Friends and co-workers remember a man whose big heart and smile brought warmth to everyone he knew.
By Suzanne Marcus Fletcher/Special to The Malibu Times
Last week’s attack hit Americans where they live. On every level. The days following have been no less cruel, as compelling stories of the victims come to light in the aftermath of the most pivotal acts of terror on U.S. soil.
Topanga Canyon resident Thomas Pecorelli, 30, was among American Airlines’ ill-fated passengers who departed Boston on Flight 11 bound for Los Angeles, which crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower at 8:45 a.m. on Sept. 11.
Through close friends and colleagues, a portrait of Pecorelli emerges, revealing a warm-hearted man described as “extraordinarily talented,” “hysterically funny,” “a renaissance man with a beautiful voice” who, among many performance talents, was said to do a mean Frank Sinatra imitation.
David Kister, a close friend of Pecorelli’s and colleague at Fox Sports Net, said Pecorelli was, by trade, a highly respected cameraman for E! Entertainment Television and Fox Sports Net Los Angeles. The sports network hired Pecorelli for its launch in 1996 where he soon met Kister.
Pecorelli was anxious to return to Los Angeles on the morning of Sept. 11, said Kister, to see his pregnant wife, Kia Pavloff, and was scheduled to work at Fox that afternoon.
“I was watching television with my wife. That’s when it hit me in the face,” said Kister. “[The airline’s] first call was to say that [Pecorelli] had checked in – but not that he was a confirmed passenger. We had to wait 12 hours. He was the type of person who wanted to see his wife. We knew he had made the flight.”
In a tearful conversation, David Kister’s wife, Michelle Kister, said Pecorelli was the kind of person “who always had the crew and talent smiling and laughing,” noting that his big heart extended especially to children. “Tom was just elated about being a father,” she said. “He loved his wife more than anything.”
Pecorelli, a native of the Boston area who attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, was reportedly on the East Coast to attend a friend’s wedding and visit his father who has heart trouble.
Jules Asner, an E! Entertainment anchor and host who worked with Pecorelli, said she often traveled to Boston. “I’ve been on that flight many times,” she said ruefully, adding that she and Pecorelli shared a common interest-the Red Sox. “He was a big Boston Red Sox fan,” said Asner. “We would commiserate. He was such a nice guy.”
Pecorelli worked on several shows for E! including “Talk Soup,” where he was featured in several of the shows’ sketches. But, said Asner, “He preferred to be a cameraman.”
“When we went to do the newscast [last] Wednesday,” Asner continued, “I realized this is where I see Tom, and I just lost it.”
E! studio director Cynthia Zoller Malone knew Pecorelli well, and said he began freelancing with the network about three years ago.
“He gave me a lot of comfort,” said Malone. “[I] was just happy to see that Tom was here – he brought the whole attitude of the room up.”
Malone said Pecorelli was scheduled to work with E! on its live Emmy Awards coverage last weekend. “He had a great sense of humor – a very funny guy,” said Malone, echoing a similar comment by all those interviewed.
“He was very ambitious,” continued Malone, whose voice softened upon saying that the last time she saw Pecorelli, “He told me that he and his wife were expecting. I gave him a big hug, and he proudly showed me [the] ultrasound.”
Kister said Pecorelli chose to live in Topanga Canyon, “because it was the only place in L.A. that he liked. [He and his wife] enjoyed the community, the people, hiking and the beauty of the place.”
Kister said keeping focused on work has been a saving grace in light of the tragedy that took his friend’s life. He is busy working with Fox Sports Net executives, anchors and other talent in obtaining memorabilia donations from sports teams, which will be auctioned on the Fox Sports’ Web site. The proceeds will go to the Tom Pecorelli Memorial Fund.
“We want to make sure that Kia and the baby are being taken care of,” said Kister. “sWe wanted to do something to get people involved, and feel like they’re helping.” Approximately 16 teams have already donated memorabilia, said Kister.
Reflecting a few days after the crash, Kister sighs heavily, while remembering his friend who “did a phenomenal Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville.”
“In death, everyone becomes the greatest person in the world,” said Kister. “But Tom really was the greatest person in the world.”
Those who wish to learn more about supporting the Pecorelli Memorial Fund, can do so at Topangaonline.com.