Al Parker (born Andrew Robert Okun; June 25, 1952 – August 17, 1992) was a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

porn star A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dis ...

, producer, and director. He died from complications of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

at the age of 40.

Early career

Parker was born in

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

. After arriving in California, he was employed by

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles which provoked charges of obsc ...

at the Playboy Mansion West as a butler. His career in gay film started when he was "discovered" by

Rip Colt Jim French (born James Thomas French, July 14, 1932 – June 16, 2017) was an American artist, illustrator, photographer, filmmaker, and publisher. He is best known for his association with Colt Studio which he, using the pseudonym Rip Colt, (and ...

, founder of '' Colt Studios''. Colt gave him the performance name "Al Parker." Parker began his filmmaking career when he signed with Brentwood Studios. He initially made short loop films shot on 8 mm reels.

Surge Studios

Parker was a producer, director, and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

. His company, Surge Studios, produced "theme" gay adult features, not just short loops. Many of the films were shot at Parker's home in

Hermosa Beach, California Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. The c ...

. Surge Studios was one of the first studios to mandate

safe sex Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices (such as condoms) to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer ...

practices when AIDS appeared.

Personal life

In 1969, Parker's mother encouraged him to attend the Woodstock Music Festival, believing that it was a classical music festival. After he was forced to abandon his mother's new car in the mud along the road leading to the festival, he encountered what he regarded as his first wholly satisfying sexual experience. His picture was taken there and appears on the poster collage for the ''

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

'' concert film released in 1970. Parker was one of the interview subjects of Dr. Dean Edell, who reported a surgical procedure that sought to restore Parker's foreskin from his at-birth circumcision. The surgery was performed by Dr. Ira Sharlip, a urologist. The report was broadcast on television.

Death

Parker died in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. His remains were cremated and a memorial service was held at his private residence. His ashes were scattered in the ocean near the nude section of

San Gregorio State Beach San Gregorio State Beach is a beach near San Gregorio, California, United States, south of Half Moon Bay. Part of the California State Park System, the beach lies just west of the intersection of California State Route 1 and State Route 84. Ge ...

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Dal ...

Legacy

Parker is the subject of Roger Edmonson's biography ''Clone: The Life and Legacy of Al Parker Gay Superstar''. Parker's life is depicted in

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Drew Sachs' play, ''aka Al Parker''.

Selected filmography

* ''The Best of Al Parker'' (2008) * ''Overload'' (1992) * ''The Best of Colt Films: Part 10'' (1991) * ''Better than Ever'' (1989) * ''Best of Brentwood 1'' (1987) * ''Turbo Charge'' (1987) * ''The Best of Colt: Part 4'' (1986) * ''Oversize Load'' (1986) (director only, with a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

) * ''High Tech'' (1986) * ''Daddies Plaything'' (1985) * ''Century Mining'' (1985) * ''Hard Disk Drive'' (1985) * ''Outrage'' (1984), aka ''Christopher Rage's Outrage'' (US) * ''Headtrips'' (1984) * ''One in a Billion'' (1984) * ''Rangers'' (1984) * ''Strange Places, Strange Things'' (1984) * ''Therapy'' (1983) * ''Weekend Lockup'' (1983) * ''Dangerous'' (1983) * ''A Few Good Men'' (1983) * ''Games'' (1983) * ''

The Other Side of Aspen ''The Other Side of Aspen'' is a 1978 American gay pornographic film produced by Falcon Studios, directed by Matt Sterling, starring Casey Donovan, Al Parker, and Dick Fisk. The film consists of sex scenes filmed in Lake Tahoe, California, in ...

'' (1978) * ''Turned On'' (1982) * ''Flashbacks'', aka ''Al Parker's Flashback'' (1981) * ''Wanted'' (1980) * ''Inches'' (1979) * ''Best of Buckshot'' (Compilations) Chute, Timberwolves * ''Heavy Equipment'' (1977) – shot in 3D

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

*
Review of ''Clone: The Life and Legacy of Al Parker''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Al 1952 births 1992 deaths American actors in gay pornographic films American pornographic film directors American pornographic film producers LGBT film directors American gay actors LGBT people from Massachusetts LGBT pornographic film actors Gay pornographic film actors People from Greater Boston Male actors from San Francisco Directors of gay pornographic films AIDS-related deaths in California Pornographic film actors from Massachusetts Film directors from California 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century LGBT people