SoCal Rock Promoter Gina Zamparelli, Who Led Fight To Preserve Raymond Theatre, Dies

photo provided – Gina Zamparelli

Beloved Southern California rock promoter Gina Zamparelli, who led efforts to preserve the Raymond Theatre in Pasadena, died May 21 after a sudden illness.

Zamparelli formed the Friends of the Raymond Theatre in 1987 after the venue fallen out of favor with local leaders for hosting rowdy SoCal rock music .

An obituary provided to Pollstar from Zamparelli’s family said she was the first woman producer to bring national touring artists to major venues in the United States. She produced hundreds of concerts at her home base venue Pasadena’s Perkins Palace, (historically known as the Raymond Theater) The Roxy Theatre, The Whisky a Go Go, The Hollywood Palladium, The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and The Wadsworth Theatre. To this day she was still working with major artists in promotions and management, such as W.A.S.P., Jack Russell, Armored Saint, Chris Holmes, and many others.

While at Perkins Palace, she had worked with many legendary artists. including Van Halen, U2, Tina Turner, Motley Crue, Foo Fighters, Simple Minds, Fleetwood Mac and Phil Collins who launched his solo career at Perkins Palace under Zamparelli, including a full concert television special and original VHS release.

Zamparelli had been awarded the Pasadena’s Best Citizen of the Year, Pasadena’s Best Historic Preservation Organization and Best Preservation organization in California, by the California Preservation Foundation for many of her efforts. Zamparelli also sat on the Board of Directors for Hollywood Heritage in the early 2000s.

Zamparelli fought to save her beloved historic Pasadena Raymond Theater from the wrecking ball, originally built in 1921 hosting Vaudeville and cinema. The fight lasted 10 years, with the nonprofit Friends of the Raymond pulling together an army of Pasadena citizens, historical preservationists from around the country and many celebrities in music and the arts.

Ultimately the war was lost and the project was turned into a condominium/business office project., although she saved the theater’s facade, marquee and stage, which still remains intact.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>RIP <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/GinaZamparelli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#GinaZamparelli</a> We're going to miss you. <a href=”https://t.co/SSiFOZGqpz”>pic.twitter.com/SSiFOZGqpz</a></p>— Slash (@Slash) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Slash/status/999163200565264384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>May 23, 2018</a></blockquote>

An outpouring of condolences and tributes follow her passing from those in the Los Angeles rock club scene, with the Whisky-A-Go-Go paying tribute on its marquee, as reported by All That Shreds. Punky Meadows announced it will be playing a tribute show at the Whisky June 16, the same day as her memorial service takes place.

– Whisky A Go Go

Zamparelli was the daughter of Siri Lankan-born model and Miss Universe runner-up Maureen Hingert.

According to a GoFundMe page, Zamparelli was admitted to the ER after a fall and diagnosed with an aggressive malignant brain tumor from which she never recovered. She was 59.

Services are set for June 16, with more details on the GoFundMe page.