LOS ANGELES—It was news that caught everyone off guard: On the evening of July 25, Cooper Neumann took to Twitter to share with the world that husband John Tegan died that morning in their home.
“John was the light of my life, my love, my best friend,” wrote Neumann. “He would tell me about the wonderful people he’s made friends with here. You were a part of his life.”
Known by most fans as a director for studios like Cocksure Men, Jake Cruise and Jet Set (where he lensed titles like Muscle Mountain and Car Jackers), Tegan was a longtime industry veteran in the gay adult space. A producer, director, writer, editor and much more, he was beloved by all of those he encountered. His passing was especially hard on longtime friend and collaborator Jasun Mark.
“John came and joined us as part of the Jake Cruise production team in 2010, which was when we met, but I knew of his work before that. We got along great. He was a very organized and proactive model manager, but he was also a great director. We didn’t have huge budgets and large crews, and he still managed to make scenes that looked great and worked,” shared Mark, who recently had a successful run as Titan’s director.
“We really became friends fast. We had a similar style directing and he was always supportive of what I did. I had my blog Gay Daily Hot—which was at the time mostly just a weird repository of some porn, music and random silliness—and I asked him if he wanted to join in. That’s when the magic really happened. We started to blog about what we were doing and shot all sorts of crazy stuff. We had a lot of fun working together.”
Tegan was the editor of the popular blog at the time of his passing, and also served as interim editor of The Sword blog earlier this year after its own editor, Harlan Yaffe, became ill (Yaffe passed away in early February).
“I asked him if he wanted to do it with me,” said Mark of bringing Tegan on to Gay Daily Hot. “We worked well together on set and I figured he’d be a good guy to bring on with me. I was right.”
The Sword reported that Tegan passed away of natural causes; he had contributed to that blog though mid-February.
“His passion for the industry was unparalleled,” shared Men.com director Marc MacNamara. “He understood we aren't curing cancer, but that what we do still matters and the art behind it should remain unstained with the modern need for quantity over quality. We talked every week about new scenes and series, and he would give his honest and critical opinion on what worked and what didn't. His appreciation of my work felt amazing because I knew he wasn't blowing smoke—and he inspired me to push myself and do better so I could get that seal of John's approval. We lost a major player in our world—a man with desire, with integrity and an unwavering adoration of the work and details behind the magic.”
And Tegan had that influence on MacNamara despite the two never meeting.
“Me and John never actually met in person—our online love affair was always through text. We had made plans many times to meet, but he was always very shy about going to events; he preferred to show his support from an outside perspective, even though he has worked in the industry wearing many hats over the years.”
Mark fondly recalls his early years with Tegan.
“Jake Cruise (studio) was a bit Mad Men. We were still trying to invent a better wheel, and every idea was open for discussion. I had a pretty well-stocked bar in my office, so we’d often be sipping martinis while we had meetings,” he shares. “I also think that our home lives were similar. We joked that we were pornographers by day and boring married suburban guys at night. Mitch Vaughn called us Yogi and Boo-Boo.”
The two collaborated frequently at both Jake Cruise and Cocksure.
“Oh man, we did everything together. One of my favorites was a movie called Brady Loves Kevin, which was a sort of six-man orgy. That was a chaotic shoot, but we managed to bring it all into port. I also remember that stunning threeway with Devin Draz, John Magnum and Dean Monroe. John and I did that on a baking hot day with no crew other than the two of us. It’s still one of my favorite scenes I worked on,” shares Mark.
“I feel like he taught me a lot of my directing skills. How to get good performances out of performers and how to keep the action taking part. How to build the action. I brought a lot of my film school tricks and technical skills. I think we learned a lot from each other. I think he and I both liked that we got to come up with ideas on the fly and make scenes every day. We got to have fun, of course, and porn is fun to make. The guys are usually a blast to hang out with, and the industry has a sort of brotherhood to it.”
On The Sword, some fellow industry veterans shared their thoughts in the comments section, including director Chi Chi LaRue: “John was always such an advocate and such an amazing member of the adult industry. He had no bias and posted about everybody. You will be missed sweet friend.”
Added Anthony Duran: “When I left Catalina Video to pursue work as a freelance photographer John kept me working for many years. We shot a series of successful fitness calendars, he brought on many jobs with him as a still photographer at Jet Set Men, Cocksure Men, Jake Cruise to name a few. I will always be grateful to John for believing in my skills as a photographer and helping me with my career that is going on 22 years in the industry.”
Performer and Pantheon Productions director Brian Davilla also wrote on The Sword: “John (and Jasun) really set the bar for not just highlighting our industry, but humanizing it and keeping the discourse funny and positive. He was there to feature many of my early scenes and it’s my hope that his work and sense of love and respect of our quirky biz is honored by others in their ongoing industry work.”
Mark has many memories of his time with Tegan, but a few stand out.
“There was once a wildfire that was quickly approaching the Jake Cruise ranch. But we had a release schedule to meet, and we had Bo Dean and David Dakota there to shoot. So while the rest of the staff madly packed up drives and gear and paperwork and anything that had to be protected, John and I grabbed the guys and we actually climbed up into one of the trees and shot a scene with the two of them. If you listen, you can hear the crew packing things into cars. And the rest of us coughing from all the smoke,” shares Mark. “There was also the time we shot a blog video with Brady Jensen jerking off in a car...while we drove down the 5 to the airport. I still can’t believe we did that.”
And even after their official work together ended, the two remained friends and in contact.
“Every time something crazy happened in the industry, he’d call me or I’d call him. Every time there was gossip or a scandalous story, we’d get together and talk about it. I love that after I left Gay Daily Hot—only because of my workload with Titan—he kept doing it and would have me back every so often to post stuff. I continued to do a lot of tech support for him. I also loved that he never got mean. He kept the tone light and fun,” says Mark.
“I think he put a lot of himself out there. He loved TV and movies. Sports and pop culture. He liked politics, and I think he was one of the best planning guys. Oh, and he was a lawyer by trade. He also did my taxes for years,” he added. “I think it was Arpad Miklos who called him ‘Sulley’ after the big blue monster in Monsters, Inc. who was voiced by John Goodman. And he was just like that. A sweet gentle giant.”
