BijouBlog

By Josh Eliot

Any fan of gay adult cinema, specifically movies made in the 1970’s and 1980’s, is sure to have followed the career of Derrick Stanton - spelled “Derek” in his early features, then modified for the more extensive list of titles in his film history.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1955 and standing 6’ tall, Derrick started working in the adult film business in his early 20s. Having formed a friendship with cinematographer/director Barry Knight (Brian King), and sometimes working as his sound man, Derrick was introduced into gay adult films by Barry in late 1976 with his debut film, released in 1977. The two had a steadfast bond all the way up until Barry’s death on June 16, 2005. Barry started his career in the mid 1960’s with a series of TV commercials for Salem Cigarettes, before co-founding Jaguar Films in 1971 with Monroe Beehler and Gerald Strickland. Barry Knight and partner Russell Moore worked together on such 70’s hits as The Experiment, Greek Lightning and The Insatiables.

Director Kevin Clarke connected me with Derrick Stanton, who is currently 70 years old and living in Southern California. I reached out to Derrick to see if he would be interested in a Q&A, specifically addressing the eleven movies he shot for director William Higgins, and he graciously agreed. I was personally familiar with Derrick's career and his movies from my time working at Catalina Video, as they distributed all of William Higgins' early work. I found Derrick agreeable, candid, humorous and very forthright. This 2026 interview celebrates 50 years, give or take a few months, since the young man stepped in front of the cameras, not realizing his screen presence, visibly high sex drive and stunning ejaculations made him a gay household name back then and an icon of adult cinema today.

Barry Knight, plus box cover & clips from Hardhat, Derrick's first movie, before the spelling change

JE: It shows that you started your career in the business in late 1976, working in the movie Men Under The Hardhat aka Hardhat (Jaguar Productions, 1977). But around the same time, you also worked in a number of loop, intended for the booths at adult magazine shops. Were the loops shot first or was Hardhat?

DS: Hardhat was my first “film.” I was discovered by cinematographer Barry Knight, who became a great friend. He saw filming the male body as an art. Anyone in front of his camera looked amazing. I truly miss him.

JE: Was Hardhat a “music enhanced” movie or your first “talkie?”

DS: Both actually.

JE: What was your very first day on the set like?

DS: I was working with the lead Adam Mitchell doing a romantic sailing sequence on his catamaran with soaring music. Barry Knight and his partner Russell cared about their craft and they believed in romantic gay connections. The first day was interesting, in that it was a whole new world for me. My tendency to be an exhibitionist helped me connect to a rather artificial set, as they all are. There was no Viagra then, but I could get hard by performing and showing off. I was supposed to be a bottom for Adam’s huge, girthy cock but he was too fucked up (high) and couldn’t perform. His sugar daddy was on the set and had supplied him with drugs, so for my first scene I ended up topping him. I told Barry I was going to cum and proceeded to begin to shoot on Adam’s back. Barry started to zoom back, when I told him I wasn’t finished and kept cumming even more. Barry slowly zoomed back in. That was the first day I performed as Derrick “mega load” Stanton. It was filmed in a house up in the hills above Sunset. Everyone was really nice.

JE: Regarding the “loops” you worked in, some were released years later in what is likely an out of print DVD called Vintage Gay XXX Volume 2 from Manville Classics. However, BijouWorld has preserved some of your old loops in Games Boys Play and Cruisin’. Additionally, I saw a sling scene on the internet with you and J.W. King. What do you remember about shooting those “loops?”

DS: That sling scene is quite prevalent on the internet. I was topped by the incredibly handsome J.W. King, a smooth talking, sexy Texan, a true professional on the set. I can still remember his long cock sliding in and out of me. Another loop later on was with Jack Wrangler, set in a dry sauna. I was a bit intimidated by this legend, but loved his beautiful huge cock inside me. He wore full body makeup, which would occasionally smear on me. He made sure he looked good in every aspect of the shoot… done by director Steve Scott. Steve was fun to hang out with and a decent person, but quite strict on the set. Jack and I worked seamlessly together.

JS: In 1978/79, your career really started to take off with a bang! I see that you worked in The Grease Monkeys, The Idol, Bad Bad Boys (aka Bad Boys) and L.A. Tool & Die (uncredited, with Casey Donovan). What are your recollections regarding those movies?

DS: (On Grease Monkeys): I was not the lead, but supported the stars, especially in my beach scene with Kip Noll. The shoot went long and tourists started to gather and watch. We kept going, but we knew we needed to get out of there fast because the park rangers were nearby. Kip Noll was topping me on the beach and we used Vaseline for lube, but some sand got on his dick, which really started to hurt. If you listen closely right at the edit where he pulls out and cums, you can hear me say, “Pull it out.” It was painful, but we finished and left. We could see the rangers arriving just as we began to drive away… whew!!

(On The Idol): My scene in the shower apparently became a most-watched scene. I was turned on by the literally steamy sex in the shower. I really got in to it. Did I say I was an exhibitionist?

(On Bad Bad Boys): Another movie lovingly filmed by Barry Knight. One co-star was Johnny Dawes, a super-hot sex machine who enjoyed showing off too. The two of us later did a shoot together for Joe Tiffenbach. We weren’t acting - we really got off on each other.

(On L.A. Tool & Die): My uncredited scene with Casey Donovan was at first intimidating, because again I would be working with a legend. We had a chance to chat with each other for about an hour before our scene together. What a genuinely sweet man he was. He immediately put me at ease. Topping him felt amazing, in that his ass seemed to pull my entire body into him. Pulling out and cumming without touching myself (as ordered by Joe Gage) was easy. It was, as poet Jim Morrison once wrote, “...a great golden copulation.” We filmed in an old building in downtown Los Angeles. The ground fog was created by a kind of insecticide that floated close to the ground… quite noxious. Joe Gage was quite meticulous, so the shoot went long for art’s sake.

JE: This same time period, you met William Higgins and starred in an impressive list of movies for the director: Jack Wrangler, Jocks (1979), The Boys of Venice (1979), Rear Deliveries (1980), Class of '84 (1980), Class of '84 Part 2 (1981), Brothers Should Do It (1981), These Bases are Loaded (1982), Members Only (1982), Printers Devil's (1982), Class Reunion (1983) and Route 69 (1984). How were you introduced to William Higgins?

DS: By Barry Knight.

JE: I’d like to focus on your experience while working on the eleven movies you shot for Higgins. Jack Wrangler, Jocks and Boys of Venice came out in 1979. Which one was shot first?

DS: Boys of Venice.

Derrick Stanton with Eric Ryan in The Boys Of Venice

 

THE BOYS OF VENICE (1979)

JE: In The Boys of Venice, your roller skating scene with Eric Ryan set the tone for the entire homage to Southern California beach boys. What do you remember about shooting on the Venice Boardwalk and the subsequent scene in the bathroom? Also, whose idea was it to keep the skates on for the sex scene?

DS: I already loved skating at Venice beach. The bathroom scene was actually filmed in the small restroom near the projector room at the Century Theater. It was my idea to keep the skates on. I also wanted to include me peeing in the toilet. Cameraman Barry Knight was on the floor literally cuddling the toilet bowl. I apologized to him for accidentally peeing on him a bit. Roller skates were not conducive to good aim! Barry said he loved getting peed on. Eric Ryan was a really kind person and had quite the muscular build. His fat cock inside of me felt amazing. A few months later, I went to skate at the Venice Boardwalk wearing the exact same outfit from the movie. A stranger came up to with an astonished look and said, “OMG, it’s you… you really are a boy from Venice.” I sheepishly replied, “Yup.” Great fun indeed.

JACK WRANGLER, JOCKS (1979)

JE: There are a lot of one-timers in this movie. You shot a scene with a mustached guy, not sure of his name, in front of a blank backdrop. What are your recollections of this day on the set?

DS: I do not remember this scene.

REAR DELIVERIES (1980)

JE: In Rear Deliveries, you worked with Shawn Victors in the photo developing studio. I want to add that you looked really current and trendy for the time period in your Blue Oyster Cult black t-shirt! The scene seemed to flow beautifully with lots of kissing and flip flop fucking. Shawn was hard the entire time you were fucking him, and when you came I counted nine big squirts. Was this a genuine connection between the two of you?

DS: Yes, definitely. Shawn Victors was quite sensual. Yes, I was a huge Blue Oyster Cult fan. Hey... some gays love metal.

JE: Later in the movie, you were in a threeway with Shawn Victors and taxi cab driver Guy DeSilva. You and Shawn were outside the Pacific Design Center, then followed Guy into a T-room. What was the dynamic between the three of you on the set?

DS: To be clear, threeways are almost always two and a half-ways, as one guy is kind of a third wheel. For us, it came naturally to interact to create more “great golden copulations!” At the end of the shoot, Higgins discovered that his eyepiece on the camera was out of focus. All footage was useless. He demanded we re-shoot right then and there. I told him I would have to be paid double, which he reluctantly agreed to. I did provide him with another cum shot that day. Yes, I was old reliable, indeed.

Brochures from Jocks, Rear Deliveries & Class of '84

 

CLASS OF 84 PART 1 and Part 2 (1980-81)

JE: In Class of '84 Parts 1 and 2, you and Jeremy Scott shared the sloppiest dorm room I’ve ever seen in my life. Luckily, your full scene together took place in the mountains. Big Bear or Lake Arrowhead?

DS: Big Bear as in Ballin’ in Big Bear (one title).

JE: The strongest scene in the movie is between the two of you, and I’ve not seen many occasions where you ate someone’s cum after climax. Coaxed, or just came naturally?

DS: Jeremy was a gorgeous man with a big mushroom-head cock. Higgins was in love with him and there was frequently tension on the outdoor set between them. I love outdoor sex. I love eating cum, and in personal sex life I love felching (eating cream-pies), then snow ballin’ (swapping cum in a kiss). That morning of the shoot, I ate a big breakfast and took a dump in the woods prior to the shoot, but it wasn’t enough clearance of the tar on my chocolate bar. Higgins was annoyed. But hey, you all want to know the truth behind the scenes... 😆 John Waters style? Ha-ha.

JE: In '84 Part 2, you have two scenes: the first was with Karl Hansen, who played a doctor. Your cum shot under the exam table stands out as a highlight. Did you drench Higgins?

DS: Higgins thought that doctor scene was a mistake because of the different body types. Some fans pilloried him for his casting. It is interesting that a fan reached my DMs and told me that this scene was his absolute favorite. Yes, I lived up to my ability to drown co-actors, directors and cameramen!

BROTHERS SHOULD DO IT (1981)

JE: In Brothers Should Do It, Kip Noll pounds and pounds and pounds your ass like nobody's business. It was a highlight, and you came while getting fucked. Surely the experience must have stuck with you over the years - what do you remember about it?

DS: Kip and I were not even supposed to be paired in this film, but between scenes we sexually connected on a nearby patio. Higgins saw this, stopped filming another scene and ran over to capture this genuine sex connection. Kip and I were sexually “in the moment.” He said that he liked me because I was “a regular kind of guy.”

JE: Many have voiced their opinions of Kip Noll in real life compared to his screen persona. What was your impression of Kip Noll in real life. Did you socialize outside of work?

DS: Kip was quiet and a bit introverted until the sex started. Feeling that big cock of his inside enhanced our already momentary sex connection, so cumming hands free was a genuine “great golden copulation.” After our scene, he asked me to go out with him on the town of West Hollywood. I really wanted to, but I had a boyfriend waiting outside in our car. We would’ve had a blast together, since we were at our peak porn careers then.

***

We’ve nearly reached the halfway point, and hearing Derrick Stanton’s recollections of his times back in the day is priceless, in my book! In Part 2, we’ll pick up with Derrick talking about the rest of his releases for William Higgins, starting with These Bases Are Loaded. Derrick left the industry at the request of his partner in 1984, but re-surfaced in 1995 to receive a Hall of Fame Award. At the awards ceremony, Derrick met director Jerry Douglas, who persuaded him to return to the screen in 1997’s Family Values. What was it like for Derrick to be back on the set thirteen years after retiring from the business? We’ll address all of it as our Q&A continues in my next blog: Derrick Stanton Talks About Life on the Set Part 2, 1982-1997.

 

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 | 80s/90s Porn Star RYAN YEAGER | ADAM Film World’s GAY VIDEO GUIDE | ERIC STONE: Ranger in the Wild | THRILL ME with a SINGLE WHITE MALE... | The SPOILED BRAT | BUSTER & STEVE YORK | LANCE, TEX ANTHONY & MICHAEL GERE | KIP NOLL: The First Real Twink Superstar | THE GREASE MONKEYS | The "Other" Idol | The AMERICAN Way

By Will Seagers

Hello folks, Will here!

Well, it's been some time since I have signed on with that line. I hope you all have been well in the interim!

With a title like the above, I'll be digging back - way back - in my memories of men with whom I have had the Pleasure! After recently celebrating my diamond birthday, I thought it might be a good idea to write about these guys while I still have it fresh in my mind! But, then again, how could anyone ever forget the experience of being with likes of Al Parker, Bruno, Jim Bentley and of course Richard Locke!

There were other heart throbs of that time and slightly later with whom I never got to experience the pleasures. But, I do have a vivid imagination. And, here at Bijou you are just a click away at bringing them right into your own man cave!

Al Parker - Icon of the ages.

I never even knew that I was going to make a film with him until that very day. It was an early Falcon production - Weekend Lockup. I was freshly transplanted from New York to San Francisco via an offer from Chuck Holmes, the studio's owner and creator.

We had a lot of fun working on the scenes that day... if you could call it work! I really hit it off with Al and his lover, Steve Taylor, who co-starred in the film. At the end of the day, these two invited me to their home in Manhattan Beach for a weekend of our own kind of lockup! Needless to say, I didn't get to see much of the beach! Boy! Those two were real sex machines.

Bruno - Another face and body that you saw plastered all over gay media!

This particular meeting and shooting was quite unusual. My friend, Lou Thomas (of Target Studio fame), had arranged for me to take off a couple of hours off from my lifeguard job at the Boatel (of Fire Island Pines fame). He was friends with my boss, John Whyte - the Boatel owner. Lou had made arrangements with owner of a beautiful Pines home, complete with pool, as our set for the day. Once again, I was taken by surprise as I was only told hours before that I was "on loan" from John.

As I remember, it was a Wednesday afternoon when I sauntered up to the beachfront location and first laid my eyes on Bruno. We had never met and I really did not know what to expect. I mean, yes, I had seen my fair share of his pics. But, I did not know what a gentle giant he was and how passionately and authentically he performed. If I were not already in a relationship, I could have easily fallen for this tall, dark and sensuous man! Alas, we only had that afternoon. But, he left his impression!

Jim Bentley - "Is it true blondes have more fun?"

If it's Jim, the answer is a resounding YES! Energetic, fun and sex to the Moon and back are my memories. We met on the set of Cabin Fever. Although there was a fairly large cast, sparks started flying between us immediately. We didn't need a script or props - all they needed to do was to keep enough film in the camera! Off camera, we developed a really fun relationship. Of course, sex was at the center. But, we had other mutual interests, to boot.

When I first went over to his Polk Street apartment, he warned me that there was a huge "cage" in his living room. Me, being a bird fancier all of my life, I thought that was really cool.

After a night of endless flip-flopping, I awoke to see his huge cage uncovered. Ironically, he was breeding Moluccan Cockatoos. I had a beautiful female of that species at home named "Gloria!" She took to Jim right away leaping from my shoulder right to his. He loved her, too. Such a nice man. And, so many memories!

Richard Locke - (Speaking of Icons!)

Well, I did know in advance that I would be working with Mr. Locke via the crew that interviewed me for the part of Wylie in L.A. Tool & Die! My interview took place in San Francisco. But, the movie was shot in Los Angeles.

Richard and I were both living in S.F. at the time. Somehow, word got out about the two of us and this upcoming blockbuster. Another studio asked us to film Cruisin' the Castro before the filming in L.A. It was a smaller production, but was packed with some steamy sex scenes. That's where Richard and I first "met!" It was really good chemistry on the set... one whose formula we were able to keep alive and hot for our L. A. adventure.

He had a natural sexiness that I found irresistible. One that kept me panting despite the lighting, sound and many other techs present to give this film its "major studio" feel. I also love Richard's professionalism. We were there to make a fuck flick and by golly that's what we did! Yeah, it's work... but, somebody's got to do it!



I hope all of you folks out there have steamy and fun memories that Cupid and his arrows can dig up for you to relive! Happy Valentine's Day!

Will! 💖

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.

 

I first went to the Bijou Theater in 2008. It was a snowy day that March. I was in my last month of being 21 – quite an eventful year. It was weeks after I met my first real girlfriend, who I would wind up being with five and a half years. At the beginning of my 21st year, I had my first kiss. (I was a very late bloomer.) Months later, I first had sex (in the bathroom of the longstanding goth club, Neo, another Chicago landmark that closed mere months before the Bijou Theater in 2015). Shortly afterwards, I began going to S/M events and getting curious about the sexual spaces in the city.

The snowy March evening in question, I attended one of Bijou's Wayward Sisters parties with a group of friends. These parties were a blast. They generally got good turn outs and lively crowds – mostly younger art students and predominantly women, though a big mix of folks were present, including Bijou regulars. (There were intentionally never any gender restrictions at the Bijou, unlike many other gay adult businesses. Bijou owner Steven Toushin welcomed all adults and his attitude was always, “No one should be left out; it shouldn't be an exclusive space.”)

At these parties, David Boyer from Chicago's leather bar, Touche, would hand out beers in the back garden and spank the recipients. People DJed in the theater area and danced on the stage and, upstairs, explored the space, cruised, had sex, talked to each other through glory holes. That night, I wound up in the sling in the dungeon, making out with two of the girls I'd shown up with, while some Bijou regulars stood around in the dark and jacked off, a few of our other friends peeping at this display through a window. I later went outside and saw my dude friends and some other guys standing in a circle on the balcony with their dicks whipped out, comparing them while deep in conversation.

About six months after attending this party, I wound up answering a Craigslist ad seeking an editor for a gay porn company; an ad so brief it was almost cryptic. When I went in for the interview, it was a very pleasant surprise to realize it was for Bijou and that, in addition to the theater, Bijou was also a vintage gay porn company. I was a filmmaker with a particular interest in '60s sexploitation films and LGBTQ film history and a burgeoning interest in '70s porn, so this was extremely up my alley. I very much wanted the job, even more after Steven discussed the company and its history and philosophy, so I was thrilled when I picked up the call confirming that I got it.

The Wayward Sisters events were still running when I got hired at the Bijou office and, in total, operated for around a year and a half. Steven recalls once showing up at a Wayward Sisters party with his partner and doing a flogging and fisting scene in the dungeon. As they played, party-goers wandered by and started gathering, their conversations soon growing silent as they watched intently. Afterwards, a group of young women came over to talk to his partner and pay compliments about the scene. I went to one or two more of these parties before they wound up being discontinued not long after the person who originally ran them moved to Europe.

But let's back up much further, well before my time.

The Bijou Theater opened in 1970 in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood on Wells Street, where it was in the proximity of several other gay and sexual businesses. The first film that played there was Richard Nixon's Checkers Speech, named after the Nixon dog. The next was a gay porn film. In 1980, it expanded to a second floor, with a maze of glory hole booths and a dungeon room. By then, it was open 24/7 and people partied there late into the night. Touche and other gay bars would bus folks over and the crowd from Carol's Speakeasy, located next door, regularly spilled into Bijou (sometimes for free through its back door) after hours. During these decades, the theater endured numerous police raids, obscenity busts, bomb threats, and more, but it kept running. In addition to porn films on Bijou's screen, these first few decades saw live performances on stage by many of the films' major stars, including Al Parker, Richard Locke, Lee Ryder, Peter Berlin, Jim Cassidy, and Casey Donovan (and Colt stars later on in the 2000s).

From 2000 to 2002, Miss Tiger and her Erotic Cabaret, featuring the Bijou Boys, took to the Bijou's stage. Drag performer Miss Tiger's events were elaborately staged erotic revues featuring theatrical pieces, humor, musical numbers, strip shows, live sex acts, and more. One notable show incorporated a Gregorian chant playing as a man came out dressed as a priest and with four men dressed as choir boys. They all read from Bibles, then the choir boys took turns sucking the priest's dick on stage.

Not long after I began working at the office, a fellow employee asked me if I wanted to help out with one of the theater's strip shows. I wound up running lights and music for these each month. Another co-worker, Bryan, took over as host for a long while and he incorporated stand up comedy into the Nude Revues. We often made elaborate videos to feature during the intros and during intermission. Finally, Michael, who worked in the box office, took over hosting. He had a great rapport with the customers, which made for a comfortable flow. (At the final Nude Revue before the theater's closing in 2015, he ended the show by singing a poignant song, which brought tears to many an eye in the crowd.)

Bijou held a big 40th anniversary party in the first months of 2011. This was hosted by David Boyer, and the packed audience took in live music performances of classic gay porn theme songs accompanied by dancers (one of whom poured orange juice all over her naked body to a very noisy cover of the theme to Arthur Bressan Jr.'s 1984 film, Juice), videos about gay porn history and Bijou's history (both viewable at the bottom of the Bijou Theater page on our website), words from Steven Toushin, a two foot tall ejaculating dick cake (made by my girlfriend), and a strip show.

During the 2000s, more people were approaching Steven with interest in doing events at the theater, as the dynamic at the bars was changing. The first huge event to be staged there by organizers from outside the theater during my era in the 2010s was the release party for the vintage gay porn soundtracks of Patrick Cowley by Dark Entries Records on Valentine's Day of 2014. DJs played in the dungeon (which got crowded, hot, and sweaty) and others played downstairs on the stage while clips from the movies Cowley scored were shown on screen. This event illuminated some new possibilities for hosting parties in the space that were influential during the theater's final two years, during which we worked with many different organizers and artists.

Later that month, a friend of mine staged reading of an erotic play he'd co-written about Abraham's Lincoln alleged gay relationship. This event segued into a year or so when a friend in the same circle proposed doing monthly variety shows at the theater. I helped him run these and they were chaotic, sometimes thrilling, and often messy installments called Upstairs/Downstairs, featuring performance art, video art, experimental film, punk bands, noise musicians, installations, DJs, and stand up comedy. Some highlights: a performance featuring a corn cob strap-on covered in I Can't Believe It's Not Butter; legendary Chicago bands and performance artists taking to the stage and finding creative ways to utilize the space; a night when I had to mop milk, piss, and cum off the floor of the dungeon after the show; and a fake human sacrifice and haunted house.

With these and following events, inspired by the broadly mixed crowd and dynamic use of the building seen in the Wayward Sisters and Patrick Cowley parties, we tried to find more opportunities for newcomers - across a range of ages and genders - to feel welcome in the theater, while also hopefully being an interesting change of pace for the customers who had called it home for decades. Finding this balance was tough and sometimes tense, but a worthwhile endeavor. Steven was interested in people trying new and different things at the theater and he gave them pretty much free reign in what they planned (basically unheard of), though he often suggested to organizers that one successful approach to the uniqueness of the Bijou was allowing things to unfold throughout the entire venue. The staff of the theater went above and beyond during the events in these final years, which often required a huge amount of extra work.

During this span of time, S+S Project hosted an exciting show highlighting the work of many talented local artists, including installations of artwork, video art screening in the theater, and performances on stage and upstairs (featuring nudity, lard, and balloons). Afterwards, we hung around late into the night in the dungeon while DJs kept playing.

A couple of large queer dance parties were thrown by Chances Dances – one for Halloween and one for Valentine's Day. These included DJs, performers, vintage lesbian porn, and more.

The Men's Room parties also came to the Bijou during this time and hosted several events. These quickly turned massive, culminating in a sprawlingly large and debaucherous one during the IML weekend of the theater's final year. These nights featured music on both levels and erotic performance art (once incorporating fireplay and once featuring piercing play; in the latter scenario, a disco ball was strung up to the performer's cock and balls and when the needles pierced into his chest were tugged out, blood spilled down his body and onto the disco ball).

In the same era, we held an intimate memorial service in the theater, hosted by the folks I went to my initial Wayward Sisters party with, for their friend Wiley, a long-time Bijou regular who loved the place and had recently died. His friends shared memories and screened videos they'd made with Wiley in the theater to a small gathering that also included theater attendees and employees who'd known him.

In the fall of 2015, we got the terrible news that the Bijou was being forced to close, as the result of a legal battle with its landlord. We quickly scheduled a series of events for its final week, David Boyer running several great Touche parties and classic porn films playing 24/7 on the screen. We set up one last party on the theater's final night in operation, and I welcomed anyone who was interested in participating to contact me. We had an overwhelming response.

The night saw wild performance art in the dungeon, live music, beautiful dance performances on stage, DJs doing disco sets in the dungeon, classic porn clips in the theater, erotic videos by local artists screening upstairs, a photobooth and roaming photos by GlitterGuts (all of which you can see here), and I even, in one gorgeous moment, walked by to see a person sawing out a section of the glory hole booths while fucking someone. (Several panels were removed for posterity, Steven keeping some and the person who removed them continuing to this day to install pieces of the Bijou in art shows and other spaces around the country.)

Many friends and strangers talked and fucked. Intergenerational conversations were happening throughout the night, as many people from all different points in the theater's history (and newcomers) showed up. I finally managed to have sex in the theater (in one of the booths, with my then-girlfriend). People were so appreciative of the space, each other, and the history, and being able to be free to do whatever they wanted there, engaging enthusiastically in the way I'd always hoped for. A few asked if they could keep the faded vintage porn film posters on the wall and we took these down and gave them out. One DJ (who'd been involved in putting on several previous events) played an entire new score to the Frank Ross classic Made in the Shade in the theater, which thoughtfully included a sample of the lead performer's final line: “I know I'll have many other homes, but never a place like this.”

This party ran until the next morning. As the remaining stragglers lingered, I found myself alone in the dungeon as Donna Summers' Last Dance came on the playlist, and I danced and cried.

The rest of that day is a blur. I may have napped in the office or not slept at all. A few of us, including Steven, David, Bijou's custodian Shrodney, and I, had to take down the screen and clear out any remaining equipment by the end of the night before the property was turned over to its new owners. We climbed ladders to disconnect lights from lighting rigs, cleared out the projection booth, and packed everything up. Shrodney and I made a final pass through the upstairs, which was a wreck from the party (we didn't have to clean up after it for once), and removed lightbulbs and signage and took photos of the graffiti on the remaining glory hole booths. We headed down the spiral staircase for the last time and shut the door to that room, placing a peacock feather we found, left over from one of the previous night's performers, on top of the door frame.

We all finished our work and headed out, locking the front door for the first time in 35 years. Steven had to install a lock for this, because the front door didn't even have a functioning one – the theater had been open every day all those years, even through fires and bomb threats, since it became a 24/7 establishment in 1980.

Weeks later, a large group of my friends, moved by their experiences there, held a beautiful memorial service for the Bijou Theater in their own space, which was deeply in the spirit of the venue. I've seen its spirit continue on in gatherings of friends, sexual spaces, and porn screenings since, and hope to continue to catch glimpses of it as the years pass.

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, Rage was behind the scenes doing production/photography/music. (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 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)

*Note: Corrected this draft with accurate credits for Brown's 1985 videos Rough Idea and Bring Your Own Man. Both were scored by Christopher Rage, not David Earnest, as previously listed.

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!