite of passage for a lot of these younger people.
WCT: Certainly gay and lesbian teens can point to Rocky Horror as the perfect coming-out movie. I remember seeing it here at the Biograph back in the mid-'70s and how that 'don't dream it, be it' message was so fantastic for a lot of us coming out at the time. Does it still have that impact?
SP: Oh sure. It's a different experience for every person. Back at the Waverly before the participation began the audience was mostly gay. It was seen as kinda underground and camp and gay before it went widespread. One of the most important things about Rocky is that when the straight audiences started coming in they saw Dr. Frank-N-Furter as a hero. They were seeing this guy who was admittedly bisexual in fishnet stockings as this hero. I think Rocky Horror did a lot amongst the younger people for the acceptance of the gay and lesbian lifestyle.
WCT: And a lot of other lifestyles—like goth, for example.
SP: Oh definitely. Amongst all the people that I've met over the years who are very much into Rocky Horror, the least thing you find among that group is homophobia.
WCT: Here's the question you're asked all the time: why has it lasted, why is it still fresh, why is it still a great experience?
SP: The reason why it's still around is because of that great experience. There's a special thing about it playing at midnight that adds a cachet about it; makes it almost forbidden. And younger people who are going now weren't around; they weren't born 20 years ago or 30 years ago. It regenerates itself as the audience does.
WCT: Why does it still speak to you?
SP: I'm still in the mindset I was in in the '70s about freedom and gay rights and I just love the movie and it's hard for me to turn away from something that's been such a strong part of my life. There are a lot of people over the years whose lives I've touched and who have touched mine.
WCT: Touch-a touch-a touched you?
SP: (laughs) And that's still my favorite song in the movie!