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Like Henry Ford built the first automobile in the jazz age, a newcomer to the porn scene, Luke F-rd, has turned the jizz age upside down by being the first real world reporter from the outside looking in with the balls to tell it like it is. His literary police style of reporting has had such an effect on blowbiz, that it seems industry citizens old, new, and unsung are coming out of the woodwork and contacting him to voice their career soundbites. And I am proud to say I'm one of them. The adult entertainment world has changed a lot within the past 25 years. A quarter of a century ago, beautiful people had not yet discovered porn. The boy or girl next door or amateur by today's standards could make it into the Hall of Fame. Their 40 foot movie theater forum was underground chic but still larger than life. Less people were involved so the profession was more exclusive. All they had to worry about was getting busted and sacrificing their artistic freedom. The threat of AIDS and death had not yet arrived. Enter the 90s, where the advent of video and amateurs destroyed the porn star mystique, made sex stardom a dime a dozen suck opera and created studs in limbo like me. No other journeyman actor within the past decade persevered and endured as well despite being a blue collar stud in a sexvid world full of prettyboy hardbodies. Underrated and unsung, I was a smut jack of all trades and made my studly mark in several hundred sexvids since 1988. Big budget films, one day wonders. You name it. I was in it. Granted, there's an offbeat charm and gritty drama behind my unlikely tale. I am a sexual "Rocky" figure, a carnal contender who has given up the fight to become a star because of the ongoing threat of AIDS. But I lasted 10 years plus as an in your face affront to poison- penned critics who write about the life I lived and call themselves experts when in fact they are nothing but glorified jerkoffs with a pen in one hand and a dick in the other. In short, they never played the porn star game, so to speak. I was Mr. Joe Porn star, the average dick most unlikely to succeed. The erection with a boy next door body attached that wouldn't go away. My career on screen batting average was just a shade below the requisite .300 star banger category. Live video blind dates were more a matter of mood and chemistry rather than blind erectile ambition. On good days I was the best, bad days the worst. My ultimate survival made me an erotic enigma, the mystery behind which I'll answer here in this exclusive interview. LF: So you're calling it quits. This is your retirement farewell interview then? HR: My swan song. I've been married close to a year. I have a 3 year old child. I wanna see the year 2000 and be able to say I survived a career in porn. LF: Let's start at the beginning. Where did you get the nickname Hammerin' Hank? HR: Joey Silvera gave it to me back in '88. I told him he was one of the all-time greats. We then exchanged pleasantries, shop talk. Then I was this new guy performing in the trenches and he saw my potential. LF: Well, did you reach it? HR: Yes and no. I'd paint my career character as a Walter Mitty, Forest Gump and Rocky Balboa all rolled into one. Which means I was a bit of a pretender, but a lucky stiff with enough heart to make my mark. I am unsung, but there is no one else quite like me. LF: So what made you decide to choose porn as a career? HR: I'm Italian, I'm lazy...and I got a big dick. LF: Where are you originally from? HR: I'm an LA native, but I grew up in Boston, Mass. LF: How did you get your start? HR: Back in '86 I wrote a fan letter to Bill Margold. We became close friends and he gave me my break. The rest was history. LF: Take us back in time to your late 80s debut. HR: I broke my live sex video cherry in an '88 sex comedy called "Three Men And A Lady", where I was the male lead opposite Ariel Knight but had to share her in a group scene. In order to establish myself as an up'n comer, I needed to get a single boy/girl scene under my belt. It was in another cute Hollywood film parody called "No Way In" that I got to do this gorgeous Kim Basinger look-alike, Amanda Tyler. After that, I hit my stride and never looked back. LF: You consider yourself to be an X-rated Rocky figure. Why is that? HR: I was just an average guy with a world class sex drive. Nobody rolled out a red carpet for me when I started. Because of the fact that I'm no hunk or Romeo, it was a hard road to glory. The fact that I endured said a lot for my career longevity. LF: Still, at your best your cumshots were comparable to Peter North? HR: Also blessed with a long range sex shooter, I was a one trick pony with crowd- pleasing cumshots. They were my bread and butter, my calling card, if you will. Giving monster facials is what fired up my libido and kept my career going strong. In one gig I once did for Ed Darue, the girl said my pop was like Peter North. Darue said that was Peter North. I'll never forget that. It meant a lot. LF: What is it about the porn personality that enables them to make a living with their sex drive? HR: We can lust and not let love be our aim. And we're animals. It's as simple as that. LF: What about the male fantasy of sex stardom? Can you dispel any myths? HR: We're not sexual supermen, that's for sure. Some use the biz as a dating service and don't stray far from its inner circle while for others it's just a fun way to make a living. Sex in front of a camera is like a blind date. What separates the men from the boys is the ability to get it up when there's no chemistry. LF: And in your heyday, where did you fall in within that professional distinction? HR: If my sexual on-screen batting average were better, I'd have been a big name instead of Joe porn star. I wasn't a male robot able to get it up regardless of taste in women. So like Rocky was a club fighter, I was an adult contender. I had my ups and downs, yet on a good day I could outmatch and outperform the best. Otherwise I wouldn't have lasted so long. LF: How did you pick and choose who to work for? HR: Very carefully. I was very fickle when it came to that. A laid back temperament along with a bad taste for life in the fast lane left me unable to handle the hard work that came with big budget productions. For me it was easier to do quickie loops than to wait all day on a film shoot to do dialogue that the average fan was going to fast forward through. LF: Who was the best porn actress you ever worked with? HR: Best lay or prettiest? A, B or C girl? LF: All of the above. HR: It's a tie between two sultry brunettes. Alexis Gold, long gone because of family problems, was a brick s--- house if I ever saw one. That lady was like Jane Russell, Rita Hayworth and Ann-Margaret all rolled into one. The f--- of my life on or off camera. Then there was Carole Troy, who I worked with live or the internet a few years ago. LF: What sexual acts and/or women are your preference? HR: I have an oral fixation, so I've done my share of exotic interracial woman. But I like all women as long as they like and know how to give head. LF: What's the average size of a stud in the biz and how did you measure up? HR: At my peak, I'm at least 8 inches. That makes me big in the real world but only about average for a stud in the biz. Usually, anything more than that and either complaints surface, fear sets in and function goes out the window. LF: How many videos and/or women did you do? Did you keep score? HR: Hardly. It was a modest amount compared to the big stars. Several hundred I'd imagine. Yet still, with my humble career I had I boned more babes than Casanova. Kinda gave new meaning to the term "working stiff" LF: What were some of your credit highlights or career performances? HR: As a journeyman, I was lucky and managed to work with legends like Ashlyn Gere and John Leslie. Some of my best scenes I did in videos for Erotic Video Network and Heatwave Entertainment. I did my share of gangbangs and orgies. Single boy/girl scenes were my preference though. And there were too many to pin down just one. LF: Did you have any interests outside adult video? HR: I've always been a karaoke addict and I'm an aspiring screenwriter. LF: How do you grade the contribution of X-rated talent in the showbiz world? HR: We're the world's greatest entertainers. Actors and singers "perform", but we actually live our sex lives on the job, which make us one of a kind. LF: On the down side, you're satisfied with the niche you left behind in the porn pecking order? HR: I've done it all in this biz. Worn all the hats. That's why I can quit and never look back. Then again, the fame game is a joke when your fans are jerkoffs. Some industry spokesman of the old guard speak of immortality. Gimme a break. Someday the sun's gonna burn out and every human earthly endeavor will be rendered a cosmic memory. Nothing and nobody lives forever. I was a big star between my legs---where it counted. Transport me back to the 70s and we'll talk about real porn stars. Today, we're a dime a dozen. LF: Do you harbor resentment or bitterness over not becoming a "big star"? HR: No. Because such vanity would then plant me into the mindless realm of those who eat sleep, and drink porn and take themselves and this industry too seriously. I just wish the threat of disease wasn't in my way. Because then there would be no stopping me if I chose to make a comeback. LF: Where did the biz go wrong aside from the disease factor? HR: Popularity and acceptance has ruined it. Public access and newcomer production, sales and distribution is too easy. This creates ongoing feuds between the savvy old timers and the bottom line oriented new blood, who open the floodgates to every crooked scoundrel with a budget and video equipment. This get-away-with-murder attitude gives half the industry an excuse to be criminals because after all, it's only sex we're selling. Sadly, the people who suffer the most are the talent. LF: So the mob still controls the biz? HR: The mob has long since given up its Golden Era interest, letting God's chosen people, the Jews to carry on where they left off. I have a tenuous relationship with my Hebrew brothers. Like blacks with more elastic muscle fiber, and we Italians who enjoy superior love and lust genes, they have a biologically indomitable will to win bred out of ancient suffering. That's something to admire but not a reason for hatred. LF: Is there a universal pornographer mentality? Or are Jews and Italians the main movers and shakers? HR: Yes. By all means. There's an old saying. A wop will kill you with his bare hands or a gun and a Hebe will kill you with his brains or personality. You can't beat either of 'em, so you gotta join 'em to survive in this biz. LF: What about the drug aspect? HR: Like all forms of showbiz rife with drugs, stimulants are common because they level the playing field for those who lack the energy level it takes to perform on a consistent basis, not to mention dealing with the rogues gallery of evil characters who inhabit the production ranks of this industry. LF: How did a self professed good guy cope in a business infested with bad people? HR: By settling for B actor status. It's so difficult to succeed in show business in general. Often the competitors you're up against have more energy and guile to fight for what they want than you do. But I was no Mr. Nice Guy, so I found a way to fit in. In showbiz, nice guys are window watchers in the candy store of life. In porn, they are fans. LF: Having said that, why did you last so long while most unsung studs faded away? HR: I wasn't a favorite with critics, so I had something to prove. The rest was pure instinct. LF: If you had it all to do again, is there anything you would change? Any regrets? HR: I missed the A train to porn's sexually elite class, but I can't complain. I tried to do the best with what I had and learned to live with it. If there was one couple or pervert out there who got off on my performance, then I did my job. I couldn't ask for anything more. LF: You say you started out as a fan. Did that make your success any sweeter? HR: Absolutely. Once upon a time, I was just another voyeur on the outside of the biz looking in. Then I became my own best fan. I liked to watch myself. So I came full circle. And if that wasn't poetic justice, I don't know what is. LF: What's your take on the current state of the industry? HR: Let's face it, the people who have all the money are jealous of the people who have all the sex. It's always been that way. I hate to say it, but we're our own worst enemy because we've allowed our ranks to be overrun by society's rebels and misfits. The fans are harmless. Forget the fight against censorship. It's time we policed the industry from within and weeded out the bad seeds among us before we become victims of ourselves. LF: So although you once worked in a dream job, it's not for everyone? HR: While its lure and charm lies in the opportunity it affords you to screw women you would never get to first base with in your personal life, sex stardom like anything else, also has its price---like the lack of security and the threat of deadly disease. Unfortunately, the talent pool has neither the leadership nor the voice to change things because they have no union. And they never will for obvious reasons. LF: Where do you see the future of porn leading us? HR: Until and unless the government enforces old laws and passes new rules that force the industry status quo to heed to strict testing document procedures, then the AIDS crisis will threaten the future of this industry. It's gotten so bad, that even a major video company has resorted to scouting extras as talent. Industry veterans---even the unsung like me---are leaving the business in droves. Yet those who only care about profits and orgasms have a death wish for the industry as it is. Only time will tell where the cruel money men take us. LF: Now that your star belongs to the ages, how do you feel about your career? HR: It was a fun ride. I regarded myself as the ultimate sexual survivor in the porn talent wars who hit my peak at a time just before the s--- hit the fan with AIDS. Knowing that, I can be happy I wasn't a big star. If I was I might not have been able to give it up and the lustlife limelight would have gotten the best of me one way or another. But now that everything's gone: the wild women, the public lust and the easy money, what left? The glory of having "been there" and "done that" is what sticks with me. LF: In a best case scenario, if your fantasy profile were featured in the Porn Hall Of Fame, what words would sum you up best? HR: HE CAME...HE SAW...HE f---ED...but not necessarily in that order. LF: What bit of advice, if any, would you like to give to newcomers? HR: Get tested. And always ask to see a fresh up to date HIV test. No copies. Then just follow your hard-on. But just remember. Gotta get it up first. LF: What are some major video features from the past we've seen you in? HR: "VELVET", "Robert McCallum's ECSTASY", "DEVIL IN MISS JONES Part 5: The Inferno", "HUGE GRANT On The Sunset Strip", "RUMPSHAKER 5"and "BREASTMAN'S Triple X-Cellent Adventure". LF: What is some of your last work we can see you in? HR: Check out "BLACK ANGELS Pts. 1 & 2" Also, some of my live sex work on the internet can be seen on tape by accessing livesexnow.com on the web. The very last thing I did was a gangbang with porn elder stateswoman Kitty Foxx. And let me tell you, my heart wasn't in it. The thrill is gone. LF: What's in the future for you? HR: I'm a published writer and hope to go back to free lancing. I'm interested in PC game design and may go partners with an old friend on an adult web site. Although my performing days are over, I try to keep busy. LF: In "Rocky", Stallone loses the fight but gains respect. You failed to become a big star in porn, but is there any insight you gained instead? HR: The knowledge that amidst a porn field of sidelined erotic know-it-alls, I was a sexual somebody who played the game. In the end, that's all that matters. "Stiff" By Hank Rose If you can be glad and not sad If you can lust If you can keep it hard If you can worship sexual mass If you can act out your sex life on cue If you can thrill the unflinching starlet And what's more... 2/13/01 Hank Rose writes: Luke: Margold was right back in the early 90s when he said this biz was dying. It is dying because it has become too much of a mainstream part of pop culture and therefore a sensational victim of it. This is why the salacious hardcopy sells. Because sexvids themselves are no longer shocking or illegal. Instead, blowbiz is too easily accessible and no longer exclusive, thereby emptying it of the mystique that made it larger than life when legit Hollywood outcasts like Titus Moody set the stage some 30 years ago. If you were the Walter Winchell of porn in the days of film when it mattered, by now you'd be a legend. Just as any hasbeen B stud like me would have been in the Hall Of Fame if I were a pioneer. If they gave out degrees in porn, I'd have a PHD. As a student and insider I can see the biz from the inside out. A one time voyeur who dreamed about being John Holmes like the average kid dreams about becoming John Wayne, I went from the fan outhouse to the stud penthouse sexually speaking. Thereafter I lived and worked in the industry for 10 years. So I know the history and how far the business has come and gone in the last 25 years. Back in the 70s when it was taboo, illegal, underground, but chic, both average and beautiful people had not yet discovered the industry. And so it flourished. The years between the late 60s and the late 70s, the Golden Age, were populated with jobless legit actors and actresses with real talent who were unable to get any other work. By the time the advent of video came along in the early 80s, the costs of production plummeted and the floodgates opened for the man on the street, the boy and girl next door or hunk and hunkette models with no other gifts or talent other than their looks. All of a sudden Hollywood acceptance made the biz pedestrian and commonplace and porn turned into a skin fashion show and nude beauty pageant, losing its soul as a result. When the biz became filled with nothing but rank amateurs or Hollywood hardbodies with no variation in between, there was no more room for plots and stories because nobody could act. Once upon a time, when films had plots to entertain, character actors and actresses who were not Mr. and Mrs. America made them believeable. So as a result, the movies were better. Today all people care about is how someone looks even though it is people with the rare ability to perform sex and act a part or role who make the sex much hotter. Today, porn is a flesh fashion show. If you are not a pretty boy or girl, then you do not exist as a performer. Unattractive people do not have sex. It's ironic that the ugly old time martyrs who sacrificed to start this biz would be rank amateurs by today's visual standards. But historians universally agree that porn was hotter back when real people who could act were the stars and it was sleazy. I'm in my mid 30s, young enough for a career 2nd wind but too old to care. I traded in the ego of sinful celebrity for the promise of a family life I never had. Carnal temptations are hard to resist, but all the newcomer prospects I run into are conservative, prudish WASPs of the new quasi-acceptance who wish to sanitize porn for their own kind. And I'll have nothing of it. I'll neither eat nor sell sugar free candy. That is what porn has cum to. The packaging is better than ever, but the sweetness has either been replaced by a graphic soulless taste or been removed for the porno diabetics among us altogether. So all that's left is gossip, in-fighting and pettiness. Can't we all get along? If anybody out there wants to make movies with human characters again instead of Ken & Barbie robots, I wanna hear from them. Otherwise nothing short of a time machine will save this biz from the evils of mainstream popularity and acceptance. Enter right wing bully Ashcroft to the rescue? Not. The titles, sales and marketing destinations will change, but the content will remain the same. So everybody keep arguing and fighting over the new millennium spoils of a biz that enjoyed its heyday long before the Internet and you were born. In the meantime, those like me who know the way we were and how far we've fallen will fall asleep to the wet dreams of yesteryear. Call me nostalgic or call me a hasbeen. Just don't call me a realist. For if I am, then the best has cum and gone and we all ought to pack it in. 6/22/06 Hank Rose writes in my voice:
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