RONNIE JAMES DIO: February 2020 'Gala' In Los Angeles To Feature Hologram, Other Bands And A Comedian

At last week's "Bowl For Ronnie" event in Studio City, California, Wendy Dio, widow and longtime manager of Ronnie James Dio, spoke to "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" about the "big gala" which is being planned for early next year to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the legendary singer's passing.

She said (see video below): "On 2/20/20, which is February 20th, 2020, we'll be doing the 10th memorial anniversary gala, and we'll be going through a lot of people that were in Ronnie's life and giving them an award. We'll also have the [Ronnie James Dio] hologram. We'll have other bands playing. We'll have a comedian. It's gonna be a fun night at [The Avalon] in Los Angeles. And we've got a lot of treats going on. In fact, tomorrow we get the first invitation out for the award show."

Wendy also offered an update on the upcoming documentary that will cover Dio's career from his early days with ELF to his final project, HEAVEN & HELL. She said: "Just signed the papers last week with BMG. So it will be coming. We've started working on it. It's gonna probably take over a year to get through, but it's gonna be fun and interesting."

Regarding some of the previously unseen material that will make an appearance in the documentary, Wendy said: "I found just recently a bunch of Super 8s from 1976 when Ronnie was in RAINBOW, in Japan and in Australia. I haven't seen 'em yet; I'm just having 'em redone. We've got photos of all of us when he was in [BLACK] SABBATH, when we were in Hawaii together. Because Geezer [Butler, SABBATH bassist] and Ronnie were best friends, and we were best friends. So we all hung out together all the time. There's photos of Ronnie with his trumpet that he learned when he was five years old. There's a whole bunch of stuff I have — a whole bunch of stuff."

Earlier this year, Wendy told The Metal Voice that she was hoping that the documentary would receive a theatrical release before being made available on various streaming platforms.

Best known for his work with BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and DIO, Ronnie James Dio passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67. A few months after his death, MTV Books announced plans to release his memoir, which at the time was going to be called "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography Of Ronnie James Dio".

Wendy is currently working with legendary rock journalist Mick Wall on the long-awaited autobiography of the heavy metal master, which was three-quarters written before the singer's death.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with BLACK SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.