A Gang-Bang of Words in Memory of a Fallen Brother

Mama Netto had no way of knowing that her boy would shed the family name and replace it with a turgid alias.

He was a son, a friend and a loner - but he was born to be an entertainer. 

Influences such as The Three Stooges, the seediest of B-movies and  professional wrestling all shaped his fragile mind.

The diverse music of artists from Devo to The Kinks to Kraftwerk were more obsessions than hobbies.

Others share(d) his ability to shock and confuse - such as Howard Stern and Andy Kaufman, although none with his unique style.

Comparisons to groundbreaking orators such as Lenny Bruce and George Carlin are appropriate, but only scratch the surface.

The fact is that he was all of these people - many, many more - and none of them. A genuine one-of-a-kind original.

Born and raised in Boston - I had no knowledge of KOME FM or the way to San Jose, but I knew his name and heard mind-blowing dementia from his show off of treasured cassette tapes smuggled in from the left-coast, years before I ever met him.

The thing I will remember most is him sitting quietly when  he came to my home for Monday Night Raw, a party or just to hang out, brushing my young son's hair with a calmness and gentleness that betrayed his public-persona.

He was a brilliant broadcaster, an amazing actor, an outrageous writer, an encyclopedia of knowledge, and a  beloved  member of my extended-family.

No doubt, he is on ten-second-delay in heaven - #1 in hell - and waiting in limbo in preperation of his imminent reunion with Nancy Reagan!

You will always be remembered.

Dennis "Erectus" Netto