DOWN FOR THE COUNT

By Josh Eliot

In 1987, before opening the San Francisco studio and hiring me to work for Catalina Video, Scott Masters and editor Chet Thomas had stopped productions for Nova Studios and started working for William Higgins. William Higgins was getting ready to hightail it out of the country for Amsterdam and was prepping Scott Masters to become producer for Catalina Video. Scott Masters also signed on to direct movies produced by Higgins until his departure. Scott’s initial movie for Catalina was called Down For The Count. On paper, it was going to be a star-studded sure-fire hit and, despite itself, it was. The cast included European import Sven Ericson, Chad Johnson, Kurt Bauer, Danny Russo, Kyle McGyver, Dave Phillips (actually: Jon Vincent), Joe Fuller, Matt Forrest, David Dabello, Tyler Jensen and Ricky Rhodes. The lead, however, was a tall, handsome, blue-eyed boy named Eric Manchester.

Born August 26th, 1964, Eric Manchester appeared in over a dozen movies released between the years 1987-1989. Such hits like Spokes 2 (1988) and Touch Me: It’s Hot, It’s Tender (1988) for director Steven Scarborough, as well as In Your Wildest Dreams (1989) for director Matt Sterling, working alongside Tom Brock, Justin Cade, Chad Douglas, Leigh Erickson, and Kevin Williams. Movies released through Catalina Video included Down For The Count (1987), Innocence Lost (1987), They Grow ‘Em Big (1988), Head Of The Class (1988) and his very last movie, Powerline (1989).

Down For The Count had everything going for it - until the make-up man sabotaged the entire project. I remember hearing about this movie on the set, long before ever seeing it on VHS. Hearing Chet Thomas and John Travis laughing about the in your face make-up didn’t really prepare me fully for when I first viewed it and then again some 34 years later, as I revisited the movie. The over use of the make-up and eye liner pencils didn’t go over well in the eyes of William Higgins. I’m just imagining that maybe Scott Masters was heavy handed in the make-up department, like he was in the wardrobe department, and just didn’t realize that shooting on video was less forgiving than shooting on film? But certainly he would have questioned the make-up when shooting the close-up face shots, since he could see them in color on the studio monitors? In any case, the movie is plagued with hot models looking very RuPaul’s Drag Race, especially in the close-ups. I’m sure Sven Ericson was a tall hot stud, but you just can’t get past the eyes. It had some naturally good looking guys in it, like Kurt Bauer and Chad Johnson, but it’s hard to look past what was done to them. Seriously, how do you do that to Chad Johnson (Bijou Video’s Perfect 10) and get away with it!? Despite the make-up (and some questionable costume choices - example: men’s sports bra-like tops), Eric Manchester was the true lead of this movie and does a great job playing the oversexed college wrestler who gets in hot water with the coach for banging every guy in latex who crosses his path. Even though Jon Vincent, Kurt Bauer and Danny Russo provide the standout three-way scene in the school shower, this is really Eric Manchester’s movie. I remember being impressed by this icon from the moment I saw him Matt Sterling’s In Your Wildest Dreams - he was totally dreamy!

In 1989, I worked with him on Powerline. From the moment he walked into the San Francisco studio with director John Travis, we were all smitten. Once again, it was a great surprise to see who John Travis would be bringing in to the shoot, as we never knew in advance. Eric’s scene was in a studio-designed dirt pit where they were going to be adding a power pole. I was going to actually be using the exact same set the following day in my debut movie Runaways. I remember being very envious that John Travis was the one who got to direct Eric Manchester, but you know what? I was just as happy to be the videographer for his scene, where I got to be right below him, shooting from underneath, while he got sucked off. I got the better end of the deal, I suppose. Out of the hundreds of models I’ve worked with over the years, Eric, in my mind, had that something extra making him much more attractive beyond his stunning good looks and breathtaking blue eyes. His time in the Navy, stationed in Washington, gave him a “straight, edgy” persona that was very attractive. In fact, years later when Chi Chi LaRue brought Joey Stefano to the set, for the very first time, to shoot the movie Billboard, I was jettisoned back to the set of Powerline in 1989. To me, they could have been brothers. Joey Stefano was a dead ringer, looks-wise anyway, for Eric Manchester.

After shooting the scenes for Powerline, John Travis and Eric Manchester couldn’t wait to “light up” a big boner Eric had with him. The only thing John Travis loved more than his Benson and Hedges 100’s was a good “bone.” I remember thinking that Eric Manchester was even cuter when he was stoned. His blue eyes all red and blood shot from smoking weed were even more sexy, if you can believe it! He was more relaxed and playful with the crew and a lot lighter on his feet. Back then I remember, at least I think I do, that he was definitely bisexual and had a girlfriend back home. He had the straight boy cool jock from high school feel to him, yet would suck, fuck, top, and bottom with gusto and passion. I truly believed he loved being on the set and enjoyed his uninhibited sexual encounters. I was 27 when we shot Powerline and I just assumed that he was older than me, but in fact he was 2 years younger. He carried himself with such confidence. I’m surprised he made a deliberate decision to get out of the business after completing work on this movie. For years, I couldn’t help but to be curious as to where he was and what he was doing, hoping he would someday surface and contact us for more video work. If I even had a hunch, during my years as producer, that I could have tracked him down, I would have moved heaven and earth to get him in front of the camera again. Decades went by with no word about him. As far as we knew, he cut all ties with the industry, and was untraceable. Where was he all these years? Chatter on the internet had him escorting in Seattle and San Francisco throughout the 1990’s. Escorting ads he placed in magazines and sightings on Polk Street from various sources attest to the fact.

When I went on the internet this week to find shots of Eric Manchester for a Down For The Count trailer I was cutting for my YouTube Channel, I was shocked to see a write up on IMDb about him. In 2023, while evidently visiting the city of San Francisco, Eric Manchester was discovered, by hotel staff, unresponsive in his room. He unfortunately passed away from a heroin overdose, and was laid to rest at the Wellston Cemetery in Oklahoma.

He passed away on March 12, 2023 and was 58 years old.

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.