Elaine Pelino, a woman for all seasons – Brendan Higgins

by Brendan Higgins, contributing writer

Have you ever listened to someone tell a story and when they finish, you feel like you just watched a movie? Well, after my interview with Elaine Pelino I felt like I’d watched five different movies. She was born in Providence and today she lives in Smithfield with her dog, Cannoli. What happened in between that time is a story filled with travel, romance, adventure and fun. Lots and lots of fun. During our conversation it never felt like she was bragging about her accomplishments. She was simply telling me about what happened to her.  

I’m sure it’s not uncommon for young girls to want to grow up and become a model, or have a part on a television sitcom, or become an NFL Cheerleader, or write, produce and star in a movie, or perform on stage in plays, or become a magazine editor, or become a fashion designer, or become a stand-up comic. Well, Elaine has done all of these things and so much more. During our conversation Elaine shared incredible stories from her career. Her delivery of the stories came from a place of fondness and gratitude. She also laughed a lot.

She grew up in Providence around the Atwells and Academy Avenue area. She graduated from Mount Pleasant High School. This was during an era when it was pretty standard for girls to graduate, get married, and start a family. Elaine had other plans for herself.

She was very open telling her story except for giving me certain dates. I asked Elaine what year she graduated from high school. With a laugh she said, “Oh, I ain’t telling. As soon as I finished high school I moved to Houston, Texas. I was 18, going on 19. I really wanted to get out of Rhode Island. I was not a fan of winter and I’m still not. I really wanted to travel.”

When she arrived in Texas, fate began to play a role in Elaine’s life pretty fast. She became one of the Derrick Dolls/Houston Oilers Cheerleaders. She recalled, “It was pretty funny. I was modeling and I also worked for Gulf Oil company as an executive assistant. Everyone used to tease me and say I looked like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. A woman I worked with signed me up to try out for the Oilers cheerleaders. She informed me I was going on an audition that Saturday at the Astrodome. I had never danced in my life, but I like to have fun. People dare me to do things, which is bad, because I will do it. Unless it’s illegal or immoral. Well, maybe just illegal. I put together an outfit and went to the try out. When I got there, I decided I was just going to have fun. They had a panel. Some of the players were there. Some local celebrities. They had some dance music on. There were a couple of hundred girls there. Then they cut it down to 50. Then I got picked. Then I had to learn choreography and I’m dyslexic so that was fun. I ended up being their poster girl. Kenny Stabler was the quarterback and Earl Campbell was a big star for us. We almost made it to the Superbowl. We lost to the Steelers in the playoffs.”   

After being a part of the exciting playoff run with the Oilers, Elaine landed a lot of modeling jobs. She was in fashion shows. She did television commercials and print advertising. She was cast in one television commercial playing a Redskins cheerleader where she caught a pass from Joe Theismann. She said, “That was fun. I made a lot of money for a half day of shooting. Joe was quite a character.”

Elaine loves Texas. She was more than just a pretty face. She was a businesswoman. She ran a modeling agency called The Texas Dolls. She also wrote a cookbook called Hot Looking Cooking. She was never idle. She was always working. She was doing what she loved. At one point she decided to move to New York City. In the Big Apple, she continued having success with acting and modeling. It was around this time that Elaine went to acting school in Greenwich Village. Elaine recalled, “The school was run by Uta Hagen and her husband. It was a great experience for me. I lived on the upper East Side on 72^nd Street between 1^st and 2^nd Avenue. My goal for my whole life was to be in a sitcom like Lucy or Carol Burnett. I have always loved comedy.

In order to make that happen I needed to be in Los Angeles. So, I moved to LA. I immediately started modeling, doing commercials and a lot of print modeling. I did a couple of sitcom pilots. I was in a few films. I had small parts in big films and big parts in small films. At one point I decided to make my own movie. It was called Vinny and Angela’s Beauty Salon and Funeral Parlor. It was about a mortician married to a beautician in a Mafia neighborhood. The backdrop of the film was Rhode Island, but it was actually filmed in California. The cast features recognizable people from Goodfellas and other movies. It won film festivals all over the world including Australia and Toronto. We did pretty good with that one.” The film is excellent. I watched it during the time I wrote this article and highly recommend it to all. Elaine is outstanding in her role in this film. She wrote, produced and starred in the movie. You can watch it on YouTube.  

Elaine appeared in movies like The Killers Edge, American Born, Tina Gets Her Man as well as landing parts on other television shows. She also has a yet to be released documentary called, Pull My Finger. The title speaks for itself.

While she was living on the west coast, Elaine found her true calling. She explained, “I was sitting at a church event and this lady was sitting next to me. They were doing this lame church lady presentation, and I kept cracking jokes about it. The woman next to me said, ‘you should be a comedian.’ I said, ‘excuse me?’ with my Rhode Island attitude. The woman (Le Marie) told Elaine that she was a regular at the famed Comedy Store in West Hollywood. The conversation progressed and Elaine told her she had written screen plays and other things. The woman then made an interesting offer. If Elaine would write some material for her to perform on stage, she would in turn teach Elaine how to do stand up. Elaine said, “DEAL!” After that, Elaine was on her way to yet another career as a stand-up comic. She said, “I wrote her act, and she taught me how to do stand-up. She would get up and do her act and every time the audience laughed at one of the jokes I wrote, she would put her finger up. She loved what I wrote for her. One time she came off stage and told me I was going up next with no time to prepare. They had asked Le Marie who I was, and she told them I was a comedian. The next thing I knew I had five minutes in the Original Room at the Comedy Store. Take my word for it, that was nothing short of a miracle. I was very nervous until I got my first laugh. Then I was having fun. In the end I received a standing ovation.”

On a nostalgic note, Le Marie’s father was the man who played Colonel Sanders in the KFC commercials.     

Elaine has never been afraid to take chances. When she has an idea, she quickly puts it in motion. The common theme in everything she has accomplished is her desire to keep having fun. It’s no wonder she is a successful stand-up comic.

I asked who the biggest influences in her life were. She said, “my mother, her name was Emma Pelino. She worked her whole life. She was very strong. While a lot of women were still living like June Cleaver, my mother was independent. She was tough. I called her mommy terrorist. She traveled. She had style. She was beautiful. She cared about her appearance until the day she died. She taught me how to take care of myself.” During this interview Elaine was funny and charming. When she spoke of her parents, her voice became soft and gentle. The love for her parents shining through. In addition to her folks, she credited Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor as having an impact on her life. Then Elaine casually mentioned, “I was a temp for Raquel Welch. She was really cool. She was fun. In between acting jobs, I did a lot in LA. One of my jobs was as her assistant. It was for about a month. I remember going to her house the first time and she said, ‘you’re not a secretary, you’re an actress, right?’ I told her I was just starting out. We used to tell jokes to each other. She was so much fun. She was a smart businesswoman. She had multiple businesses at the time. She was not only gorgeous, but she was also brilliant. When she wasn’t acting, she was making money doing other things. I loved her. I thought she was great. I aspired to be like her.”        

Elaine Pelino has lived all over the United States during the course of her life. During her exciting career she lived in Hawaii, Beverly Hills, Houston and several other beautiful places. I asked what her favorite place to live was and she said, “Houston. I’m still friends with all my girlfriends there. I love them all so much.”

In 2010, Elaine came home to Rhode Island. Her parents were getting older and dealing with health issues. Elaine wanted to be there for them. When she returned to the Ocean State, Elaine the businesswoman kept her foot on the pedal. She founded her own magazine for women called Tigress. Her goal in creating this magazine was simple. Elaine explained, “I did everything myself for this project. I sold advertising. I designed it. I did the inside photography. It came out once a month. I hadn’t lived here in a long time, so I found my cover girls through Facebook. I picked girls who were on the ball. Weather in business or some other career. They were also all drop dead gorgeous. I created a theme for each cover. For example, my friend Mary Brimer is a financial planner. She was also Mrs. Rhode Island. She was on the cover.” Elaine has a strong message for young girls. She said, “I tell them don’t follow the crowd. You are not a Kardashian. Let them be who they are, and you find out who you are.”

Elaine is one of the most fearless people I have ever met. She left Rhode Island when she was a teenager and never looked back. I wanted to know what Elaine felt it was that separated her from other people who might want to go out into the world and make a name for themselves but never actually do it. She said, “As long as I’m having fun doing something I will keep doing it. It’s as simple as that. I have two sides of me. One side is a fearless tigress who wants something and goes out and gets it. That’s where the name of the magazine comes from. The other side is a scared kitten, but I think everyone might be like that. I have a real strong faith in God and miracles. When I believe in something I go for it. With God, all things are possible and that’s it. There were times when things were not going great, and I was barely getting by. Then there were times when everything was booming. I’ve wanted things in life so badly that I could taste it, but I just didn’t get it. Then I just regroup and figure out what to do next. Reinvention is the key. I’m always going to have fun and figure it out. Remember as a kid those punching bags that when you hit them, they hit the ground then come right back up, that’s me.” I asked her if she feared anything and she said, “mean people. I’m not a fan of them.”      

When Elaine returned to the Ocean State, she contacted stand-up comic John Perrotta. She quickly found herself in the mix of the Rhode Island comedy scene. Elaine said, “This area of the country has so many top comedians. I was recently part of a show where every single person was a headliner. John does an amazing job booking talent.”

You might think after everything she has already accomplished; Elaine might be winding down her career, but in reality, she is just warming up. Elaine will be performing New Year’s Eve in Cranston, at the Kelley-Gazzero Post. This dinner and comedy show is loaded with talent from top to bottom. Tickets are only $55. and include a buffet, coffee, dessert, tax, tip and a phenomenal lineup of comedians. In our present economy, it would be hard to find a better deal. Plus, you will be in for a night of comedy you will enjoy and not soon forget. What better way to ring in the new year. For more information call the comedy factory at (401) 639-7726.      

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Brendan Higgins, writer and author, RIPTA bus driver, former professional wrestler (Knuckles Nelson), and North Kingstown resident.

We welcome Brendan as a contributing writer to RINewsToday.

To read a story about Brendan, from our sports department, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/knuckles-nelson-waking-up-from-the-wrestling-ring-to-the-yoga-mat-john-cardullo/

To read all stories by Brendan, here, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/brendan-higgins

Higgins is the author of “Waking Up: From the Wrestling Ring to the Yoga Mat

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