I met Marc Wallice for the first time Monday morning, 7/13/98, at 9AM at Van Nuys Municipal Court. I sat at the back of one of the courts (he had told me the court number the day before so we could meet but Marc does not want me to report the case number). I recognized him immediately. He wore faded blue Levi jeans and a yellow shirt with inch-thick blue stripes.
Marc looked sickly, as you would expect of someone coming off a long cocaine binge. Aside from a brief conversation with Evan Wright of Hustler, Marc has not talked to anyone else in the media aside from me. So far he has refused to talk to AVN. I surmise that he distrusts industry publications. They may well have an agenda in blaming this year's HIV outbreak on him, to get themselves off the hook.
Wallice and I sat side by side at the back of the court, talking quietly while the judge disposed of other cases. Then Marc wandered outside to phone his lawyer who'd not shown up.
Eventually Marc's lawyer arrived and they huddled privately. Wallice's arraignment was put off for later in the day.
"Every one of my series got three-and-a-half stars from AVN except the last one," Wallice told me. "It got four stars. Five scenes. Raylin, the blonde, Tyler, Alex Sanders, Alexandrea Nice… Leanni Lei did an incredible scene with Sean Michaels. While I was editing that, people were coming into the editing bay and sitting down and watching. 'Good scene, Marc.'
"I finished editing number five just before this whole thing broke.
"I do two (Leanni and Raylin) blow job scenes [in #5]. She gets doused in the face, then crawls to the camera, saying 'I want more.' About 45 seconds in real time. That was for the viewer… She's crawling into the screen. If you're sitting right there, it's going to feel good…
"I thought that was going to be a good little thing, but now I can't even do that anymore [receive blow jobs], even if I make movies.
"I've been with Elegant Angel for a year. This was my first series. My first shot at it."
Luke: "Why did you wait so long?"
Marc: "That's just the way I was. I'll do it tomorrow. I've always wanted to do something, ever since Randy started doing his. I waited a long time. And plus, I was sober. It was a good time to get started on that."
Luke: "Brooke Ashley says she asked you if you knew you were HIV positive, and you were silent."
Marc: "She never asked me that.
"No one can ever prove that I knew. They didn't ask me or find out from the treatment center."
Luke: "Supposedly Patrick Collins asked you the same question and you were silent?"
Marc: "No, why would I be silent?"
Luke: "Because it's an insulting question."
Marc: "Well yeah. I'd say, 'f--- you. You're an asshole. If you can't figure that out for yourself, I'm not going to answer it."
About two years ago, Marc and Brooke did cocaine and ecstasy at Tom Byron's house. Marc and Brooke had sex while doing the drugs. "If I had it then, she would've had it way back then. Some other girls too that I partied with…"
Wallice lived with Byron at the time.
Marc says that he hasn't had sex with anyone outside of the business for years. He did date an employee of a porn video company.
"One time I called Sharon Mitchell, and asked 'why hasn't Jim called me?' And he called me. He's been a good agent.
"People think he doesn't do his job because he doesn't call you and get you jobs. But just going up there and getting your picture in his book, gets you work. People call you direct because they found you through him."
Luke: "It's said that you had to dragged into PAW to take your PCR test?"
Marc: "That's bulls---. Nobody dragged me in there."
Luke: "People say that you were crying when you went in there."
Marc: "It's not true. f---ing lying, asshole punks. I wasn't crying and I wasn't dragged in there. I said, 'let's go in there and get this taken care of, or I would've never gone in there if I knew I was positive. I would've said no. If anyone came to my house and dragged me, I'd f---ing break their neck. They just kept making suggestions. I said, 'fine, let's go.'
"This was two days before Patrick left for Europe. He found out I was positive when he was in Europe. He keeps telling Reuben [Stephanie Swift's husband] to call me, but I won't take his calls. If Patrick wants to talk to me, he'll call me. Why does he keep sending his flunkies to call me?"
At 10AM, I drive to Star World Modeling to find out that Rob Spallone has been released from his Las Vegas hospital after an emergency apendectomy.
At the VSDA show, Rob was rushed to the hospital on Friday to have his appendix removed.
Damien Michaels, a 45-year old New Yorker of Sicilian heritage, flew into town last week to work for the X-rated modeling agency. Wearing yellow shorts, he sits outside in the sun making calls.
He tells me that he'd just met Sonny Bono's illegitimate son who works as a caterer on porn shoots, and may even shoot porno.
Damien allows me to listen to two songs he recorded with Peter Tork of The Monkeys. Michaels hopes to sell them to a label. Comin' Straight Through, and If I Fall. Damien says his ex-girlfriend Kirsty Waay inspired both songs.
The two of them lived together at Duke's house, along with Rick Masters and Dave Hardman.
Michaels says he has been drug free for three years. He now takes vitamins and works out every day.
"I've worked with everybody in the music industry," says Damien. "From Steppen Wolf to Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, Iron Butterfly, Jeff Bech… I used to coordinate background vocals… I'd arrange harmonies…"
Damien tells me how he used to date the niece of the late owner of the William Morris talent agency. "They finally signed me to a solo album… Then he died…and it screwed everything up."
Michaels wants to put together a show - The Ultimate Body Awards. He wants to do an X-rated and a mainstream version.
At noon, I stop by the PAW office to talk to Sharon Mitchell. Someone has already printed out for her Pat Riley's rejoinder to the Mark Kernes HIV piece in the 7/98 AVN. Sharon's also aware of my interview with Brooke Ashley.
Luke: "Brooke's annoyed that everyone on the gangbang was not DNA tested for HIV."
Sharon notes that it was not her responsibility to check everybody's HIV tests on that Kbeech gangbang. "Compliance with the new HIV tests takes about six months… We got hit with five positives, one right after the other. Some people were complying with the DNA [tests], and some weren't.
"People have to take responsibility for themselves…"
Sharon's voice rises. "You're f---ing up the ass without a condom… What are you thinking? What do you expect? 'I thought…' I'm really sorry, but actions are what is happening, not thoughts and assumptions."
Luke: "Tricia tested HIV positive about 1/7/98. I thought everyone on her geneology was supposed to have taken the PCR test?"
Sharon: "Some people did and some people didn't. Marc told me that he did, and I took his word that he did."
Luke: "Yes, Asia Carrera emailed me after I had posted that Marc was HIV positive, that Marc had shown Bud Lee a recent PCR DNA negative test."
"Brooke says PAW lost several vials of her HIV positive blood."
Sharon: "We did do an RNA test on her, and the label apparently slipped off the vial. And they couldn't process it without taking another one. No blood was lost."
Luke: "She says you told people that she was a heroin addict."
Sharon: "That is absolute horses---. I never had the right to say anything about the course of my confidential counseling with her. Not that there was a lot of compliance on any level from her, with counseling, with the various programs we offer here. We offer HIV follow up programs. We offer one-on-one counseling. We offer drug counseling. We're approved and recommended by Work Furlough, Parolee Probation Department.
"She was primarily interested in financial funding. She did need it. PAW has a policy of giving emergency allotments of money. But if you don't show the board of directors that you are going to take all of the program… If you're not going to benefit from the doctor's research at AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and the life skills counseling, and the support groups… If you're just going to come for money… We helped a lot, promoting her to working for other people in the industry in other aspects than as an actress. And we felt that we did what we could.
"I speak for this whole office when I say that we tried our best with Brooke to help her. As far as heroin, that is ridiculous. I was a heroin addict. I know heroin addicts, post, present, past… Even if Brooke disclosed to me in private that she was using heroin, it wouldn't be up to me to disclose that to other people. And that is a direct slander on my credential. That made me angry for a moment. I'm realizing that Brooke's in a very angry state. For her to make a lot of noise about a lot of things seems to be ok for her. It seems to be what she requires. It seems to be filling the hole for her temporarily. It's rageaholism. It's a shame. I hope the best for her. I recommend support groups and a lot more programs than she must be getting. I don't know because it's out of our hands here. She did not meet our criteria for funding because she did not take the rest of the things.
"When that happened [that Brooke did not get money], all of a sudden, everybody here at PAW was a bad guy.
"Caroline chose to work with me privately, in my home, doing one-on-one counseling… And I have her in a research program. I do guide her through support groups. And I work closely with Kimberly Jade. And some with Marc Wallice."
Though under house arrest, Kimberly is allowed to stop by PAW.
I pulled out the latest AVN to see if Mark Kernes had quoted Sharon accurately. On her desk, Sharon had a copy of Pat Riley's reply to the AVN essay.
"It quoted me accurately, but it was half quotes. Particularly the part about Marc's age, 65… That was to point out that I felt that was a typo error at the clinic. From what I know of that clinic on San Fernando Road, they have a bilingual staff. And I thought that this is nothing more than a typo.
"Also, about 'the Elisa is f---ing useless.' I don't believe that for civilians this is a useless test. I do believe it is a valid antibody test. It is good for people who don't have sex with 40 partners a month.
"I register all my data with Quest Nichols Institute and Roche, the drug company that makes the PCR DNA.
"Who is this guy? Who is this guy?"
Sharon looks through Pat Riley's post.
Luke: "Pat Riley writes the X-rated Videotape Guides for Prometheus. He ran quotes from this AVN article by a newsgroup on AIDS."
Sharon: "I'm overseen by a microbiologist at Quest Diagnostics. And by Dr. Steven York, and Dr. Diane Kelly. I use all these different tests (Western Blot, PCR DNA, RNA, Elisa) to correlate when someone got it. In four out of the five cases that came out of this office, and several cases that didn't, the Elisa has always read negative upon the time of detection. The PCR DNA can help us detect HIV at a very low level.
"Regarding the surge of the virus - This can happen at various times for the individual. So yes, an early detection resembles early bands [Western Blot?]…. If a person has HIV for three to five weeks, and is picked up by the PCR DNA, this virus has not done surging… So yes, most of the time I can detect something by the bands of the Western Blot [test]. So, I take all of this information, along with the T-cell count, and I'm able to judge… I don't think this came across clear in this [AVN] article…
"Maybe Pat Riley should fly out here to see what we are doing.
"I'm a certified Chemicals Dependency Specialist by the state of California and a certified HIV counselor by the state of California [through Mission College]. I am continuing on through my Masters Degree at Antioch University. If he needs my credentials any more times than I have put them up there on the internet…"
Sharon says PAW may be about to offer gonorrhea and chlamydia testing by urine. "I just got news from the lab, and I think we can do that. It is a ligase reaction, for Mr. Riley's information."
Sharon to Bill Margold, who stands over us: "They [AVN] put a really bad picture of you in here."
Bill: "I know. They hate me. But my column is good."
Sharon to Bill: "So this guy [Pat Riley] went off on the things stated in here [7/98 AVN]."
Luke: "It should be possible to find out if all these people have the same DNA viral sequence?"
Sharon: "It is."
Phone rings throughout our conversation, and people buzz in and out of Sharon's office. She's frantically busy. Valentino phones from Italy for a copy of his HIV test.
"I've talked to Dr. Henry Chang at AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). At the time [of the first four HIV positives this year], he thought it was not a good idea [to check for the DNA viral sequence]. We would have to do get other people's blood… At the time, one person was not willing to do that [give blood].
"There is a third strain of HIV, sub type O."
Bill: "We appointed you [Sharon] the testing coordinator for Protecting Adult Welfare. Whose business is it of his? He wants to come out to do it?"
Sharon: "I don't even know who it is."
Bill: "This is the man who writes those insignificant books that are all wrong. He hates Holliday, he hates me, and he rips Viper every chance he gets…"
Sharon: "He hates me too."
Bill: "You're in good company. He despises Viper. He says she is ugly, tattood, terrible performer… He obviously hasn't watched one of her movies. He hates her because she lived with me. And he hates me because I'm a friend of Holliday's. And he hates Holliday because Holliday called his bluff."
Sharon: "I don't think this gentleman [Pat Riley] understands where we are going to get $10,000 and permission to do this type of testing… If I couldn't get Marc Wallice to come down here to get his proper PCR DNA [HIV test], how in the heck am I going to get him in here.
"The main reason I am here is that I was appointed by the adult industry… PAW hired me. What qualifies me is that I look at between 200-350 f---ing PCR DNAs a month. I probably look at more PCR DNAs than Roche Diagnostics."
Bill: "She was the progress created by the crisis. Where would the industry be if PAW wasn't here to catch the Tricia Deveraux, Brooke Ashley situation?
"Sharon was given to us a year ago. Let this man come out here and face the nightmare every day.
"What's very interesting is that Gene Ross did the job on you [in the 7/98 AVN]. While overdue, it also suggests that Gene Ross is yowling piteously about AVN not being the quintessential gossip because you've taken it away from them. There is a strange form of sour grapes in that article, if you read between the lines. He's upset because he can no longer be the town crier. You're [Luke F-rd] the town crier. You've taken away his thunder. You've taken away Brandy Alexandre's thunder, but you're going to wind up the most hated man in this business, taking the mantle away from me, which I like."
Sharon laughs as Bill walks out of the room.
Luke talks to Sharon about his conversation with Marc this morning, asking Marc for permission to make his previous HIV tests public.
Sharon: "They are on view for anyone who wants to see them, but I can't show them to the press without Marc's permission. Marc gave them to me."
Luke: "Brooke says Dr. York is a groupie. That he came into the industry following Tricia."
Sharon: "I don't know. Dr. York diagnosed Tricia and we were very grateful to him. He had called me last year asking if we needed an industry friendly doctor. We saw that we could form a working relationship.
"Dr. York has never hit on anyone that I know of. In my eyes, he has tremendous integrity, just to deal with the scandalous, horrible, masturbatory, self-aggrandizing group that we are."
Luke: "Do Marc's tests look authentic?"
Sharon: "Yes, except for that typo. I really believe that was a typo [not something sinister]."
Luke: "So you really believe that his tests are authentic and that Marc genuinely did not know [that he was HIV positive]?"
Sharon: "I did not say that. I believe the tests were not doctored."
Luke: "Can we know that it was his blood that was checked?"
Sharon: "I called the laboratory and they matched the dates of those Eliza tests taken from a Marc Goldberg."
Luke: "It's got 'anonymous testing' on the tests?"
Sharon: "The rest of the world is anonymous testing. They do not have a release like ours.
"The only way to settle this is… And Bill and I told Marc this, and I know that he [Marc] feels backed into a corner… We have a notary. She was willing to go down to that clinic and stand Marc in front of the girls that do the paperwork.. Please certify that this was the gentleman who matched this paperwork. This is the only way that he can give some answers to people…"
Luke: "Do you think he knew?"
Sharon sighs. "I don't know. I do know that we live with the fear of that possibility, from day to day. I know that when I knew I had herpes…since I was 17. Reflecting on my feelings telling my lover, knowing that I had gotten it from the industry… There was a large part of me that didn't want to say that for fear that I would have a break out at some time and sexually transmit this disease… I remember wrestling with those feelings. Of course I told the truth.
"I don't know whether he knew or not. I think that's evil personified and I don't want to believe that about my friend. But on a couple of levels, I think that he knew something was wrong. Maybe in his heart. There was an underlying source of fear there."
Luke: "I hear that when he tested here he was crying?"
Sharon: "Remember, if you were accused of second-degree murder, you'd be crying too. He got hit with a couple of things: HIV positive, and accusations… It took a concerted effort [Patrick Collins, Nicole Lace, Bill and Sharon] to get him in here."
Luke: "How long do you think Marc has been HIV positive?"
Sharon: "A while… It could be six months… I don't know how much greater than 100,000 it [Marc's viral load] was… I referred that to another doctor. And Marc did not give me permission to have that medical information… I am left in the dark. I seriously doubt that it is less than six months…
"To have a viral load of over 100,000… Not on its own, it doesn't tell you when the person became infected. But with the PCR DNA test window, with the negative Elisa, and the T-cell count tests, and Western Blot… It can tell you a lot.
"Now we've got people calling up from jail. We've got HIV positive people on house arrest coming in… Everything is being legitimized. We're moving so fast. And all the clinics are faxing in their tests. We're building our database. It's fantastic, a vision glowing.
"AIM will depend on funding from Free Speech for a time… The question is: To have them as the sole owner of AIM, the non-profit corporation? Well, AIM will stand on its own. We may get grant money from FSC. But AIM will have its own board. There's grant money and research money and private donations [to fund AIM].
"I have to try. I owe it to the industry and to myself to pursue my dream."
Bill Margold tells me about the VSDA show in Las Vegas this weekend. "When we were children, the circus came to town once a year. Now the circus comes to town almost every week and it is no longer unique…
"I lament that we've been assimilated… I prefer to keep the industry in the gutter… The crowd was down by a third this year. We're not extraordinary anymore. I raised $1635 for Free Speech. I've done that in a day. I've had $8,000 CES.
Tall strawberry blonde Fiero brings in a Polar bear on a snow board as a gift to Bill.
I ask Stephanie Swift (150 videos in her 3.5 years) about her brief time as an Elegant Angel contract girl. Was she manipulated into that Robert Black gangbang?
"There was no manipulation at all," Steph said. "We planned that together. It was a good relationship. I did what I wanted to do and moved on after three months.
"I did expect to be there longer, but things changed. I realized that I wanted to be someplace else. We talked and we both agreed that they couldn't carry my potential. They couldn't take me where I wanted to be. I'd rather promote myself than be held back with one company…
"I really enjoyed the gangbang. I was in complete control. It was the first time that I worked with people without condoms. Most of them were people I'd worked with before, who didn't give me a hard time about working with condoms… And it was my way of saying thanks. The guys took good care of me. It was a very loving experience.
"My husband has his own production lines and I will be doing my own…
"I've been shooting for Wicked. Just finished Heartache, a Brad Armstrong feature that will be incredible. Wicked Covergirls. Sweet Little Pervert where I'm on the boxcover. And for Zane - Sudden Passions and Divine Rapture. Sunset Thomas and Shayla LaVeaux. Interesting scripts. I like movies where I'm challenged with a script, rather than just sex."
I met Tom Chapman who entered porn in 1989. Away for almost two years, he returned to the business to be with his friends (Peter North, Jim South, David Storey, VCA, Spinellis, Ron Jeremy). He's studying computer technology at college.
The Sheraton Universal in Universal City hosts through Wednesday ANME - Adult Novelties Manufacturing Expo…
Chloe and Sharon Mitchell stand outside in the 90 degree sun and talk.
Bill identifies the five nicknames in his 7/98 AVN column: "Excalibur is Sharon Mitchell. The newt is Will Jarvis. Little Toot is Jeffrey Douglas. The Mosquito is Jackie Lick. T4 is Tony 'the turd" Tedeschi. I could add two more Ts in there for "Totally Talentless," but that would be forcing the issue. He does have a marginal amount of talent, though of course saying that someone is talented in the X-rated industry is specious at best. Calling a person an 'actor' at this time is specious… The industry has descended to Cro-Magnon men and Marshmellow women.
"Once upon a time, Gene Ross was you, Luke F-rd. He had the playpen of the damned all to himself. He had the most powerful magazine in the business so that he could go out and hack anybody he wanted. Brandy came along on the internet and usurped some of his thunder. By that time, Ross was falling in love with every women he met, and wanted to get married over and over. He worshipped Taylor Wane, Alex Jordan… Kimberly Chambers… He was supposed to be in an untouched position, but he could be bought, for uhh, toupee supplies.
"I was the last person in the world to know that Gene was bald. I had never figured that out until people began making fun of him. Whatever he has on his head looks ok to me. More power to him.
"You came along. He looked in the mirror and saw himself losing luster, and he used his column to get at you. Mike Albo [Hustler Erotic Video Guide] has fallen by the wayside. I think he was warned by the people who pay him, that if he continues to bite the hand that feeds, the magazine would begin to suffer. So Albo was reined in.
"'I've just been offered a part in a Deep Throat movie where I get to play myself challenging Albo. At the FSC dinner dance last year, I said to him: 'If you ever again say anything bad about PAW, I will drill three holes in your head and use it as the bowling ball it looks like, and toss it down the gutter.'"
I show Emmanuelle Richard's article on Luke F-rd at www.ojr.org to Bill. We chuckle at his colorful quotes in the story.
Bill: "There's that
cackle of yours… Is there any way to post that cackle on your internet
site?" Luke cackles fiendishly as Margold acupunctures him with poison
pins.