Adult Sales Veteran Tony Plaia Passes Away

BEMIDJI, Minn. - Longtime adult industry salesman Tony Plaia passed away Saturday, July 14 of complications from diabetes. He was 50.

Born November 5, 1956 in Bemidji, Minnesota, Plaia left home at the age of 18 to join the Marines. Following his military service, he moved to California where he would spend over 22 years working in adult video sales.

"Tony was a salesman's salesman," said Bobby Rinaldi of Wildlife Productions. "He could sell ice to an Eskimo. He was an old-school salesman who worked for all of the major companies back in the day - Western Visuals, VCA. Tony worked for me a good ten years, back in the old Tight End days, all the way up to Wildlife, two years ago. He used to pound the phones from the time he came in to the time he left; he'd never make excuses. He'd pull sales out of the air. Tony was a good man with a good heart, and he had a lot of friends and clients in the business. He will be sorely missed."

Plaia met his wife Brenda in 1993, and the two married in 1995.

"He was a loving husband to me, a loving stepfather to my children and my grandchild, and he had just joined Calvary Baptist Church in San Fernando," Brenda said. "He started getting sick about two or three years ago, and he was transported to Minnesota to receive special treatment, but it was too late. I would have spent every dime I had on the earth to save his life."

A funeral service for Plaia was held Monday in Minnesota. His family has asked friends and colleagues for assistance in bringing Plaia's body back to California in accordance with his final wishes.

To help, contact Bobby Rinaldi at Wildlife Productions, (818) 576-0576, extension 306.