It's tough writing these about friends, especially friends dying way too young. In this case, the friend is comic fan-turned-filmmaker Mike Valerio, lost to us by heart failure this weekend. He was 51.
I've known Mike for…gee, I don't know how long. Since the mid-seventies, I guess. Mike was very active in fanzines of the day, particularly in those devoted to the Legion of Super-Heroes comics from DC. He grew up in Seekonk, MA, graduated from Rhode Island College and soon broke into the TV business on a version of PM Magazine done in Providence, R.I. and hosted by the then-newcomer Matt Lauer. Eventually, Mike moved on to Chicago (where he produced PM Magazine there) and then Hollywood. His friend Mike Flynn recalls…
In Chicago, the time came for cutbacks. Apparently, Mike or one married fellow were going to have to be let go. Mike took the axe so the family man could keep working. Yes, he took the opportunity to move to L.A., but he had nothing lined up and just went out on his moxie. After Mike told me this, I found it impossible to hope for anything but the best for him, and there were times it seemed it was headed his way.
Valerio did all right in Los Angeles. He wrote and/or directed hundreds of documentaries and entertainment projects, often of a promotional nature. His proudest (and most frustrating) project was the 1999 theatrical feature, Carlo's Wake, which he directed and co-wrote. The film received rave reviews but got caught up in legal snarls and was barely released.
Mike worked with everyone in the TV business, producing promotional films for all the major networks, and he occasionally found time to dabble in comics. He created and wrote a comic book called Stealth Force for Malibu Comics and also worked on Malibu's Planet of the Apes line and a Bruce Lee series.
He was an occasional off-the-record source for TV news on this blog and occasionally let me quote him. In this piece about the passing of Charlton Heston, he noted what a classy guy Mr. Heston was. The same could be said for Mr. Valerio. We'll miss you, Mike.