Paul Barresi (born 1949) is an American former

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

, former pornographic film director, and media personality.

Early life and military career

Born in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

, when Barresi was 12 his family moved to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

for his father's job at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. Barresi was offered a wrestling scholarship to the University of Maryland but opted to instead enlist in the United States Air Force during the height of the Vietnam War. Barresi served at bases in the United States and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and he was honorably discharged as a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in 1971 after completing his tour at

March Air Force Base March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB), is located in Riverside County, California, between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Comm ...

.Ebner, Mark and Jack Cheevers (April 26, 2001)
The Bagman.
''

New Times LA ''New Times LA'' was an alternative weekly newspaper that was published in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of ...

'' Upon returning to civilian life, he soon began working as a

fitness trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, providing m ...

at a gym in nearby

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

Work in modeling, theater and film

In March 1974, Barresi was featured in ''

Playgirl ''Playgirl'' is an American magazine that has historically featured pictorials of nude and semi-nude men alongside general interest, lifestyle, celebrity journalism, and original fiction. For most of its history, the magazine printed monthly a ...

'' magazine with

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Gay Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage pers ...

. The following year he was selected by Rip Colt as an early Colt model and featured on the cover of the November 1975 of ''

Mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...

''. In December 1978, Barresi was the first man ever to appear on the cover of '' Hustler''. The print modeling led to dozens of offers to star in adult film. Barresi's natural muscular build and unique persona on film made him into one the highest paid and most sought after adult film icons of the '70s, starring in adult film classics including ''Co-ed Fever'', ''Bad Girls II'', ''All American Girls II'' and ''Secret of Stage Five''. Barresi wrote, produced and directed adult films. In 1992 Barresi, using the name "Joe Hammer", won the Gay Video Guide Award in the Best Specialty Release category for the fetish video ''Razor Close''. Barresi earned a 2003

GayVN Awards The GayVN Awards are film awards presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornographic industry. The awards were sponsored by '' AVN Magazine'', the parent publication of ''GAYVN Magazine'', and continue the recognition for gay pornogra ...

nomination for "Best Non-Sex Performance — Gay or Bi" for ''Long Strokes''.Skee, Mickey (July 2003)
Bad Boys. Paul Barresi. Sam Tyson and Michael Knight Impersonators?
Gay/Bi Gossip column on ''

Adult Video News ''Adult Video News'' (also called ''AVN'' or ''AVN Magazine'') is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. ''The New York Times'' notes that ''AVN'' is to pornographic films what ''Billboard'' is to records. ''AVN'' spon ...

'' Barresi also won the 2007 GayVN award and a 2007

Grabby Award Grabby Awards (better known as The Grabbys) are presented annually in Chicago for the gay adult erotic video industry. The awards are sponsored by ''GRAB Magazine.'' The Grabby Awards and ''GRAB Magazine'' are owned and operated by Grabbys, LLC' ...

for "Best Non-Sex Performance" for his work in ''Velvet Mafia (parts 1 and 2)''. And in 2008, Barresi was inducted into the GayVN Hall of Fame. Barresi was particularly noted for his military themes; ''

'' has said Barresi's directorial efforts make him "undisputedly the king of military-themed videos."Spencer, Jeremy (October 2002). (review). ''

''. Barresi toured in a 1980

summer stock In American theater, summer stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock ...

suite of scenes from

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

plays, headlined by

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and game-show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well know ...

.Barresi played the Borden Eisler role from ''

Plaza Suite ''Plaza Suite'' is a comedy play by Neil Simon. Plot The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel. The first act, ''Visitor From Mamaroneck'', introduces the a ...

''. Wilson, Steve and Joe Florenski (2005). ''Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story''. Advocate Books, , an
tribute site
He had several roles in mainstream film and television projects, including ''

Perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection; completeness, and excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film and television * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (20 ...

'', ''

Spontaneous Combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high tem ...

'', '' JAG'' and ''

Father Dowling Mysteries ''Father Dowling Mysteries'', known as ''Father Dowling Investigates'' in the United Kingdom, is an American mystery television series first aired from January 20, 1989, to May 2, 1991. The series was preceded by the 1987 television movie ''Fat ...

''. Barresi told ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

'' of the difficulty crossing over into mainstream film: "No one really takes a porn actor seriously ... and no one really respects a porn actor."Moran, Julie (March 8, 1997). Cover story: Porn. ''

References

External links

* *
Paul Barresi at Adultfilmdatabase.com"Paul Barresi"
''SexTV'', Episode 7–19, May 14, 2005.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barresi, Paul Living people 1949 births American male film actors Male actors from Lynn, Massachusetts United States Air Force airmen Private investigators Film directors from Massachusetts American male pornographic film actors 20th-century American male actors