In August of this year, porn star Koldo Goran tweeted about three fellow performers who had recently died. In one of those instances, Goran’s tweet remains the only public notice that the performer, Dani Rivera, had been murdered. “I realize nobody talks about it, we are unprotected and forgotten;” Goran tweeted “We are humans, people, enough of contempt.”
Most gay news outlets choose to ignore the passing of all but the biggest names in the adult film industry. Porn companies also seem reluctant to broadcast the passing of a performer who is still on their roster, forever young and present in their website content. An obit is a real boner killer, ya know? Why jeopardize the profit margin? Additionally, performers who abandon their porn personas and return to life with their real name often pass away unnoticed by former employers and co-workers.
Case in point: Roman Heart was about as big a star as you will find in gay porn: 2006 Freshmen of the Year, GayVN Best Newcomer winner, Falcon cover boy with an exclusive contract and a career lasting over a decade. Yet he passed away unnoticed in September of 2019. It was nearly a year before anyone in the business became aware of it.

Here is a list of 10 gay porn stars of note that were lost in 2020. I post them here to prove Koldo Goran wrong – they are not forgotten:
1) Although Goran mentions that Macanao Torres died of cancer in the above tweet, the 35 year old Spaniard actually passed away in an apparent suicide on 12/30/19. He had worked for Cazzo, Jalif, UKNM and other studios.
2) Scotty Knox was only 20 years old when he died in a car accident on 1/13/20, but he had already appeared in over 20 scenes for Colby Knox.
3) Earlier this year I wrote about the passing of Terry DeCarlo after a battle with cancer on 1/27/20. He worked primarily for Catalina and Robert Prion Studios in the early 1990’s before becoming an activist and community leader.
4) One would have to overlook a huge pile of reprehensible baggage to still be a fan of Sebastian Young, who met his end in a shootout with police after a high speed chase (3/11/20). The 37 year-old convicted sex offender appeared in close to 90 scenes over a decade for Bromo, Jet Set, Lucas, MEN, Next Door, Cockyboys and other studios.
5) The news of Ryan Fields‘ suicide (3/29/20) was tweeted out by fellow Broke Straight Boys model Damien Kyle. Fields was 25 years old and had been with Broke Straight Boys for over 5 years.
6) Dani Rivera was relatively new to adult films, with just a handful of recent releases for Men At Play. As mentioned by Koldo Goran in his tweet. Rivera was murdered on 8/21/20, although no other articles have appeared to fill in the details.
7) 33 year-old Ridder Rivera passed away of unknown causes (8/29/20). Over the past 3 years, the Cuban muscleman had worked with TimTales, Kristen Bjorn, Fuckermate and Raw Strokes, among other companies. I found this post on social media: “Born in Havana in 1987, he was a teacher and those who knew him stand out about him that he spoke several languages and that he took great care of his family, especially his mother. He loved to dance…. took great care of his body and liked to show his followers on Facebook his training routines. “
8) Brazilian Theo Barone worked exclusively with the Hotboys website since 2018, although he had announced his retirement earlier this year. He was 27 when he succumbed to stomach cancer on 9/27/20.
9) Mack Daddy / Maximus Sky, 27, was killed in a Cincinnati, Ohio car collision (10/15/20). He had appeared in scenes for Flava Works, Bromo and Raw Rods, among other companies.
10) Chip Tanner‘s death (12/11/20) was officially ruled a suicide, although people who knew him have spoken out to say that the cause was autoerotic asphixia. The 32 year-old gymnast appeared in scenes for Randy Blue, Next Door Studios and several other companies between 2010-2015.

😦
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i was shocked to hear about Ridder Rivera, Dani Rivera and Theo Barrone
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See our 2021 list here 10 Gay Porn Stars We Lost In 2020
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This is why we need to cherish our favorite pornstars when they are alive. To enter an industry for which you will be marked for is a show of courage. But even the bravest can succumb to pressure, and that is why lovers of porn should be more supportive, the same way music fans are of their favorite singer,
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Thank you for saying this. I wish more people felt this way.
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Koldo Goran is absolutely correct. My two most prominent co-stars from the porn days have died (to the best of my knowledge) and people have to look all over social media just to get a clue that these people have passed away. A death of one my former co-star’s was reported to me online years ago by a relatively famous drag queen. The death of the other co-star was discussed recently by Twitter users responding to a post about a scene from LFC involving myself and my co-star, posted by a ballroom community online magazine. It’s unimaginably cruel the way that adult entertainment actors are treated upon their death. I still have so many questions about the deaths of so many actors from Latino Fan Club and La Mancha Video era (mid to late 1990’s – 2009).
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Thanks for writing… but why not post their stage names so we can try to clear this up?
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I have just communicated with you via Twitter. Please take a look at your earliest convenience. Thanks.
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I’d no idea so many performers had passed away. They deserve respect and to be acknowledged. RIP
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whatever happened to Barrett Long I have not heard anything from him in a couple years.. Thanks
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According to this site (link below): “According to a poster on a 2019 thread on datalounge.com, our Barrett is in a relationship, has retired from the industry, and is now an entrepreneur…. ‘He identifies as straight and has a girlfriend. And is he is one that didn’t piss away all of his money he made and used to get an international business degree and some start some businesses. He labels himself an “Inventor and Entrepreneur” on his Facebook page. No mention of his career as Barrett Long, of course.’ ”
https://famewatcher.com/barrett-long-shirtless-and-fashion-style-model-and-actor.html
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