Gene Chiovari

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See also http://www.rockyhorror.com/profiles/fan_1996_12.php

Gene Chiovari is a Rocky Horror Legend and Rocky Horror Elder. He first went to Rocky Horror in 1978 at the Biograph Theater in Chicago. Five years later he was head Frank and soon after became cast director. Gene was also part of legendary cast The Celluloid Jam in Milwaukee (with, among others, Bruce Cutter). Gene has been in and run casts in the Wisconsin and Chicagoland area, and is a founder and former cast director of Completely Crazy. At the Mundelein Theater in Mundelein, Illinois he was simultaneously cast director and also the theater manager. He won The Boss Award in 2014 at the Transylvania Carnivale in Chicago as recognition in part for his seminal role a Rocky Horror Johnny Appleseed in the Chicagoland area - most of the Chicagoland cast MC's lovingly rip off his stuff. As of 2017 he is a member of Indiana cast Help Me Mommy.

Gene is not only a veteran of the cast scene, he is also a familiar face at the various conventions. He ran two Rocky Horror conventions - one in 1988 and one in 1989. Richard O'Brien himself was his special guest when Completely Crazy performed the live play (without the movie) at the '89 convention.

Gene appeared at most of the major conventions in the 1980s through 2000, doing his now legendary "Rocky Horror Pledge," the same one created by Richard O'Brien at the 1989 convention.

Gene has also performed at several major Rocky Horror events, including the first televised The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Fox (1993) and at the 20th Anniversary in California and 25th Anniversary in Las Vegas.

Gene is also a big collector of Rocky Horror merchandise. His collection has everything, from rare photos to videos; to soundtracks and posters; to playbills and magazines. Gene enjoys trading with Rocky Horror fans to increase his collection. One of the more unusual items in his collection is the vinyl record of his cast performing the music to The Rocky Horror Show, for which Gene did the sound mixing. He was also involved with the collector audio rarities CDs "The R Files" and "The R Files 2."

For many years, Gene was also co-editor of Rocky Horror/Shock Treatment fanzine "Crazed Imaginations", working first with founding editor Bill Brennan and then with Ruth Fink-Winter. The monthly fanzine featured many of Gene's photos and T-shirt/button designs, and bore Gene's instantly recognizable stamp as graphic editor.

His most favorite part of Rocky is "I'm Going Home".