The Crowd -- B.W. Cook

It was packed with people. It was full of laughter. It was both warm

and sentimental and downright irreverent. What more appropriate

combination of emotions for a tribute to Newport Beach legend Paul

Salata, founder of Irrelevant Week, which celebrates the last player

picked in the NFL draft.

The First American Corporation presented its first-ever American

Tribute honoring Salata for a lifetime of community and family service.

It was the ultimate roast. The laughter was contagious, and so were the

tears. What a show it was.

More than 1,000 guests paying $175 and more filled The Grove at

Anaheim last week for cocktails, dinner and a show worthy of Ralph

Edwards’ “This Is Your Life.” Chaired by Bob and Terry Callahan, with

support from John and Carol Curci, Don and Dorothy Kennedy, Tony and

Melinda Moiso, Paul and Chandler Tagliabue and Peter and Ginny Ueberroth,

the event was a nostalgic romp through the life of a maverick who rose

from obscurity.

Raised by a single mother in the shadow of downtown Los Angeles in the

early part of the 20th century, Salata got his first break in life when a

football scholarship to the University of Southern California introduced

the rough and tumble American-Serbian youth to a big bright world of new

opportunities.

In Salata’s own words, the best of all things happened to him at USC

-- he met his future wife, Beverly. “She had a car,” mused the big man,

who played pro ball, dabbled in Hollywood films and eventually found his

way as a businessman in real estate and other ventures.

Orange County would become the base for the life Salata would build

with Beverly. The Salatas eventually became residents of the exclusive

Linda Isle, and raised two children. Now they have grandchildren. Through

the years, they strengthened their associations with a multitude of

social, cultural, athletic, business and philanthropic organizations and

have made many close friends. The Salata family have become a community

treasure.

Surrounded by literally hundreds of friends at the tribute -- some

famous, including former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, a

childhood classmate of Salata; Olympian and sports legend Dr. Sammy Lee;

and Peter Ueberroth, commissioner of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los

Angeles -- producers told the story of Salata’s life on a series of four

acts, or rather four quarters, relating to his football career and his

lifelong passion for sports, for athletes and for life.

Local personality Peter Buffa, former Costa Mesa mayor and a columnist

for the Daily Pilot, served as referee, or master of ceremonies, for

Salata’s life story. Buffa was outstanding. He kept the show moving, ad

libbing lines to revive the crowd when production was thin.

Dinner was served to the overflow crowd, as video screens flashed

images of life and times in other days and other places. An enormous

contingent of lifetime USC comrades turned out for Salata. Among them,

Newport’s former pro football hero Rich Saul and his wife Eileen. Gaddy

Vasquez, now head of the Peace Corps., was in from Washington D.C. for

the tribute.

Local support for the evening came from Dan and Sheila Rogers, Con

Schweitzer, Tim Strader, George Yardley, Kae Ewing, Jack Faulkner, Bill

Thomas, John Baker, Steve Monroe and Kenneth Purcell, to name a few.

In the end, with the tributes finished, the jokes told, the barbs

shared, what mattered most was the kiss shared between Salata and his

daughter Melanie Fitch, the video message from his son, the hug between

Salata and his older brother and the love expressed to Beverly, looking

radiant in a lavender silk organza suit with an elegant silk flower on

her shoulder.

It was about community and family and the generosity of a whole bunch

of people who raised more than a quarter of a million dollars to be

shared by Goodwill Industries of Orange County and the American Red

Cross, Orange County Chapter. This American Tribute to Newport’s very

relevant irrelevant man about town was a night to remember.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.