BijouBlog

 

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 Josh Eliot

Depending upon which generation you come from, when you saw the name IDOL within the gay adult industry it could have referred to two very different origins. If you were coming out in the 1970’s or early 80’s, you watched Tom DeSimone’s classic The Idol at the cinema or on a top loading VHS player. Similarly, If you were coming out around 1990 and you were watching a movie titled or starring an Idol, Ryan Idol was the headliner in a slew of features using his last name as the first name of their title. But wait, there was a third Idol of interest: the “other” Idol, a young, masculine Massachusetts stud with a flawless body, outstanding facial features and a very fuckable butt that directors put to very good use. If you were a gay porn aficionado in 1994, there was Tony Idol, the younger brother of Ryan Idol – well, for marketing purposes only.

Written, produced, and directed by Tom DeSimone with cinematography by Nick Eliot, the movie’s theatrical release was in 1979. From Hand in Hand Films, The Idol tells the story of a college track star who thinks he might be gay, and is determined to find out. The cast, led by Kevin Redding in his one and only adult gay film, also features Mark Bitler, Nick Rodgers, Greg Dale, Jerry Foxe, Jim Battaglia, Peter Borchard, Darla-Lee Barnett, and Derrick Stanton. The Idol was considered a movie like no other that, to this day, is considered one of the very best gay adult films of its time. Just read some reviews from Letterboxd and magazines: 

“One of the most beautiful and romantic coming of age movies in the history of homosexual erotica.” – Patrick S.

“A poignant, gentle and romantic story with sexy guys, believable performances and beautiful cinematography.” – Ben Kinney Harris

“The culmination of everything that Tom DeSimone had spent a decade working towards. DeSimone’s best film?” – Elizabeth Purchell

“The ultimate coming out story! If a person were to see only one sexually explicit gay film in his lifetime, The Idol is that film.” – The Advocate

1990 brought the world a new icon, Ryan Idol, who starred in his first movie, Idol Eyes, for director Matt Sterling. Coming off the success of his Playgirl photo spread in the February 1989 issue, Ryan Idol rose to fame because of his handsome looks, hot body, and debut movie from the most in demand director of the time, Matt Sterling. 1991 brought Score 10 for Sterling, Idol Worship for H.I.S Video, and, in 1992, a gay and straight movie pair for All Worlds: Trade-Off (gay) and Letters From The Heart (straight), where Idol worked with actress Bobbi Blair. In 1993, Catalina Video jumped on the band wagon to shoot the very first movie where Ryan Idol sucks dick – it was called Idol Thoughts. I remember when the GM told me how much he was getting paid to do the movie, I was quite shocked; the amount was more than the budget for one of our monthly releases. Chi Chi LaRue brought Ryan to Catalina, so he directed the movie and I was lead videographer. It was kind of cool to be the first ones to witness Ryan going down on a guy, and I made sure to shoot it beautifully! More movies followed, like Idol Country (1994) and Idol in the Sky (1996), which was his last before retirement from the industry. In 1999, Ryan joined the cast of the play Making Porn, followed by the stage production of Scent of Rain. He also played the role of “Cisco Patron” in the 2007 revival of Terrence McNally’s The Ritz. It’s no secret that Ryan Idol had his share of problems and jail time, but all of that is not really relevant to today’s story.

From the moment I received his pictures at the Catalina offices, I knew we found someone special. I immediately saw his resemblance to Ryan Idol, and my mind started racing on how we could market him. We would promote him as Ryan Idol’s younger brother Tony, who, unlike Ryan, is a bottom. We initially talked on the phone, and I remember thinking that his accent was so “Boston,” which added to his charm. It reminded me of working with Jake Corbin years earlier, that “Paaak the caa in the yaaaad” East Coast slang. When we flew him to California, we shot his introductory masturbation scene for the movie Stargazing 5, which featured up and coming stars. During that trip, we also gave him a full sex scene in Chi Chi LaRue’s movie Seeds of Love. Tony Idol was the epitome of a video virgin, freshly graduated from high school and still wet behind the ears, as they say. I felt obligated to go out of my way to make sure he felt safe and secure while on the set. I wasn’t sure how sexually active he was at the time, so I constantly checked in with him to make sure he was comfortable as things progressed within the sex scenes. When it came time for anal, he definitely needed to open up with a dildo so he wasn’t so tight for the co-star. We booked extensive magazine layout shoots with him and let him know step by step how we were going to promote his name. He made a number of trips to California in 1994 and 1995 for the following movies: Stargazing 5, Seeds of Love, Idol Dreams, Idol in Exile, Down On It, Revenge of the Bi Dolls, Idol Universe, The Roommate, and Jawbreaker.

Consensus around the office was that, because we just loved throwing the Idol name around, we might have oversaturated him too quickly. His final scene in Jawbreaker was actually one of his best performances to date, and his scene with Vince Rockland and Hunter Scott was fireworks! I knew it was his last shoot with us at the time and it made me question myself as to why we were not going to book him anymore. There are models we used for decades because they were solid performers, but not necessarily “stars.” He was a solid performer and throughout his time with Catalina he never lost his innocent boyish charm, which is rare – trust me. I did take solace in the fact that when his contract ended with us, Chi Chi booked him in movies with All Worlds Video and Falcon Studios. He was in All Night Long (1996) for Jocks, then Freshman (1997) for Falcon, and his final movie Gold Diggers (1997) for All Worlds. In hindsight, I wish we wouldn’t have been stuck in the Idol box I created. Making him the younger brother of Ryan didn’t really work long term. If anything, when we started our Freshman Features and Generation Gap Features (mature men with younger guys), he would have been perfect for those types of movies, as he was still in his early 20’s. He would have been awesome as the lead in either the Junior or Rascal series that we started later on. A twink with a face and body like that would have really stood out. He is one of the models I still think about to this day; he would be in his late forties/early 50’s at this point. I’m confident with his level head and charm he is doing just fine.

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 Josh Eliot

Over the holidays, with all the nostalgia floating around, I decided to view the 1979 film The Grease Monkeys. It’s hard to believe that I went through so many years never actually watching this movie. In fact, I shot a video in 1989 called Full Service, which I based solely on seeing the movie poster and newspaper ads for Grease Monkeys while I lived in San Francisco. I walked by the Century Theater every single day on my way to the Art Institute. It felt like The Grease Monkeys was playing there forever! A different movie would premiere at the Century, then a couple of weeks later Grease Monkeys was back up on the marquee and the movie poster was back in a frame at the entrance. The same thing happened over at the Mitchell Brothers' Theater with Behind The Green Door. Using only my memory of the movie poster and my imagination as a guide to write Full Service, I somehow I ended up writing a race car scene in my movie. As I viewed Grease Monkeys over the weekend, I was kind of delighted to see that a race car scenario was a very big part of its storyline. Just a cool coincidence, I guess. Speaking of cool, there’s just something about this movie that felt ultra-hip. The way it was directed and shot felt far more progressive than most of the other gay adult films at the time.

In the opening title sequence of the film, the cool factor was over the top when the three leading men, Nick Rodgers, Kip Noll, and Lee Marlin strut down the streets of Glendale, CA in a beautifully shot montage. It was filmed from a moving vehicle, very much like a scene in the 1972 John Waters film Pink Flamingos where Divine sashays down the streets of Baltimore. The sequence had that “wow factor” that made it feel like a mainstream movie. The three leads worked it for all its worth and gave off the vibe of “Loud and proud!” -- decades before “loud and proud” was even a thing in mainstream society! The scene is even more enhanced with a soundtrack number that really made it shine, the kind of ballad where you want to jump to your feet and dance! This move feels realistic due to its locations throughout Southern California. The urban city locale adds to the grit, and only steps away from the urbanness for a hot and sexy threeway shot at Pismo Beach with Noll, Marlin, and Derek (aka Derrick) Stanton. Derrick Stanton remembers finishing up just before the police arrived to the location.

The lead, Nick Rodgers, is the real standout performer in this film, which showcases his incredible face and body throughout. Discovered while working for The Advocate, his naturally masculine demeanor made him a perfect choice to cast in the movie Hot Truckin’ (1977) for Tom DeSimone. Larry LeBlanc was the stage name he used for that movie, but it was changed to Nick Rodgers for his second film, The Idol (1979). When making the movie Rough Cut (1979), director Steve Scott was quoted as saying that Nick had the “best looking dick in the business.” I remember the first time I saw Nick Rodgers in a film -- it was Malibu Days / Big Bear Nights (1982), pounding Giorgio Canali. I became an instant fan, so it was great to see him showcased in Monkeys all these years later. His outstanding good looks were unique, allowing his career to run from 1977 to 1985 when he shot his final film, Arcade, for director Jim West.

Kip Noll is the second of the three leads, and his sexual energy and fun-loving personality really shine in this film. The chemistry between Kip and Lee Marlin is evident every time they are together on screen. Lee Marlin started off in loops that were later released as parts of a compilation called Locker Room Loops: Bucky’s Triple XXX 1 & 3, from Something Weird Video. His first movie was Just Blonds (1979) followed by his role in Grease Monkeys. In 1980, he was on the original cover of Rear Deliveries for William Higgins. Higgins was quoted as saying that Lee Marlin was “funny and clever but, being a kid of the streets, he ended up in and out of jail a lot.” He went on to star in a bunch of movies for Robert Walters at Nova including Men at Work (1981) and Down on the Farm (1981). His career spanned from the late 1970s to 1982, and little is known of him after retiring from the industry. Lee Marlin is a natural-looking solid, beefy stud who gives off some great energy in Grease Monkeys while getting serviced under the auto-lift inside the mechanic’s garage. This standout scene is another iconic balls-to-the wall moment with a hand-held grease gun emulating Lee’s explosive cum shot in customer Richie Shaw’s hungry mouth. When Nick, Kip and Lee get together in the movie, there’s a real sense of comradery, which is evident in a fun scene where they wash the grease off each other’s arms and chests. It plays like a fun montage, showing the guys clowning around as real buddies do, proof that they genuinely all liked each other.

There are a couple more sequences that really help make this movie one-of-a-kind. The discotheque scene where Nick, Kip, and Lee go to dance off some stress was shot brilliantly and gave the trio an opportunity to really go to town on each other. It is like a time capsule of the era that anyone who lived it can attest to. Lastly, there's the memorable Nick Rodgers scene where he fantasizes about having sex with himself. Shot with the use of a body double, things could have gone terribly wrong, but to my surprise and delight it played on screen as one of the hottest scenes in the movie. Nick Rodgers sucking and fucking himself took this movie to a whole other level. It’s exceptional. How is it that watching this movie caused me to become instantly obsessed with Aaron’s filmmaking? How could I have allowed myself not to see this incredible movie until now, 47 years after it’s release? With a script by Robert Werner and stunning cinematography and editing by Brandon Ryan, Mark Aaron was able to bring about a progressive, instantly consuming film, which made all of the top actors seem bigger than life but accessible at the same time. Everything works, from the lighting, the theatrics, the montages, the creative sexual situations, and even having the balls to shoot a real drag race on the I-10 freeway on-ramp! Who was this director with such great instincts named Mark Aaron?

Mark Aaron’s real name was Monroe Beehler, he started Jaguar Productions in 1971 and later became the owner for the Century Theater in Los Angeles, which he used to premiere their movies on the west coast. Jaguar’s productions ended sometime in 1980 and the Century Theater closed in 1988. Aaron previously directed The Boy With the Hungry Eyes (aka) Youthful Lust (1970) and Time It Was (1971) followed by The Rivermen, shot in 1975 but not released until 1980. That’s definitely one I will watch next on Bijou VOD, because I am sold on his style from the Monkeys viewing. After Grease Monkeys, Mark Aaron did not direct any further movies, which is a loss for all of us. As far as I can tell, he seems to have lived a very low-key life all the way until May 15, 2018 when he passed away. Every once in a while, you see a movie that impresses and engages you. Grease Monkeys did that for me many, many times throughout the viewing. I’ll be ordering my physical copy for my collection. Better late than never, it’s a must!

Watch these trailers by Josh Eliot!
Grease Monkeys New Extended Trailer
Trailer for Full Service

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 Josh Eliot

There were Bob and Jeff and Scott and Marc who used the surname “Noll,” but the “Noll” that brought the name into superstar status was Kip Noll. Bob Noll was the first, a very popular Trademark Studios magazine and solo loop star in the early 1970’s. A masculine, handsome man whose work drew instant attention. When producer/director Mark Reynolds (Larry Ginsburg) discovered an eighteen-year-old named Thomas, he cast him under the stage name Kip Noll, assuming the role of Bob’s younger brother. The two of them did have a strikingly identical appearance and demeanor that Reynolds wanted to play off of. Initially, Reynolds wasn’t convinced that Thomas (Kip) had anything special to offer. Kip’s overgrown hair and bushy moustache hid his most attractive attributes, but once he was clean shaven and polished up, the potential was obvious.

According to a bio written for Live Journal, Kip began an extensive initial career in the Trademark Studios loop business, many released years later in the compilation Surf & Turf from Cream of the Crop Video. Loops with titles I’ll Do It If You Will and Double Your Pleasure featured Kip as mostly a bottom. Most of the loops were shot while Kip had a front tooth missing. Mark Reynolds filmed and released a solo and accompanying magazine which was called The Kip Noll Story in 1978. Kip continued to work in more silent loops for Reynolds (examples: Fuck Truck and Dreamboys) and took over the spotlight as his “older brother” Bob faded from the industry.

After taking a short break from making movies, Kip made a huge jump into stardom when Reynolds introduced him to William Higgins, who cast him in the starring role for The Boys of Venice (1979). In that movie, Kip's deep masculine voice is heard on screen for the very first time, enhancing his desirability to the audience. It also marked his first role as a top when he mounted Greek stud Emmanuelle Bravos who, unlike Kip, only ever worked in this one movie. The film was a smash hit! In 1979, he followed the success of his initial “talkie” with Grease Monkeys for Jaguar, taking top billing alongside Nick Rodgers and Lee Marlin. The macho role he played hit a chord with his audience, but the shoot itself was no walk in the park. Kip described the threeway sex scene on Pismo Beach as his most difficult because of the ice cold water and very vocal crowd yelling down from the top of the cliffs.

Born in Greenwich, Connecticut on August 7th, 1957 Kip's lean muscled frame, shaggy hair, free spirit and east coast upbringing all added to his charm. He is said to have had a very high sex drive. Even though he was a street hustler when Reynolds met him, he was not gay but leaning more straight or bisexual. The drive for him was the money, that was his motivation. 

Shortly after his rise to superstar status, other Noll “siblings” and “cousins” started popping up out of the woodwork. There was Jeff Noll (brother), Marc Noll (cousin), Scott Noll aka Chris Noll (brother). All a schtick from producers and agents trying to cash in on Kip's success. Hell, Scott Masters and I even worked with another Noll sibling in my movies 69: Discover the Secret and Junior Meets the Bear Patrol, Chip Noll, in 2004! Not to be outdone, in 2017 William Higgins discovered Igor Galek, a Czech model who sometimes shot movies under the name Greg Noll! With all those Nolls I mentioned, there are bound to be four or five more, don’t you think? You can see the solo loops of Bob, Jeff, Kip, Mark and Scot Noll in the movie For You Solo Signature Series 6 (1980) from Mark Reynolds and H.I.S. Video.

Kip’s career was on a constant rise. He promoted Grease Monkeys while performing at the Eros Theatre in Times Square with co-stars Lee and Nick. Kip’s next big release was Kip Noll & the Westside Boys (1979) for Higgins, who was all about riding the wave when he planned to star Kip in his next movie Rear Deliveries. Just prior to production, Kip was involved in a motorcycle accident and could not star in the movie. After recovering, he worked with Lee Marlin and Kourey Mitchell for the Mark Reynolds movie Roommates (1980). The hits kept coming with Cuming of Age (1980) which matches Kip, Scott Noll and Steve York, Al Parker’s Flashback (1981) where Kip and Chris Noll have a scene together, Pacific Coast Highway (1981) with Jack Burke, Brothers Should Do it (1981) with Derrick Stanton, Class of ’84 Part II (1981) with Jeremy Scott and The Legend of Kip Noll: Superstar (1981).

The Legend of Kip Noll: Superstar is basically a compilation for most of the movie, where Jon King interviews Kip and asks questions about some of his movie memories from various scenes in his films. A typical comp film until the end, which is more than worth the price of admission. I read that Higgins described how when it came time for Kip and Jon to start their sex scene, they literally ripped the clothes off each other and, before Higgins could tell them to stop (because he was still loading film into the camera), Noll was fucking King on the floor, pounding away like an animal so wildly that Jon King started cumming all over himself, causing Noll to blow his load up King's ass. Without missing a beat, Noll spun King around and continued fucking doggie style. Why weren’t more of my movie sets like that! The film got loaded, Higgins kept shooting and the two kept at it, not even fazed by the fact that they already shot their loads. They came back the next day to shoot the “intro” they had missed and, supposedly, once the intro was shot, the two started screwing again and wouldn’t stop while the crew just packed up the equipment around them. A stark contrast to his off-set life, where it is written that he was dating adult film star Velvet Summers, a petite (4’ 11”) young actress who specialized in bondage themed movies. Velvet was born September 22, 1960 and was also from Massachusetts. She worked in seventeen movies between 1981 and 1984 with titles like Wicked Schoolgirls (1981), The Taming of Rebecca (1982) and When She was Bad (1983).

In 1981, the Follies Theatre opened in New York City and Kip appeared to sold out crowds, which was unprecedented at the time. Noll became famous for incidents where he would have sex with the audience, often putting his erect cock in different audience members' mouths. Quite the showman! His career was more about “on the road” appearances at this point, but he made one final movie in 1983, a movie that he himself financed and directed called Kip Noll’s Casting Couch. Kip was involved in all of the scenes within the movie and it’s said to include the one and only time Ron Jeremy performed auto-fellatio on himself. At this stage in his life, it is reported that Kip Noll got married and worked as a machinist in San Diego. He reappeared again in 1984 for a grand re-opening of the Follies, alongside Lance and Daniel Holt, but no further sightings are noted after that performance. In 1985, rumors circulated of his death but were proven groundless by Manshots magazine. An obituary in a Salt Lake City newspaper shows Thomas (Kip) died on May 21st, 2001 of a heart attack at age 43. Being one of seven brothers, he is survived by his wife and three daughters.

Watch Josh Eliot's excerpts/trailers for Kip's classics!
Kip's interview with Jon King from The Legend of Kip Noll: Superstar
Trailer for The Boys of Venice

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 Josh Eliot

I wrote in Part 1 of this series about Buster and Steve York, two very hot models from the early, early Catalina Video days. I came upon some movies in the Catalina warehouse that were made by Dan Allman, who was assigned to shoot loops for William Higgins to sell as 8mm and Super 8mm reels and for use in his bookstore booths. I spoke about The Big Surprise as one of the movies Dan worked on but I had not yet addressed Good Times Coming (1982) and Spring Semester (1985), his two other VHS movies I saw on the shelf. In Good Times Coming, the movie revolves around a solo scene with a certain new blond model fantasizing about hot studs: T.N.T., Chaz Holderman, Jamie Wingo, Thor, Jeff Holden and Jake Conners. That hot new blond on the scene was named Lance.

LANCE: Born November 25, 1962, Lance took center stage in virtually every scene he was a part of. In Good Times Coming’s campsite scene (original loop title: “Hilltop Retreat”), Lance works with blonde "Mark" and stops the scene cold when he takes his partner’s load on the face, then continues to clean the piece off with his mouth. An onscreen novice adding that kind of magic to a scene was bound to get William Higgins' immediate attention. It was some kind of progressive thinking that compelled Higgins to match Lance with another up and coming star of the time called Leo Ford. Leo was just coming off a career high with the release of Falcon’s Spokes, Steve Scott/Surge's Games and Catalina’s Sailor in the Wild (1983). Story has it that Lance was partners with producer/director Richard Morgan (who also dated Buster at one time) and one day went out for some coffee but didn’t come back for hours. It turns out he went to shoot Leo & Lance for William Higgins instead, and when Richard Morgan found out all hell broke loose. Morgan and Higgins were mortal enemies. Prior to his role in Leo & Lance, Leo was already drawing attention from previous 1981 releases: Flashbacks (J. Brian), and The Summer of Scott Noll (Mark Reynolds). The movie poster for Leo & Lance (1983) was simple yet effective; the one shot of the pair said it all, and the title just kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? The pairing was pure cinema magic, and it’s written that after the movie came out, the pair would work together as male hustlers. They also appeared together on screen again in 1986 for Blondes Do it Best (Richard Morgan).

Some of Lance’s other also very notable releases are Good Hot Stuff (Buckshot), Student Bodies (LeSalon/Magnum Griffin) and Backstrokes (Video10). Lance’s career ran from 1982 – 1988 with his final appearance in Backstrokes, performing in a masturbation-only scene. It is written that Lance grew up in foster homes and had numerous brushes with the law in his early years. On May 26, 1991 in San Jose, California, Lance passed away from complication from AIDS. In a horrific twist, just 52 days later, his former co-star and friend Leo Ford died from head injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. I don’t believe it was the same motorcycle, but coincidentally Leo Ford won a motorcycle William Higgins was giving away in an on-set drawing to one lucky member of the cast of Class Reunion. This was the 1983 William Higgins movie with a ton of guys in a poolside orgy. I was told that the models all worked for free with the chance of winning the motorcycle. Chet Thomas told me the contest was rigged for Leo Ford to win, which he did. I don’t know if that was true or if Chet was blowing smoke up my ass. Surely the models received some payment for all that sucking, fucking and cum guzzling, right?

Finding myself back in the Catalina warehouse, I remember coming upon the VHS for Spring Semester (1985), which I immediately assumed was directed by William Higgins. The movie was shot on film, produced by Higgins and had all the usual attributes like an incredible score by Costello Presley and editing from the team at the time which was Sam Deliloh, Dan Pack and Tony DeVito. But looking closer, I discovered that it was written, photographed and directed by Dan Allman. Spring Semester has an incredible cast headlined by Tex Anthony and featuring Mike Gere, Mark Scott Solo, Grant Fagan, Johnny Shovel, (yes I said shovel) Blake Dawson, Shaun Peters and (introducing) Mitch Henderson. It was Dan Allman’s first real full feature with all the bells and whistles. Tex Anthony and Michael Gere both had careers filled with roles in major hits and roles that gave them both instant notoriety.

TEX ANTHONY: His 1982 debut in the industry was in The New Breed, directed by Al Parker for Falcon Studios, where his stage name was simply “Tex.” John Travis and Richard Morgan were shooting 8mm loop reels and were selling them to adult shops around the state. Travis’ connection to Falcon exposed him to models, one of them being Tex, who he introduced to Higgins. From the get-go, they modified his name to Tex Anthony and 1984 became a very busy year for the young stud, making many movies released in 1985 under the Catalina/Laguna Pacific Ltd umbrella. Hits like The Young and The Hung, The Big Switch, Bi Bi Love and Bi-Sexual Fantasies started his career off with a bang. The infamous watermelon scene where Tex Anthony took the lead made him standout from other actors in the movie as charm and wit exuded out of him. The movie Sex Lunch (1985) from director Roger Earl features Tex Anthony, Cole Carpenter, Michael Ram and Shane Michaels and is currently available on DVD or for streaming on the Bijou VOD site. In 1986, he starred in Tough Iron for director Stephen Lucas, Social Studies for J.D. Slater, Foreplay for Richard Morgan and accepted work from Le Salon, All Worlds and H.I.S. video companies. In 1987, he only showed up in straight movies for Vidco and Standard Video; the titles included Cabaret Sin, Empire of the Sins and Tropical Lust. His final movie was the Private Collection Screen Test (1989) for Telstar Video, where he masturbated only. A soft finish to what was a very strong and successful introduction to the industry, working in scenes from an array of well-known and diverse directors. Unfortunately on June 12, 1992, Tex Anthony passed away from what is reported as complication of AIDS.

MICHAEL GERE: Michael Gere came onto the scene in 1985 with three back-to-back hits: Spring Semester with Grant Fagan, Pizza Boy: He Delivers with Chad Johnson/Sean Gage and The Young & The Hung with Troy Ramsey, Tex Anthony and Ken Kurns. Gere was the original cover boy for the Higgins super hit The Young & The Hung, both on the VHS cover and magazine ads. The following year, director John Travis cast him in the Jeff Stryker mega-hit Powertool. In Powertool, Gere was in the (now infamous) jailhouse scene playing the inmate getting worked over by Johnny Davenport while Jeff Stryker watches and beats off. Later that year, Gere appeared in Two Handfuls from combined directors John Travis, Matt Sterling and Paul Norman. In the movie, Gere is matched with Bill Bix, a hot cowboy who wanders into the local bookstore and ended up inside Gere’s hole. Michael finally got to grace another box cover when he starred in Spike Video’s Sticky Business (1986), which was a parody of Risky Business star Tom Cruise. Michael's short but sweet career in the adult film industry was like a flash, 1985 – 1986, that’s it. Short indeed, but in that time he had roles in arguably six majors hits that still live on as classics today. That’s a pretty great run! Very little can be found about Michael’s life or career after leaving the business.

I considered Buster, Steve York, Lance, Tex Anthony and Michael Gere to be top stars when I was just coming out of the closet in the early 1980s. By the time I saw them again on the Catalina shelves in my mid 20s, they had reached a kind of superstar status in my mind and maybe even in reality as well.

Watch Josh Eliot's trailers for several of these classics!
Trailer for Good Times Coming
Trailer for Spring Semester
Watermelon clip from The Young & The Hung

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.