Dead Celebrity Alert

Ann Calvello, a grand doyenne of roller derby and a Bay Area icon, died Tuesday in a Peninsula hospital after a brief battle with cancer.

She was 76.

Calvello had been diagnosed with liver cancer just a week ago and had been given four to six months to live, said Bill Prieto, Calvello’s life partner of 30 years. …

Calvello enjoyed fame as a star on the San Francisco Bay Bombers after helping introduce the rough-and-tumble spectator sport to the country decades ago. Calvello joined her first roller derby team in 1948 when she was only 18.

Her looks earned her the nickname “Banana Nose,” and she quickly garnered a reputation as a bad girl because of her splashy clothing and the ever-changing color of her hair. She was called everything from the “Demon of the Derby” to the “Meanest Mama on Skates.” … Read full obituary

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