Producer J.K. Jensen, a longtime friend of Richard Lawrence, submitted this obituary in memory of the adult industry director, who passed away late last year.
Richard Lawrence, an acclaimed and awarded writer, director and producer of gay erotic feature films, passed away in Tampa, Florida on November 6, 2019, from cancer at the age of 67.
Truly one of a kind, Lawrence believed that erotic films could be just as artistic as mainstream films and made each film with the same passion, seriousness and hard effort required by any G, PG or R-rated film. Just like Hollywood movies, his films had story structure with a beginning, middle and end; character development; thought-out plots; and clever one-liners. They also just happened to have hardcore sex.
Born in Tampa, Florida, Lawrence moved to New York City in the mid-seventies where he met gay film pioneer Jack Deveau and managed the Jewel Theater, a gay porn house. Rick moved to Los Angeles in the beginning of the 1980s, and worked as a casting assistant and part-time director for William Higgins.
In 1984 Lawrence wrote and produced Pleasure Beach, which is regarded as one of the best gay erotic films of all time. Directed by the late Arthur J. Bressan Jr., it is about the love between two California lifeguards. This shot-on-film feature won seven Gay Producers Association Awards for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Erotic Scene and for Lawrence himself, Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Lawrence also directed the non-sex scenes in Pleasure Beach, and went on to direct full feature videos.
Lawrence’s films reflected a free-spirited, youthful lifestyle: sun, surf, sport and, of course, lots of sex—and lots of humor. His first two efforts were groups of solos: Hot Dudes and Young Squirts. He then joined the Avalon/YMAC team to make Takin' Care of Mike, The Devil and Danny Webster and Head Bangers; the latter won the 1992 Gay Erotic Video Award for Best Sex Comedy. Next came It’s Raining Men for Studio 2000 and Lawerence's final directorial effort, A Dream Come True for RAD Video, which earned him another two awards: a 2001 Grabby Award for Best Sex Comedy and a 2002 GayVN Award for Best Comedy.
In 2006, Lawrence penned the mainstream horror comedy Dead Boyz Don’t Scream (under the name of Rick Jensen), which played in more than 15 film festivals worldwide and is still a Halloween favorite on DVD rental and streaming services. Shortly after, Richard retired to his hometown of Tampa, Florida.
Now, nearly 20 years after his last film, the importance of everything but the sex scenes has all but disappeared from gay erotic videos. Gone … with Richard and the pioneers of gay cinema before him. But, let’s hope, not forgotten.
