Ronald Boyer (born September 18, 1952), commonly known by the stage name Rod Fontana, is a
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 ...
and
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
. In 2005, he was inducted into the
AVN Hall of Fame
The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995. but his career continued the next year.
Early life
Boyer was raised as a
Southern Baptist
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...
in Central, South Carolina, where he was also born. He preached when in his teens before studying history and religion at college.
Career
Boyer left college early to join the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
and fight in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. On his return in 1975, he had expected to join the
NYPD
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
, but the job offer was withdrawn. A friend who was an actor suggested pornography, and Boyer filmed his first scene in the summer of 1976. He left pornography during the 1980s to rejoin the U.S. military, serving as an E-4 specialist. He returned to pornography in the 1990s.
Louis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British and American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award.
After graduati ...
watched a porn shoot including Fontana for his 2005 book " The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures", calling him an "older guy, jolly, manic, overweight".
The ''New York Times'' reported that Fontana retired from pornography in January 2007 and became a registered
private investigator
A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...
and interested in the Episcopal Church. (also se Corrections, 22 July 2007 However, he appeared in and directed
adult film
Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...
s for Hustler Video from the following year and said to '' AVN'' that the newspaper had misrepresented him.
Personal life
Fontana is married to former pornographic actress Liza Harper. Their daughter Diana, born in 2002, nearly died of a
staph infection
A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria.
These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasi ...
in 2003. This incident eventually led the couple to become more religious.