The gay porn industry is mourning the passing of visionary director Wakefield Poole, a pioneer who created influential adult films in the 1970s and ’80s along with being an accomplished dancer, choreographer and theatrical director.
His passing was reported late last week by XBIZ, which noted that Poole died at the age of 85 last Wednesday in Jacksonville, Florida. Poole burst onto the scene in 1971 with the release of Boys in the Sand, which starred Casey Donovan and featured three segments set on Fire Island. Poole discussed the landmark project with Donovan (aka Cal Culver) on this segment from Emerald City TV in 1977, telling host Frank O’Dowd that when he went to see the 1971 Tom DeSimone film Highway Hustler with five friends, “I was laughing, one was sleeping, one was bored to death.” He was inspired “to be able to make a porno film that is attractive, and that no one is degraded in, and I just decided to do it; bought a Bolex camera and shot the first segment.”
Writer Jim Tushinski noted that the film “was presented and advertised as a legitimate film because it had no precedent. It wasn’t like the seedy loops that ran at the 42nd Street porno houses. It was gay sex positive, showing gay male sex and sexuality as something beautiful and to be admired. And the film made a lot of money.”
Poole went on to release classics like Bijou in 1972, Moving! in 1974, Take One in 1977 and Boys in the Sand II and Split Image in 1984. Tushinski noted that even The National Organization for Women screened Bijou as an example of a non-degrading sexually explicit film, and that when Deep Throat came out later that same year, it copied the advertising and promotional campaigns of Poole’s previous releases.
“When Deep Throat became a crossover phenomenon, mainstream media declared it as the start of porno chic, a brief period in the 1970s when hardcore films with stories, humor, and good production values suddenly were acceptable,” wrote Tushinski. “In reality, it all started a year prior, ushered in by two gay men who had no idea if anyone would even come to see their little movie.”
Tushinski also directed the 2013 documentary I Always Said Yes: The Many Lives of Wakefield Poole:
Falcon|NakedSword President and CEO Tim Valenti told XBIZ that “Everyone who produces gay porn owes a huge debt of gratitude to Wakefield Poole. He was groundbreaking, he pushed the envelope and was hugely instrumental in laying the foundation for producing high quality gay pornography. Not only was he one of the firsts to deliver this type of video, he presented gay erotica that we all should aspire to. He will be remembered always for blazing trails and unprecedented artistry, and we wish his friends and loved ones our deepest sympathies.”
Poole penned the autobiography Dirty Poole: A Sensual Memoir (reissued in 2011), and his work found new life through boutique label Vinegar Syndrome, which released his classics Boys in the Sand, Bijou, Wakefield Poole’s Bible! and Take One/Moving! on special edition DVDs with commentaries and other special features (I own them all, and they are fantastic additions to the library of any gay porn enthusiast).
Our thoughts go out to all of Wakefield’s loved ones; the industry lost a true legend last week.
Good interview on You Tube. Thanks for this.