ROLLER DERBY SUPERSTAR, JOAN WESTON, INTERVIEWED BY TOM CHASUK 1987

I interviewed Roller Derby superstar, Joan Weston at her training center in Hayward, CA. back in 1987. I think you will find this to be one of the most revealing, emotional interviews with Joan as she tells all...and I mean ALL! She talks about the day she and the skaters heard from Jerry Seltzer that Roller Derby was finished and her time skating for Roller Games. I apologize for the poor audio as there was a lot of noise coming from the adjoining warehouse. If you enjoy this interview, please "Like" and "Subscribe". Thank you. @TomChasuk
#joanweston #rollerderby #tomchasuk
00:00 - INTRO
14:23 - ROLLER DERBY ROMANCES
28:25 - WHY DID ROLLER DERBY FOLD? WHAT HAPPENED?
31:14 - AFTER DERBY FOLDED-SKATING FOR ROLLER GAMES
39:10 - IS ROLLER DERBY REAL?

[@astroworfcraig9164]

What an absolute treat! I discovered Roller Derby about 1967 and immediately fell in love with Joanie. Living in a small mid-western town, I didn't get to see her skate live until 1971, when she became a Pioneer. I was over the moon when we got our own team and she was on it! She was a goddess to me and was one of the first names I looked up when I first used the internet. Unfortunately, that was shortly after she died, so I put up a tribute to her on GeosCity . That was the start of a couple years of putting together a couple Roller Derby websites that I maintained until Roller Jam came along.

[@TomChasuk]

Craig, Thank you so much! Im glad you enjoyed the interview. This was one of Tim Patten’s productions working with Keith Coppage and Ken Prince. Sadly Tim and Ken have also died. It was an honor to interview Joan . Incidentally, I really enjoyed your astroworf websites. Thank you for sharing your story.

[@NYRNGR1]

@astroworfcraig9164 Craig! I loved your Roller Derby websites under Astroworf! I remember seeing 3 of them and I was so sad to see that you didn't keep them up. I got a lot of info from your sites and you had great photos. Thank you for all the hard work you put into them. Mike, a huge Derby fan in NJ.

[@astroworfcraig9164]

@@NYRNGR1 Glad you liked them. They were a labor of love, but unfortunately a job change sucked up all my energy and the internet changed.

[@obanlaoi1]

The only sport that gives me chills when watching.. I’m 63 now still watching the Roller Superstar..thank you

[@TomChasuk]

You are so very welcome. I appreciate your comment! I miss the old days of watching Roller Derby on TV and going to the games. So much fun. 😀

[@donniehagy5125]

What a great interview--but Joanie ALWAYS gave those! Super person, super skater, and great interview! Loved to see her and Calvello battle it out!

[@TomChasuk]

Thank you, Donnie. I loved seeing Joan and Ann skate!

[@Nicovertime]

She's the reason I fell in love with Roller Derby ❤ First game I saw at MSG, Pioneers beat Chiefs and I was hooked

[@TomChasuk]

How great that you got to see that game!

[@danoc51]

Great interview! What an interesting and well spoken person. She passed away from a brain disease in 1997. RIP, Blonde Bomber!

[@TomChasuk]

Thank you. She was so open to talk about anything. She was very special.

[@observer3232]

I remember first watching RD on Saturday night, in the mid-late 60's. Joanie was a sight with that long blonde hair in a ponytail, going out on a jam for the Bombers. Seems like she was a very nice person.

[@TomChasuk]

She was a very nice person. Her husband, Nick Scopas is also a very good guy 😀

[@StephenPozzuoli]

Great interview. Thanks for posting. I saw her skate many times back in the late 60's and 70's when I was a kid in New Haven, CT one of the regular stops for Roller Derby.

[@TomChasuk]

Thanks Stephen! How fortunate you are to have seen so many great Roller Derby skaters!

[@StephenPozzuoli]

Yes, it was a whole lot of fun. Must have seen 10-12 games between 1968=1973. I was at the second to the last game ever at New Haven in Dec 1973.. Also saw games in Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA. I was in my early teens then and my dad took me to all the games,@@TomChasuk

[@TomChasuk]

Wow, Stephen,that would have been so cool to have been at one of the last games! That was so nice of your dad to take you to the games!@@StephenPozzuoli

[@kvb44]

This is SO awesome!! I loved Joanie in those days! I was 10 years old then . What a great trip back in time. Thank you so much for posting this!

[@TomChasuk]

You are so welcome! Joan was the best!

[@duanemichaels8435]

This was so interesting, Tom. What was your job that you were able to get this interview? I learned a whole lot. Roller Derby has been a passion of mine for 63 years.

[@TomChasuk]

At that time, Duane, I was a skater at Joan's training center in Hayward. I would drive up to Hayward on weekends from Los Angeles as I was living down there, working on a local morning TV talk show ''AM Los Angeles" as an Associate Producer. Tim Patten, a pro skater, and I were good friends and he was in love with TV production so he bought all kinds of equipment....cameras, lights, microphones, switchers...and would have me interviewing lots of skaters and anyone who might be in the building at the time. During this period he would also tape the pro-am games that were skated at the training center and announced by the great Terry Sol. He would then "bicycle" the tapes to various cable systems in the Bay Area. One day he decided he wanted to produce a long interview with Joan and he asked if I would do it and, of course, I was honored to do it. She was so giving and was terrific.

[@duanemichaels8435]

She seemed absolutely warm and welcoming in her attitude toward you. I got to see her skate in Muskogee once, and she was in Reno a few times when I worked at Harrahs.

[@TomChasuk]

She was very warm and receptive to me, which I was happy about!

[@michaelpanagiotis7109]

I Love Joan ! I aLso Love Gwen " Skinny Minnie" MiLLer . . .

[@TomChasuk]

Yes, I agree "Skinny Minnie" was a terrific skater!!!

[@harveyhoffman-fd5uo]

Joan Weston died at an early age from a strange disease How many years after this interview did she pass on She was a great woman

[@TomChasuk]

She died in 1997. We did the interview in 1987.

[@cynthiareynolds9147]

What year was this interview done

[@TomChasuk]

1987

[@jeffthekillercriticremixer5968]

Most people don't know it but the movie Kansas City bomber is similar to what Joan Weston did when she joined the roller games and every team wanted her.

[@TomChasuk]

Hi Jeff, Thanks for your comment. Actually, Kansas City Bomber debuted in 1972. Joan skated for Roller Derby which folded in 1973. It wasn't until after Roller Derby folded that Joan skated for Roller Games.

[@jeffthekillercriticremixer5968]

@@TomChasuk Not the movie the book / story it was based on., It's been a long time for my memory is a tiny bit fuzzy. It may have been in a reading digest magazine which is also where I read both jaws and the exorcist But it was about a superstar changing leagues and being wanted by the teams as it is in the movie that's why I'm saying loosely based because Joan Weston basically did the same thing in 1974. I changed the earlier, comment. By the way did you know that actress Goldie Hawn owns the rights to a Joan Weston book and they almost did a movie and with Goldie was going to play Joan but I guess that fell through. Also add one point I wrote to the a&e Network asking them to do a biography episode on her.

[@TomChasuk]

Thanks, Jeff. I did know they had a meeting with Goldie Hawn. I forget the reason it didn’t happen.

[@jeffthekillercriticremixer5968]

@@TomChasuk as far as someone who could have played Johnny Winston and my opinion when she was a little slimmer I believe Melissa McCarthy could have made a good Joni Winston

[@trentaccid2177]

JOAN WAS NEVER IN ROLLER GAMES JUST ROLLER DERBY.

[@joemonteleonezollo4967]

This is Roller Derby not the garage they are playing today. These individuals would destroy the skaters today. Notice COED, notice bank track, notice skating forward and blocking from the back not the front, notice the athletic version not the lazy modern version, notice jerseys being worn not tank tops, notice no stupid side games ,most of all notice the crowd . Come on , play the game right or not at all.

[@NYRNGR1]

I think you meant garbage.

[@joemonteleonezollo4967]

@@NYRNGR1 Yes, garbage

[@TomChasuk]

Did you get to see Joan Weston skate?

[@duanemichaels8435]

I saw her 3 times: Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and in Raleigh, North Carolina

[@TomChasuk]

@@duanemichaels8435 Wow Duane, Great that you got to see here in all of those Cities!

[@NYRNGR1]

I got to see Joan skate many times at Madison Square Garden since I'm from NJ and it was only a half hour from where I lived back then.

[@TomChasuk]

Wow you were lucky to go to all those Madison Square Garden games.@@NYRNGR1

[@TomChasuk]

That is so great that you saw so many games at Madison Square Garden!@@NYRNGR1

[@cynthiareynolds9147]

When did she died and how old was she

[@TomChasuk]

She died in 1997. She was 62.