While inducting rock icon Elvis Costello into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony that was broadcast last night on VH1, Sir Elton John made reference to GayVN Hall of Famer William Higgins.
"As a porno fanatic myself, not the straight variety I have to say... there was a series of porno films made in the 1970s by a guy called William Higgins, and the music was really good which makes a change you know, and the guy who wrote it's name was Costello Presley," John said. "And I have a feeling that Elvis is hiding something..."
Of course John was joking, Elvis Costello was not Costello Presley, though the singer and the director that hired to the composer Presley, Higgins, both launched their careers in 1977.
Higgins, who also directed under the name Wim Hos, directed two of the top ten gay porns on GayVN's Top 100 list, Big Gunsand The Young and the Hung. All told he had eleven titles in the Top 100, more than any other director. From 1977 to 1988 Higgins turned in over thirty films for Catalina Video, four of which are available on DVD.
Higgins classic work remains popular even today. "They sell themselves. They are pre-condom, they have young guys and no storyline - it's just raw sex and energy," Catalina Video sales assistant Sean told AVN.com.
"I haven't really ever paid attention to the music. People don't buy adult videos for the music - they buy them for what the see on the screen," said Sean.
Higgins left the United States in 1988 and opened an adult store in Amsterdam called Drake's. After an eight-year hiatus from directing, Higgins launched his own production company based in Europe, and maintains his website Williamhiggins.com.
To order titles from Catalina's William Higgins collection call 1-800-562-1891.
