LOS ANGELES—Phil St. John, a legendary performer and director in the gay porn industry who has since established a successful career as a photographer, writer, art critic and exhibit curator, has published a new novel set in the world of gay porn production—a world that at least according to the promo material for St. John’s new novel is “fraught with knife fights, sexual intrigue, nervous breakdowns, tropical depressions, secret marijuana smuggling, and true cinematic, pornographic love.”
Fans of St. John’s work and career, then, who happen to be in Southern California on Sunday, September 23, will have chance to meet St. John, get a copy of his novel Diary of a Puerto Rican Porno personally autographed, and see screening of a 70-minute highlight reel featuring the best moments from St. John’s gay porn career on film and behind the camera.
For fans new to St. John’s work and curious as to what that highlight reel may contain, the 2009 Gay Porn Hall of Fame inductee’s own bio, posted on Amazon.com, gives some potential clues.
“The filmmaker worked in the golden age of gay porn, shooting movies on the infamous sound-stages in the San Fernando Valley and in New York, Florida, Europe, and Latin America,” his official bio says. “Chad Douglas, a St. John discovery, starred in Below the Belt, performing male porn’s first double penetration—the director’s signature.” Double Delights, the original all-DP movie, earned St. John a 2004 GayVN Award for Best Specialty Film.
St. John now resides in West Hollywood, California, and “is a fellow of the American Film Institute, and a member of the Photographic Arts Council, Los Angeles.” But Sunday’s event will take place in eastern Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park, in one of the most historic settings in the world of gay erotica—The Tom of Finland Foundation TOM House, where the iconic artist Touko Laaksonen, aka “Tom of Finland,” lived and created his artwork.
In 2016, the L.A. City Council granted the house historical landmark status, recognizing the artist’s place in the history of the city’s LGBT culture—making it a fitting backdrop for St. John’s book signing.
The event is set for 5 p.m. on September 23 at the TOM House, 1421 Laveta Terrace in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Admission is free but a donation of $5 is suggested.
Image via Amazon.com
