The Winter, 2024 issue of Bindle Zine is out and once again my husband Tobias and I are delighted to be included in the collection of writers and artists, which you can find here. Toby’s artwork, “The Second Time You Die” is inside the front cover and he also contributed an illustration to accompany my essay, “General Slocum.”
The Second Time You Die by Toby Fox Ferrari
General Slocum
I was sitting at a table outside the Life Café when the self-appointed mayor of Avenue B waved his change cup towards Tompkins Square Park and said “It’s just beyond those trees – a pink marble monument, engraved on one side: In Memory Of Those Who Lost Their Lives In The Disaster To The Steamer General Slocum, June 15th, 1904– 1,100 or so lost – they never did get a total- burned on board or drowned in the East River. Women and children, mostly. The heart of this neighborhood, they said.
“You go ’round to the front of the monument where a boy and a girl look away from you – gazing back towards the river with faces obscured by design and a century of wear. Can’t hardly read it anymore but it says: They were Earth’s purest children, young and fair.
“Below that, a lion head spits water into the fountain with a stream that arcs over 100 years, as if to say ‘Here I bring you water to douse the fires in which your loved ones perished…this water, tamed of its currents that swept away your young. Here it flows in its simplest form as you reflect upon what has been lost.’
“But nobody reflects. ‘Cuz nobody remembers. That monument – erected so they would not be forgotten – has been forgotten.”
bin•dle(noun): a bundle of clothes or bedding, stereotypically carried on a stick by runaway children and transients
“We all wander through our lives, and we collect memories, possessions, and relationships. Bundle them all together, and you have yourself a bindle. Our zine represents a collection of writing and art and photography – a bindle of creativity that we send across America, a tramp in search of a mailbox.”
In August of 2020, porn star Koldo Gorantweeted about three fellow performers who had recently died. Goran’s tweet was the only public notice that one of them, 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 death of a performer who is still on their roster, forever young and willing 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 under their real names often pass away unnoticed by former employers and scene partners.
This year’s list contains no people of color. Why? Is it that none have passed on or that they haven’t been reported yet? For this reason – and due to continued interest from fans – there are ongoing updates to the lists of porn star passings in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
We remember those that were lost in 2023 to prove Koldo Goran wrong – they have not been forgotten.
1) Ed Fury was not a gay porn star per se, but he was as close as the 1950’s would allow. The bodybuilder began his career posing nude for photographers Bob Mizer and Bruce of LA and appearing in posing strap film loops for AMG and Apollo studios. While his photos graced the covers of many physique magazines, major Hollywood film roles remained elusive. Most of his film and television appearances in the 1950’s were uncredited bit parts.
It was in the Italian “sword and sandal” films of the 1960’s that he found his greatest mainstream success, starring in Colossus And The Amazon Queen and as the title character in three Ursus films, among others. Back in the US, he continued to work primarily on television until his retirement in the late 1970’s.
Fury passed away at age 94 on February 24, 2023.
2) Johnny Harden, aka Johnny Hardin aka Gene Carrier was born in Bellevue, Washington on January 30, 1956. He appeared in both gay and straight adult films from 1977-1984, although it was his work as a print model that best displayed his charms. He modeled for Colt and Falcon and appeared in Playgirl and most of the gay publications of the day. After a rumor circulated that he died in a car crash, he resurfaced as a fashion and catalogue model.
3) Pike Young, aka Sean Hensley was 29 years old when he passed away on February 25, 2023 in Florida. In 2013, the North Carolina native appeared in a half dozen scenes as “Sean” for FratX and also worked for BaitBus, Reality Kings and Pride Studios.
4) Eric Manchester, aka Ronald Liter was one of the top names in gay porn during the second half of the 1980’s. He was featured in dozens of films for the top studios of the day: Falcon, Vivid, HIS, Catalina and others. He appeared in Head of the Class and John Travis’s Powerline,both profiled here.
5) Kaden Porter and his brother Kyle were identical twins from Kansas who began filming scenes at Broke Straight Boys when they were 19 years old. Kaden’s distinctive chest tattoo helped to differentiate the two. Although Kyle seemed to be more comfortable on camera, it was Kayden who appeared in more scenes, logging over a dozen titles from 2015-2017. Kayden later became a holistic health consultant, according to his online profile. He was living in Austin, Texas when he passed away at 27 years old on March 24, 2023.
6) Derek Sketer was also known as Derek Sky at Gay Castings, Paul at Sean Cody, and James at Corbin Fisher. He was born September 10, 1990 in Houston, Texas and made his first Sean Cody appearance in 2011. He filmed a dozen scenes over the next four years, also working for Gayroom and Man Royale. In October, 2025 the Men Of Porn blog posted that he passed away in March, 2023 at age 32.
7) Trevor Laster, aka Ethan Ewers passed away at age 31 on March 30, 2023. Photographer James Franklin posted on Twitter: “My dear sweet friend @thetrevorlaster committed suicide yesterday in Eugene, Oregon. His family is devastated. ” Trevor started doing porn at Helix Studios in 2010. Over the next 12 years, he worked for Raging Stallion, Broke Straight Boys, Chaos Men, Kink, Next Door Studios, Southern Strokes, Men and others. In 2019 he shifted his focus to more fan-based platforms like Onlyfans while still making occasional studio appearances.
Laster was passionate about fitness and worked as a personal trainer. He also garnered modeling work with brands like Andrew Christian and photographers Michael Stokes and James Franklin.
8) Marco Blaze, aka Juan Jose Garay was born in Argentina on June 10th, 1982. He was a performer on cruise ships before venturing into gay adult films in 2008. Appearances in titles for Kristen Bjorn, Cazzo, Alphamale, and several other studios led to an exclusive with Titan Media, where he was one of their most popular models in a dozen films from 2009-2014.
Social media posts announced his overdose at his home in Buenos Aires on April 6, 2023 after struggling with addiction for several years. He was 40 years old.
9) David Hurles first appeared in Guild Press gay porn magazines of the late 1960’s before moving behind the camera at the company. He went on to create Old Reliable Studios, an iconic record of “rough trade” through the 1970’s & 80’s. Originally from Cincinnati, Hurles made his way to California, where AMG’s Bob Mizer became his mentor. While Mizer focused on the more conventional prototype of beefcake, Hurles, as the Boyculture blog pointed out “fetishized the masculine and dangerous aspects… His work is identifiable from a mile away, a collection of seedy, weedy men who looked like they arrived for their shoots fresh from prison — or on their way there.”
Although the studio was very lucrative at the time, mismanagement and internet services were its downfall, and Hurles fell upon hard times. In 2008, he was permanently disabled by a stroke just as his back catalogue was getting rediscovered.
In 2010, a glossy book highlighting the best of Old Reliable was published. Outcast: David Hurles Old Reliable In Living Color featured Hurles’ best photography. A gallery showing of his photos was curated by his friend Dian Hansen and John Waters at New York City’s Marianne Boesky Gallery. The following year, Hurles was one of the subjects of John Waters’ book Role Models. He was reportedly delighted by the belated appreciation of his work.
After years of failing health, Hurles died in a California nursing home on April 11, 2023, aged 78.
Factory Video owner Scott Morris sometimes took a turn in front of the camera, including a scene from Scent Of A Fetish with Sam Ritter (aka Stephen Geoffreys).
10) Scott Morris, aka Robert Todd Fulton was a founder and sometime performer at Factory Video. He passed away on April 14, 2023 in his Cathedral City, CA home after a year long-battle with cancer of the tongue, head, and neck. He was 68 years old.
In 1998, Morris founded San Francisco Fetish Factory, an online fetish wear website that prompted an expansion into a gay male adult video company, Factory Video Productions, in the early 2000’s.
His work as an activist dated back to his teen years in post-Stonewall New York. Morris continued his work as a gay community activist, DJ and promoter in NY, Ft. Lauderdale, LA, Palm Springs and San Francisco. He was survived by his partner of 31 years, Gordon Fulton (aka Gord Reece).
11) Casey Tanner, aka Slade passed away on April 15, 2023 in San Diego at the age of 28. His partner confirmed that Casey had been suffering from health problems for years. His organs began failing after he contracted pneumonia a month prior. Originally from Ohio, he worked with Helix Studios between 2013-2016 before retiring from the adult industry and moving to San Diego with his partner around 2017.
Helix model Liam Riley posted on social media: “Casey Tanner was my best friend. He was one of the funniest, sweetest, caring humans. He was sweet enough to help me move all the way across the country — if that says anything for the person he was. He was always down for an adventure! I hope he knows he was loved by so many people. Thank you for being there when I needed you. I’ll keep a piece of this friendship with me for life. Fly high.”
One of the biggest stars at Helix, the Texas native won many awards and appeared in over 100 scenes before retiring in 2020. He then worked behind the scenes at Helix until earlier this year.
13) The porn world was shocked by the brutal murder of 52-year-old William Futral, owner of The Guy Site. Model Ludvig (aka Richard Lam) was arrested and charged with the murder several days later. Lam and Futral had been living together for several months. They reportedly had an extremely volatile relationship that began after Lam started working for The Guy Site in 2020.
Just for Fans owner Dominic Ford posted on social media, “I am absolutely gutted to hear of the murder of Bill… one of the kindest, gentlest people in our industry. He was always humble, appreciative, and soft-spoken. I’ve known him for 13 years. There was never a nicer man.”
None of the news stories have carried a single photo of the victim, choosing instead to focus on the muscular (alleged) assailant. The Guy Site is now shuttered.
14) Bryan Knight, the 6’6″ 300lb “gentle giant” died of a heart attack in his sleep on September 3, 2023. He was 39 years old. Although he had a complete physical two weeks before, his family had a history of heart ailments and his enlarged heart went undetected, according to Snake, his partner of 20 years.
Robby Lewis of Luxxxe Studios shared the news online a few days later: “Adult film actor and generally good human being Bryan Knight went to bed on Sunday, September 3rd and did not wake up. Everyone at Luxxxe Studios is saddened by this loss, especially JD Daniels, who was a close personal friend of Bryan’s.”
Knight began his adult film career in 2012 with Bear Films. He worked with various studios over the next decade, including Maverick Men, Pride Studios, Nasty Daddy, and RawFuckClub.
Knight was also a talented comic book artist. In The Velvet Collar, he drew on real-life experiences to create something that celebrated him and the people he loved in the adult film world.
15) Jason Nikas was 51 years old when he died on September 19, 2023 in Las Vegas after a long battle with cancer. The Arcadia, California native performed in gay and bi films under many different names – Johnny Guetar and Jason Wikes were just two of them. In trans roles, he was Ann Drogeny (get it?). For his work behind the scenes in porn productions, he used his real name: Patryk Strait, believe it or not. Nikas racked up more than 120 titles between 1992 and 2012.
Every once in a while there’s a performer whose face betrays them with glimpses of underlying… what? Sorrow? Pain? Something that reveals the scars of a life that has led them to sex work. Their time in the biz is usually short. The first time I ever remember seeing this was in the early 90’s with Jason Nikas. There was something in his facial expressions that evoked the word “shattered.” But unlike others, he stuck around for nearly two decades, going through the motions in scene after scene, never elevating any of them beyond the B-grade companies he worked for, which included Vivid, Leisure Time, and Robert Prion’s Galaxy Studios. Mickey Skee’s tribute to his friend and coworker gives a more well-rounded picture of someone who seems to have had a happier life than the one he exuded on screen.
16) Shane Erickson, aka Eric Anthony Crew was 38 years old when he died on September 26, 2023. His boyfriend Michael posted on a GoFundMe page “after searching for him for two days I finally found him… unresponsive and long beyond aid on the floor of a hotel room… I don’t even know what to say, he had been struggling for a long time with demons from his past. I did everything I could to be there for him and I couldn’t save him…”
The San Diego native made his first film appearance in 2005 and over the next 8 years worked for Falcon, Jet Set, College Dudes, Next Door, Kink, SX and other outlets.
17) Hank Hightower was mainstream gay porn’s quintessential leather bear in the 1990’s. The versatile performer made his debut in 1993 and worked with Stallion, Rawhide, Catalina, Vivid, Zeus, Brush Creek, Jet Set and other studios over a 15 year period.
His friend Jeff Yarbrough announced on Facebook: “Henry Robert Hightower passed away today, Nov. 1, 2023, at 3:30am. As per his wishes, he died at home surrounded by his two pups. He passed peacefully.” The California native was 57 years old and had been battling cancer.
18) Colt Man Luke Garrett, (aka Steve Rudig) passed away on November 4th, 2023 “after a difficult year of numerous illnesses,” according to his obituary. The Visalia, California native was 53 years old. During his years as a Colt model, his boyfriend was fellow performer Gage Weston. Although his film career was short – just three years with less than 10 films to his credit – Garrett made a lasting impression on fans. His status as an iconic Colt model kept them hoping that he would return to the business one day.
I know I am not alone when I say that I take comfort in the annual repetition of the holidays: revisiting holiday-themed music, films, television shows… and now internet posts. Dave Holmes’ account of Patti LaBelle’s disastrous performance at the 1996 National Christmas Tree lighting is worth an annual revisit. Trust me.
Not to get meta or anything, but the post you are currently reading has been reworked and updated each year since 2020.
While we’re mining the past and dusting off our chestnuts, here’s the intro to the 1999 holiday episode ofBri-Guy’s Media Surf, an NYC Public Access show that featured yours truly lip-synching a little Esquivel:
Whenever the song pops up on my holiday playlist, I still do this.
I find it interesting that we immerse ourselves in certain pop culture favorites for exactly 6 weeks of the year and then pack them up in mothballs with the ornaments until next year. I mean, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” is currently at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Burl Ives, Bobby Helms and Andy Williams are also in the top 10. Are any of them on your 4th of July playlist? They aren’t on mine.
Gabe Pressman (left) with Marilyn Monroe (1956)
I used to look forward to the annual Christmas Eve tradition on NBC New York’s evening news when reporter Gabe Pressman would read “Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus.” I taped it in 2011, knowing that the tradition wouldn’t last forever. The self-described “little Jewish kid from the Bronx” was 87 years old at the time and continued to work at NBC until his death at age 93.
NBC New York reporter Gabe Pressman’s annual segment on Virginia O’Hanlon’s 1897 letter to the New York Sun Newspaper.
In keeping with this revisit, my other blog posts of Christmas past are back to haunt you like A Christmas Carol, Mr. Scrooge:
Copyright issues kept my 60 Degrees Girl Group Christmas playlist out of commission but now it’s back! I plan to post other episodes of my old radio show in the new year.
My Canine Christmas Tail is a true story about my dog Sunshine, a basset hound with an appetite for tinsel.
Have you watched Christmas In Connecticut yet this year? How about that delivery woman? This year I was able to update my 2019 post, identifying Daisy Bufford as the actress who played the unbilled role.
The original version of “¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?” is featured in “Llamacita,” this year’s Amazon Prime holiday commercial. Here’s a little backstory on the song & Augie Rios, who sang the original version.
Also – would you like to hear my Spotify holiday playlist?
Way back in 2002, when Limewire was a thing and people listened to music on silvery discs, I started creating Christmas CD mixes that I would mail out or give to people. These were received with a heartwarming combination of feigned delight, veiled indifference and deafening silence. None of these CDs had a pressing of more than 20 copies. I’d like to call them “much sought after” – but no, that’s not really the case, although every once in a while, someone really got into them and would ask for copies of other volumes.
And so, I’m offering this simple playlist…. for kids from 1 to 92. Unfortunately some of the tracks on these dozen CDs are not on Spotify, but I keep adding songs that would be on the current CD volume… if there was one. And now the playlist is over 17 hours of holiday tunes. I recommend listening on shuffle – there’s something to irritate everyone. Enjoy!
Here’s one more nugget to stuff in your stocking: This vid went viral in 2011. Choreographed and performed by Alex Karigan & Zac Hammer of the Amy Marshall Dance Company, it was filmed in one continuous take at the New 42nd St. Dance Studios. There’s something infectious about it: the joy, the corniness, the celebratory queerness of it all. It makes me want to dust off my jazz shoes. Once a year.
September 11th and the onset of Fall always makes me think back on the New York City that I photographed as a teenager in the 1980’s.
The intrepid photographer (1985)
My photography class would take field trips into Manhattan each semester. Later I began hopping on the Long Island Rail Road to venture in by myself. I loved photographing the city. There was – and is – an infinite number of things to focus your camera on. I learned early on that as much as I loved taking pictures in the city, I did not enjoy photographing the people. I was afraid someone would freak out and demand money or break my camera. My photos with live subjects tended to be dark and blurry or out of focus because I just wanted to snap the photo and run.
Instead, I focused on other elements of the city – a cat in a window, a gargoyle on a building. The purple shoeprints that appeared all around the village in the mid 1980’s. I would go into the city on a Sunday and walk south from Penn Station to the World Trade Center and back, snapping pictures the whole time.
To this day, I will spot a familiar building detail or doorway and remember… oh yeah! I took a picture of that in 1986. After 9/11, I would scan through the footage from that day, searching for familiar places on the plaza and in the vicinity, looking for details so familiar to me in the photos I had taken years ago.
The Statue of Liberty gets a facelift (1984)
Canal Street Station (1986)
Chinatown (1984):
South Street Seaport (1984):
TriBeCa (1986): Donovan’s Publik House was at 108 Greenwich Street. It is now Suspenders restaurant. 67 Greenwich Street housed The Whitehall Hardware Store when this photo was taken. In 2021, the New York Times profiled this structure in an article titled The Indestructible Townhouse. El Internacional, formerly El Teddy’s was a popular hangout at 219 West Broadway. The Guest Of A Guest website described it as “The epitome of downtown cool.”
World Trade Center from above and below (1985-86):
It’s hard to believe that Tina Turner is gone. I remember feeling the same way after Prince died – I liked thinking that he was always out there, somewhere, working on music. Not that I was expecting new music from Tina – it was enough to see her pop up in occasional interviews as she enjoyed retirement in her Swiss castle.
What more can you say about the queen? So much is being written and discussed, I should just shut up and walk away. But…
With the exception of the song “Nutbush City Limits”, Tina is not remembered as a songwriter. But she did have a knack for choosing excellent material and putting her indelible stamp on it. After hearing Tina’s take on a song, you could be forgiven if you forget that “Proud Mary” was a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune, or that “Let’s Stay Together” is Al Green’s song. “I Can’t Stand The Rain” was a 1974 hit for Ann Peebles, and Bonnie Tyler had a minor hit with “Simply The Best” the year before Tina recorded it.
That said, there are some interesting covers that have flown under the radar or fallen through the cracks. Here are some of them.
UPDDATE: The New York Times published their own article on Tina’s covers the same day this was posted, but other than the Stones/Beatles/Led Zeppelin cuts, none of the tracks listed below were included.
1) Tina Sings Dusty Springfield: “Just A Little Lovin'” / “Every Day I Have To Cry” – Dusty Springfield’s version of the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil song “Just A Little Lovin'” was the lead track from the classic 1969 Dusty In Memphis LP. Tina’s version is from her 1979 solo LP Love Explosion, which was not released in the U.S.
Tina Turner – “Just A Little Lovin'” (1979)
“Every Day I Have To Cry” was originally a minor hit for Steve Alaimo in 1962, and memorably covered by Dusty on her 1964 I Only Want To Be With You LP. Tina’s version is from the Phil Spector produced River Deep, Mountain High LP (1966).
Ike & Tina Turner – “Every Day I Have To Cry”
2) Tina Sings Led Zeppelin: “Whole Lotta Love” – This Led Zeppelin cover was released as a single from Tina’s second solo LP, 1975’s Acid Queen. The NY Times article on Tina’s cover songs describes this version as “disco-inflected” but also “slowed down.” To paraphrase Led Zep: It makes me wonder (what they were listening to.)
Tina Turner – “Whole Lotta Love” (1975)
3) Tina Sings Prince: “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” / “Baby I’m A Star” – Tina’s cover of “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” was recorded live in 1984 and featured as a B-side on different singles from the Private Dancer LP, depending on the territory.
Tina Turner – “Let’s Pretend We’re Married”
Tina’s version of “Baby I’m a Star” was omnipresent for a season in 2000, as she sang it in Target commercials while they were sponsoring her tour. It was also released on All That Glitters, a greatest hits CD only available at Target. And then… it was gone.
Tina Turner – “Baby I’m A Star”
4) Tina sings Linda Ronstadt: “Long Long Time” – Earlier this year, Linda Ronstadt’s definitive 1970 version of this Gary White song was introduced to a new generation via the HBO series The Last Of Us. Tina recorded her version in 1974 for her first solo LP, Tina Turns The Country On. Rolling Stone recently wrote about this forgotten gem. Although the LP was not a commercial success, it did garner Tina a Grammy nomination.
Tina Turner – “Long Long Time”
5) Tina Sings Marvin Gaye: “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” – There are a few versions of Tina singing Marvin Gaye’s classic Motown hit. The song was often part of her live repertoire. This live version from the Ike & Tina Turner Review is circa 1970:
Ike & Tina Turner Review – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
Thirty years later, Tina recorded a dance version of the song for her Twenty Four Seven LP. Unfortunately the song was pulled from the final release of the album:
Tina Turner – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
Also – just for funzies, here’s Tina singing with Marvin Gaye on Shindig! March 25, 1965 doing a medley of “Money (That’s What I Want)” and “I’ll Be Doggone.”
Tina Turner & Marvin Gaye “Money (That’s What I Want)” / “I’ll Be Doggone”
6) Tina Sings Stevie Wonder: “Living For The City” / “Higher Ground” – These two Stevie Wonder tracks from his classic 1973 Innervisions LP were covered the following year by Ike & Tina on their Sweet Rhode Island Red LP. The tracks later turned up on several compilations as the material from this period was often repackaged and re-released.
Ike & Tina Turner – “Living For The City”
Ike & Tina Turner – “Higher Ground”
7) Tina Sings Etta James: “All I Could Do Was Cry” – Motown founder Berry Gordy was a co-writer on this song, which was written for Etta James in 1960. Ike & Tina included their version on the Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show LP (1964). Tina’s 4-minute monologue in the middle of the song is epic, recounting the wedding of the man she loves as he marries someone else, building to a crescendo with “their friends throwing rice all over their heads.” This overlooked camp classic was later featured on the 2007 CD A Date With John Waters.
Ike & Tina Turner – “All I Could Do Was Cry”
8) Tina Sings Elton John: “Philadelphia Freedom” – This Ike & Tina Turner track was recorded in the mid-1970’s, just before Tina left. Ike later included it on his 1980 LP The Edge and on a 1984 Tina Turner EP titled Mini, among other repackages of their 70’s output.
Tina Turner – “Philadelphia Freedom”
9) Tina Does Disco: “Shame, Shame, Shame” – Like “Philadelphia Freedom,” this cover of the 1975 dance hit for Shirley & Co. was featured on Ike’s The Edge LP, Tina’s Mini EP, and numerous other budget collections.
Tina Turner – “Shame, Shame, Shame”
She also memorably performed the song with Cher on her variety show in 1975:
Cher & Tina Turner – “Shame, Shame, Shame”
10) Tina Sings The Temptations: “Ball of Confusion”– Tina’s version of “Ball Of Confusion” was the gateway to the second (or third?) act of her career. Recorded with B.E.F., aka British Electric Foundation for their 1982 album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One, the song became a top 5 hit in Norway. Capital Records took notice and signed her to the label. The resulting LP was Private Dancer, and the rest is history.
B.E.F. featuring Tina Turner – “Ball Of Confusion”
11) Tina Sings The Rolling Stones: “Honky Tonk Woman” / “Under My Thumb” / “Let’s Spend The Night Together” – Well of course Tina covered The Stones. She taught moves to Jagger. Tina & Mick were always joining each other onstage, and although she never recorded proper versions of“Jumping Jack Flash” or “It’s Only Rock And Roll‘, they were frequently on her concert setlists.
Ike & Tina’s studio version of “Honky Tonk Woman” was featured on their 1970 LP Come Together, and was also the b-side to the single of the title track:
Ike & Tina Turner – “Honky Tonk Woman”
“Under My Thumb” – A track from the 1975 Acid Queen LP:
Tina Turner – “Under My Thumb”
“Let’s Spend The Night Together” – Also from her1975 Acid Queen LP:
Tina Turner – “Let’s Spend The Night Together”
12) Tina Sings The Beatles: “Help!” / “Something” / “Get Back” / “Come Together” – Although not as closely associated with The Beatles as with the Rolling Stones, Tina covered several of their songs through the years. Her ballad version of “Help!” was on the international edition of the Private Dancer LP, but not the U.S. version.
Tina Turner – “Help!”
Tina’s version of “Something”:
Tina Turner – “Something”
Ike & Tina perform “Get Back” on Beat Club in the UK. The song was included on their 1970 Workin’ Together LP and released as a single in Europe.
Ike & Tina Turner – “Get Back”
“Come Together” was the title track from Ike & Tina’s 1970 LP. The single also featured their version of the Stones’ “Honky Tonk Woman” as the b-side.
Ike & Tina Turner – “Come Together”
Here’s a Spotify playlist of the available songs above as well as many other covers:
Up until recent years, the fabled Ivy League nude posture photos have been written about but seldom seen. Starting in the mid-1930’s and continuing on until the 1970’s, incoming Ivy League University students were photographed fully nude in order to gauge their posture, detect scoliosis, and address other correctable body issues while simultaneously inflicting emotional scarring on the participants. Talk show host Dick Cavett joked about it in his early stand-up routines:
“Some guys hated it… some seemed to enjoy it. One guy tried to go through twice… one guy fainted… one guy tried to buy his pictures… and one guy tried to get his retouched.”
50 years later, he penned a New York Times Op Ed piece with a much darker view of the experience.
In recent years, the posture photos from Yale have garnered the most press, with tongues wagging at the possibilities of seeing our country’s best and brightest in the buff. The pics were so rare that most articles on the subject did not actually feature any of the images, opting instead to use medical textbook illustrations or military posture photos.
Since 2020, a steady stream of posture photos featuring male freshman Yalies from 1937-1960 have sold on eBay. It was really only a matter of time before some familiar faces began to pop up. I posted about writer Calvin Trillin‘s photo, which went for a little over $100, while the pic of late actor James Franciscus pulled in $1,225.
These pics now regularly sell for close to $1,000 each. Earlier this month, actor Bill Hinnant’s photo went for a whopping $1,600.
Chalk one up to eBay for their ever-changing goalposts of propriety. When James Franciscus’ Yale photo went up for auction in 2021, full nudity was prohibited in auction photos. What we were left with was a modesty strip applied by the seller to prevent us from viewing the full Franciscus. Now eBay requires that auctions selling nude photos actually show the goods – to insure that the subject isn’t too…erm… excited to be there. Dean Martin’s dong was covered with a post-it, but now it’s ok to see Bill’s Hinnant:
Hinnant was still known by his birth name of John F. Hinnant, Jr. when he arrived at Yale in the Fall of 1953. Originally from Chincoteague Island, Virginia, he had spent two summers as an apprentice at Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. He made his professional debut there playing Barbara Cook’s son in Carousel. He also appeared in Life With Mother starring the legendary Billie (Glinda the Good Witch) Burke.
Following his sophomore year, Bill departed Yale when he won the role of Lt. Cover in the original cast of the comedy No Time For Sergeants starring Andy Griffith. After a year and a half on Broadway, Hinnant returned to Yale to complete his degree alongside his younger brother, Skip, who was also an actor.
In 1957, Bill Hinnant co-starred with former Yale classmate James Franciscus in the noir film Four Boys And A Gun:
Standing just 5’2″, his stature was usually noted in press articles. “Pintsized blond Hinnant has a full-sized talent!” crowed a 1965 Variety review.
Most of his notices were similar to Variety’s take on the 1963 off-Broadway musical Put It In Writing: “Far from memorable but featuring good work by Bill Hinnant.” This was a theme throughout his career, as he received favorable reviews in forgotten musicals that would close on the road (Maltby & Shire’s Love Match), on opening night (The American Hamburger League, Frank Merriwell), or after a handful of performances (All Kinds Of Giants, God Bless Coney). He guested on television shows ranging from Route 66 and Naked City to sitcoms like Pete & Gladys and Karen Valentine’s self-titled show.
He found his defining role in 1967 when he was cast as Snoopy in the original production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. The cast included Gary “Radar” Burghoff in the title role, Bob Balaban as Linus and his younger brother Skip Hinnant playing Schroeder. Bill’s scene-stealing Snoopy is still considered to be the definitive interpretation of the role. His performance on the original cast recording is a blueprint for anyone tackling the part. He was awarded a Drama Desk Award for his performance later that year.
In 1969, Hinnant appeared in the film A Nice Girl Like Me with Barbara Ferris:
After a successful run with Charlie Brown, he was still plagued with subpar material- a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by critics:
Even when the material was up to snuff, there were other issues to contend with:
Hinnant reprised his role as Snoopy in a 1973 television adaption of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. This cast featured Wendell Burton as Charlie Brown and My Three Sons actor Barry Livingston as Linus.
Unfortunately The Bill Hinnant Story does not have a happy ending. On February 17th, 1978, Hinnant drowned while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. He was just 42 years old. The Record noted that “the beige-haired, digest-sized and personable bachelor” was very active in charities for the underprivileged and had adopted several children worldwide through the Foster Parents Plan.
Bill Hinnant is interred (as John F. Bill Hinnant Jr.) at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland.
When Adam Schlesinger died of coronavirus three years ago this week, I was skeptical that he would have received as many tributes if we were living in normal times. With everyone stuck in quarantine staring at their computers, there was an outpouring of tributes. This seems to have continued on, as every year the anniversary brings new articles and remembrances from friends and creative cohorts.
Fountains of Wayne and Ivy were two of my favorite bands for many years. I always seemed to be pointing him out in performance clips – “the guy on the right is Adam Schlesinger….” followed by an overshare of information about his career.
Entertainment Weekly (2003)
Ivy (l-r): Andy Chase, Adam Schlesinger, Dominique Durand (1996)
In the press, Adam’s “side project” was whichever band was not promoting a new release. And while Fountains of Wayne was the first to be mentioned in tributes after his death, Ivy is now garnering considerable attention as the band has recently regained control of their back catalogue and increased their social media presence. Their first remastered re-release is Apartment Life (1997) featuring previously unreleased tracks and a vinyl-only reconstruction of the LP using the original demo recordings.
Adam Schlesinger: A Musical Celebration was a two-hour virtual tribute concert helmed by Fountains of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter. Recorded in May 2020 as a pay-per-view streaming event, it is now available for free on YouTube. Highlights include Courtney Love’s take on “Hey Julie,” Sean Lennon performing “Fire Island,” and Butch Walker debuting “Guitar Center,” an unreleased song written by Adam.
The performances are interspersed with commentary from celebs like Drew Carey and Sarah Silverman, who said; “People are so funny how blown away they are at all that he’s done … I don’t think people realized because they know him from one thing or another thing or another thing but the whole picture of what he got done… it’s something. I fucking miss him.”
Here are 15 Adam Schlesinger-related performances to give a more complete picture:
1) Besides his work penning the music to Sarah Silverman’s autobiographical stage musical The Bedwetter, Adam produced this 2013 song co-written with Sarah and featuring Will.i.am:
2) In 2009, Adam was a member of the super group Tinted Windows, which featured Taylor Hanson, James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick. The surviving members reunited to perform “Back With You” in the tribute concert. Here’s the music video for “Kind Of A Girl,” another single from their sole album.
3) One of the most surprising covers in Adam Schlesinger: A Musical Celebration is by The Minus Five – a band featuring Joe Andragna, Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) and Scott McCaughey (of Young Fresh Fellows). Their song choice was “I’ll Say It” – written by Adam in 2012 as the theme to Kathy Griffin’s TV show:
5) In September of 1997, Adam made a solo radio appearance on XFM In Session. This was after Chris Collingwood was injured in Germany (see sidebar article referring to this as a low point in their career). Besides the interview, Adam does acoustic versions of “Utopia Parkway” and “Carpet King.”
6) In 2006, Adam co-wrote the song “High School Never Ends” with Jaret Riddick, lead singer of the band Bowling For Soup. This was the lead single on that band’s 6th album and a minor hit in the U.S. and U.K.:
7) Mike Viola and Adam Schlesinger perform their Oscar-nominated song “That Thing You Do” on May 4, 2007 at the Tribeca/ASCAP Music Lounge during the Tribeca Film Festival:
8) Also in May 2007, Adam and Chris joined Neil Sedaka onstage at Joe’s Pub in New York City to sing his 1961 hit “Calendar Girl.” Neil flubs his own lyrics. Adam and Chris do not. In April 2020, Neil posted this clip on Twitter as a tribute to Adam. Chris responded “It was an honor and one of the coolest things we ever did.”
9) In October 2011, Fountains Of Wayne performed a Tiny Desk Concert on NPR. Set List: “The Summer Place” “Valley Winter Song” “A Dip In The Ocean” “Troubled Times”:
10) One of the Rolling Stone tributes published after Adam’s death was an interview with Chris Collingwood. He remembers trying to talk Adam out of recording “Stacey’s Mom.” He was sure it would be a hit… and also a curse. “He was too good a writer to have that be his calling card, and the success of a novelty song means that’s just what you are to the public, from that moment on – forever. It’s sad to me that people reading his obituary will all know that song, and only a very tiny percentage of them will ever hear ‘I-95’ or ‘The Girl I Can’t Forget.'”
Here’s the latter: an entire rom-com in under four minutes.
11) An unreleased demo of Adam performing a song called “Something Happened” recently popped up on YouTube. I can’t confirm that he wrote it about Chris Collingwood or the end of Fountains of Wayne, but it’s certainly a poignant performance:
12) In November, 2018 Adam joined Wesley Stace & The English UK onstage at City Winery to perform “Hey Julie”:
13) Along with Rachel Bloom & Jack Dolgen, Adam co-wrote the music for the television show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, winning his third Emmy in 2019 for the song “Anti-depressants Are So Not A Big Deal.” At a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Live In Los Angeles show in 2018 he performed “What’ll It Be?” in the style of an obscure Long Island singer named William Joel.
14) One of Adam’s final projects was his work with Fever High, a Brooklyn duo for whom he was the primary producer / songwriter. In 2019 he accompanied them for a three song “tiny desk” concert at Paste Studio. Set List: “Just A Ghost” “Looks Good On Paper” “Cast My Spell”
15) In late 2021, Dominique Durand and Andy Chase of Ivy released a 25 minute tribute video on their YouTube page. “We knew Adam Schlesinger for 30 years, and felt we should finally create an official Ivy statement about who he was to us. We wanted to show a more intimate, human side to Adam – the friend, the father, the band mate, the whirlwind force that he was – so we made this short film using exclusive home movies and photos. Hopefully this will help add more weight and color to the extraordinary legacy that Adam left behind.”
In a 2020 Rolling Stone piece, playwright David Bar Katz paid tribute to his lifelong friend: “There are songs we would all have known by heart that we’re never going to hear. There were going to be musicals we’d have waited in line to see that will never be composed.” We will never know just how much we have lost.
June, 2022 marked 80 years since the start of the U.S. Navy pre-flight training program that took place at St. Mary’s College. Images of naked or jockstrap-clad cadets were taken during training at the school in Moraga, California when it was requisitioned for the war effort from 1942-1946. You can see more of these photos in our previous posts:
Unfortunately, there is still some confusion when these pictures surface, as they are sometimes miscredited as Ivy League posture photos. For comparison, here are two of the different Yale posture photos:
The single profile pose was used from the late 1930’s until 1952. It was then replaced with a mirror/ triptych setup, which has “Yale” visible in the background.
Prior to World War II, there were other physical fitness photos taken at the army base in Ft. Sheridan, Illinois. These fully nude pics do not pop up on the internet as often as those from St. Mary’s Pre-flight school. As shown above, both sets of photos contain the location identified within the photo.
The St. Mary’s photos were taken to measure the fitness progression of each recruit as they underwent extreme physical training. Each picture was accompanied by an index card containing body measurements and physical achievement statistics over the course of several months.
This allows for some contrasting images that would be the envy of many fitness plans.
Comparative photos: March 1 – May 5, 1943
Only the earliest St. Mary’s photos – dated June 13, 1942 – feature the men completely nude. All subsequent photos feature the cadets in jockstraps. In all of the photos, the men stand behind some sort of grid fencing to better illustrate misalignment and spinal curvature.
My collection of photos gathered from around the internet now includes over 750 different cadets. The youngest identified died at age 20 and the oldest lived to 103 years old.
Whether the individual photos of these handsome young men capture them at the beginning of their lives or tragically close to the end, all of the subjects are timelessly captured in prime physical condition as they trained to serve their country. 80 years later, we salute and admire their fine forms and dedication.
Navy Memorial Bench plaque from the St. Mary’s campus.
In August of 2020, porn star Koldo Gorantweeted about three fellow performers who had recently died. Goran’s tweet was the only public notice that 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 death 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 under their real names often pass away unnoticed by former employers and scene partners.
For this reason – and due to continued interest in this topic – we have also updated our lists of porn star passings for 2020 and 2021.
Note that some of the departed listed below have no verification other than the crumbs of information posted on the IAFD database. We remember those that were lost in 2022 to prove Koldo Goran wrong – they have not been forgotten.
1) Earlier this year we posted a tribute to prolific pornographer Robert Prion, who passed away at age 69 on 3/28/22. Prion filmed approximately 70 full-length films over a 30 year period, primarily in and around his New Jersey home. In the first decade of filming, he usually performed in the films as well.
3) In June, Rob Novarro tweeted “It’s with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of another of my models, Porter, he was 35 years old when he passed, much too young. I don’t know any details but that he’s gone.”
Porter aka Paris Holsinger passed away on April 12th in California. He appeared in nearly two dozen scenes with Novarro for his Military Classified website in 2015/2016. The death notice suggested donations to a substance abuse recovery organization and services for the homeless.
4) Steve “Titpig” Hurley aka Paul Yinger worked for Catalina, Brush Creek, Hot Desert Knights, and Treasure Island Media over a 15 year period starting in 1998. The 64 year-old from Ypsilanti, Michigan was also an RN and HIV activist. He passed away in Cathedral City, CA on April 14, 2022.
5) David / Dave Heydon, aka David Toulson was a versatile Brit who appeared in close to 20 scenes from 2007-2013. He filmed for a wide variety of sites including YMAC, Helix, Rentboy, 8teenBoy, and Puppy. Post-porn, he pursued a career in law, working as a fraud prevention officer. While celebrating his 40th birthday on 6/25/22, a friend put him in a chokehold, resulting in his death. The man was later acquitted of murder.
MJ Taylor
6) MJ Taylor primarily worked with Fraternity X and College Dudes but also appeared in scenes for Falcon, Men, Cockyboys, Bait Buddies and other companies from 2007-2018. The Ohio native then went on to work behind the scenes in the industry. He died of cancer in early June, 2022.
Randy from Sean Cody
7) Jason Pacheco, aka Randy was one of the most popular models in the Sean Cody stable, appearing in over 50 scenes from 2013-2019. He was very public on social media about his struggles with drug addiction and a GoFundMe was set up to help pay the medical bills from the resulting complications. He died of organ failure in his hometown of Gloucester, Mass. on 7/9/22.
Sean Cody director Walden Woods issued a statement, “My heart is broken to hear about the passing of Randy. I met him on set almost 10 years ago. He was always a good guy to be around, and had some amazing energy and authentic charm that was undeniable… I had a great time every day he was on set. It’s incredibly sad to hear of his passing. You were a giant Randy, rest in peace.”
8) Trent Locke, aka Ryan Bornn was born on June 9, 1988 and first appeared in films when he was 21 years old. Over the next 5 years he worked for Colt, Falcon, Raging Stallion, Next Door, Hot House, Lucas Entertainment, Cocksuremen and several others. His father posted on social media that Ryan passed away in July, 2022 after a decade of battles with mental illness and substance abuse. He was 34 years old.
9) Dusty Williams, aka Eric Fager was a San Diego paralegal in his life outside the industry. Starting in 2014, he worked with Guybone, BBTH, Rawandrough and Alphamale studios, to name a few. Williams was a month shy of his 40th birthday when he passed away “suddenly” on 7/23/22. A co-worker wrote; “He will always be remembered for his kind, generous, and caring nature. He had a soft spot for animals, most especially, his dear cat, Lady Ms. Friday. He’s been described …. as professional, friendly, kind, helpful, and thoughtful.”
Lucas, aka Sam Bayard
10) Lucas aka Sam Bayard appeared in the Crush series on the French Twinks website earlier this year. Pink TV posted a statement: “We are devastated by the passing of Lucas aka Sam Bayard. We spent wonderful and joyful moments by his side before he decided to give a new direction to his career… The whole FrenchTwinks team shares the immense sadness of his loved ones. It was around 11 p.m., this Tuesday, September 20, 2022, that Antoine Lebel and the FrenchTwinks team announced this terrible news.”
Fellow performer Damian Cruz posted on twitter: “It gives me the utmost sadness to have to tell you all, my soulmate, my brother, and my best friend @xxx_morningstar has passed away this morning. Such a light and an amazing human being. Imma miss you buddy. ”
12) Doug Probst, aka Shawn Mayotte was a well known Hollywood escort who only appeared in a couple of scenes as “Dirk” for YMAC circa 1982-83. Last year he released two books: Mayotte: The Musings of a Narcissist, a memoir recounting his harrowing exploits in Hollywood, and After Hours: Naked & Unashamed, a celebration of his nude print modeling work. He died of throat cancer in early November at age 57.
Tyler Roberts
13) Tyler Roberts, aka Eric Hazen was 34 years old and had been working in the business since he was 20. He experienced “organ failure” while on vacation in Palm Springs and passed away three weeks later on 12/2/22.
His boyfriend Aaron Thomas tweeted, ““I am so heartbroken to share that my love @XXXTylerRoberts passed away yesterday. His family and I are grieving as Eric left a huge space behind that can’t easily be fixed. Lead with love and tell everyone you can you love them as if it’s the last. I love you Bubba. Rest now.”
Forrest Marks aka Fane Roberts
14) Forrest Marks, aka Fane Roberts, aka Bobby Kuenster passed away on December 27, 2022 in his hometown of Chicago. From 2016-2018, he appeared in over a dozen scenes for Gayhoopla under the name Forrest Marks. He was credited as Fane Roberts for his work with Falcon studios.
Model Gage Kalama-Florence posted about his friend on twitter: “I’m shocked and in disbelief, an old friend passed away too soon… my first gay bestie he really showed me the ropes and for ever will be grateful… Rest in peace Robert.”
Forrest/Fane/Bobby had just started an Only Fans page in October, promising “What is posted now is nothing of what’s coming, shot, and in post production, being shot, and so on. Be patient please. I’m all in.”
Shawn Wolfe
15) On the same day, December 27th, 2022 Shawn Wolfe, aka Shawn Paul Bertrand died of a drug overdose at age 35. His mother wrote on his Facebook wall: “Thank you for all of your kind words. Shawn was a light in this world and he is now a light in Heaven…. He is also with all of his friends and family who went before him….”
Wolfe was first credited as Drew for a 2009 solo scene at Sean Cody. He went on to work primarily for Falcon/Raging Stallion, where he was named Man of the Year in 2013. He retired in 2017. Chi Chi LaRue memorialized Wolfe on Facebook, writing, “Another amazing person gone too soon.”
Content Creator FunMrSmith
16) A reader drew my attention to the passing of Mr. Smith, aka FunMrSmith,a popular gay-for-pay Chaturbate model and content creator who was nominated for an XBiz Award in 2020. He was undergoing chemo to battle a recurrence of leukemia last year when he contracted COVID and passed away in July, 2022.
NYC Santas photographed in the late 1970’s by Susan Meiselas
I know I am not alone when I say that I take comfort in the annual repetition of the holidays: revisiting holiday-themed music, films, television shows… and now internet posts. Dave Holmes’ account of Patti LaBelle’s disastrous performance at the 1996 National Christmas Tree lighting is worth an annual revisit. Trust me.
In fact, the post that you are currently reading has been reworked and updated from the past two Christmas seasons, not to get meta or anything.
I find it interesting that we immerse ourselves in certain pop culture favorites for exactly 6 weeks of the year and then pack them up in mothballs with the ornaments until next year. I mean, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” is currently at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Burl Ives and Andy Williams are also in the top 10! Are any of them on your 4th of July playlist? They aren’t on mine.
Gabe Pressman (left) with Marilyn Monroe (1956)
I used to look forward to the annual Christmas Eve tradition on NBC New York’s evening news when reporter Gabe Pressman would read “Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus.” I taped it in 2011, knowing that the tradition wouldn’t last forever. The self-described “little Jewish kid from the Bronx” was 87 years old at the time and continued to work at NBC until his death at age 93.
NBC New York reporter Gabe Pressman’s annual segment on Virginia O’Hanlon’s 1897 letter to the New York Sun Newspaper.
In keeping with this revisit, my other blog posts of Christmas past are back to haunt you like A Christmas Carol, Mr. Scrooge:
My Canine Christmas Tail is a true story about my dog Sunshine, a basset hound with an appetite for tinsel.
Copyright issues kept my 60 Degrees Girl Group Christmas playlist out of commission but now it’s back! I plan to post other episodes of my old radio show in the new year.
If you prefer Spotify, I have this to share:
Way back in 2002, when Limewire was a thing and people listened to music on silvery discs, I started creating Christmas CD mixes that I would mail out or give to people. These were received with a heartwarming combination of feigned delight, veiled indifference and deafening silence. None of these CDs had a pressing of more than 20 copies. I’d like to call them “much sought after” – but no, that’s not really the case, although every once in a while, someone really got into them and would ask for copies of other volumes.
And so, I’m offering this simple playlist…. for kids from 1 to 92. Unfortunately some of the tracks on these dozen CDs are not on Spotify, but I keep adding songs that would be on the current CD volume… if there was one. And now the playlist is over 16 hours of holiday tunes. I recommend listening on shuffle – there’s something to irritate everyone. Enjoy!
Here’s one more nugget to stuff in your stocking: This vid went viral in 2011. Choreographed and performed by Alex Karigan & Zac Hammer of the Amy Marshall Dance Company, it was filmed in one continuous take at the New 42nd St. Dance Studios. There’s something infectious about it: the joy, the corniness, the celebratory queerness of it all. It makes me want to dust off my jazz shoes. Once a year.
