The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 114

3 i -3 mmm -1 Jf" 1 I 7 (f Bill Saluga's early days in Youngstown included a girlfriend, Martha "Mert" Fennesy. years go, but Saluga says that had its benefits, among them getting a majorette as a girlfriend: "I was down there with all the prettiest girls in the school." Except for the two years he spent as a draftee in the Navy, Saluga's first few jobs were in fields not considered especially macho jobs like window display work for a chain of clothing stores and some initial ventures into theater. "I'm surprised I wasn't wearing a dress in those Saluga says. offers. Out here, every other woman is beautiful.

Of course, finding a little depth is a problem." Saluga is unmarried and living alone, though a Spanish-speaking maid who calls him "Mr. Bill" comes in each day to help around the house. Much of Saluga's morning is devoted to exercise and meditation: "I meditate first, and then I run 45 minutes, do a half hour of calisthenics, a couple of hundred sit-ups and some yoga exercises. I enjoy that, and I do it religiously." And the rest of the day he's free to weigh all the offers that are rolling in. Not a bad life for a skinny little cheerleader from Youngstown, Ohio.

Bill Saluga has finally made a name, or names, for himself. lut Saluga was intent on stay with them, from the Rotary Club to the Ladies Auxiliaries. But since everyone told him that the only way to make it big was to go to the Big Apple, Saluga made his way. to New York City about 15 years ago and started out by nearly starving. Soon, though, his Greenwich-Village, starving-artist efforts began to pay off, and his work with the Ace Trucking Company turned into a seven-year association with national exposure if not acclaim.

When that stint ended, Saluga went to Canada and did a television series with David Steinberg, whom Saluga still calls his best friend. There were some 18 segments with the nationally televised Peter Marshall show, and then a stint with the Redd Foxx Show that positioned Saluga for his current celebrity status. His prime salute to his own success was to outfit his unimpos-ing three-bedroom home in Southern California's Sherman Oaks with an Advent TV with a seven-foot screen and taping machine, virtually turning his den into a private movie theater. "I'm certainly making more money, but my life is pretty much the same," Saluga says. "I'm not really materialistic.

I'm a gourmet cook, so I like fine wines and foods, but I always had that even when I couldn't afford it. "And I've always had my share of beautiful women in life. I've been out in the street many years, and I've always had those advertising would kill off his old friend through over-exposure. But despite more than 100 national ad spots last year featuring Ray J. doing his thing, the character is alive and well and a part of the standard repertory in college dormitories and corner bars all across the face of America.

"I truthfully don't understand it all," Saluga says of his character's appeal, "but I enjoy him and he makes me laugh. Usually a character is popular with one segmentmaybe college kids or something like that Now it's kids, foreigners, old grandmothers. Everyone wants to do it for you." Saluga wasn't born with a silver cigar in his mouth. In fact, some of the time growing up in Youngstown he didn't have much of anything to put in his mouth. Saluga was 10 years old when his father was killed in a job accident at the Republic Steel mill, and Saluga's mother began working.

More than 30 years later, Helen Saluga, never remarried, is still at her job as a bookkeeper with the Mahoning County auditor's office in Youngstown. But now she's clipping newspaper and magazine stories about her famous son in her spare time. Saluga says he didn't plan on going into show business as a kid, but he was always playing the class clown and trying to entertain his friends. A boy cheerleader was somewhat suspect in Youngstown 25 Page 10 puzzle answers ing out of the steel mills, and he found his pleasure by following his bent into more creative fields. Saluga credits the renowned Youngstown Playhouse for giving him the training that allowed him to make a steady living out of show business for more than 20 years.

He spent much of his spare time working with the community theater group, doing everything from acting to selling tickets as he learned his trade. It was his theater work that landed Saluga a job with Youngs-town's WKBN-TV as a cameraman. Later on, WKBN let him get in front of the camera. All the while, Saluga and two of his friends were working on a comedy act, playing every place in Youngstown that would put up 12.