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Rob Spallone's Brother Roy, 48, Dies In Costa Rica Sept. 5

I've known Rob for eight years. If I ever needed a favor (get bailed out of jail or have someone whacked), he'd be one of the first persons I talked to.

Rob (robspallone@aol.com) calls me Friday morning: "Do me a favor. My brother died. If you could just put something up there and leave it there because I've been getting nine million phone calls. Anybody who wants to pay respect can come by my house at 3 p.m., Sept 13, 20058 Friar St. 91367. We're leaving for New York Thursday."

Luke: "When did Roy die?"

Rob: "Tuesday I got the phone call."

Luke: "What killed him?"

Rob: "They did the autopsy yesterday. I had him cremated. Natural causes. He'd been sick. He didn't tell anybody. That's it.

"He was supposed to go to work Monday. He didn't show up. He didn't show up Tuesday. They sent somebody over. They found him in the bed dead."

Luke: "When did you last talk to him?"

Rob: "I went to my mother's office Tuesday morning. She said she spoke to Roy Saturday. He'd been depressed and sick. He sounded good. He was getting a new job. He was moving.

"Three hours later I got the phone call.

"I was supposed to fly down today and leave him down there because he liked it there. I was able to give the rights to this girl to identify him. I've been on the phone with the embassy for two days. I sent them all the money they needed."

Luke: "When did you last talk to him?"

Rob: "About a month ago."

Luke: "What did you talk about?"

Rob: "Nothing. He was the same as always. Crazy Roy."

Luke: "Didn't he have surgery?"

Rob: "Yes. His gallbladder exploded when we were in New York five months ago."

Roy has a 23-year old daughter. "If you met Roy, you'd think he was the happiest guy in the world. He was a tough kid. He wasn't a bully. Anybody who met him, liked him."

Rob chokes up.

My clearest memory of Roy is from Las Vegas in January 2005. I stayed with Rob and Roy and company for a few days at the Bellagio. Rob and Roy were bickering most of the time. On a Friday night, Roy was freaking out because he hadn't heard from Rob all day.

Then Rob stumbled in with Tommy Sinnopoli (who sells herbal viagra). They were both drunk as skunks.

It was pouring rain on the drive home to Los Angeles Sunday evening. Rob was exhausted so Roy gave me a ride home from Rob's house in the Valley, saving me an $80 cab fair.

Roy was always helping people like that.

A lot of people say that Roy died of a drug overdose but Rob tells me that is not true.

May his memory be a blessing.

9/13/06

Eavesdropping At Gathering To Honor Rob Spallone's Brother Roy

Roy died of natural causes in Costa Rica around September 5.

Wednesday afternoon, about 100 people from the industry stopped by Rob's Woodland Hills house including James DiGiorgio (these former partners turned bitter enemies for almost five years are now speaking civilly again after running into each other in Palm Springs Sept. 2), Marty Turkel, Ron Sullivan, Vinny D...

Rob Spallone emails Thursday: "THANK YOU AND EVERY ONE WHO SHOULD UP OR CALLED OR E MAILED ME IT MENT A LOT TO ME AND MY FAMELY AND I WONT FOR GET IT THERE R SOME GOOD PEOPLE OUT HERE THANKS AGEN TO EVERYONE."

I overheard the following:

"The Israelis ruined this business."

"Do you know the day this industry went to hell? When Dibi got whacked. After that, anyone who wanted in could come in."

"When I came in this business, there were 1,200 releases a year. Now there's that many a month. Now anyone who picks up a camera thinks he's a director."

I love it when pornographers talk about their work as though it takes some special skill. I love it when they decry the lack of standards, the lack of professionalism, the lack of integrity, the lack of unity in the industry. I love to spot other people's self-delusions (but I resent it when other people point mine out).

Marty Turkel, 72, spent two months in the hospital, enduring five surgeries. One evening before a surgery, the doctor told him that his odds of making it were 50/50.

Marty (who doesn't drive yet but is back at work at Juicy Entertainment) says he would never have made it without the care of his wife who was at his bedside every day.

Ron Sullivan hobbles in on a cane. He was recently in the hospital again because of a stomach infection.

James DiGiorgio is growing his hair long. He now has two grandkids.

Joe Spallone is retired. Since he cut his thumb off in 1998, it's been difficult to play golf. His wife Barbara works for Michael Esposito.

The Spallones are flying to New York Thursday.

Much of the industry (including Marty's salesman friend Ed Kaile) is at the CCBill gathering in Arizona.

DMan writes 12/13/06:

I see you were a good friend to Roy. Before Roy died we met as friends and he was having problems with the sport book he was working with. I tried to give him money a place to live. But he was a man and would not take a dime. He worked in my office and was loved here. He was like a father to my daughter and her boyfriend. And everyone in the office called him uncle Louie. I keep hearing talk about him being on drugs. Its a lie he was straight and just not happy with life.

He asked me to hire a girl PATTI LIBERMAN. A sport book person she lied and stole money from a dead man. For the record Roy paid for his own funeral with his pay that was owed to him. That's the way he would want it done. he didn't want anything from anyone. If possible I see you make posts. Roy was a stand up man. Took nothing from anyone, and the girl he girl Patti liberman that he got a job here stole money from him after he died. We even gave here 850 dollars witch was rosy severance pay to give to his mother and she kept that too. We all made a beautiful poster with everyone saying good buy. And I am now hearing stories that she didn't even give it to his mother. And I know for a fact His brother Rob gave her a cash for the ashes that was paid for and plane fair that was paid for.