March 30, 2004
Reborn: Athletic Model Guild
I've been a fan of vintage gay porn for quite a while, and met a couple guys over the years who share the same appreciation of old beefcake photographs. Dennis Bell is a very dedicated fan of vintage gay porn, and I have been a fan of his site,
PosingStrap.com for a long time. (see photo at right of Dennis sealing the deal to purchase AMG) He also works with Bob from Collectors Realm in Berkeley, who has helped me a great deal with my vintage collections at GroovyGuys.com and LavenderLounge.com . Receiving this press release from Dennis is very exciting! Of anyone, Dennis has the historical knowledge, photography skills and youth to be the right person to run Athletic Model Guild. I look forward to see what he does next!
After seeing the movie, "Beefcake" around 1999, I contacted the director, Tom Fitzgerald, to learn more. Fitzgerald gave me even more information about Athletic Model Guild that couldn't fit into the movie, and it was a fascinating story. He also told me of the sad news that the AMG archive was languishing away in a garage in Alameda, CA! AMG founder, Bob Mizer had been ill for many years prior to his death in 1992, and the executor of Mizer's estate had little interest in keeping the company alive. An Athletic Model Guild website had been up since at least 1999, but it was mostly to sell collectable photos on eBay.
This news is important not only for documenting the history of pornography, but also gay culture and mid-century photographic techniques.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR RELEASE: March 31, 2004
Email: den@AthleticModelGuild.com
Athletic Model Guild, Historic Studio Sold: 1,000,000 male physique photos and films to be preserved
El Cerrito, California – March 31, 2004: The preservation of nearly one million negatives, slides and movies, which represent almost 60 years of the history of all-male erotica, was assured today by the acquisition of Athletic Model Guild (AMG) of Los Angeles by Dennis Bell of El Cerrito California. Bell purchased the entire estate of Bob Mizer, founder of AMG, for an undisclosed sum and will reform the company. He plans to manage, market and preserve one of the most outstanding collections of all-male physique photography and film production in the world. “Bob Mizer can rest easy knowing that his work will be preserved, his films will continue to be released in new media formats and the studio he founded will continue to produce new material,” said Bell, a well known physique photographer in his own right (DennisBellPhoto.com), and owner of PosingStrap.com and PhysiqueLibrary.com, two sites that specialize in vintage collections of physique photography.
AMG was founded in 1945 by Bob Mizer. Now an icon of gay history, Mizer was a trailblazer in fighting the strict censorship laws of the mid twentieth century which permitted female, but not male, nudity in photography. Since Mizer’s death twelve years ago, the slides, negatives and other assets of his estate have been in the custody of Wayne Stanley, one of Mizer’s legal advisers and friends. During that time, licenses have been given periodically to publish, reproduce, sell or exhibit some of Mizer’s work. The commercial release of the mainstream film Beefcake introduced Mizer and his work to millions of moviegoers. But for thousands of service men and others, Mizer was no stranger. “Soldiers, sailors and marines knew that if they came through Hollywood, they could pick up an extra fifty bucks by posing for Bob” said Bell. In addition, Mizer photographed thousands of gay and straight men of all descriptions. His subjects included motion picture and television actors, waiters, motorcyclists, college men, construction workers, California surfer boys and mid-Western farm hands just “off the bus” and searching for fame and fortune in Hollywood.
“Bob Mizer’s photographs span the entire gamut of masculinity,” says Bell, “and the alphabet as well … from George Abagian to Dick Ziglar. There were names we may recognize: TV Star Glenn Corbett went on to star in 77 Sunset Strip after Bob photographed him; Ed Fury was in a number of films and TV shows (24 according to www.imdb.com ); Dick Dubois was pictured in Life magazine as a member of the Las Vegas cast of Mae West’s show. Estimates are that Bob photographed more than 10,000 men over his forty-five year career.”
Bell has the difficult but enviable task now of cataloguing the negatives, prints and slides. “I expect it will take three years or more,” Bell adds. “It will be a massive undertaking to assure these irreplaceable treasures and relics of gay history and male photography are preserved and treated with the respect they deserve.”
Bell is developing a plan to exhibit and market the photographs, many of which have never been seen by the public. “Even in 2004, we Americans have tremendous hang-ups about frontal male nudity in photography. But remember, at the time Bob was taking some of these photographs, this kind of photography wasn’t the subject of a ‘hang-up’ -- it was illegal. Some physique photographers did prison time for a single pubic hair visible in their work.” Bell said. “I think there will be a number of pleasant surprises as this imagery resurfaces into modern gay culture.”
“Athletic Model Guild was the pioneer of modern gay erotica and this acquisition will continue the legacy into the twenty-first century. Look for classic collections of AMG 8mm films coming soon on DVD and new productions from AMG later this year. In the new films we’ll be connecting the innocence of Mizer’s past work with the expectations and ideals of today’s gay audience.” The new company will keep the historic name. According to new owner Bell, “It is far too important a name, with the attendant mythology, to give it up.”
For interviews, features, etc contact:
media@AthleticModelGuild.com or :
e-mail: den@AthleticModelGuild.com
Website: AthleticModelGuild.com
More Vintage Gay Porn at LavenderLounge.com.
March 29, 2004
Bret Wolfe on Howard Stern
Gay porn star Bret Wolfe was on the Howard Stern Show this morning.
Howard was helping promote a new girlie magazine about women's asses called "Glutes". To tease the magazine publisher, he showed him 3 asses and made him guess which were male and which were female.
One ass belonged to long time Stern Show Wack Packer, Gay Ramon, another was female bodybuilder Nicole Bass and Bret Wolfe was the third featured butt. The guy from the magazine did spot Nicole as the female, but by the picture, she must get mistaken often.
Powerbottom Bret Wolfe got his moment to plug his movies and his website, (BretWolfe.com) and discussed model fees with Howard. He was a good spokesmodel and Howard was nice to him.
Bret's awards include: 2003 Newcomer of the Year: Grabby Erotic Gay Video Awards, 2003 Newcomer of the Year: GayVN Awards 2002, Performer of the Year: XFactor Magazine, 2002 Rookie of the Year: Gay Entertainment Awards.
Bret Wolfe's video credits include: Resurrection by Hot House, Open Trench 2 by Sports and Rec., BUT I think his most memorable performance is from Butt Obsession by Oh Man! where he stuffs a wide variety of fruits and vegetables up his rear end.
UPDATE 3/30/04
Got this note from Bret Wolfe:
Mark -
Thanks. I had such a blast doing the show. It was a really great honor. And they were so great to me. My Publicist (Jason Sechrest) actually booked me on the show.
Love your sites BTW - I visit often :)
(left to right: Bret Wolfe, Nicole ("but, I'm a GIRL!") Bass, Gay Ramon)
March 28, 2004
Naked News
I got this email today, and although he claims otherwise, I seem to think this came from a publicist. No matter. He was clever enough to send this adorable belly button shot, so you've got my undivided attention. Now, if somebody would send me a password to the site, I might have something legit to comment upon.
Hi,
Before I go on let me say that I am not affiliated with the following organization in any way, apart from watching the show.
As you may know the enterprise known as Naked News, based in Toronto, launched a male show a couple of years back.
Although the program was originally designed to be gender neutral in their appeal, they have recently made a decision to appeal specifically to a gay male audience.
In addition to national, international and entertainment segments, pieces are now being included on a daily basis that speak directly to gay issues and interests.
Cute new anchors have also been hired.
It would be nice to let your readers know that this has occured, as well as perhaps writing a small story on the decision.
I am inclosing a low res image of one of the new anchors (Cole McQuade), many hi-res images can be found at the site.
The new website is NakedNewsDailyMale.com
These nice Canadian boys need help building an audience.
Thank you
March 24, 2004
Dean Phoenix Update
Last year (May 27, 2003 actually) I got a letter from a fan asking what ever happened to Dean Phoenix. From that one blog entry, he became one of the most popular porn star names on this site.
There were quite a few comments posted about him, many with incorrect information about his career moves and whereabouts. Well, guess what? I finally heard from Dean Phoenix today!
Below is an email from him updating what he is up to:
Subject: Re: Inventing Stories? Myths? Nawwwww
Not in this industry? haha
I'm only being facetious............
Well, Mark, here's the downright or upright truth, whichever position you prefer.... hehe
I was in San Diego, until recently. I was working for Washington Mutual for a couple years as a loan processor til I had moved to Denver on Christmas last year. Haven't bartended in a couple years..........I'm thinking people really haven't been updated since I've been out of the biz for quite awhile.
I moved out here to do Residential Construction til my knee blew out, so now I am working for BOYS NEXT DOOR as a Booking Manager til I recover from knee surgery. I've been doing dance gigs nationwide, (shouldn't be on my knees til after the surgery, but gotta pay the doc)- don't take that literally, wouldn't want to add insult to injury. ")
I may do a return................but it's under wraps at the moment. So, right now, I'm finding alot of new talent and getting there feet wet and having them join our team..........it's been alot of fun, getting back in touch with the people I haven't talked to in years.
Well, that's my genie in a bottle......
Hope your having an awesome day!
BIG HUG
DP
P.S. Curious? What vicious rumours have spread since I've been gone? Wondering if they are the same ones that come full circle.
The rumors and stories he referred to were in the comments section of the previous blog entry about him. Now we've put them to rest.
My old boss used to have a big crush on Dean Phoenix, and so did his sister-in-law. It was really funny to listen to them fight over who "deserved" to have Dean Phoenix, even though neither of them ever met him. Not to mention one was a girl lusting after a gay man!
There you go! He's still around, and must still be looking good if he's go-go dancing in clubs. If he's working for a modeling agency that supplies talent for the porn industry, I'll bet he'll be doing movies again soon!
Dean Phoenix Videography
1st Time Tryers 2 by All Worlds
A Lesson Learned by All Worlds
God Was I Drunk by All Worlds
High Desert by Sports and Rec
How The West Was Hung by All Worlds
Inside Porn by Sports and Rec
Jarhead by All Worlds
Mantasy Island by All Worlds
Naughty and Nice by All Worlds
Spiked by All Worlds
The Few The Proud The Naked 8 by All Worlds
Two Brothers by All Worlds
Untamed by All Worlds
