RIP, Superstar Auteur Gino Colbert

It was just last week that we learned of the death of gay porn star Blue Blake in London at age 52. Now, we can confirm that legendary director Gino Colbert has also passed away. (The two men were frequent collaborators.) It’s been reported that Colbert, 58, had a heart attack at his home in Hollywood last August. This was a sad end for a man who spent many years in front of the camera as a model and then behind it as an award-winning writer, producer and director of films in the gay, straight, bisexual and trans genres.

Colbert helmed countless titles for numerous studios before starting his own Gino Pictures imprint. He had a hand in discovering Joey Stefano, the Rockland brothers and many other big-name porn stars. Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Colbert started as an assistant to straight porn director Joe Sarno (subject of the 2013 documentary A Life in Dirty Pictures) in the late 1970s in New York. Eventually he made his way to Los Angeles, where he worked for VCA/HIS, Leisure Time, Metro and New Age Pictures, creating classic movies such as Three Brothers, Porn Fiction, Men in Blue, Jeff Stryker’s Underground, Night Walk and The Matinee Idol (starring Ken Ryker). And who could forget 1994’s Tijuana Toilet Tramps (featuring Stefano)!? Colbert later turned his love for theater into a stage career, touring in Ronnie Larsen plays such as Scenes From My Love Life, 10 Naked Men, All-Male Peep Show and Shooting Porn: Live On Stage. He was also involved in Larsen’s 1997 film documentary Shooting Porn.

In recent years, Colbert oversaw the annual Hall of Fame induction presentation at the now-defunct GAYVN Awards and helped Robert Van Damme (below with Gino in 2009) with the launch of his RVD Productions. He was also a guest speaker at UC Santa Barbara graduate film program, and he was honored with an annual film festival dedicated to his work at the former Tomkat Theatre in West Hollywood. While he had stepped away from the business, Colbert remained a devoted movie buff and fan. He was also one of nicest and most thoughtful guys you could ever meet—in or out of the industry. RIP, sweet man.

Movie Review: Everything You Wanted to Know About Gay Porn Stars…

BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Director: John Roecker
Cast: Johnny Hazzard, Jason Ridge, Nick Capra, Bret Wolfe, Jeremy Jordan, Jason Hawke, Nick Piston, Danny Vox, Joey Milano, Others.

Even though here! TV is in the business of marketing programing to the gays, that doesn’t mean it always presents its subject matter in the best possible light. Case in point: the documentary Everything You Wanted to Know About Gay Porn Stars *but were afraid to ask. This film from director John Roecker, which led to a six-part series that aired on the cable channel last year, boasts a big-name porn star cast, but it offers an anything but positive depiction of the gay adult industry. It starts predictably enough with an off-camera voice asking top stars such as Johnny Hazzard (above), Jason Ridge (below), Nick Capra, Bret Wolfe, Jeremy Jordan and Jason Hawke how they got their porn names, why they decided to get into the business (Capra did it to piss off his mother), what their first scene was like and other innocuous questions. But about halfway through, the questions and film take a turn toward the dark side. And we mean that literally as Roecker has photographed these mostly young and good-looking models in extremely unflattering and harsh lighting. Their faces are cast in shadow and the blank walls behind them give a gritty and unappealing look.

Though the coming-out stories remain upbeat (Jeremy Jordan tells a funny one about breaking the news of his sexual orientation to his grandmother during a family dinner), once the topic turns to escorting and drug abuse, the film becomes a one-way ticket to depression and doom. An emotional Joey Milano shares tales of his bareback work, which ultimately leads to a troubling story about a producer knowingly allowing a model with an STD to participate in a shoot. It’s no surprise when Milano reveals his HIV-positive status. One model shoots up on a toilet bowl and another smokes crack for the cameras. Ah, the glamour!

The film departs from the Q&A format to go on set with Nick Capra and his then-boyfriend as they shoot a scene together for this movie. This is ground that has already been covered (and to much better effect) in Ronnie Larsen’s revealing 1997 documentary Shooting Porn. When the boyfriend goes AWOL on a drug bender and then returns to beat up Capra, there’s a feeling that we’ve seen this story before. Every negative stereotype about gay porn and its workers is reinforced, and the subjects often seem one-dimensional and cliché. A brutally honest Capra and a thoughtful Jason Ridge musing on self-esteem and image come alive as fully formed humans, but most of the others just seem like they’re playing the part of a desperate porn star destined to a sad end.

Roecker uses vintage clips from films that depict homosexuals as threats to society and outcasts, but they do little to lighten the tone. Tattooed model Nick Piston gets the last word. After grappling with his own feelings of shame and insecurity, he ends the film on an almost positive note, but it’s too little, too late. Everything You Wanted to Know… has already ignored any of the fun, creativity and entertainment value that the industry might offer to gay men, and instead leads us to a dark and gloomy place, leaving its audience—and subjects—down and out.

News: Ryan Idol Returns to Stage

It was announced today that porn superstar Ryan Idol will make his Broadway debut this fall in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Terrence McNally’s The Ritz. The show, which will be directed by Joe Mantello, stars Rosie Perez, Kevin Chamberlin, Brooks Ashmanskas and Seth Rudetsky. Idol, who appeared in Ronnie Larsen’s off-Broadway hit Making Porn at the Actors’ Playhouse in the mid-’90s, will play one of the patrons of the bathhouse where the comedy is set. In recent months, Idol, the star of such films as Idol Country and Idol in the Sky, has been collaborating with writer-director Jerry Douglas (for whom Idol filmed Trade Off in 1992) on a one-man show about his career and life titled My Messy Bedroom: Anatomy of an Idol, which was also slated for a fall run. No word on the fate of Bedroom at this time. The Ritz begins performances at Studio 54 on September 14, and opening night is set for October 11.

Movie Review: Shooting Porn

BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Director: Ronnie Larsen.
Cast: Blue Blake, Adam Rom, Adam Wilde, B.J. Slater, Blade Thompson, Bryan Kidd, Chi Chi LaRue, Chris Green, Gino Colbert,Hunter Scott, J.T. Sloan, Jim Bentley, Joey Stefano, Johnny Rey, Jordan Young, Joshua Sterling, Mickey Skee, Ren Adams, Rip Stone.

Making movies is never as glamorous as it seems—and that includes gay porn. Filmmaker Ronnie Larsen has turned the tables on the adult industry and gone behind the scenes with his documentary, Shooting Porn. Larsen took his film crew onto the porn sets of famed directors Gino Colbert and Chi Chi LaRue, and he captured all the things viewers never get to see. Hairy Hunter Scott shows how all good bottoms prepare for their close-up by demonstrating his douching techniques; beefy Blue Blake waxes poetic on the art of filming an enema scene; and journalist Mickey Skee gives new meaning to the term “Hitler’s mustache.”

“I wanted to make a movie about how porn is created and marketed,” says Larsen (pictured top with Blake). “I wanted audiences to have their eyes opened and their misconceptions broken. Being in porn movies is rarely fun, and the money isn’t always good. No one can make a living just being in porn movies, yet these guys jump at the chance because they think…actually I don’t know what they think. Some of them don’t think. My movie should be required viewing for all porn-star wanna-bes.”

So whether you’re a screen-stud-in-waiting or just a fan who’s yearning to fluff, Shooting Porn offers an original and seldom seen look at what really happens before, during and after the cameras roll. For more information, visit www.ShootingPornMovie.com.

Reprinted from All-Man magazine (2000)

Porn Star Interview: Jordan Young

STORY AND BOTTOM PHOTO BY VINCENT LAMBERT

In the opening scene of the latest script that Jordan Young has written, a “proud mother” looks on as her son practices his autograph. He tells her that someday he’s going to be a big star. Eventually, he ends up making a big splash in the porn industry. Not unlike Young himself. And although his own mother isn’t quite sure what her son is doing for a living, she just might be proud of what he’s accomplished in two short years.

Originally from Montana, Young moved to Wyoming with his family when he was in fourth grade. He says that he loves the Midwest, but always felt suffocated by the small-town atmosphere there. “It’s a wonderful place to raise your children if you want them to grow up to be bigoted, hateful people,” he says. Born to a Korean mother and a Greek father, Young’s unique looks gained the attention of casting directors when he was a teenager. At 14, he began modeling for Banana Republic and Calvin Klein. “Modeling is just a higher form of pornography,” he says, “because they are sending the same message, only in a much more glossy way.”

After graduating from high school, Young relocated to Denver, where he got an agent and started dancing. He also sent some pictures to director John Rutherford at Falcon. It was through Rutherford that director Chi Chi LaRue first became aware of the 20-year-old model. “I saw his picture and thought he was cute,” LaRue recalls. “I thought, there are no Asian boys who are considered stars. So I decided that I was gonna make him a star. We hit it off immediately. I think it was fate that brought us together.”

Young soon moved to Los Angeles and became LaRue’s housemate. He was cast in his first film, Nightwatch 2, shortly after that. “The night before,” Young says, “all I could think about was, once I step in front of that camera, I can’t take it back. I can’t buy back the film. There was nothing I could do. It was scary, but I knew that I would never be president,” he laughs, “so I did it.”

He also began writing scripts, and in collaboration with LaRue, they started getting produced. Lost in Vegas (All Worlds Video) and The Taking of Jake (Falcon Studios) are just two of the films he has written. And the porn-star-is-born saga mentioned above will be LaRue’s next big-screen project, Hardcore, which will be shot in New York this month. Young also has his own monthly column in Skin Flicks magazine titled “New Kid on the Cock,” which focuses on the gay adult film industry. And he is prominently featured in director Ronnie Larsen’s documentary, Shooting Porn, which was recently shown at the Berlin Film Festival and will be released later this year.

All this multimedia work hasn’t left Young much time for a personal life, but he has managed to date such fellow porn studs as Tom Katt, Logan Reed and current beau Sam Dixon, an ex–police officer who has since gotten into the business. “When you find someone you’re comfortable with, it’s a fine line you walk,” Young says. “You don't want to mess it up, but you don't want to sacrifice who you are. I didn’t tell Sam about my work until our third date because people have preconceived notions about the way people are in the porno industry—that they’re slutty or trashy or stupid, and it does have its share of that, but so does every other job there is.”

Young’s future plans include more writing and a move into independent films. “I’d like to ‘go legit,’ ” he says, “although I don't consider what I’m doing not legit. I don't deny it. I’m comfortable with it. It’s a form of media that’s out there; it’s just not as widely accepted.”

But would he ever allow his mother to see one of his movies?

“I told my mother that I’m a model,” he says, “but I think she knows what I’m actually doing and she doesn't care. I think she knows that I’m happy. And I am happy where I am. But the bad thing about me is that I want everything, and I want it now. And that causes lots of problems because I’m not taking the time to be a kid. ’Cause I am a kid. I just can’t imagine what my life would be if I hadn't done this.”

Reprinted from HX magazine (1997)

Porn Star Interview: Ryan Idol

BY VINCENT LAMBERT

“Can I get those Polaroids back at the end of the shoot?” Ryan Idol asks. “I mean, I wouldn’t want these pictures to get around.” One of the biggest names in gay porn is standing naked in a drafty photo studio in downtown Manhattan. No, the star of numerous videos and nude layouts isn’t suffering from a bout of temporary memory loss. He's simply running lines from Making Porn, the off-Broadway hit that he’s appearing in for an eight-week run. Idol is posing for the play’s ubiquitous poster in which the leading stud glares nakedly into the camera as a clapper is held in front of his privates. As the lighting is adjusted, Idol chats good-naturedly with the play's writer/director Ronnie Larsen. The topic of conversation is how cerebrally challenged some of Idol’s fellow porn stars are.

“Jeff Stryker has about two brain cells,” Idol cracks. “Lex Baldwin has three, and Rex has about four, if he's lucky.” The Rex that he’s referring to is Rex Chandler, who originated the role in the New York production of Making Porn that Idol now plays.

While Larsen may share Idol’s opinion of the show’s previous star—and for that matter, his replacement, Johnny Hanson—he’s certainly an Idol worshiper now. “I was less than thrilled with Rex and Johnny,” Larsen says. “Both ran out on their contracts; they both got bad reviews; and they both were extremely difficult backstage. Everyone told me that Ryan Idol would be the best thing for the show, but I never thought he'd be available. But when he came to audition, I was impressed with his professionalism and charm. And the irony is that Ryan has an awful reputation, but he’s been respectable and quite humble.”

Some of the bad rep that Larsen alludes to includes rumors of drug and alcohol addiction, an overdose, steroid abuse and unprofessionalism. Although Idol denies he overdosed, he does admit to battling a few of his own personal demons. “It’s like I was exorcised,” Idol says. “There was so much anger and hatred inside of me, but I found forgiveness of myself, then others. I've been through this whole spiritual, inner-growth metamorphosis. And people can balk at that, but positive things are happening in my life now.”

As Idol takes a break between shots, he sips water and talks about his life. His speech is peppered with 12-step recovery jargon, and one gets the feeling that this 30-year-old native of Worcester, Massachusetts, has been preparing for his new incarnation as a New York stage actor for quite some time. “I always wanted to be in show business,” Idol says. “I saw the movie American Gigolo as a teenager, and that’s what I wanted to be. All I ever wanted to do was be a Playgirl centerfold.”

Idol, who is of French-Canadian and Irish decent, grew up in a single-parent family that consisted of his mother, brother and sister. He remembers being “poor” and says that he didn’t have any role models growing up. After high school, he attended vocational school for two years, where he trained to be a construction worker. “I framed, roofed, installed windows and siding,” he says. “I could build a house from scratch. It was so rewarding to structure something from the ground up, even though I didn’t have that in my own life.”

So just how did these humble beginnings lead Idol to pursue a career in porn?

“Well, I was looking for love in all the wrong places,” he says with a smile. “I wanted to go to California because that was where I thought the American gigolo lived. So I joined the Navy. I knew that was my ticket to California.” But after a couple of years, Idol says, he “strayed” from his goals of having an acting career. (The cherry tattoo on his lower torso is a souvenir of his stint in the service.) “I got discouraged. I was told, ‘You bleed sex, and you’ll never go anywhere in show business.’ That stuck in my mind. It wore down my psyche, my confidence and my self-esteem.”

So Idol started dancing in clubs. One night, when he was approached to act in a porn movie for 15 times the amount he was earning, “My eyes lit up,” he recalls. “I didn’t know it was a gay porno. When I found out, I said, ‘Are you fucking crazy?’ But I thought, if real show business is going to be so tough, I might as well get paid for the bullshit. So, I went for the money.”

His first film, Idol Eyes, made a splash,and, similar to the character he plays in Making Porn, Idol found himself with a new career. “I was an instant star overnight,” he says. “What more could a person like me want at age 23? At first I took offense at my success—where it was coming from—but then I went through stages: I became an egomaniac, then I took it for granted; now, I'm appreciate. I owe a lot of my growth to the adult video industry.”

Although Idol has starred in six films—he peddles the current Idol in the Sky video nightly after the show—and hints that there may be a seventh in his future, he believes that “there are some really ruthless, gutless, heartless people in the porn industry. It has downfalls, like any other business.” One example is the recent incarceration of Idol’s former manager, David Forest, on charges of pandering. Idol characterizes the incident as unfortunate but inevitable. He also claims to have no friends in the business. “I may make jokes about the brain-cell counts of other actors, but I don’t condemn anyone. I just think totally differently from everyone else. I've never met anyone I identify with.”

However, he says that he does identify with his character in Making Porn and even sees parallels with his own life. “I think Ronnie Larsen did a really good job in the writing of this play,” Idol says. “He hit some of the fundamental issues within the porn industry. Actually, this play is like art imitating life. It all ties together. What better way to tell my story and at the same time pick up on my dream as a child.”

After building his image and making his fortune as one of porn’s notoriously straight, “gay for pay” models, Idol seems to have experienced some growth in the area of his sexuality as well. “You’re raised in a society that is heterosexual at its core,” he says, “but I would say I’ve had some of my best relationships with men. I’m still searching to find what that love means with a woman, but I’ve found a certain love with a man. I believe that we’re all here to love—whether it’s a man or a woman, it shouldn’t matter. If people need to label me, then let it be bisexual. Just say that I’m into pleasures of the flesh.”

Something else Idol is into is coming to terms with his past. While his role in Making Porn represents a shot at more legitimate, mainstream success, he says that if it doesn’t work out, “I won’t cry at night. I don’t regret anything. If I had it all to do over, I wouldn’t do it the same way, but it made me the person that I am—very strong and determined.”

Once again, talk turns to Idol’s memories of his childhood. His trademark blue eyes grow serious. “When I was a kid, they told me, ‘You’re a dreamer. Nothing comes from dreams, and you’re going to waste your life.’ I chose to rebel against that. I followed my dreams, and I got sidetracked a few times, but now I know myself a little better. I hope to attain what they used to call the unattainable: to be an actor, have a lavish life and be respected. You have to earn respect; it’s not a given. I didn’t know that before.”

And what ever became of his Richard Gere–inspired fantasy? “I’ve achieved the American gigolo dream, but in the gay world,” Idol says. “I no longer have that dream. I got in Playgirl, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I’m the gay version of the American gigolo,” he laughs. “It was a foolish childhood dream, and now I can chuckle at it. I’m on to new dreams.”

Reprinted from HX magazine (1997)

Porn Star Interview: Blue Blake

BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Blue Blake answers the door to his sublet wearing a towel and a smile. He’s freshly showered after a grueling day spent rehearsing for his New York stage debut in the hit play Making Porn. With his multiple tattoos blazing, Blake pads around barefoot, spooning Häagen-Dazs sorbet and explaining why he decided to leave sunny Los Angeles to spend a winter working off-Broadway in New York.

At age 33, Blake qualifies as a veteran actor onscreen, but it wasn’t until Making Porn writer/director Ronnie Larsen approached him on a film set that he thought about working onstage. “Ronnie thought I could act and asked me to do the play in L.A.,” Blake says. “I had such a good time that I wanted to do it in New York. I enjoy the discipline and challenge of working onstage. It’s a sacrifice being here, but what doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger.”

If you’ve only seen photos of this philosophical porn stud, you’d never guess that he speaks with a strong British accent. But Blake was born and raised in Nottingham, England. His mother was a model, and his father owned a gay club. He says that he was sure of his sexual orientation early on. “My uncle used to play for a British football team,” Blake recalls. “One time when I was about six years old, we went into the changing room and all the football players were naked. I remember they had these big fat dicks, and I wanted to put their dicks in my mouth! I was always very comfortable with my sexuality.”

At 18, Blake joined the Marines with his brother, Gage. After a 10-year stint and receiving a degree in English literature, he was unsure of his future. Blake had always worked out and in 1990 won the Mr. Drummer United Kingdom contest. After traveling to San Francisco to compete in the world finals, he began thinking of new career options.

“The porn business had always fascinated me,” he says. “I wanted to know more about it. In the gym, people would always ask my brother and me, ‘Want to do a porno movie?’ and we’d ask, ‘How much will you pay?’ We weren’t especially interested in the social ramifications of it. And it wasn’t the prospect of sex, because I always got a lot of sex anyway. It was the money that motivated me.”

So, in 1994, he and Gage starred in The Blade Twins: Raw and Uncut for director Jim French. (The brothers aren’t actually twins; Gage is one year older, but Blake says they looked enough alike to pass as twins.) Blake calls the film a “muscle jerk-off movie where I suck my brother’s dick. It turned into this underground hit. The studio made a fortune.” Then he worked on a Tom of Finland movie called The Wild Ones with his boyfriend at the time, Bull Stanton.

Although Blake went on to appear in Lube Job, Cockfight and more than 30 other films, he remains hesitant to label himself a porn star. “I don’t believe that there really is such a thing,” he says. “It’s a dichotomy. There are so many porn movies around and so many people who perform in them. There are porn performers, but very few porn stars.” He is also reluctant to endorse the business as a whole. “This is an industry that eats its young. I thought it was going to be a really cool industry, but ultimately I was wrong. It’s incredibly exploitative of people who are too young and naive to be exploited. It can be incredibly destructive.”

Blake says he’s avoided many of the pitfalls of the adult film industry because he didn’t start working until he was 30. Although his onscreen persona is anything but young and naive, Blake sees himself as “a little boy trapped in a big body. That’s why I enjoy acting, because I get to play these inhuman psychotic monsters, which is the complete opposite of what I’m like in real life. It’s interesting to delve into that side of yourself. It’s like therapy.”

When he finishes his run in Making Porn, Blake hints that acting in porn movies may not be part of his future. One possible explanation for this is the current man in his life. Blake has been involved for the past year with a California businessman who is 18 years his senior. “Porn horrifies my boyfriend, but I still do it to torment him,” he says with a laugh. “Actually, I’m madly in love with him, and I would give it up for him. He pampers me terribly. I like being spoiled and he likes to spoil me, so we have the perfect relationship.”

When asked whether he’s concerned that his imminent departure from film will disappoint his many fans, Blake answers, “People won’t even know I’m gone. That’s the nature of porn. I understand that now. When I first started, I wanted to leave behind something that I could be remembered for—like my movies for Tom of Finland and Colt—but it got out of hand. I did too many cheesy movies.” He smiles and heaves a contented sigh. “Now I’m ready to settle down—have a husband, a home and raise puppies. My days of wildness are over. I’ve crammed so much into my 33 years. Now it’s time to sit back and let the world go by.”

Reprinted from HX magazine (1996)

Porn Star Interview: Kurt Young

STORY AND BOTTOM PHOTO BY VINCENT LAMBERT

Porn director Jerry Douglas is sitting in the living room of his Upper West Side apartment recalling the first time he met Kurt Young. “We were in the offices of Image Video,” Douglas says, cigarette poised in midair, “and I thought, now there’s a possibility for the lead in my next film. After talking to him for 10 minutes, I was sure.” Two months later, porn’s leading auteur sent Young a script, and the results are currently on view in Flesh & Blood (All Worlds Video), a Hitchcockian tale of twin brothers gone wrong.

Across the room, the star in question sits nestled in an oversized leather chair. Dressed in ripped jeans and a white tank top, Young, 22, listens intently as Douglas continues. “Kurt Young is the most talented, intuitive actor I’ve worked with,” he says. “He’s the most dependable sexualist I’ve worked with, and I adore him as a person.” Douglas knows of what he speaks—his nine Adult Video News and Gay Video Guide awards glisten prettily on a tabletop in the next room. The porn veteran pauses long enough to smile at his leading man and ask, “Now, have I embarrassed you enough?”

For a porn star, the lanky Young embarrasses quite easily. “I’m the kind of person who won’t walk around the house without a shirt on,” he says, blaming his insecurity on a bout with chubbiness in his early years. The actor, who has appeared in such films as Handsome Drifters, Hot Summer of Sex and Tradewinds, has only been in the movie business for about a year. He says he doesn’t usually watch his films, except to fast-forward through them looking for his mistakes. “I look better than I used to,” Young says, “but I’m definitely not where I want to be.”

This unlikely screen stud was born and raised in Maryland. Young calls his childhood “predictable” and “normal.” He played sports and “liked anything dealing with water,” which may explain his current job as a lifeguard and swimming instructor. He attended college at University of Maryland, College Park, where he studied kinesiology. It was there that he first became aware of the gay scene. “I told my close friends, ‘At some point, I will sleep with a man,’ ” he recalls. “I was curious. After all, you only live once. If there’s something you want to do, you should do it.”

Something else Young wanted to do was leave Maryland. “The place was a trap,” he says. “I was being carried by my parents, and I was just taking advantage of it. I never really had to do anything on my own.”

So, after hooking up with boyfriend Matt Easton, he decided to move to Los Angeles. The lovers found an apartment in Santa Monica, and Young started working 60 hours a week as a lifeguard. But money was tight, and Easton began looking for an agent who could get him into the porn industry.

“Matt answered an ad and two days later did a scene,” Young says. “He came home four hours later with a nice check. I thought, if I did one, we could buy some furniture.”

But Young says it was also something he had been interested in for a while. “I always liked porn; I watched it. I don’t see a difference between watching it and being in it.”

He also found that sex on-screen was a big ego booster. “When someone like Jerry picked me for Flesh & Blood, that gave me some kind of confidence that I know what I’m doing and that someone out there likes me.” Young saw his dual role as twins Eric and Derrick in Flesh & Blood as a great opportunity. “I was really lucky to get it. And it was such a challenge. I’m in practically every second of the movie. I had to work really hard to make sure that people didn’t get bored with me.” Young’s mutual admiration for director Douglas was also a motivating force behind his performance. “I just wanted to do a good job for Jerry,” he says with a smile.

Although Young’s relationship with Easton ended several months ago, they remain friends and roommates. Young is currently involved with model/porn director David Thompson. Together, they have formed a dance group that tours around the country. Young says that it’s hard to maintain a relationship, but “I’m a trustworthy person. If the other person has a problem with my work, that’s understandable, but it’s something I like to do. It makes me happy, and it has nothing to do with sex.”

The actor hints that his future plans may include stage work (he’s read for the lead in the road company of Ronnie Larsen’s Making Porn), but for now he enjoys making movies. “I get to meet nice people, and I’ve made really good friends in this business. It’s like any other job—you go for your eight hours and do the best you can.”

Reprinted from HX magazine (1996)

Porn Star Interview: Dino DiMarco

BY VINCENT LAMBERT

He’s been called the “Delta Burke of porn,” but as Dino DiMarco sits before me in tight jeans, diaphanous black shirt and motorcycle boots, he looks anything but. Currently on the third leg of a 15-city tour for the film Night Walk, DiMarco has just strutted his stuff in a 20-minute dance routine at the Eros Theatre in New York. Although he’s been touring for several weeks, the dark-eyed, classically handsome star looks fit and trim. And he’s certainly eager to talk.

It’s been a long journey to the top of the porn world for 28-year-old DiMarco. Born and raised in Rochester, New York, he is the oldest of three brothers. At age 17, he moved to Manhattan, where he worked as a model for Elite. But DiMarco, who is of American Indian and Irish descent, actually failed at his original career goal: becoming a runway model. “They said I was too short and too fat,” he recalls with a laugh, “so I quit.”

When life in the big city proved overwhelming, DiMarco moved to Florida and joined the Air Force. After working as an auto mechanic for more than two years, he decided to pursue his education in the Pacific Northwest and received a degree in marine biology from the University of Oregon.

Upon graduation, DiMarco relocated to Los Angeles and started working as an extra on such shows as Baywatch, Dave’s World and Star Trek. “I spent a whole season as a bailiff on Picket Fences,” DiMarco says. “Oh yeah, it was real exciting. I got to sit in a brown uniform in the back of a courtroom for months!” He also did extra work in film, appearing in Three Wishes with Patrick Swayze and Crimson Tide. “I’m the guy who pulls out a gun to help Denzel Washington take over the sub,” he says.

But DiMarco’s stints in showbiz were strictly part time. He soon landed a job as a phlebotomist in an AIDS clinic, where he drew blood. So just how did he make the transition from doing lab work to porn work?

“Well, my roommate at the time was Coy Dekker, and he was a porn star,” DiMarco says. “When he asked if I’d be interested in working in the industry, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. So I called my mom—she’s known I was gay since I was a kid—and I said, ‘Mom, what if I did Playgirl?’ And she said, ‘That would be cool.’ And I said, ‘What if I did gay magazines?’ She said, ‘I could live with that.’ And I said, ‘What if I did a gay movie?’ And she said, ‘Well, would you be the boy or the girl?’ I said, ‘I’d be the boy.’ And she said, ‘I guess I could live with that.’ ”

But even with his mother’s seal of approval, there were still doubts. “Everyone said, ‘If you do it, you’ll never get a boyfriend,’ ” DiMarco says. “And I thought, well, I’m broke, I don’t have a boyfriend now, so I won’t have a boyfriend, but I’ll have the money. So I took the money.”

His first film was Matt Sterling’s All American, and he doesn’t recall being nervous. “I just remember it was a really long day,” he says. Several films for Catalina followed, and DiMarco’s career took off, along with any doubts about his new profession. “It’s stupid to lie about it if you’re gonna do porn,” he says. “You might as well have the balls to admit it because somebody is going to see it. I’ve had people I knew before I did porn come up to me in the grocery store and say, in a really bitchy tone, ‘Oh, we’ve seen your movies.’ And I’ll say, ‘Oh really, which one? Did you like it?’ Listen, I take my clothes off and fuck people in front of other people. If they’re gonna try and embarrass me, they’re gonna have to do better than that. Besides, everyone who is important to me—my mom and my boyfriend—knows, so I don’t care.”

The boyfriend that DiMarco is referring to is his current flame, Sal. The two live together in West Hollywood, and they recently solidified their relationship with a commitment ceremony and domestic partnership papers. Although DiMarco says that his lover is the jealous type, even Sal is a fan of the movie that put this screen stud into a Christian Dior tux. “Night Walk was the hardest to make, but it’s definitely my favorite movie,” DiMarco says. “We worked really long days, sometimes from 9am to 4am. The sets were huge; it felt like the set of Batman or something. And there was rain and wind and a sports car and Art Deco furniture. It’s just a cool film.”

Although DiMarco has two new movies (Lost in Vegas for All Worlds and Idol in the Sky for Men of Odyssey) and Ronnie Larsen—writer and director of the off-Broadway hit Making Porn—is courting him for a play, he says that what he’d really like to do is return to school for a degree in animal behavior. But mostly he’s content with the quiet life he shares with Sal; their dogs, Sammy and Sky; and their six-foot Burmese python, Lucy. “People think it’s so glamorous, but my life isn’t that exciting,” DiMarco says. “Doing movies and touring and dancing is like a fantasy. But it’s really just a job like any other.”

Reprinted from HX magazine (1996)