BijouBlog

By M. Webster

This photo from Arch Brown's 1973 production The Night Before captures a seemingly ordinary convergence on a film set. But the collection of individuals present together in the frame illustrates the intimate, intertwined, collaborative community who helped develop, then redefine East Coast gay porn film/video during the industry's first two decades. Captured during the second year of operation of influential studio Hand in Hand Films, this image depicts the initial connection point of three individuals whose mutually influential careers would continue crossing and joining paths, culminating years later at one of their own studios: legendary fetish video artist Christopher Rage, groundbreaking ultra-early gay porn filmmaker Arch Brown, and man of many hats of the classic gay porn world Frank Ross. The lineage they and their many other collaborators represent spans multiple critical periods and changes, which are reflected in their work: the beginning of the hardcore porn film industry, the socio-political shift from early LGBTQ liberation days to the AIDS crisis, and the technological shift from theatrically distributed film to home video.

Arch Brown was "one of the first above-ground underground filmmakers" according to Christopher Rage (aka Tray Christopher). His erotic filmmaking predated the birth of the hardcore porn film industry; he directed loops for venues like the Eros Theatre starting around 1968, before the shift to hardcore had truly (openly) begun. His movies stood out from the start because of their technical polish and inventiveness. He maintained a playful and trippy style throughout his porn film career, with a penchant for depicting everyday NYC encounters: average guys strolling and cruising on the streets and sites of New York, bumping into their next erotic adventure. 

As Rage described in one of his final interviews, he met Arch after hooking up with a guy who had starred in one of Arch's movies. At a cast screening, Rage (at the time working as an escort and erotic novelist) asked Arch about the logistics of making porn films ("I'm a natural producer type.") and was offered a role in Arch's next production, which he accepted. This was One and Two and... (aka Fantasy Island, circa 1972), Rage's entry into the motion picture porn world. Rage was mentored in filmmaking by Arch during this period of the emerging commercial scene, working with him on set on future productions. He studied his highly efficient, low-waste style: “I would shoot 5:1… I learned how to put together a movie fast."

It was through Arch that Rage met Jack Deveau and Bob Alvarez at Hand in Hand Films, one of the most important early NYC gay porn studios, whose experimental and narrative releases were particularly grand in scope for the ‘70s gay porn world. Arch’s only picture with Hand in Hand, The Night Before, was about to begin production, and Rage wound up choreographing a fantasy dance number for the film (pictured at the top). Jack and Rage hit it off immediately, becoming close friends. This also marked the start of Rage's long working relationship with the studio. He continued to do promotion for Hand in Hand, wrote copy for many of their ads, recorded voice-overs for several films, and - most substantially - co-wrote and starred in the studio's most ambitious project, 1974's Drive, playing, in drag, the lead character/anti-hero, Arachne.

The Night Before also served as Frank Ross’ debut working in adult cinema. Cast for his one and only performing role as one of the leads (credited as Michael Kade), this film was a broad connecting point for Ross, introducing him to both Brown and Rage, as well as to Hand in Hand. He became studio's still photographer and production assistant for most of their remaining movies (probably having taken a number of the photos in this blog and elsewhere on our site!). Ross described Hand in Hand as an excellent school for filmmaking: "Jack was a willing teacher if he thought you had a passion for filmmaking, and it was under his tutelage that I learned so much about the craft of filmmaking. Nobody on the crew had any one specific job. We all wore many hats, from general assistants to lighting, propping, set decoration, sound recording, and slating scenes. It was an excellent school for learning filmmaking from its ground up.” Ross also introduced the studio to his composer friend, David Earnest, who would go on to score many Hand in Hand productions; Earnest would also do soundtrack work well beyond with Arch Brown, further into Arch's career...

This early cinematic era of the 1970s captured the exuberance of the sexual liberation and LGBTQ liberation movements: freewheeling sexuality, cruising, and public landmarks of sex and gathering. Hand in Hand's output illustrates several threads common of East Coast work of the period: experimental film and theater roots, narrative emphasis and clever scripting, heavy focus on public/communal settings, rougher and more mature men than typical of the West Coast porn scene, and interest in the psychological dimensions of sexuality, rarely shying away from emotional complexity or kinky sexual material. This early period was one of experimentation, exploring the possibilities of the genre before its conventions crystalized. What could cinematic sex look like and be? And as Ross noted, the scenes on each coast , at that time, were distinct and tight-knit. "The New York gay porn community was very small and very loyal to each other,” with many points of overlap between the various studios, makers, and cast and crew members.

The technological rupture of the affordable home video camera fundamentally altered porn movie-making and the distribution model. In 1980, Rage borrowed an early video camera, and by 1981, he had debuted his first productions, Superstars 1 and Solojerk. Initially unsuccessful, he edited them together, the same year, into The Best of the Superstars for distribution via Joe Gage’s Gagetapes line with HIS Video. Best of… sold well and provided the funds for Rage to make further work, as well as to found his mail order business and production studio, Live Video Inc., making him one of the forerunners in the shot-on-video market. This quicker, cheaper format allowed for niche productions that the costly film theatrical model could not support, enabling Rage to exclusively self-distribute his more intense, transgressive, and fetishistic movies (including S/M, fisting, and watersports focuses) for a smaller, dedicated market.

The aesthetic Rage developed moved away from the cinematic tradition of Hand in Hand and '70s films and to a style very in sync with early video art: raw, gritty, intimate, and confessional. Shoots were simple and unpremeditated, often consisting only of Rage and the performer(s), plus maybe an assistant or two, and letting whatever the cast wanted to display reveal itself to the camera. The focus moved from public spaces and the gay community at large to private and interior. Rage summoned the subterranean desires and primal sexual compulsions of his performers, displaying them to the home viewer in candid direct address, disorienting montage, unusual and extreme bodily acts, and uneasy juxtaposition of image and sound (all was set to his own original musical compositions and haunting, layered soundscapes). Rage's darker, obsessive tone had been there from the start (clear in his Hand in Hand work on Drive), but deepened in his directorial pieces, driven by his need to make honest, personal, and provocative work. “I was always up to something. I wanted to corrupt society one way or another by saying, "Try this... Look at this... Did you ever consider this?... C'mon, don’t you want to see this... Aren't you amazed that people do this?... Maybe you don't want to do it yourself, but wouldn't you like to see it?”

Frank Ross, through the '70s onward, maintained a remarkably broad and sustained presence in the NYC gay porn sphere (also extending for a period into the West Coast) throughout his extremely lengthy career, moving beyond his work for Hand in Hand to serve in countless roles with a wide array of affiliates and studios. Ross seemingly worked with just about everybody in some capacity. If one were to map out the network of figures in vintage gay porn, Ross is certainly one of the nodes with the greatest number of connections; his list of associates is too vast to fully enumerate (encompassing figures including Steve Scott, Al Parker, Jack Wrangler, Toby Ross, and our own blog writer, Josh Eliot, to name just a few). 

The late '70s through the '80s saw a dense matrix of overlap among the trio and other key players. Rage's only shot-on-film directorial work, 1982's Sleaze, featured photography and editing by Arch Brown. This was one of Rage's handful of movies to be distributed by P.M. Productions, another prolific NYC studio in the '70s/'80s. P.M. also released a large number of Arch's films (including Pier Groups, Harley's Angels, Dynamite, Muscle Bound) - often with soundtracks by David Earnest, and occasionally with Rage's name popping up as photographer/editor. Ross directed extensively for the studio Satellite during the '80s, where he worked repeatedly with iconic performer Joe Simmons; Simmons' porn career began with Chris Rage (in They All Came, 1984, for P.M. Productions) and he remained a mainstay in Rage’s Live Video Inc productions. Arch and Rage collaborated frequently under the Live Video Inc. banner, with Arch doing additional photography for Rage's Wildside (1984), Tramps (1985), and more. J.D. Slater, another of Rage's most frequent stars, appeared in Brown's lone directorial piece for LVI, Rough Idea (1985), as well as in a second 1985 movie for Spike Video, Bring Your Own Man (stacked with a cast of Rage regulars). For both movies, David Earnest did music and Christopher Rage served in various behind the scenes roles. (A further extension: Hand in Hand's final film, the 1985's In Heat, features a performance by Slater.)

The AIDS crisis brought a new, heavier resonance to Rage’s work, which was always an emotionally honest reflection of what was going on in his life and mind - especially following his own 1987 HIV diagnosis. After learning this news and a taking short break from filmmaking, Rage returned but was having difficulty completing his movies. He brought his friend Frank Ross on board to help him finish his 1989 production Three Little Pigs. Ross: “I was to be assistant director, but was there were more for emotional support. Tray [Chris] wasn't feeling strong enough to get the project done and needed a collaborator.” From then onward, Ross’ presence at LVI increased in importance. The two worked together on a few more pieces as Rage’s health declined, and Rage asked Ross to begin directing for LVI, which he did beginning with Scum, released the same year as Rage’s death: 1991.

Ross remained with Live Video Inc. after Rage's passing, directing more videos through them and becoming the studio’s vice-president for a period of time. After eventually leaving LVI, Ross founded his own studio, 3rd World Video, which operated from the mid/late ‘90s to 2020 (Ross passed away in 2021). Ross credits Rage with introducing him to transgressive, boundary-pushing fetish and S/M material, and Ross brought this to 3rd World Video, an explicit extension of the LVI ethos. Ross: “I tried to continue the legacy of Christopher Rage, who always attempted to break barriers sexually and bring to the screen the reality and popularity of extreme fetishes which no one else would consider or produce... I happily became a porn pariah and enjoyed shocking the world in any way I could.” 

The sustained connection between Brown, Rage, and Ross is one example of a powerful lineage of the kind you’ll find when sifting through the credits and histories of classic porn. Compared to today, the amount of people working in the industry in its initial decades was tiny, so the overlapping and interconnectedness was more apparent. Tracing this one thread: Brown was a foundational figure from the start of the industry and mentored Rage; Ross met Brown and Rage at Hand in Hand where Rage and Ross continued to learn their craft; their three careers intersected again over the years in various places and ways, and with other repeat collaborators; Rage established his own influential studio, where he worked with Brown and Ross; and Ross continued sustained Rage's studio after Rage's death, then continued that legacy at his own studio until just a few years ago. 

Bijou just remastered and re-released Christopher Rage's Tramps, which you can now find on DVD and Streaming! And keep an eye out in future months for Arch Brown's Rough Idea and other Live Video Inc. productions.

Sources:

-Manshots, April 1991 (Interview with Christopher Rage)

-Good Hot Stuff: The Life and Times of Gay Film Pioneer Jack Deveau (Interview with Frank Ross)

-Gay Erotic Video Index (filmographies; vintage ads)

By M. Webster

Looking through our archive the other day, I came across some treasures - photocopies of collaged pages full of newspaper clippings, photos, flyers, event invitations, interviews, articles write-ups, and more presumably from the personal files of visual artist, gay porn director, and NY Jacks member/resident artist, Michael Goodwin.

These materials include:

-Invitations to art shows, Jacks events, and a Goodjac event at NYC nightclub The Saint

-A 'thank you' note from 1986 Pride march organizers Heritage of Pride

-An announcement of an Independent Filmmaker of 1988 award that Goodwin received 

-Reviews of Goodwin's movies 

-An entry pass from his appearance on the Gay Cable Network's Men & Films TV show (which also profiled Rod Phillips, Casey Donovan and Daniel Holt, as seen in our recent re-release) 

-Interviews with Goodwin, as well as interviews he conducted, via Stallion magazine, with Joe Gage, Wakefield Poole, Tom of Finland, playwright Robert Chesley, and others

-Letters to Goodwin from fellow legendary gay porn directors Christopher Rage and Joe Gage 

Relevant to multiple upcoming Bijou Video releases (hint!) are the notes to Goodwin from Rage and Gage - a cool peek at correspondence between some of the figures behind major works of the early years of gay porn filmmaking and their respect for each other's work. The output of Goodwin and Rage - while of entirely different natures emotionally and tonally - has clear connection as some of the most artistically innovative and experimental 1980s gay porn.

Text of Rage's note (November 9, 1983): "Dear Michael, I wanted to make sure you know how much I appreciated my visit with you - most especially the drawings you gave me. Of course, it's always nice to hear compliments about one's work... but to hear them from someone who is so talented is extraordinarily welcome. I trust you will be able to make it back to the city at the beginning of the year and that we'll be able to spend some time together then. As I mentioned, if there's anyone I can help put you in touch with, please let me know. Again, thank you for the samples of your work. They are inspiring. Best wishes, Tray Christopher Rage"

Text of Gage's note (circa 1982): "Michael, many thanks for the prints - they are beautiful. The shooting went well - I made two films back-to-back: 'Closed Set II' on video and a film called '501.' As you can imagine, I'm up to my ass editing all this, and will be for a while. It all looks good. See you this winter. Cheers! Joe"

Also tucked into the files is this bio of Goodwin (text below): 

"Michael is the resident artist of the New York Jacks and is planning to tour his tapes throughout the U.S. visiting Jacks organizations and  doing fund raising J.O. benefits for various AIDS research groups. Eventually he plans to visit the newly founded Jacks groups throughout Europe, starting with the Amsterdam Jacks. Goodjac feels in this time of confused sexuality and  the lack of spirituality and  sensualness in our lives that his efforts are necessary and  will go unwasted in helping to re-unite our beliefs in ourselves and  one another. 'There is an important message in my tapes,' he says. 'Besides, it gives me a great thrill to know I have planted some new seeds of imagination and  brotherhood within my viewers.'"

Bijou currently carries Goodwin's The Goodjac Chronicles (1986), Goodjac Too (1987), and Crazy Horny Nutz (1988) from on DVD and Streaming - and stay tuned for Goodjac 4: Hot Sunday - coming over the next few months! 

By Will Seagers

[Originally published 12/25/24]

With all that's going on in the world, here is my heartfelt haiku and a wish for peace for all of you. This is not the time for us to stop our forward progress. We must continue with resolve. I am here to cheer us all on. Happy Holidays! XO

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 photo

By Will Seagers

Hi folks. Will here! And, in the spirit of the season, this week's "Booth Adventure" deals with the brightly colored and festive lights of club life and the party scene. I thought I was done with my "Booth Memories." But, they wouldn't be complete without recalling some of my "light-man escapades!"

My attraction to lighting in general started at a very early age... we're talking three or four years old! My mom used to tell me tales of when she and my father would take me on nighttime outings with them in the car. "See-da-light, see-da-light" were some of the very first words out of my young mouth! They were accompanied by my excitement and pointing, as well. Truth was, I do remember looking at intensely colored lights, such as those red lights atop radio towers and their blue counterparts. Knowing they were coming, I sat prepared to stare at some of these travel markers whose locations I memorized from regular trips that we made to visit relatives and the like. I remember being transfixed by my friends, the deep cobalt blue lights - which would appear later in my life.

Fast forward a decade and a half to my late teens and my experimenting with smoking pot. I wasn't that fond of smoking. But, I did like that the experience lent itself to color appreciation! Also at that late teen stage were a few dablings with the more potent LSD. Once again, not so much a heavy hitter with the frequency of use, but those times I tried it were very visual - particularly in the world of colors!

Moving further down the timeline, I was a young gay man who frequented New York's dance bars and party halls. Lighting was just starting to be taken as a serious accompaniment to the pulsing music of the day. Luckily, I happened upon some of New York City's most tasteful gay private clubs. I took mental notes on the lighting and what I had experienced. It wasn't so much the animation of the lighting - but, the sophisticated palette of hues that I was seeing.

I also noticed from better lighting technicians that I had the ability to "see what I was hearing!" The changes in light both in the instruments and the colors seemed to transition perfectly with the music. Something inside me told me I wanted to do this myself at some point in the future.

That came in my middle twenties when I moved to San Francisco. From the moment I arrived in town, I was enthralled with the ability to take on new projects and be successful at them. Although I had never attempted it before, the time was ripe for me to become a light-man!

I am right now searching through fifty years of "memory fog" to place where and when my first lighting gig was. But it is to no avail. Suffice it to say, I remember playing at some pretty big San Francisco clubs and discos like the Music Hall, Trocadero Transfer and Dreamland on established lighting systems. Not being of my own design, I quickly got bored and moved onto designing lights. It was at private parties-at-large where I got to assemble the gear and gels myself. I also thought it was very important to play up the architecture of a room as well as the dance floor.

Once again, my friend and mentor Bruce Trondson (primarily my audio engineer) welcomed me to ply my talents and imagination at a couple of rather large San Francisco party venues such as at the Long Shoreman's Hall and at The Peoples Temple (YES, of Jim Jones fame!). I was also summoned by Bruce to do the lights for the original party at the Russian River resort, "The Woods!" My design was kept in tack for future use when it transitioned into a permanent club! Both in town and at the River, I designed the lights and did all of the labor-intensive setup. This included cabling, setting up lighting instruments and other special effects and, finally, placing the color gels. Bruce was my godsend in that he could always figure out how to connect the scrimmers (lighting control boards) to power supplies of the various buildings. I was scared to do that (LOL).

 

Last but not least were the crowning events that I lit at San Francisco's Kabuki Theater. Rod Roderick, a famed S.F. showman and entrepreneur, was the MC of the whole affair. He invited me to work as operator and co-designer with John Tadesco of Industrial Light and Magic (yes, that arm of the Lucas film group!).

I was invited several times to Mr. Tadesco's private warehouse. There, I let my imagination go into full gear as we assembled some of the most impressive gear ever to be flown from the ceiling of that great Kabuki Theater.

With the glorious music of Frank Corr filling the Kabuki Theater, I instinctively followed him with my version of synesthesia (seeing what you are hearing). It was during the popular Gino Soccio tune "Oh What a Night" that I pulled out all of the stops and set off on a trail of my own. I had left some "tempo lighting" still engaged so as not to disrupt the energy of the dance floor. But, with defiant glee, I fired up eight emergency halide cans (the size of garbage cans!). These were a type of utility lamp most frequently used in parking lots! I had these gelled with Dark Urban Blue - a very deep cobalt shade (that color that was burned into my childhood memory). They took almost five minutes to come to full intensity. During the build-up time, the whole theater was turned so blue that you could almost taste it. At the peak of the aforementioned song, I shot teal-colored pin spots through this room of blue and then killed the massive blue lights, leaving just the pin spots. The crowd went nuts!!!! Soon, there was a line to my lighting booth with "thank you party favors."

That was a moment I will never forget. And like L.A. Tool & Die in my movies, the Kabuki Theater was the pinnacle in my lighting game, and I moved on from both shortly afterwards.

So, later in life when my mom used to tease me about "See-da-light, See-da-light," I would just nod and grin! If she only knew what came of that! From the folks at Bijou and myself, we wish you safe and happy holidays! XO!

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 photo

By Will Seagers

Hi folks! Will here! With a title like that, you know I'm headed for uncharted territories... but parts well known! Tee hee hee!

For the most part, I have left a lot of my own personal sexual life out of these blogs. BUTT, there is a time and a place for everything. This last installment has to do with my meeting, having a torrid summer affair with and ultimately working for a lovely gentleman and friend named Michael.

The year was 1978. It was the third and final year of my working at The Boatel in the Pines, Fire Island. I started early in the season. I had to get the pool and accompanying bar and deck in order as I was the lifeguard, bartender and food server. I shouldn't leave out the "new poolside gym" that I created under one of the tents in my domain. John Whyte, the owner and my boss just left me a pile of weights and dumbbells and said, "See what you can do with this!"

Although my days were filled with activity, I always had a nice workout followed by a swim. I think it was the best shape that I was ever in. Of course, after dinner and a "disco nap," I would head back down to the marina to The Sandpiper for drinks and the great music of Robbie Leslie.

It was here one night that I caught my first glimpse of Michael. He was working in the Sandpiper Restaurant as a waiter for the summer. We locked gazes and drifted toward each other on that lovely hardwood dance floor. With his being medium in height and stature, I wrapped myself around him, literally having sex on the dance floor. I, being taller, got to see his full head of beautiful sandy blond hair that was streaked with lighter shades due to his afternoons at the beach. His body was firm and muscular. Butt, butt, butt I don't remember ever seeing a more appealing ass. Now, mind you, this was at the bar with our clothes on!

After drinks and dancing, we literally fled to his place to shed our clothes and get down to business. I was pleased that amid all of this heat and passion he managed to remain a gentleman. He sort of cooled my jets and made me slow down so we could enjoy all of the passion of foreplay. At one point, I was actually trembling with anticipation. Then the clothes were shed!

My imagination was not good enough to compete with just how beautiful he was - especially his butt! I poured myself all over him, stopping to lick and playfully bite that ass. One of the things that I found extraordinarily sexy about his butt was a fairly large scar squarely in the middle of his right cheek. It was like a birth or beauty mark. I was not bothered by the scar in the least. It was his trademark!

All of this took place right after Memorial Day. So, the season was young. Although we didn't really have a formal relationship, we sure did become regular fuck buddies. Throughout the rest of the summer, we enjoyed many encounters. In late August when he was getting ready to leave, we had the heartbreak of not knowing whether we would meet again. Like I said, it had been a casual and comfortable affair. But, that would not be the last I would see of Michael.

That fall, I came back to San Francisco to start up the other part of my bi-coastal life. It was a wonderful life that I could hardly believe I was living! This time, I found out that I was not the only one to leave the Pines and come to San Francisco. In October, I received a party invitation from none other than Michael! I was really surprised, and pleasantly so. He had never mentioned to me that he was headed west after the season on The Island.

The party was an outdoor event held in his backyard in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood just below The Castro. It was a great gathering with a live DJ, dancing, food and drinks! It turned out that the DJ was Vincent Carleo, a good friend who originally came from NYC to SF to open Trocadero Transfer. Michael was with a new beau, so we couldn't pick up where we left off! (Wink, wink.)

It was at this party that Michael told me his intentions to open a new and major dance club. He soon found out that I was well connected with the party scene in S.F. We frequently gathered at my tiny apartment on 10th St. near Mission to have meetings and bring investors into the picture. It didn't take many people to fill my living room. But, that's where we gathered. My mirror-topped coffee table was where the blueprints were laid out (as well as many lines of "party favors!").

Dreamland was the name of the project. And, it came together very quickly once sufficient funds were acquired. It was a unique showplace, all white with arches and walkways that reminded me of an Italian piazza. It opened to great acclaim and fanfare. I remember the very first night and the very first tune: "The Land of Make Believe" by Chuck Mangione. The huge five-foot mirror ball was resting in a static position right in the middle of the dance floor. Although I was hired to be a light man, my first night was as an usher to protect the mirror ball from overzealous attendees. As the music started, so did the mirror ball, slowly starting to spin and then rising to the lofty two-story height of the ceiling. The lighting and music were fantastic and the crowd reveled!

The next night, I worked the lights. It was a whole weekend extravaganza! The club was a success. It should be mentioned that it was one of only a handful of Graebar Sound Systems... one of two on the West Coast. The others were at clubs like 12 West and, of course, The Blue Whale (Boatel) on Fire Island.

I did finally make my transition from light man to DJ at Dreamland with the help of its owner, Michael. My friend Roy, the main light man, had given Michael several cassettes of my recent music. I had a business where I made tapes for individuals, bars and restaurants. Michael thrilled me with the request of playing Easter Sunday Tea Dance 1980!

Although I had played several at large parties like the gym opening I mentioned in chapter two of this series, I had never played a huge dance floor like Dreamland. For over two weeks, I had assembled my very favorite tunes and ones that I thought the crowd would like. Regardless of practice, I was still a nervous wreck. Then, the fun began! There was a huge line to the booth to give me "party favors" to help me over my "nerves!" LOL. One friend slipped me a rather large green football-shaped capsule (a Placidyl)... and, that's all I remembered. The crowd yelled and screamed with joy over my selections (and my terrible mixing!). The mixing didn't seem to matter much to the crowd, as I was slamming them with hard hitting dance anthems! After the dust had settled, I was hired for tea dances. It was a helluva place for a debut! But, I guess the stars were in my favor!

From there, I moved to play in the Castro district - first at the Phoenix, then at The Badlands and finally at Moby Dick Bar. I loved those six years. I could hardly call it work - having a great time with exceptional people at the crossroads of the Gay World! So, in keeping with the season, I give "thanks" for the wonderful adventure that I call my life!

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 photo