BijouBlog

Interesting and provocative thoughts on gay history, gay sexual history, gay porn, and gay popular culture.

The Rise of 1980s-90s Porn Star RYAN YEAGER

By Josh Eliot

Back in 1989, the San Fernando Valley was the hot spot for all things porn, gay or straight. Specifically Chatsworth, CA, where adult film production houses migrated because of low rent and access to the mainstream movie business. Located thirty miles north of Los Angeles, it allowed access to Hollywood directors, as well as talent and crew who moonlighted for some extra income or chose a different career path due to declining productions within L.A. County. Since the 1970s, homes in the Hollywood Hills played host to a majority of the West Coast XXX-rated film productions. A rush of warehouses opened up in the valley, retrofitted as studios, so they could reap their share of the nearly four billion dollars in sales that the San Fernando Valley took in annually. Specifically for gay porn studios in the valley, when I was first working in the industry, there was mainly (VCA) HIS Video, InHand and Vivid Man as our competition.

Chatsworth, CA – porn capital of the 1990s
Chatsworth, CA – porn capital of the 1990s

 

With all the hardcore content flooding the video stores back in the late 80s and 1990s, it’s no surprise that several movies were made, both mainstream and adult, featuring the story of a small town boy or virginal girl dreaming of going to Hollywood - a story told brilliantly by director Paul Thomas Anderson in Boogie Nights (1997) featuring Mark Wahlberg as adult film sensation Dirk Diggler. Seven years prior to the premiere of Boogie Nights, a newcomer to the industry, Ryan Yeager, played a similar role as a cornfed country boy rising to fame in the adult industry in a movie called The Rise (1990). Iconic director Chi Chi LaRue wrote and directed The Rise as a way to promote what he, himself, calls his first true discovery. Back in 1989, Chi Chi was working for InHand Video gaining experience as a new director, when Vivid Man persuaded him to start working for them in promotions with the opportunity to also direct. Chi Chi was a bit frustrated with InHand at the time because there was a lot of internal drama within the company, so it was an easy yes. Prior to leaving InHand, a potential new star came across Chi Chi’s desk - it was Ryan Yeager. Chi Chi debuted Ryan in Screwing Screw Ups and Flex 2: Pumping Up, which Chi Chi directed prior to jumping ship. In 1989, Chi Chi brought Ryan to Vivid Man, maybe as a bargaining tool, and was allowed to direct him in Buddy System. He was also loaned out to another Vivid director, Patrick Dennis, who starred him in Air Male and Davey and the Cruisers. Patrick Dennis was a pseudonym for adult star and director Jim Steel, who had a tenured history with Vivid Man. Jim Steel and I stood side by side along with John Rutherford and Steven Scarborough when the four of us were inducted into the GayVN Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 1990, Chi Chi was invited back to Catalina Video to start directing features, and Ryan was with him all the way! Our first time working together was for The Rise, and the crew and I quickly learned that Ryan had absolutely no problem ejaculating twice for a scene. We made the best use of that by having him cum after oral and then again after anal, and each load looked like a full one! My very first acting performance was in The Rise as the driver of the van that picks Ryan up in the sticks and drives him to Hollywood Blvd. Chi Chi and I were both super pissed when Scott Masters made the editor cut my scene before release because he didn’t think it was wise for the production head to be on camera. The finished version only shows Ryan in the van talking to my voice, but none of the lead up alongside the road where we met. But I am, despite Scott Masters, in a wide shot on the movie set, holding a 16mm camera during the montage. Additionally, my patched up favorite jean jacket is worn by Vic Youngblood in the full scene he has with Scott Bond, because the shirt he was wearing when he showed up to set was too flashy and Studio 54-looking.

In the movie, Ryan gets discovered by Chi Chi in an adult cinema and enters the porn world while, coincidently, his longtime lover from his his home town ends up taking the same path and, in the end, they meet up on a XXX movie set. Ryan could not have been more perfectly cast, all the way down to his natural pubic hair that he didn’t “groom” for set. Total all-American boy to the core, which felt very rare to us. The movie won Best Erotic Scene and, for the very first time, Chi Chi LaRue took home the award for Best Director.

Ryan Yeager in The Rise, Stranded Enemies & Lovers for Catalina Video
Ryan Yeager in The Rise, Stranded Enemies & Lovers for Catalina Video

 

That same year, we also had the pleasure of working with Ryan in Enemies and Lovers (1990). This was our first trip up the mountains for an extended stay with Chi Chi and her brood of boys. Taking Chi Chi up those swirling mountainous roads to Arrowhead Lake was a hoot, as his stomach couldn’t handle it very well. Everyone was a joy to be around – well, maybe except for model Matt Gunther, who was very well known to be a twat on the set. I’ll blog about that movie down the road - I think our trauma deserves its own piece.

In 1991, Chi Chi directed a star vehicle movie for Ryan called Jumper for (VCA) HIS Video, written by Stan Ward. This was Ryan’s moment for sure, and Chi Chi’s as well, because Jumper won Best Picture, Best Actor (Ryan Yeager) and Best Newcomer (Danny Sommers) at the 1992 AVN Awards. It also won Best Screenplay at the Gay Erotic Video Awards and the Grabby Awards. In addition to making Ryan a household name, it projected Chi Chi LaRue’s career as director into the stratosphere. Even though Ryan was super angelic in real life, he did stretch his acting abilities to play an actual angel in Jumper. His role was that of a soldier in the Revolutionary War who is killed at Yorktown and becomes an angel. Angels have missions in Jumper, and Ryan’s is to influence the lives of men in, of all places, West Hollywood. When the movie was released, critic Dave Kinnick called it “VCA’s strongest gay title in years.”

Ryan Yeager's early movie Davey & the Cruisers & his Best Actor role in Jumper
Ryan Yeager's early movie Davey & the Cruisers & his Best Actor role in Jumper

 

At Catalina Video in 1991, we shot Ryan in King of the Mountain, Powertool 2, Head Struck and In Your Face. After that, we never saw Ryan on our schedule again, even though he continued working. Ryan Yeager had a short but impressive career, when he suddenly made a quick exit after he met and fell in love with a mystery man outside of the industry. In the late 1990s, Sabin, the producer of the Gay Erotic Video Awards, reached out to Ryan asking him to be a presenter at an upcoming awards show. Ryan made it very clear that his time in the industry was in the past and he had no desire be connected to it any further. Regardless his legacy speaks for itself, and I have to add that while he was working with us, I was impressed with how incredibly down to earth and non-pretentious he was. There is very little content online, so I was able to gather a lot of my information about Ryan Yeager from Chi Chi LaRue’s excellent book, Making It Big, Sex Stars, Porn Films and Me

The industry itself has changed over the years. Gone are the valley studios in Chatsworth for gay porn, and it seems that the newest semi-capital of gay porn is San Francisco, with most of the top companies residing there: Colt Studios (founded 1967), Falcon (founded 1971), Hot House (founded 1993), Titan Men (founded 1995), Treasure Island (founded 1998) and Raging Stallion (founded 1998), all of which contain outstanding libraries of content, making them modern day powerhouses.

 

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002.
 

 

You can read Josh Eliot's previous blogs for Bijou here:

Coming Out of my WET SHORTS | FRANK ROSS, The Boss | Our CALIGULA Moment | That BUTTHOLE Just Winked at Me! | DREAMLAND: The Other Place | A Salty Fuck in Saugatuck | Somebody, Call a FLUFFER! | The Late Great JOHN TRAVIS, My POWERTOOL Mentor | (Un)Easy Riders | 7 Years with Colt Model MARK RUTTER | Super NOVA | Whatever Happened to NEELY O’HARA? | Is That AL PARKER In Your Photo? | DOWN BY LAW: My $1,000,000 Mistake | We Waited 8hrs for a Cum Shot... Is That a World Record? | Don't Wear "Short Shorts" on the #38 Geary to LANDS END | How Straight Are You Really? | BEHIND THE (not so) GREEN DOOR | The BOOM BOOM Room | CATCHING UP with Tom DeSimone | Everybody’s FREE to FEEL GOOD | SCANDAL at the Coral Sands Motel | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Castro Theatre | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Midnight Sun | RSVP: 2 Weeks Working on a Gay Cruise Ship | VOYAGER of the Damned | I'M NOT A LESBIAN DIRECTOR | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: THE FOLSOM STREET FAIR | Diving into SoMa/Folsom: A TALE OF TWO STUDS | BALL BROTH | My 1992 “Porn Set” Diary | Out of Print | There’s a Gloryhole WHERE??! | LUNCH HOUR: When the Big Boys Eat | IN and OUT and All ABOUT | UNDER the COVERs with Tom Steele | 8 Is Enough on Sunsex Blvd | Steve Rambo & Will Seagers For Breakfast | The Many Faces of Adult Film Star SHARON KANE | The ALL-MAN Magazine Interview: The Man Behind Catalina Video | Captain Psychopath | BAD BOYS SCHOOL | VAMPIRE'S GRAVE | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 1) | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 2) | Private Dick & The Young Cadets | Meet RAY HARLEY | The GOLD COAST Gold Rush Boys | Colt Model MARK RUTTER: In His Own Words | Bringing in the BIG GUNS | “WHAT THE F@CK?” Moments | You So RUSSO | Bond, SCOTT BOND | I Just Watched: KILLING ME SOFTLY | Sex in Tight Places | Calling GLORIA | DOWN FOR THE COUNT | More Than a Mouthful | When JON KING Returned to Catalina Video | Junior Meets the BEAR Patrol | A Taste for Leather and Fur | Straight to Bed | The Hills Have Bi’s | The Malibu Pool Boy: Cody Foster | New England Summer | The Making of RUNAWAYS 1989 | The Making of FULL SERVICE 1989 | Hot Buttered Cop | The Making of HARD TO BE GOOD 1990 | The Real CONJURING HOUSE | It’s Not a Crime, It’s a SCORE | I Just Watched: Steve Scott’s SCREENPLAY (1984) | Wet and Wild | 69: Discover the Secret | What Really Happened BEHIND THAT BARN DOOR! | I Just Watched AL PARKER & WILL SEAGERS in WANTED | Secret Boys Club | Jawbreaker Pt. 1 | Jawbreaker Pt. 2 | I Just Watched CRUISIN’ THE CASTRO

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"Werk!"

Bijou Blog header
By Will Seagers

 

[Originally published 02/07/25]

Hi folks, Will here! And yet another odd blog title. I am actually poking fun at the word "work." I thought I'd choose the common and current vernacular of choice. Nevertheless, no matter how you spell, it it all boils down to the same thing.

With all the changes happening around us within the past two weeks, I thought it would be sensible to head back to the workforce. I have enjoyed the past six years of retirement. But, there are some serious signs appearing on the horizon of our great country that are creating a lot of insecurity within me.

Oddly enough, I had been contemplating a part time job for the past year or so. I have a good work ethic and miss employing it. My idea was to take on the simple job of working at my gym for a couple of days a week. I know the place like the back of my hand, since I am there five or six days a week anyway.

Will taking a selfie and working out at his gym, present day
Will at the gym, present day
 

I had approached the husband and wife team who own the place with my idea about a year ago. It's a small operation, personnel-wise, and there were no openings at that time. All of that changed just recently.

I received a call about two weeks ago asking if I was still available. I paused for a moment and asked myself if I really wanted to go back to work at the age of 74. It didn't take more than a second to reply with a solid, "Yes!" So, I have been in "training" mode for the past week.

Pair of dumbbells and gym interior with workout machines
 

I have loved this gym for the past six years because of the way it is maintained. I have no problem with being a "scullery maid" to keep it that way. It is the membership and bookkeeping aspect that is a bit thorny. And, I live only a mile away!

A lot has changed in the past forty years since I worked in the gyms of San Francisco - in terms of data collection in the membership process. I will be using three computers in this process. Seniors and people in the workforce whose memberships are part of their insurance coverage use one computer program. And, the other two computers deal with cash and credit card sign-ups. It's a bit daunting. But, sheer repetition will have me up and running in no time.

Of course, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, my San Francisco gym experiences were in gay gyms. This one is decidedly co-ed. It is a nice blending of locals - some average and some stunning - all here for the simple purpose of getting fit. I will have to remind myself to keep my tongue in my mouth when the stunners approach! LOL.

Men inside San Francisco gym The Pump Room in the 1970s
Back in the day, my co-worker Bill from The Pump Room (S.F.)
 
Will and two other shirtless men in an ad for a '70s San Francisco gym
Another "back in the day" - shirtless attire in San Francisco's gay gyms
 

So... wish me luck in my gym career redux! This will be like a lot of jobs I have had in my lifetime, where I have had a second or even third chapter. The key thing for me to remember is that "it's just like riding a bike"... I hope!

Guy on bike emoji

 

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.

Will Seagers, recent image, holding a globe
Will Seagers, present day


You can read Will Seagers' previous blogs for Bijou here:

Welcome Matt/Will | What's For Dessert? | On and Off the Set of L.A. Tool & Die | Wanted, Weekend Lockup and Weekends in Hermosa Beach | Honeymoon in the Palms | Birds of a Feather | The Stereo Maven of Castro Street | The Pass Around Boy | The Ecstasy and the Agony | Fitness and Fantasy | Chasing the Boys and Chasing the Sun | Becoming Invisible | The Reverse Story of Dorian Gray | Pin Money | One Organ Leads to Another! | The Wheels of Steel | Feast and Famine | An Alphabet Soup of Powders and Pills | Merry Christmas (and Getting Re-Organized) | Now and Then | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Badlands | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: Moby Dick Bar | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: "Just Another Stroll Down the Castro!" | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Hamburger Mary's | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Long Live the Stud! | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Club Life..."Hit me with your Rhythm Stick!” | A "Split Ticket": SoMa/Folsom and The Haight! | Staying Vanilla in a Flavorful Culture | A Little Secret | Recollections of the 1977 S.F. Gay Pride Parade | Life's a Beach | Flora & Fauna | Once Is Just Not Enough! | A Love of Cultures – A Knack for Languages! | For the Birds | It's About Time! | The Perfect Storm | Hello Chicago/Adieu Fire Island Pines! | Sex in the Woods! | My Life at the Gym | The Last Picture Show | Cumming Attractions! | The Peter Pan Syndrome | Valentine's Day Reflections | The “Idus Martias” and a Peacock! | Taxing I.M.H.O. | Nope...This Sure Ain't Kansas! | The French Connection | Water Baby | Pride: You Wear It Well! | Life Goes On... | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 1 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 2 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 3 | A Christmas Haiku | It's My Party & I'll BLOG If I Want To!

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I Just Watched CRUISIN’ THE CASTRO (1981)

By Josh Eliot

[Originally published 01/31/25]

It might seem odd for me to pick Cruisin’ the Castro as my second choice in the “I Just Watched” series of blogs, but you’ll discover, as I did, that there is much more to this movie than meets the eye. Certainly Cruisin’ did not have the polish, notoriety or deeply layered storyline of Steve Scott’s Screenplay, my first blog in the series, but it did have a desirability factor for me, so I chose to view it. After all, I did live in the heart of the Castro from 1983 - 1988 on the corner of Castro & 19th, a mere block away from the epicenter. So when I stumbled upon it while scanning through the Bijou Video On Demand list of titles, I was sold even before looking at one frame of the movie, and that was for a couple of reasons. The first of which was that I saw Dick Fisk’s name in the partial credits listed on the page. The second was when I started thinking about the joint venture Will Seagers and I worked on together where we each contributed three blogs about the Castro District in San Francisco during the 1970’s and 1980’s. I’ll link those blogs at the end of this one, just in case you want to read them.

I have to admit, I never met Dick Fisk or even remembered, until researching for this blog, that I saw him in the movie Spokes. My 1980’s San Francisco friend Fred Fazzina from the blog "Everybody’s Free to Feel Good!" would always talk about “little Dickie Fisk,” a good friend of his and his partner. He often told stories about the group of friends which included Fisk, the shit they would get into and just how much they all missed him. Seeing his name in the credits sparked my interest to watch Cruisin’. I wouldn’t exactly refer to Dick Fisk as Little Dickie Fisk, girth-wise - maybe height-wise, but that’s how he was endeared to Fred. In a tragic turn of events, on Halloween evening 1983, Dick Fisk (Frank Ricky Fitts, 28 years old) lost his life along with that of his lover, Joe Howard, in a car accident. He is best known for gracing the cover of Falcon Studio’s The Other Side of Aspen alongside Al Parker and Casey Donovan, an iconic photo for sure.

Dick Fisk modeling & with legends Al Parker & Casey Donovan in The Other Side of Aspen
Dick Fisk modeling & with legends Al Parker & Casey Donovan in The Other Side of Aspen

 

Before landing upon Cruisin’ the Castro, I was leaning toward something from NOVA Studio directed by my previous producer, Robert Walters (Scott Masters). I thought it would be a challenge to pick something that was more music-enhanced and in line with the Brentwood/John Travis movies, to switch things up from my first blog in the series, where Steve Scott’s Screenplay had a heavy script and character development. Cruisin’ has a combination of both music-enhanced scenes and live action sound. All that was left now was to get comfortable, so I sat my butt down and started streaming, noticing a few things that stood out to me right away. First and foremost was the title itself, which was the same image as on the movie poster I remembered seeing, probably at the Screening Room Theater back when I worked there in the early 1980’s. The title was written alongside a Victorian building, as is reflected in the original movie poster. The second was the cast; I was like, really? The cast was very impressive. What was this movie I never saw that had all these headliners? Stars include Richard Locke, Will Seagers, Dick Fisk and Johnny Harden, who honestly looks the best he’s ever looked in this film and graces the newer DVD box cover on the Bijou restored version. Supporting cast includes Don Talon, Jack Holtz, Mark Majors, Tom Manley and Tony Natali.

The handsome cast of Cruisin' the Castro, plus title with Victorian building imagery
The handsome cast of Cruisin' the Castro, plus title with Victorian building imagery

 

Before getting into it, I’ll just say one thing: the guys in this movie all have big fat rock hard pieces and they all seem to be very cock-hungry and overly horned up. Granted, it has a paper-thin storyline connecting all the scenes, but this is one of those movies that makes you not care, because of the quality of the good looking, well-built and toned cast. They are hot, handsome, hung and hungry. They are into it and it shows, thanks to the direction of Michael R. Newman. Who? Has anyone heard of Michael R. Newman? IMDB shows Mr. Newman as only having one directorial credit to his name, and that is for Cruisin’. When coming across this information regarding the director, I emailed co-blogger Will Seagers to see if he had any more information about this guy. A stage-name, for sure, but could he be someone who didn’t want to be known? Well, get this, even more interesting is the fact that this movie was credited as a CinArt production. CinArt is the production company of the notorious Mitchell Brothers, who broke box office records with Marilyn Chambers in Behind the Green Door (1972). Was this them dipping their feet in the all-male market? Was Michael R. Newman a Mitchell Brother? The chances of that being reality are probably a million to one; it’s more likely the fact that CinArt simply produced and distributed this movie. CinArt and the Mitchell Brothers had never released an all-male movie before or after this one. By emailing Will, I was hoping to see if he remembered shooting his scene with Don Talon and Richard Locke, and more importantly, who directed them? There is no actual shoot date information, but evidently it was shot in the late 1970’s and released in 1981. Why the hold up? More questions than answers, for sure.

The first scene with Mark Majors and Tony Natali is, in my opinion, the very best. The two guys, virtual unknowns, meet on the street and end up climbing through a rooftop enclosure. Rock hard fat pieces from both, and they are all over each other, adding to the sexiness of it. Not to mention they both have great bodies and are really handsome. In scene two, the Tom Manley (aka Chad Scott, the scene-stealer from NOVA's Little Brother’s Coming Out) again commands the audience with his good looks and hungry boy sexiness with co-star Jack Holtz. Jack Holtz, in the one and only “live-sound” scene of his career, brings his crazy-hick energy, especially when eating handsome Tom Manley’s cum-covered ass. In scene number three, Johnny Harden, looking G-G-G-Great, performs what I think is one of his very best signature load-on-the-face J/Os, keeping it interesting to watch the entire time. Not-so-little Dick Fisk is paired with Mark Majors (from scene one) and gives a great performance, both topping and bottoming for his well-hung co-star. Mark does feel the burn when taking Fisk’s fat dick up the ass moments after finishing up topping.

Tom Manley (aka Chad Scott) in Little Brother's Coming Out; original Cruisin' the Castro posters & the new DVD cover with Johnny Harden
Tom Manley (aka Chad Scott) in Little Brother's Coming Out; original Cruisin' the Castro posters & the new DVD cover with Johnny Harden

 

The movie ends with a very good looking, and clean shaven Don Talon cruising out his bedroom window from a Victorian house that looked very much like it was on my block when I lived there! It doesn’t take very long for daddy Richard Locke and sexy young buck Will Seagers to take the bait and make their way up and into Talon’s private playroom. Great energy is evident between the three men, which finishes with a very well-planned and executed simultaneous three-way cum shot sequence. That’s how you know they were into each other.

Update: So I heard back from Will Seagers regarding his scene in the movie. He didn’t remember anything about the director, but the scene with Richard Locke was shot prior to working with Locke in Joe Gage's L.A. Tool and Die; it was their very first time working together, so that means it was shot in 1978 or 1979. He also confirmed that the house they shot in was on the same block I lived on a few years later, Castro and 19th - I knew I recognized that house! He believed word got out that he was cast for L.A. Tool and Die and the producers wanted to cash in on pairing him with Locke prior to that movie being filmed. This movie, Cruisin’, however, had a delayed release date of 1981, while L.A. Tool and Die came out in 1979.

Is Cruisin’ the Castro from a pristine 16mm print? No, and the restoration process pales to the kind of advanced restoration work Bijou does today and over the last number of years, but... There is a very important but, which is: We are so lucky to even be able to view this movie today. I doubt very much a 16mm print is even around anymore - talk about looking for a needle in a haystack! The fact that Cruisin’ is even available for viewing is something we should be grateful for; it’s far from perfect, but can you imagine performances from stars of this caliber being lost forever? Thanks to BijouWorld, who hunt things down like this film, we are able to revisit movies like this one that could have easily fallen along the wayside. While not a perfect movie, there are some scenes of greatness inside it. The bottom line is this movie did make history for several reasons I explained above, and thank goodness Bijou is here to protect and honor our history so we can all see the movie that even the Mitchell Brothers themselves wanted released.

Find Cruisin' the Castro on DVD and Streaming through Bijou and watch Josh Eliot's newly edited Cruisin' the Castro trailer and Screenplay trailer!

Josh Eliot and Will Seagers' DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO series of blogs:
The Castro Theatre (Josh Eliot)
The Badlands (Will Seagers)
The Midnight Sun (Josh Eliot)
Moby Dick Bar (Will Seagers)
Just Another Stroll Down the Castro! (Will Seagers)

 

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002.
 

 

You can read Josh Eliot's previous blogs for Bijou here:

Coming Out of my WET SHORTS | FRANK ROSS, The Boss | Our CALIGULA Moment | That BUTTHOLE Just Winked at Me! | DREAMLAND: The Other Place | A Salty Fuck in Saugatuck | Somebody, Call a FLUFFER! | The Late Great JOHN TRAVIS, My POWERTOOL Mentor | (Un)Easy Riders | 7 Years with Colt Model MARK RUTTER | Super NOVA | Whatever Happened to NEELY O’HARA? | Is That AL PARKER In Your Photo? | DOWN BY LAW: My $1,000,000 Mistake | We Waited 8hrs for a Cum Shot... Is That a World Record? | Don't Wear "Short Shorts" on the #38 Geary to LANDS END | How Straight Are You Really? | BEHIND THE (not so) GREEN DOOR | The BOOM BOOM Room | CATCHING UP with Tom DeSimone | Everybody’s FREE to FEEL GOOD | SCANDAL at the Coral Sands Motel | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Castro Theatre | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Midnight Sun | RSVP: 2 Weeks Working on a Gay Cruise Ship | VOYAGER of the Damned | I'M NOT A LESBIAN DIRECTOR | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: THE FOLSOM STREET FAIR | Diving into SoMa/Folsom: A TALE OF TWO STUDS | BALL BROTH | My 1992 “Porn Set” Diary | Out of Print | There’s a Gloryhole WHERE??! | LUNCH HOUR: When the Big Boys Eat | IN and OUT and All ABOUT | UNDER the COVERs with Tom Steele | 8 Is Enough on Sunsex Blvd | Steve Rambo & Will Seagers For Breakfast | The Many Faces of Adult Film Star SHARON KANE | The ALL-MAN Magazine Interview: The Man Behind Catalina Video | Captain Psychopath | BAD BOYS SCHOOL | VAMPIRE'S GRAVE | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 1) | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 2) | Private Dick & The Young Cadets | Meet RAY HARLEY | The GOLD COAST Gold Rush Boys | Colt Model MARK RUTTER: In His Own Words | Bringing in the BIG GUNS | “WHAT THE F@CK?” Moments | You So RUSSO | Bond, SCOTT BOND | I Just Watched: KILLING ME SOFTLY | Sex in Tight Places | Calling GLORIA | DOWN FOR THE COUNT | More Than a Mouthful | When JON KING Returned to Catalina Video | Junior Meets the BEAR Patrol | A Taste for Leather and Fur | Straight to Bed | The Hills Have Bi’s | The Malibu Pool Boy: Cody Foster | New England Summer | The Making of RUNAWAYS 1989 | The Making of FULL SERVICE 1989 | Hot Buttered Cop | The Making of HARD TO BE GOOD 1990 | The Real CONJURING HOUSE | It’s Not a Crime, It’s a SCORE | I Just Watched: Steve Scott’s SCREENPLAY (1984) | Wet and Wild | 69: Discover the Secret | What Really Happened BEHIND THAT BARN DOOR! | I Just Watched AL PARKER & WILL SEAGERS in WANTED | Secret Boys Club | Jawbreaker Pt. 1 | Jawbreaker Pt. 2

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Jawbreaker Pt 2: Location, Location, Location

By Josh Eliot

[Originally published 01/17/25]

Santa Clarita Studios
By far the most expensive studio location in Catalina history was when we booked the Santa Clarita Studios, but the management there made it all possible by throwing in Sunday for free if we paid for Friday and Saturday. This helped make the cost “doable.” The Santa Clarita Studios was the real deal, catering to big Hollywood productions, most recently including: Mayans, CSI: Vegas, Your Honor and Westworld. I searched all over the valley to find a studio with a jailhouse set and told Scott Masters about it. I have no idea how he was able to secure this place for us to shoot a gay porno in, but he did.

A side note here: Scott Masters is not credited on Jawbreaker as producer, even though he was. The reason was kind of a “twat-ish” move from our GM, because of his dislike for Masters. Masters and John Travis parted ways with the company midway through the production, so I took over the producing duties to complete the movie. The right thing to do was to credit Scott Masters and myself as co-producers, but our GM wouldn’t have it. When I re-cut the full feature PG version of Jawbreaker for my YouTube channel (here’s the link), I added Scott Master’s name back into the opening credits, like it should have been all along.

The studio was massive and featured several sound stages, with some having pre-built sets. There was a courtroom set, jailhouse set, sheriff’s station and even a 1950’s-style diner. I wasn’t about to let any of them go to waste, so I wrote dialogue for all of them. We started in the jailhouse set with models Chris Champion, Alex Stone, Bo Summers and Jeff Mitchell. The sheriff (Mitchell) and his deputy (Champion) end up in a fourway with Stone and Summers inside the jail cell. It starts with Champion shoving his ginormous cock through the bars, which Summers and Stone work on like two hungry junkyard dogs. We took our time and covered the oral extensively and then set up for everyone’s cum shot. After that, we set up in the sheriff’s office to shoot all of the dialogue associated with the scene. The next day, we started with Chris Champion’s box cover photo shoot and then went into the anal part of the fourway scene, which went very smoothly and ended up being a scorcher!

Our day wasn’t over, however, because three more models arrived to shoot the oral portion of their scene. The three models playing FBI agents were Anthony Gallo, Mark West and Sean Diamond. The hallway outside the sheriff’s office had a faux elevator that the boys walked out of and into a hallway that led to the offices. Everything was so well thought out with these existing sets that it made them feel so real! After shooting their oral, we were cleaning up when Brad Austin found something on the desk and brought it over to me. It was a shooting script call sheet for Melrose Place, one of the biggest shows at that time, and my personal favorite. The script was for a scene with red-headed vixen Sydney Andrews, played by Laura Leighton. They shot the scene a few days earlier where Sydney was taken into custody in the very same jailhouse set, before she was tied up in a straight jacket and dragged down the hall. Being an avid Melrose Place watcher, I waited patiently for months until the show finally broadcast that scene! I’ve kept that call sheet all these years, tucked away with other meaningful memorabilia!

Chris Champion, the Melrose Place call sheet & FBI agents in the jailhouse set
Chris Champion, the Melrose Place call sheet & FBI agents in the jailhouse set

 

On Sunday, our last (and free) day, we shot the fucking for the FBI agents and then took advantage of the courthouse set (frequently seen on L.A. Law), capturing some shots of the FBI agents walking through the courthouse prior to getting to the sheriff’s offices. I might mention that Sydney and the Melrose Place team also shot some scenes in front of the judge in that very same courtroom, as well, later in the season. I wasn’t about to let the only remaining set, the 1950’s diner, go unused, so I whipped up a scene where the FBI agents go there for lunch, only to have smoke blown in their faces by the country bumpkin chain-smoking waiter, who they refer to as a “fucking hick.” That studio was awesome, and as I am checking out their website today, I see they now have a real back lot, set up to look like New York streets. If only!! I would have done anything to have been able to shoot on a back lot!
 


Malibu Canyon
Chris Champion’s other scene in the movie was with Jake Andrews. It’s the final scene of the movie where Jake, the escaped convict, shows up to deputy Chris’ cabin on a mountain top shot in Malibu. It was a multi-million dollar view, for sure, and we took advantage of shooting the entire scene outside the home with all the gorgeous mountains surrounding them. Tragically, the property succumbed to a massive wildfire a few years later.

 


Arabian Horse Ranch in Garner Valley
This is where we shot the award-winning group scene with Ty Russell, Chip Daniels, Rod Majors, Daryl Brock, and Scott Russell. A gay couple owned this amazing property near Idyllwild, CA, with a huge barn full of Arabian horses, rugged mountainous acreage and small pond. Performer of the year awards go to Rod Majors and Daryl Brock for submerging themselves into that pond to shed their prisoner uniforms, take a bath and change into stolen clothes. The pair walk up onto the ranch and smart-talk their way into jobs working on the ranch with cowpokes Chip Daniels and the (two) Russells. Chip Daniels was definitely the hungry homeboy of the group and was all over every one of them with so much vigor that it was impossible for me to fuck this scene up. Chip’s versatility allowed me to shoot some great footage of him fucking while getting fucked himself, something always difficult to pull off.

The Arabian horse ranch & jail cell scenes
The Arabian horse ranch & jail cell scenes

 

The location was just over the mountain from Palm Springs, where we stayed overnight. The following morning, we drove back over Highway 74 to get to the ranch, which was about forty-five minutes away. Our route on Highway 74 is took us on a section of road that was used in the opening scenes of the classic movie Its A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World (1963).
 


The PONDEROSA Ranch Replica
Fans of the TV show Bonanza were able to rent out a replica of the Ponderosa Ranch in Lake Elsinore, CA. We rented the property for Jawbreaker, as well as for Brad Austin’s Hung Riders 1 and 2. Brad shot extensively for Hung Riders in and outside the Ponderosa replica, but I decided to use an outlying building on the property near a faux Saloon. It was more nondescript for this project, and the perfect place for cutie pie Tony Idol to hide out from the law (Vince Rockland and Hunter Scott). This set really came alive at night, and the two-story building was perfect for us to film some amazing aerial shots of the sucking and fucking.

 


Scott Masters left the company with one scene remaining to shoot, which took place at the bounty hunters' campsite. I wish I had a fabulous shooting location to mention for that scene, but it was literally shot in someone’s back yard just up from Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood Hills. The bounty hunters were played by Dave Logan, JT Sloan and Doug Perry, who all looked very cute in their “Duck Dynasty” outfits. We shot a lot of that scene inside a tent, which was giving me flashbacks to one of the very first scenes I worked on in 1987, for the movie The Young Cadets. Cameron Leight was doing the videography while I was holding the fill-light, trying not to burn Derek Jensen or Eric Lange with it or set the tent on fire. Fourteen years later, here I was shooting this massive movie with the added pressure of having just accepted the position of producer for all of Catalina’s productions. Again, on my birthday, just like when I was hired, the GM offered me the position while I was celebrating my big day at the Gold Coast Bar in West Hollywood. I didn’t let the pressure of it all enter my mind, at least not until this movie was in the can.

The larger than life scale of Jawbreaker was something I embraced instead of allowing it to intimidate me. Walking around the locations prior to writing the script really flooded my mind with possibilities instead of the limitations normally associated with our productions. The GM even honored my wish as the new producer to include an actual pack of jawbreakers with each and every copy of the movie sold through mail order, as a promotional tool. Jawbreaker was a standout movie in my career for many reasons, and would have been a great catalyst for Chris Champion’s career. I really think, as the new producer, I could have tailored some interesting roles for him, and I’m confident that would have happened, had he not been hastily released from his contract.

The Ponderosa set, Jake with Chris Champion in Malibu & Jawbreakers promotional gift
The Ponderosa set, Jake with Chris Champion in Malibu & Jawbreakers promotional gift

 

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002.
 

 

You can read Josh Eliot's previous blogs for Bijou here:

Coming Out of my WET SHORTS | FRANK ROSS, The Boss | Our CALIGULA Moment | That BUTTHOLE Just Winked at Me! | DREAMLAND: The Other Place | A Salty Fuck in Saugatuck | Somebody, Call a FLUFFER! | The Late Great JOHN TRAVIS, My POWERTOOL Mentor | (Un)Easy Riders | 7 Years with Colt Model MARK RUTTER | Super NOVA | Whatever Happened to NEELY O’HARA? | Is That AL PARKER In Your Photo? | DOWN BY LAW: My $1,000,000 Mistake | We Waited 8hrs for a Cum Shot... Is That a World Record? | Don't Wear "Short Shorts" on the #38 Geary to LANDS END | How Straight Are You Really? | BEHIND THE (not so) GREEN DOOR | The BOOM BOOM Room | CATCHING UP with Tom DeSimone | Everybody’s FREE to FEEL GOOD | SCANDAL at the Coral Sands Motel | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Castro Theatre | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Midnight Sun | RSVP: 2 Weeks Working on a Gay Cruise Ship | VOYAGER of the Damned | I'M NOT A LESBIAN DIRECTOR | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: THE FOLSOM STREET FAIR | Diving into SoMa/Folsom: A TALE OF TWO STUDS | BALL BROTH | My 1992 “Porn Set” Diary | Out of Print | There’s a Gloryhole WHERE??! | LUNCH HOUR: When the Big Boys Eat | IN and OUT and All ABOUT | UNDER the COVERs with Tom Steele | 8 Is Enough on Sunsex Blvd | Steve Rambo & Will Seagers For Breakfast | The Many Faces of Adult Film Star SHARON KANE | The ALL-MAN Magazine Interview: The Man Behind Catalina Video | Captain Psychopath | BAD BOYS SCHOOL | VAMPIRE'S GRAVE | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 1) | The Making of CatalinaVille (PART 2) | Private Dick & The Young Cadets | Meet RAY HARLEY | The GOLD COAST Gold Rush Boys | Colt Model MARK RUTTER: In His Own Words | Bringing in the BIG GUNS | “WHAT THE F@CK?” Moments | You So RUSSO | Bond, SCOTT BOND | I Just Watched: KILLING ME SOFTLY | Sex in Tight Places | Calling GLORIA | DOWN FOR THE COUNT | More Than a Mouthful | When JON KING Returned to Catalina Video | Junior Meets the BEAR Patrol | A Taste for Leather and Fur | Straight to Bed | The Hills Have Bi’s | The Malibu Pool Boy: Cody Foster | New England Summer | The Making of RUNAWAYS 1989 | The Making of FULL SERVICE 1989 | Hot Buttered Cop | The Making of HARD TO BE GOOD 1990 | The Real CONJURING HOUSE | It’s Not a Crime, It’s a SCORE | I Just Watched: Steve Scott’s SCREENPLAY (1984) | Wet and Wild | 69: Discover the Secret | What Really Happened BEHIND THAT BARN DOOR! | I Just Watched AL PARKER & WILL SEAGERS in WANTED | Secret Boys Club | Jawbreaker Pt. 1

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"It's My Party & I'll BLOG If I Want To!"

Bijou Blog header
By Will Seagers

[Originally published 01/18/25]

Hi folks - Will here! Another strange but humorous title for a blog that doesn't quite fit my normal writing schedule. But hey... it's my birthday!

I have always been a fan of that special day of the year that each one of has. And I've always been of a mind that it should be celebrated just like any other holiday! It gives a special feel as we start yet another trip around the Sun!

Will at age 26 in a shirtless photo, holding a red rose
1977 - My 26th birthday!
 

As a kid, I was always anxious to get Christmas and New Years out of the way so we could get to "my day!" I remember my parents would invite the neighborhood kids in for ice cream and birthday cake for several of my childhood birthdays. What great fun! (And, some bellyaches!)

Some of the pics in this blog serve as mile markers in my life - one of which is still my favorite picture of myself. It's one of me on my 40th birthday at my friend Jim's house in San Francisco casually leaning against his kitchen counter. The fascinating backstory to this was that Jim, with whom I had become quite close, had the exact same birthday... January 18, 1951. Some of our interests and "behaviors" were eerily similar! (Wink!)

Will at age 40, smiling and posing in a kitchen
On my 40th birthday.
 

Another of my birthday behaviors is remembering other people's birthdays. I always loved how flattered people were when I sent a card or called them on "their day." With my birth family and my chosen family of friends, I am always on the lookout so as not to miss that special occasion. It always seems to brighten that recipient's day.

Will and two friends posing with a 50th birthday cake
My 50th.
 
Will smiling behind a 65th birthday cake and birthday balloon
Age 65!
 

This year I have been a little braver, in that I have finally shown some pics that are age-accurate. On Saturday January 18th, I turn 74! At the completion of this trip around the Sun, I am starting to realize that the "aging game" is finally catching up with me. Luckily, with the genes that I have been dealt, the aging process treated me with kindness... that is... until just recently! Having played the "Dorian Gray game" for years, all of a sudden I look and feel older. But, I really can't complain. As my friend George would say... "Hey you're still vertical!" LOL.

A recent photo of Will, posing with his bird perched on his shoulder
A recent photo - me and my chum, Romeo!
 

I am happy to report that I still am in good health after all of these years. As a regular at my nearby gym, I include exercise as part of my every day ritual. Albeit no more "Schwarzenegger Workouts," I have found that keeping my body regularly and sensibly exercised has warded off a lot of muscular and skeletal issues. And, the endorphins produced by this regular exercise boost my spirits.

Will in a recent picture, posing after a workout
A fresh from the gym selfie.
 

So, I end this year's "Party" with a wish of longevity and health for all... Happy Birthday to YOU! XO, Will.

A recent photo of Will with a rainbow behind him
Another recent photo - taken today, as I approach the big 74!
 

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.

Will Seagers, recent image, holding a globe
Will Seagers, present day
  

You can read Will Seagers' previous blogs for Bijou here:

Welcome Matt/Will | What's For Dessert? | On and Off the Set of L.A. Tool & Die | Wanted, Weekend Lockup and Weekends in Hermosa Beach | Honeymoon in the Palms | Birds of a Feather | The Stereo Maven of Castro Street | The Pass Around Boy | The Ecstasy and the Agony | Fitness and Fantasy | Chasing the Boys and Chasing the Sun | Becoming Invisible | The Reverse Story of Dorian Gray | Pin Money | One Organ Leads to Another! | The Wheels of Steel | Feast and Famine | An Alphabet Soup of Powders and Pills | Merry Christmas (and Getting Re-Organized) | Now and Then | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Badlands | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: Moby Dick Bar | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: "Just Another Stroll Down the Castro!" | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Hamburger Mary's | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Long Live the Stud! | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Club Life..."Hit me with your Rhythm Stick!” | A "Split Ticket": SoMa/Folsom and The Haight! | Staying Vanilla in a Flavorful Culture | A Little Secret | Recollections of the 1977 S.F. Gay Pride Parade | Life's a Beach | Flora & Fauna | Once Is Just Not Enough! | A Love of Cultures – A Knack for Languages! | For the Birds | It's About Time! | The Perfect Storm | Hello Chicago/Adieu Fire Island Pines! | Sex in the Woods! | My Life at the Gym | The Last Picture Show | Cumming Attractions! | The Peter Pan Syndrome | Valentine's Day Reflections | The “Idus Martias” and a Peacock! | Taxing I.M.H.O. | Nope...This Sure Ain't Kansas! | The French Connection | Water Baby | Pride: You Wear It Well! | Life Goes On... | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 1 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 2 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 3 | The Other Side of the Booth | A Christmas Haiku

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