BijouBlog

By M. Webster

Today, we're flashing back to the late '70s/early '80s for a peek at a much earlier time for Bijou. This was within the era when porn features were still at their cinematic height, playing in theaters in major cities across the U.S. In Chicago, the Bijou Theater & Sex Club (which later expanded into Bijou Video), projected many of the great gay porn classics of the time on its screen. The Bijou Theater was in operation from the earliest days of the hardcore film industry, opening in 1970, until its closing in September of 2015, making it the longest-running gay adult theater in the country. It screened countless movies, keeping the classics in frequent rotation up through its final day in operation.

At Bijou, we have an archive of vintage gay newspapers, including larger publications and smaller regional papers, particularly with a large stash of gay papers local to our home base, Chicago. A number of years ago, we scanned in a stack of vintage issues of Chicago gay newspaper GayLife, where the Bijou Theater frequently ran advertisements for the movies playing, improvements to the theater, live performances by big stars (including Peter Berlin, Richard Locke, Casey Donovan [more on his stage appearances here!], and Lee Ryder), video sales (by the later point of the VHS/Beta home video era), and more.

An August 31, 1979 GayLife interview with Steven Toushin, owner of Bijou Video and the Bijou Theater, gives some insight into the business at the time. Here, journalist Dennis Kouba asks Steven a few questions about the Bijou (before reviewing Tom DeSimone's The Idol, a 1979 Hand in Hand Films classic, which had recently opened at the theater, recommended to the writer as being one of “the best [films] in the genre,” a reputation which it still deservedly holds.)

Following are some excerpts from the interview.

"Mr. Toushin proved to be a relaxed and informative gentleman. Originally from New York, he has been active in Chicago's gay business community for several years, owning and managing several establishments... Mr. Toushin is an admitted film buff, seeing at least two films a week. He is well-versed in the film business and appears to be using his knowledge to provide quality entertainment for the gay community.”

GayLife: Why do you play films for only one week?

Toushin: We cannot afford to play a film for more than one week. We die if we play a film two weeks in a row. Frequently, if a film is popular, we will bring it back for a return engagement. Quite a few of our regular customers actually come to the theater weekly to see the films, and they complain if we play the same film more than one week.

GayLife: Where do you advertise?

Toushin: The Chicago Tribune, Gay Chicago, and GayLife. Actually, we have found that the Chicago Tribune attracts the biggest audience. We discovered that advertising in the Chicago Sun-Times did not bring in more patrons.

GayLife: Do you have have difficulty obtaining new films to exhibit at the Bijou?

Toushin: It is difficult to book good new films every week since the gay film market is limited and supply is scarce. We find it easier to book films from New York, especially from Hand in Hand. [Bijou now owns and distributes the Hand in Hand catalog on DVD/Streaming.] It is much more difficult to book films from California since the suppliers do not understand our situation in Chicago and present us with stiff, unrealistic terms. We simply can't afford to book films for several weeks and certainly not at the terms they constantly demand.

GayLife: What is the average cost of a gay film?

Toushin: Twelve to fifteen thousand dollars. The most expensive film to date was Dune Buddies [a Hand in Hand film directed by studio co-founder Jack Deveau, released in 1978], which ran $30,000. That's too much, since the market is limited.

GayLife: Do you have any future plans for the theater?

Toushin: Yes, next spring we plan to elaborate on the Bijou garden, giving it more of a legitimate garden atmosphere. Beyond that, I'm considering bringing in a video viewer so patrons have a choice of two films.

GayLife: Have you ever considered exhibiting any major commercial film?

Toushin: Yes. Immediately after viewing La Cage Aux Folles (Birds of a Feather) [a 1978 French film from director Édouard Molinaro, adapted into the 1996 Robin Williams/Nathan Lane movie The Birdcage], I contacted the studio – United Artists. I asked about the possibility of running it as a midnight show on weekends. At this point, I have received no answer. Other theater exhibitors in Chicago are considering the same.

GayLife: How seriously do you take the interests and demands of your clientele?

Toushin: I feel there is a legitimate need for a theater of this kind. I have a responsibility to our public to keep the theater clean, comfortable, and attractive. I take my responsibility to the gay community seriously.

The Bijou Theater did indeed wind up playing La Cage Aux Folles, a popular mainstream film of the era with a story focused on gay men, for an extended run the following year (1980). Numerous full-spread ads Bijou placed in issues of GayLife that year feature the French film in the mix with its typical fare of gay porn features. Particularly since the work of Hand in Hand was markedly highlighted during the late '70s/early '80s era at the Bijou, the cinematic, artistic, and narrative quality of gay porn films in rotation at the theater was of a high caliber and would have blended well with this addition of a piece of non-pornographic cinema.

In our scans, we have a couple of GayLife articles and letters to the editor praising the Bijou's decision to feature La Cage Aux Folles on the theater's screen.

GayLife, August 22, 1980 letter to the editor:

“I wish to compliment Steven Toushin, the owner of the Bijou Theater, for making an evening at his establishment enjoyable. Usually, a trip to the Bijou is serious business: serious porno viewing and serious cruising. But last weekend, at midnight, Steve scheduled a screening of La Cage Aux Folles, the Italian/French comedy that has been such a hit the last year or so. For the first time in my memory, the theater was jammed with people having a good time. People were actually watching the movie and enjoying it. People were laughing, smiling, and talking to each other at the end of the film. And best of all, there were all types of people, including people who would never have been seen at the Bijou before. I am told that the Bijou will lose money with each midnight show of La Cage, but I'm sure they'll more than make up for it in good will.”

As mentioned in the 1979 interview with Steven Toushin, Bijou's garden did see improvements by the following year, which is also spotlit in Bijou Theater advertisements of 1980.

Bijou maintained this mixing of various types of movies and materials of gay interest in the late '80s and 1990s through its mail order catalog, the most comprehensive gay porn print catalog of the time. In addition to an extensive listing of available gay porn films on VHS/Beta, the catalog expanded to feature an array of other types of video tapes, including LGBTQ documentaries, documentation of LGBTQ events and competitions (such as Mr. Drummer, International Mr. Leather, the Gay Games), sex educational videos, lesbian porn (particularly a large selection from important early lesbian porn studio Fatale Films), and a number of non-pornographic films of interest to an LGBTQ audience, from those popular in gay culture (George Cukor's 1939 film The Women) to LGBTQ underground, arthouse, and independent films (Donna Deitch's 1985 lesbian classic Desert Hearts, John Waters' 1972 Pink Flamingos, and more).

This spotlight on the Bijou Theater's original publishing date coincided with our 2024 re-release of the classic 1994 Bijou Video production Fulton Street from director Mike Donner, unavailable for decades, and now newly restored and re-released on DVD and Streaming! This narrative gay porn feature was set and shot in Chicago. Its complex storyline thoughtfully incorporates weighty thematic material, romance, and character development - and, of particular interest here, its Chicago locales include an extended cruising/sex sequence filmed in the Bijou Theater, itself!

This Fulton Street scene shows action in a couple of spots in the theater that those who have visited are likely to recognize: the lobby where VHS/Beta sales and, later, DVD sales took place (catch glimpses of tons of box covers of Bijou classics, many of which we still carry) and in the maze of interconnected gloryhole booths on the second floor. (Only fellow Bijou Video production A Winter's Tail, an intense 1984 S/M video from Dave Nesor, also illustrates the Bijou Theater's interior.)

Catch Bijou's Fulton Street, plus peek at the mini-documentary on the Bijou Theater page of our website and these tales of events at the Bijou Theater over the decades for more flashbacks!

By Will Seagers

Hi Folks, Will Here! In the spirit of "The Good Old Summertime," today's blog is about my life's encounters with the great and not so great bodies of water around the globe.

Born right at the edge of two signs, Capricorn (the sea goat) and Aquarius (the water bearer), I have had a life-long affinity to water. Until recently, I have had the privilege of living near an ocean, bay, lake or pond. There has always been a feeling of connection with these various bodies of water. From childhood till about twenty-five years ago, I was always within a short walk or drive to these "spiritual retreats." For the last twenty-five years, I have been surrounded by an inland ocean, so to speak - the Great American Southwest Desert!

Recounting the early years, my father was kind enough to take my brothers, sisters and myself to the "Shore" or to various man-made lakes in the northern part of my home state, New Jersey. The shore visits were always memorable because lots of our extended family lived along the coast. They were like mini family reunions. With that, a host of my aunts and uncles had us under their close watch and "policed" our activities in the water. Good thing, too, as riptides and turbulence were common occurrences. Although the beaches were always staffed with lifeguards, you could never have too many eyes on the kids in the water.

Next stop, the lakes. Another set of memories came from my father taking us kids up to "the lakes." These were in the northern counties of N.J. and usually fed by a nearby natural spring. I loved the lakes because the water was fresh and potable, unlike the brine of the ocean. But, here is where I had my first brush with mortality. I was about seven or eight and still didn't know how to swim. Normally, this would not be a problem, as I seldom ventured beyond the water's edge. But, this one outing we brought an old inner tube with us for some floating fun. Being the oldest of my siblings, I laid claim to it and promptly started floating out to the middle of the lake. I was okay until a rather nasty looking horse fly landed on my arm. Terrified, I swatted at my arm and went ass over tea kettle out of the inner tube and into about twenty feet of water. In a panic, I sunk below the water's surface. Luckily, the lifeguard snagged me by the back of the neck and hauled me to shore... safe but shaken. Swimming lessons soon followed. In the interim between my inner tube feat and learning to swim, my father was kind enough to erect an above ground pool in the backyard. It was quite sizeable and a big hit in the neighborhood... to say the least.

Learning to swim at the YMCA. Yet another fine gesture of my father was weekly visits to the local "Y." To say that I was stimulated by the size of the pool and the fact that all the men in the pool were naked was an understatement. After the initial shock of it all wore off, I was ready, willing and able to learn how to swim. My only regret was the horrific chlorine levels of this pool. My eyes burned and stayed red for hours.

Move the calendar forward fifteen years... San Juan and a few oceanic escapades. While stationed in San Juan with Eastern Airlines, I lucked out. I shared a beach side casita just minutes from the famous Condado resort beaches and their hotels. Before flights, particularly in the winter, I would grab my beach chair and head down for an hour or so of sun to flaunt aboard the airplanes. One morning while taking a dip in front of the Carribe Hilton, I saw the commotion of two locals swimming furiously into the water with bowie knives in their mouths. An unusual sight, indeed. But the swimmers around me stayed put. Moments later, all of us were shocked as the two men returned back to shore with two hammerhead sharks they retrieved from the very area we all were in! The local hotels paid men like these a bounty for catching these sharks. The other pre-flight swim that vividly comes to mind was me coming up out of the water underneath a Portuguese Man-O-War! What a horror. It seemed like forever before I had removed all of the stinging tentacles from my face. I was assisted by a hotel lifeguard who knew to spray my face with benzocaine. I guess I wasn't his first. I was thankful. In just a few short minutes, the red and swelling vanished and I was home and showering for my flight. Man-O-War, indeed!

Half a decade later I was living in San Francisco and enjoying both the frigid Pacific waters at San Gregorio beach (just north of San Francisco), and the lovely, almost tepid waters of the Russian River near Guerneville. The beach was great. And, as long as the day was hot enough the Pacific could be tolerated - albeit for brief dips! And, the little enclaves along the base of the mountains were perfect places to take full advantage of the clothing optional status!

Of course, clothing optional was the way of life along the Russian River banks, as well. Lots of romping in the nearby woods was standard bill of fare. (You just had to be careful of poison ivy and ticks!) I was privy to seeing the whole Russian River resort phenomenon explode. No more bushes and ticks. Resorts like The Woods and Fifes were a more civilized approach. And happily, the clothing optional thing followed along, too!

Oh, and did I mention that I was bi-coastal at this point? I spent half my year in S.F. and the other half on Fire Island working in The Pines as (you got it) a lifeguard at the Boatel. After getting my Red Cross certification at the downtown S.F. YMCA, I matriculated from Pines waiter to Pines lifeguard! It was a small pool with a bar and restaurant attached. So, some slinging of drinks and food came along with the title.

In the 1990s, I return to the East Coast. I was soon acquainted with Sandy Hook State Park Beach. Although from N.J. originally, I never knew about nor had I ever visited this beach. At the very tip of Monmouth County with a view of Manhattan, its white sandy beaches beckoned another clothing optional crowd. I liked the beach and the crowd and made some buddies straight up. The water's temps were comfortable and the water was quite clean... All the better to see bouncing genitals in the surf! LOL. You did have to be aware of the local park police who seemed to delight in hauling off beach patrons for anything they deemed as lude or lascivious. It was hard to stay behaved with so much flesh in your face! But behaved you were or off you went in a paddy wagon!

South Beach followed. What more can I say. It was 1994 and the gay invasion had begun down there. I had never seen anything like it. Stuff went on right on the beach with no cops to be found! I know firsthand... it happened to me. I didn't really like the water too much. It was like a bathtub and not particularly clean. Oh. And, did I mention the frequent sightings of Portuguese Men-O-War? Reason enough to stay on the beach and ogle all of the cuties! Just when I thought I saw the most handsome man in the world, the next contender blew him right off the map! But, it was a very - let me repeat, VERY - fast-paced town. It was very hard to make friends because people were here one day and gone the next! (Quel problème!)

Now in my seventies, I revel in all of my memories of the beaches, rivers, ponds and lakes. Of late, I have traded the vast oceanic vistas for those of the Southwest desert. They are quite beautiful, too. But, I will have to admit It is hard to splash around and frolic in the desert sand!

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 M. Webster

During a recent session of scanning and touching up behind the scenes photos from Jack Deveau's Hot House (1977) from our archive of materials from the great Hand in Hand Films, I felt a lot of enthusiasm to share them with an interested audience. In that spirit, here is a primarily photo-based blog featuring a selection of those images, interspersed with interview excerpts from Hand in Hand crew members pulled from the 2019 book Good Hot Stuff: The Life and Times of Gay Film Pioneer Jack Deveau, a historically valuable peek into the inner workings of one of the foundational studios of '70s/'80s gay porn!

On Hot House:
Classic porn icons Roger and Jack Wrangler star in this comical tale of frustration as two horny men trying to find privacy to have fun in a NYC apartment that is invaded by obnoxious painters, crabby janitors, and neighbors who have lost their keys.

Also starring Jayson MacBride (Catching Up, A Night at the Adonis), David Hunter, Eric Streiff, and Garry Hunt (Ballet Down the Highway, Dune Buddies, Fire Island Fever), and featuring the voice of Tray Christopher (aka legendary fetish video artist Christopher Rage).

Director: Jack Deveau
Writer: Moose 100
Camera: Kees Chapman & Jack Deveau
Sound: Rolf Pardula
Key Grip: Ken Schnetzer
Make-Up: Gene Kelton
Make-Up Assistant: Jim Delegatti
Production Coordinator: Sydney Soons
Editor: Robert Alvarez
Mixer: Kees Chapman
Music Consultant: Bobby
Producer: Jack Deveau

“The big-ticket draw of Hot House was to have been the sex scene between Wrangler and Roger, and the pay-off is there. Back in 1977, these two porn titans knew that the audience expected to be transported nearly to Valhalla when settling in for this section, and both go all out to create what comes off as a genuine physical desire.” - Manifest Reader

“There's a sense of humor and a sense of innocence that resonates from an earlier time.” - Mr. Magazine
 

Frequent Hand in Hand sound mixer Rolf Pardula started with the company with 1975's Ballet Down the Highway and continued to work with them throughout the rest of their productions. He went on to serve as the sound mixer for many independent films including George Romero's Day of the Dead, Larry Cohen's The Stuff, and several Spike Lee productions (School Daze, Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Summer of Sam, and Bamboozled). In Marcus Siedelmann's Good Hot Stuff interview with Pardula, he credits Hand in Hand with helping him to come out.

“When I started working with Bob [Alvarez] and Jack [Deveau] – that was back in the 70s – this was my first introduction into another world, the homosexual world. I had never been exposed to that. I was having relations with women at the time. Bob and Jack, they liked me... They treated me as a part of the family, which was very kind. They had love and care, and they didn't want anything to happen to me. In fact, they protected me, and at the same time allowed me to be on the set, and see these beautiful men having sex with other men. After a few years, I realized I'd been hiding my sexual feelings, and that I really wanted the company of other men. So thanks to Jack and Bob, I was allowed to formulate my personality, who I really was... I didn't have to suppress my feelings or to hide them. Why should I hide my homosexuality if Jack and Bob didn't do that?”

On Jack's style on set: “[Jack] managed it in a very casual style; never something like the set of a Hollywood film. It was always like having a party. He was always comfortable. He never screamed, and he was always a gentleman on the set. He said he wants this and that done, but it was always graciously, and with great respect... That's one of the things Jack Deveau was very well known for.”

Hot House screenwriter Moose 100 had begun as a playwright and was introduced to Jack Deveau and Bob Alvarez through his friend David Earnest, who wrote original scores to many of the studio's early films. Moose 100's writing brought Hand in Hand into its later era, which largely focused on lighter, more comedic works cleverly and affectionately capturing and spoofing NYC gay life.

“Most of the films I've written opened at the Adonis Theater. People went there to cruise. The most unusual thing was that somebody would sit down and watch the movie from the beginning to the end. So the audience saw the films in fragments. Jack and I felt that it was giving us the opportunity to write the movies just like we wanted to, because no one paid that much attention. They were just looking at the sex scenes. They were fantasizing. They were picking up men. That freed us. We felt we were able to experiment. In fact, I used to borrow a print of a new movie, throw a big party, and asked the audience consisting of my straight female friends. They loved them! And they had plenty of hot men to look at.”

Moose 100: "We had a style of working where I would present a first draft. Then we would meet and talk about it, discussing some changes. I used to go home and write [these revisions]... Once we got a shooting script – and this is what I really liked about the process – I was on set all the time in case I was needed. The minute a sex scene starts, you're shooting a documentary. It's what happens in reality, and sometimes, people who act in porn movies got problems, because suddenly there are all these people around, those big hot lights, and they're expected to get erections. Sometimes it doesn't work that way, and things have to change. So having the writer right there can be a helpful thing, or – depending on the people in the cast – sometimes you see one of the actors and you want to sort of customize the role for them. There was one incident during Hot House. They were shooting a sex scene, and right when they'd come to the cumshot, the film suddenly went out of the camera. And they lost it. Immediately, Jack fixed the camera and put in new film, and by that time they were ready to re-shoot the scene – Jack Wrangler also was sexually ready again. I think he was amazingly good at what he was doing. I used to call him The Sexual Professional. You could tell him: 'Jump out of an airplane, jerk off, and come as you land!' (laughing) And he could have done it, because he was totally a pro. In a way that nobody I ever worked with was. He could control his sexuality in a way most people couldn't.”

Robert Alvarez was Jack Deveau's partner in life and in Hand in Hand. They co-founded the studio with Jaap Penraat in 1972 and later co-ran it with Kees Chapman. Bob was the studio's editor, with past experience in experimental and documentary film, and his creativity and skill brought polish and excitement to Hand in Hand's productions.

“[Kees Chapman] came to us actually as the partner of Sydney Soons [aka Mark Woodward]. Sydney came to our office and worked as a production assistant. He also was in Drive, of course, but he was way more interested in the jobs behind the camera, and so he ended up working for us in production. Kees then was working as a waiter downtown. He came in, hung out, and next thing you know, he also was doing work for us [behind the scenes]. At a later point in the game, Kees and Sydney split up... Kees became another partner [in Hand in Hand] because he was very valuable to us. He was a huge help in the later years of Hand in Hand Films' existence. He organized a lot and he also got into camera work. He actually shot some of the stuff in the later films with Jack. He had no specific artistic background; I guess it just came out while working with us. He was very ambitious to learn the different aspects of filmmaking. He was able to work with actors very well, especially after Jack died. More or less, he took over the directing of the actors. We always worked well together.”

Jim Delegatti worked in many different behind-the-scenes roles for Hand in Hand over the years. He initially came to them after seeing their debut film, Left-Handed (1972), with the fantasy of being a performer. They didn't need any at the time, but were looking for crew members. He began as assistant to their make-up artist, Gene Kelton, and served as primary make-up artist on some of their final films. He additionally did set decorating, still photography, acting cameos, and more (“I was still doing this and that. I was learning a lot during the films.”). In his interview with Siedelmann, Delegatti says of Hand in Hand, “We really were a family in many ways” and that, as a small company, everyone helped with everything.

“It was a wonderful time of my life... I always wanted to do it, and I did it. And it was good. I helped a lot to create these films, because in these kind of films you need a certain atmosphere on set; a special mood. And I helped a lot on that too. The actors got their buffet. (laughing)”

“Jack became sick and after he passed I was... he was a big influence in my life. He meant a lot to me. At the time, I needed someone like him to be around. He was there, and so this was a big family loss.”

“I really don't think there was such a thing after Hand in Hand. Jack tried to make something out of it, something different than just a porno film. He was a great cinematographer, and he learned to do all these different things by himself... [Jack] did a lot to improve pornography, and gay cinema. There was a story behind all his films, and there is so much knowledge about the gay community.”

Read more interviews and catch more behind the scenes photos from Hand in Hand Films in Good Hot Stuff: The Life and Times of Gay Film Pioneer Jack Deveau!

In addition to Hot House, Bijou carries the Hand in Hand Films catalog of movies on DVD and Streaming.

For more Bijou Blogs on Hand in Hand Films:
-Interview with Robert Alvarez
-Blog on Jack Deveau & Hand in Hand
-Interview with Tom DeSimone Part 1 & Part 2
-The Backstory of Peter de Rome's The Destroying Angel

By Josh Eliot

I’ve been told my blogs tend to run long so I have to leave some fun stuff out of them. Below are a few previous blogs where I had to leave some “pertinent information” on the cutting room floor. What can I say, I’ve got “more than a mouthful” of things to say that don’t always fit on the page!

In no particular order, I’ll start with the blog that is the most fresh on my mind, since I found a photograph to back up the story I told. It was my 48th blog called: “The GOLD COAST Gold Rush Boys.” In that story, I wrote about the Gold Coast Bar in West Hollywood and the Bijou hit, Steve Scott’s Gold Rush Boys. I told the story about an evening when porn star Anthony Gallo and my spouse Tony Fontana (who were dating at the time) were working front door security at the Gold Coast and were attacked by an unruly patron when they tried to escort him out. I mentioned how the patron hit Anthony Gallo on the head with an object, requiring a lot of stitches, and that the scar was visible in movies shot after that date in 1995. Well, Tony just happened to find the photo of Anthony Gallo right after the incident where you can see just how awful that attack was.

Anthony Gallo fully recovered from that injury and, as far as we both know, is living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Now on to lucky blog #13: “Is That AL PARKER in Your Photograph?” In this one, I went rummaging through my partner’s photos and found one of him with Al Parker and another of him with Estelle Getty. Another photograph I didn’t include because the blog was running long was a photo plainly displayed in our office. A picture if discovered in a pile of photos might cause me to ask, “Is That Charo in Your Photograph?” In the photo, you’ll see Tony was lucky enough to draw Charo’s attention at one of her performances he attended with his friend Art. I must say, she looks the same now from what I see on her Instagram page! Anyway, when Tony and Art got together they were kind of out of control. That evening, they sat at a table with a couple of other “fun” girls who attended the show. Complete strangers, but they all shared lots of laughs with each other. The girls had a camera with them to use when Charo hit the stage. Unfortunately, the two practical jokers, Tony and Art, ruined that moment for them. When the girls excused themselves to the bathroom, Tony and Art thought it would be “cute” to take pictures of each other making silly faces and gestures. They put the camera back on the table just in time so no one knew the better before the girls returned. At the point when Charo came into the audience and right up to their table, the girls went for their camera and started to shoot the pictures but, to their dismay, there was only 1 shot left. The girl freaked out and started screaming to her friend that she thought she had more photos left on the roll. She ran to the gift shop in the lobby to buy more film. Tony and Art played dumb and unfortunately the girls missed it when Charo literally walked up to Tony, put her breast on his head, and Art shot this picture with his Nikon 35mm camera.

I would imagine those girls were really pissed when they got home and developed the film. Blog #6 was called “A Salty Fuck in Saugatuck,” where I talked about making Thrill Me! with Ray Harley, Steve Rambo and Donnie Russo. Donnie and Rambo got into an argument over something as ridiculous as a bumble bee entering the rental unit at The Douglas Dunes Resort in Michigan. Those two stressed me out so much that when it came time for Brad Austin to shoot them together in a sex scene for his movie Deep Woods Inn, I begged Brad to let me off of doing his videography for that day. I just could not be around them; the tension between them was physically making me sick. There was always so much stress on my shoulders because, at any place or anytime someone, could get pissed and refuse to do a scene and we would be fucked. Especially out in the middle of nowhere. That would mean thousands of dollars down the drain if we didn’t return to L.A. with completed scenes. The tension between those two models was just too much - I couldn’t be on that set. Bless Brad Austin for taking it on! Brad of course said, “You don’t have to be on my set. I’ll shoot camera, it’s not a problem.” He was an angel. I was so grateful but could never tell him what I did instead. Lake Michigan is like an ocean and they have miles and miles of sand dunes there. It just so happens those dunes are very “gay occupied,” as we noticed a couple days earlier when we shot a scene for The Men of Lake Michigan, another movie I was filming back to back. I took a ride over to those dunes, hiked a bit, laid my blanket down and it took less than a minute for a few new “friends” to show up. Of course, I had to be hospitable. When I returned to the motel where they were shooting, I was pleased to find out that both Rambo and Russo were cordial with each other on the set, and other than the fact that Russo pounded Rambo extra hard, everything went just “jiffy.” Naturally it didn’t stay that way, as they went back to being enemies later that night!

The final blog I want to add on to is #15: "We Waited 8hrs for a Cum Shot, Is That a World Record?" I certainly had a lot to say about how producer Scott Masters tortured us trying to get Vic Summer’s cum shot. Read the blog if you’re interested - I just can’t revisit that moment again! What I was unable to talk about was the day prior to shooting the scene. Scott Masters evidently had a bottomless budget for this movie, because several wooden box crates arrived at the studio containing a custom set of neon tubes and transformers. For the final scene with Matt Powers and Vic Summers, Scott wanted an all-white heavily draped set with lots of flowing material and four round columns, as elements of a four post bed. In the scene, he wanted the columns to magically come alive with color at their first kiss, and flash throughout the scene. He rambled off quickly over the phone how he wanted the color tubes attached inside the columns, but quickly cut us off when we had questions. I was lost about how to even hook up neon or handle all the wiring. Back then, you couldn’t just Google or YouTube an instruction video. It took us all night to attach wire and get the effects to work. On the shoot day when Masters arrived, he asked us to show him the neon lighting. We proudly turned on the lights, color by color, showing him how we could control each color on its own. We were happy it all worked flawlessly… until Scott Masters barked out, “No, I don’t believe this! You’ve got it all wrong!” Our hearts dropped and our blood pressure started to rise! When he barely described on the phone how he wanted the colored tubes placed, we understood each color would be side by side at the top and bottom of every pole. One red tube next to one blue tube, next to one yellow tube… if you get my drift. No, he wanted the top all red, the bottom all blue, then the next column would be all yellow on the top, orange on the bottom, next column top green... yadda, yadda, yadda. We were mortified but more pissed that he didn’t take the time to properly describe the placement initially. I don’t have to tell you that there was no changing his mind about the order of the tubes. Luckily, I had a full crew to help me unwire and re-wire these fucking tubes and get them properly placed for what turned out to be his lame-ass finale scene. Personally speaking, the way we wired the tubes initially would have looked much better than the re-wired version he demanded. Maybe if we didn’t have to take a few hours to rewire these tubes, the models wouldn’t have gotten bored, lost their boners for each other, and well, you know the (8hr) rest.

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.

By Will Seagers

Hi Folks, Will here. As usual, I have yet another strange title for you! The name of this multi-faceted adventure won't be significant until we get to the end of the blog. Like the house that landed in Oz, this story will go through lots of turbulence before getting there. But, with the help of of my friends, it turned out quite well.

In the summer of 1975 in The Pines on Fire Island, a seed was planted by my beau of the time, Roger. He told me that he was moving to San Francisco in the fall. I was taken aback by this as Roger was a quintessential New Yorker, never having lived anywhere else in his thirty-four years. He was born in the Bronx, lived in the West Village, and was also a teacher in the NYC school system. To me, he seemed happily entrenched in his metro lifestyle. But, San Francisco bound, he was.

After an intense but brief affair, our relationship morphed into a really solid friendship. Soon, the idea (adventure) of moving to San Francisco grew on me, as well. Ultimately, this would be a move that I would make on my own. Even though I had never been there before, I was not daunted. And, it was not the first nor last time I would made that kind of move. But first, a rather eventful year would transpire before getting there.

Denis, my brilliant and zany former roommate from San Juan (Eastern Airlines days) had won a scholarship to Arizona State University and needed a "companion." Truth be told, it was really his parents' idea, as they were scared to death of him living alone and so far from their New Jersey home. Although Denis was quite book smart (Fulbright Scholar and MENSA member), his street smarts were lacking. Not having a formal plan nor date for my move to the West Coast, I agreed to be his chaperone and roommate for this truly hysterical adventure!

His parents gave him a car. After loading it to the hilt, we left NJ on Route 80 for the trek to Tempe, AZ. I only wish that we had a video camera to record our antics en route. I don't think I have ever laughed as much in my life! Between our two unconventional outlooks on life, there was never a dull moment. I do remember nearly running the car off various interstates in fits of laughter on several occasions! We arrived in Tempe and took up lodgings at an apartment complex complete with pool!

He went to school and I went to work as a bartender... something I had never done before. I relied heavily on my appearance to keep these gigs afloat! A bartender I am not! I also had some small legit modeling jobs at a local agency. I did manage to land a cattle call and get a small part in a crowd scene in the Barbra Streisand remake of A Star is Born. I was within arm's reach of Kristopherson - not so much Ms. Streisand!

As Denis finished up his school year, I was contacted by a dear friend, Lou Thomas, of Target Studios. I had done some print work for him in NY and in Arizona. Lou asked me if I would be interested in working for John Whyte at the Boatel in Fire Island Pines. I jumped at the opportunity (as I had nothing planned for after Arizona). So, back across the country I zoomed!

My summer of 1976 at the Boatel deserves and will get its own chapter in my upcoming autobiography. Suffice it to say that it was a vivid and fabulous experience that I repeated again in the summers of 1977 and 1978! But, the most important events to happen during that first summer were meeting Chuck Holmes (of Falcon fame) and becoming "family" with my Boatel co-workers. Chuck Holmes offered me a job at his SF restaurant, Trinity Place, as well as modeling work with his studios. And, my Boatel co-workers all wanted to move to SF at the close of the season on the Island. Synchronicity, eh?

So, Denis popped up again. He requested the pleasure of my joining him on a trip to Mazatlan, Mexico as soon as I finished up with my Fire Island duties. Naturally, I joined him... but not before seeing "Irma" in Huachuga City, AZ. I told him about SF. But, he said it would only be a week at Mazatlan's beautiful beaches. After he picked me up at Tucson airport, he drove me to see "Irma," the tiny trailer where he lived in Huachuga City. BTW, this was the rather hilly and very green section of Arizona where the high speed driving scenes were filmed towards the end of A Star Is Born. More synchronicity?

We left for Mazatlan from Nogales, AZ on an ancient but beautifully preserved train - a la Orient Express! It was mid-October... and guess what? That's the height of Mexico's hurricane season. So, we had no sun for that week! This made me even more anxious to set sail for San Francisco! After getting back to the U.S. and to Tucson Airport, I finally departed for the "City by the Bay" with only the clothes on my back and a small duffel to stow overhead.

Arriving in San Francisco but not knowing the workings of the BART system, I paid the hefty cab fare to my Castro and 19th St. destination. Although I was offered only the floor of one of my co-worker's tiny flat... this was my liaison in SF! I wasn't concerned about my accommodations - I was finally here! After a few hugs and putting away my duffel bag, I ventured out.

As I eased my way down the steep slope of Castro Street towards 18th and Castro (the gay crossroads of the world), I felt like Dorothy swinging open the door to her house that had just crash landed in Oz. Gazing around at all of the men and the "gaiety" that blanketed the area, I could only think: Nope... This Sure Ain't Kansas!

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