Pioneer "Straight Boy" Gay Porn

[tampa24]

No gay guy over the age of about 40 can claim ignorance of the top-notch movies, The Young and the Hung, Pizza Boy, and The Sailor in the Wild. They were huge classic back in the day. And for very good reason! haha

 

[Jaybifla]

My go to was 1997’s “An American in Prague”. Yes I discovered hardcore gay porn late in life.

 

[kgmets]

View attachment 26120

My go to was 1997’s “An American in Prague”. Yes I discovered hardcore gay porn late in life.

Brilliant concept to send a hot young American boy to Prague to interrelate with those beautiful Czech boys! I read an article once that the Czech economy was in shambles in the 1990s to the extent that what Bel Ami was paying back then to do a gay porn scene was a small fortune compared to the pay of any other available job for a young Czech male with the result that an extraordinary percentage of Czech gay porn performers were in fact straights doing gay for pay.

 

[tampa24]

Brilliant concept to send a hot young American boy to Prague to interrelate with those beautiful Czech boys! I read an article once that the Czech economy was in shambles in the 1990s to the extent that what Bel Ami was paying back then to do a gay porn scene was a small fortune compared to the pay of any other available job for a young Czech male with the result that an extraordinary percentage of Czech gay porn performers were in fact straights doing gay for pay.

The Bel Ami porn of that era was really high quality stuff. Classic. I've joked in the past that Czech Republic (and perhaps even Slovakia too) seemed to have a factory mass producing stunning young men who were just tailor-made for porn. haha

On a somewhat different topic it's quite true that Czech Republic and Slovakia were an economic basket case in the early 90's. Communism had just collapsed. And then if that wasn't a difficult enough economic transition trying to totally switch gears overnight from communism to capitalism, Czechoslovakia immediately broke apart into two different countries. So that was yet another economic disadvantage they had to deal with that other struggling former Soviet Bloc/Iron Curtain countries of Central and Eastern Europe didn't have to contend with. Who knows just how much the money of gay men in the U.S. in the early 90's and beyond did to lift young Czech men and their families out of poverty during that difficult period? Or at least give them enough to be able to eat and keep a roof over their heads until their economies could eventually provide them with some gainful employment?

I think it would be very naïve of us to look at Czechs of 18-28 of that era in the 90's who were doing porn and see them through an opulent American filter of an expectation of a young guy of such an age going off to college, or living in his own apartment and starting off on his own. Most times these European guys were poor and still living at home with their parents and siblings. And everyone in the household was struggling to find creative ways to earn money, cut expenses, etc. We're talking about just scraping by to do the basics of keeping groceries in the home and keeping the lights and water turned on. (Not the kind of modern American dinner table convo over whether we can afford to give the 12 y/o her own cell phone.)

No. There was hunger in the land. These were bleak times for the majority of people there. Dad was often laid off or otherwise unemployed from his old job. Many factories had shut down. He's out there trying to hustle with side jobs and the underground economy. (With varying degrees of success.) Mom's trying to bring in some meager cash by sewing, tailoring, housecleaning, babysitting, working one or two very part-time low paying jobs. So anyone who had a chance to bring in some desperately needed "big" money in a short period of time could be an incredible Godsend for the whole family.

All that to say that for all the darker sides of porn (and yes, there are many) the money that went abroad, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, really did do some good for many people we'll never know.

 

[SFPS01]

The Bel Ami porn of that era was really high quality stuff. Classic. I've joked in the past that Czech Republic (and perhaps even Slovakia too) seemed to have a factory mass producing stunning young men who were just tailor-made for porn. haha

On a somewhat different topic it's quite true that Czech Republic and Slovakia were an economic basket case in the early 90's. Communism had just collapsed. And then if that wasn't a difficult enough economic transition trying to totally switch gears overnight from communism to capitalism, Czechoslovakia immediately broke apart into two different countries. So that was yet another economic disadvantage they had to deal with that other struggling former Soviet Bloc/Iron Curtain countries of Central and Eastern Europe didn't have to contend with. Who knows just how much the money of gay men in the U.S. in the early 90's and beyond did to lift young Czech men and their families out of poverty during that difficult period? Or at least give them enough to be able to eat and keep a roof over their heads until their economies could eventually provide them with some gainful employment?

I think it would be very naïve of us to look at Czechs of 18-28 of that era in the 90's who were doing porn and see them through an opulent American filter of an expectation of a young guy of such an age going off to college, or living in his own apartment and starting off on his own. Most times these European guys were poor and still living at home with their parents and siblings. And everyone in the household was struggling to find creative ways to earn money, cut expenses, etc. We're talking about just scraping by to do the basics of keeping groceries in the home and keeping the lights and water turned on. (Not the kind of modern American dinner table convo over whether we can afford to give the 12 y/o her own cell phone.)

No. There was hunger in the land. These were bleak times for the majority of people there. Dad was often laid off or otherwise unemployed from his old job. Many factories had shut down. He's out there trying to hustle with side jobs and the underground economy. (With varying degrees of success.) Mom's trying to bring in some meager cash by sewing, tailoring, housecleaning, babysitting, working one or two very part-time low paying jobs. So anyone who had a chance to bring in some desperately needed "big" money in a short period of time could be an incredible Godsend for the whole family.

All that to say that for all the darker sides of porn (and yes, there are many) the money that went abroad, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, really did do some good for many people we'll never know.

Extremely well detailed. I suspect you are totally spot on. It would be great to hear from some of those then beautiful boys and their stories..

 

[SFPS01]

Speaking of oldies, does anyone remember the book series Song of the Loon?

 

[kgmets]

The Bel Ami porn of that era was really high quality stuff. Classic. I've joked in the past that Czech Republic (and perhaps even Slovakia too) seemed to have a factory mass producing stunning young men who were just tailor-made for porn. haha

On a somewhat different topic it's quite true that Czech Republic and Slovakia were an economic basket case in the early 90's. Communism had just collapsed. And then if that wasn't a difficult enough economic transition trying to totally switch gears overnight from communism to capitalism, Czechoslovakia immediately broke apart into two different countries. So that was yet another economic disadvantage they had to deal with that other struggling former Soviet Bloc/Iron Curtain countries of Central and Eastern Europe didn't have to contend with. Who knows just how much the money of gay men in the U.S. in the early 90's and beyond did to lift young Czech men and their families out of poverty during that difficult period? Or at least give them enough to be able to eat and keep a roof over their heads until their economies could eventually provide them with some gainful employment?

I think it would be very naïve of us to look at Czechs of 18-28 of that era in the 90's who were doing porn and see them through an opulent American filter of an expectation of a young guy of such an age going off to college, or living in his own apartment and starting off on his own. Most times these European guys were poor and still living at home with their parents and siblings. And everyone in the household was struggling to find creative ways to earn money, cut expenses, etc. We're talking about just scraping by to do the basics of keeping groceries in the home and keeping the lights and water turned on. (Not the kind of modern American dinner table convo over whether we can afford to give the 12 y/o her own cell phone.)

No. There was hunger in the land. These were bleak times for the majority of people there. Dad was often laid off or otherwise unemployed from his old job. Many factories had shut down. He's out there trying to hustle with side jobs and the underground economy. (With varying degrees of success.) Mom's trying to bring in some meager cash by sewing, tailoring, housecleaning, babysitting, working one or two very part-time low paying jobs. So anyone who had a chance to bring in some desperately needed "big" money in a short period of time could be an incredible Godsend for the whole family.

All that to say that for all the darker sides of porn (and yes, there are many) the money that went abroad, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, really did do some good for many people we'll never know.

Very good historical post and very true. For about a year I had a sporadic relationship with a handsome blond young man in his mid 20s originally from Prague. Once I asked him if he ever auditioned for Bel Ami? He replied that Bel Ami paid so much in Czech currency that they picked and chose between only the most physically perfect young men, and he would never have dared to audition. Since I thought that this dude was very physically attractive, that tells us something about the powerful purchasing power of Bel Ami in Prague for hot young men regardless of their sexual orientation.

 

[juanjo]

The Bel Ami porn of that era was really high quality stuff. Classic. I've joked in the past that Czech Republic (and perhaps even Slovakia too) seemed to have a factory mass producing stunning young men who were just tailor-made for porn. haha

On a somewhat different topic it's quite true that Czech Republic and Slovakia were an economic basket case in the early 90's. Communism had just collapsed. And then if that wasn't a difficult enough economic transition trying to totally switch gears overnight from communism to capitalism, Czechoslovakia immediately broke apart into two different countries. So that was yet another economic disadvantage they had to deal with that other struggling former Soviet Bloc/Iron Curtain countries of Central and Eastern Europe didn't have to contend with. Who knows just how much the money of gay men in the U.S. in the early 90's and beyond did to lift young Czech men and their families out of poverty during that difficult period? Or at least give them enough to be able to eat and keep a roof over their heads until their economies could eventually provide them with some gainful employment?

I think it would be very naïve of us to look at Czechs of 18-28 of that era in the 90's who were doing porn and see them through an opulent American filter of an expectation of a young guy of such an age going off to college, or living in his own apartment and starting off on his own. Most times these European guys were poor and still living at home with their parents and siblings. And everyone in the household was struggling to find creative ways to earn money, cut expenses, etc. We're talking about just scraping by to do the basics of keeping groceries in the home and keeping the lights and water turned on. (Not the kind of modern American dinner table convo over whether we can afford to give the 12 y/o her own cell phone.)

No. There was hunger in the land. These were bleak times for the majority of people there. Dad was often laid off or otherwise unemployed from his old job. Many factories had shut down. He's out there trying to hustle with side jobs and the underground economy. (With varying degrees of success.) Mom's trying to bring in some meager cash by sewing, tailoring, housecleaning, babysitting, working one or two very part-time low paying jobs. So anyone who had a chance to bring in some desperately needed "big" money in a short period of time could be an incredible Godsend for the whole family.

All that to say that for all the darker sides of porn (and yes, there are many) the money that went abroad, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, really did do some good for many people we'll never know.

True. There is an interview done a year or so ago by Lukas Ridgeston in which he was discussing with one of the younger newer Bel-Ami models about how he came into the business. He mentioned he had been an engineering student, all of 18 years old when he made his very first movie, about a year before moving to Bel-Ami. He realized he could make more money doing porn than he could make as an engineer and so he switched. He and several of the other models of that time period switched to behind the scenes work - filming, editing, etc. Johan Palik is another who is still employed by Bel-Ami and according to Lukas is married with a wife and kids but working in the business office for the business.

 

[mikeyank]

Speaking of oldies, does anyone remember the book series Song of the Loon?

I most certainly do SFPS. It was both a book and later a film.

This is the Amazon synopsis:

“More completely than any author before him, Richard Amory explores the tormented world of love for man by man . . . a happy amalgam of James Fenimore Cooper, Jean Genet and Hudson’s Green Mansions.”—from the cover copy of the 1969 edition

Published well ahead of its time, in 1966 by Greenleaf Classics, Song of the Loon is a romantic novel that tells the story of Ephraim MacIver and his travels through the wilderness. Along his journey, he meets a number of characters who share with him stories, wisdom and homosexual encounters. The most popular erotic gay book of the 1960s and 1970s, Song of the Loon was the inspiration for two sequels, a 1970 film of the same name, at least one porn movie and a parody novel called Fruit of the Loon. Unique among pulp novels of the time, the gay characters in Song of the Loon are strong and romantically drawn, which has earned the book a place in the canon of gay American literature.

 

[tampa24]

True. There is an interview done a year or so ago by Lukas Ridgeston in which he was discussing with one of the younger newer Bel-Ami models about how he came into the business. He mentioned he had been an engineering student, all of 18 years old when he made his very first movie, about a year before moving to Bel-Ami. He realized he could make more money doing porn than he could make as an engineer and so he switched. He and several of the other models of that time period switched to behind the scenes work - filming, editing, etc. Johan Palik is another who is still employed by Bel-Ami and according to Lukas is married with a wife and kids but working in the business office for the business.

Thanks for that contribution Juanjo. Yes. I have seen some video clips of B.A. movies where they purposely pan with one of the cameras over to a very adult looking (and still incredibly handsome) Lukas Ridgeston holding a camera and helping them film the newer, younger models. So he's definitely still employed with the company behind the cameras. I didn't know that Johan Palik was straight and married with children. Good for him! Given all that we have discussed so far about the seemingly vast sums that B.A. was willing to pay for top talent and the finest physical specimens of the day, it's little wonder that so many of these gorgeous guys really were straight and gay-for-pay.

I remember back in college in the mid 80's when top quality VHS videos were $50 a pop. Plus taxes, shipping and handling, etc. That was way too rich for my blood as a struggling college student. Fortunately I did have wealthier college friends who would sometimes play them at gatherings. But those kinds of high prices held to that high range into the 90's. When you consider that American and Western European guys were paying a small fortune in hard currencies like U.S. dollars, British pounds, German marks, French and Swiss francs, etc., for those VHS movies...and then they were being converted into nearly worthless Czech Korunas... That was some Serious coin in an impoverished Eastern Europe of the 90's. It still is today. But even more so back then.

 

[mikeyank]

I most certainly do SFPS. It was both a book and later a film.

Speaking of gay erotica, the first book I ever saw that covered gay sex was this book written in 1952. I somehow came across a paper back that looked exactly like the one pictured below, in the mid 1960's when I was a teenager coming of age and it was incredible to discover that other guys had the same desires that I did. Here is the book cover and an Amazon description of the story.

"Maybe - Tomorrow
by Jay Little
4.11 · Rating details · 18 ratings · 6 reviews
Gaylord LeClaire is desperately in love with schoolmate Robert Blake. Blake is everything he wants to be: tall, tan, handsome, athletic, and most of all masculine. He makes Gay wish he'd been born a girl so he could dance and flirt with Blake the way the girls are allowed to.

Written in 1952, Maybe--Tomorrow is a classic piece of mid-century, gay erotica. Gaylord is just beginning to discover his desires and how and when to give in to them. Though his sights are set on Blake, he winds his way through several other lovers in his journey of sexual discovery. "

 

[mikeyank]

And on the subject of gay erotic books, I went to Times Square, (old sleazy Times Square way before the Disney beautification of recent years). I was either sixteen or seventeen when I walked into a book store on Sixth Avenue off West 42nd Street and found the gay section and purchased this book, my first all gay erotic jerk off book. The clerk didn't ask me for ID and he put the book in a brown paper bag and scotch taped it closed. I hid it under my jacket as I took the subway home and "enjoyed" the book in the bathroom with the door locked. lol

"Hollywood Homo
by Michael Starr
0.00 · Rating details · 0 ratings · 0 reviews
Beautiful. That's Randy Nelson. Homosexual... That's Randy Nelson. A good lay--that's Randy Nelson! A specialist in pleasing men--that's Randy Nelson. The most educated and experienced lips and tongue in town--that's Randy Nelson! Randy Nelson is one of the beautiful people, but there's nothing unique about that in Hollywood; it's jammed with beautiful people--male, female and some whose sexual identity is in question...."

 

[kgmets]

And on the subject of gay erotic books, I went to Times Square, (old sleazy Times Square way before the Disney beautification of recent years). I was either sixteen or seventeen when I walked into a book store on Sixth Avenue off West 42nd Street and found the gay section and purchased this book, my first all gay erotic jerk off book. The clerk didn't ask me for ID and he put the book in a brown paper bag and scotch taped it closed. I hid it under my jacket as I took the subway home and "enjoyed" the book in the bathroom with the door locked. lol

"Hollywood Homo
by Michael Starr
0.00 · Rating details · 0 ratings · 0 reviews
Beautiful. That's Randy Nelson. Homosexual... That's Randy Nelson. A good lay--that's Randy Nelson! A specialist in pleasing men--that's Randy Nelson. The most educated and experienced lips and tongue in town--that's Randy Nelson! Randy Nelson is one of the beautiful people, but there's nothing unique about that in Hollywood; it's jammed with beautiful people--male, female and some whose sexual identity is in question...."

Looks like he is headed straight for the casting couch!

 

[SFPS01]

I most certainly do SFPS. It was both a book and later a film.

This is the Amazon synopsis:

“More completely than any author before him, Richard Amory explores the tormented world of love for man by man . . . a happy amalgam of James Fenimore Cooper, Jean Genet and Hudson’s Green Mansions.”—from the cover copy of the 1969 edition

Published well ahead of its time, in 1966 by Greenleaf Classics, Song of the Loon is a romantic novel that tells the story of Ephraim MacIver and his travels through the wilderness. Along his journey, he meets a number of characters who share with him stories, wisdom and homosexual encounters. The most popular erotic gay book of the 1960s and 1970s, Song of the Loon was the inspiration for two sequels, a 1970 film of the same name, at least one porn movie and a parody novel called Fruit of the Loon. Unique among pulp novels of the time, the gay characters in Song of the Loon are strong and romantically drawn, which has earned the book a place in the canon of gay American literature.

Thanks for all the info Mikeyank......I remember the first time I read Song of the Loon and loved some of the romantic scenes from the book. It helped me in finding my way as a young questioning teenager. I suspect it also helped in developing my attraction for masculine straight type guys.