LOS ANGELES—Frank Barbarino, the president of FB Productions, one of the leading box cover companies in adult entertainment, died Monday night, friends confirmed today. He was 57.
Barbarino’s commercial printing and packaging company is well established as one of the two go-to destinations for box covers in the adult industry with a portfolio that spans nearly three decades.
"Obviously this is shocking news,” said Wicked Pictures founder Steve Orenstein. “I started my business in 1993, and I've been dealing with Frank since then and knew him a little bit before that. Probably truly one of the nicest guys you could know, that is always there for everyone else, always looking to help you in any way, a guy who his word and his follow-through was the most important thing, and you just always knew where you stood and that you could count on him.
“So again, very shocking news. I would say that I can only come up with positive things to say about Frank, and that he in that regard stands out for those things, and he will definitely be someone that's missed.”
Since founding the company in 1989, Barbarino strived to make sure FB Productions remained on the cutting edge of printing technology as he serviced a diverse clientele ranging from Hollywood studio heavyweights to adult film giants.
“We provide a winning combination of honesty, integrity and hard work,” reads the FB Productions company history. “These essential factors have constructed a lasting foundation and continues to be a never-ending commitment of the company’s president, Frank Barbarino.”
Kevin Beechum, the owner of K-Beech Video who was Barbarino’s best friend of 25 years, called him “the most loving person anybody in this world would ever meet.”
“There wasn’t a bad bone in that guy’s skin,” Beechum said. “It’s just crazy. Let me put it this way bro, he was closer to me than my original brothers are.
“When he first started in business we met and I took him around and introduced him to everybody and we just bonded from that day on and from there it’s always been brotherhood. There ain’t too many places we didn’t go together or things we didn’t do together. If you’d seen him, you’d seen me, or if you’d seen me, you’d seen him.”
Barbarino was born in Sicily, Italy, and grew up in Monterrey, Calif. His family owned a fishing business in Monterrey and Barbarino worked on fishing boats before he ventured into adult.
Barbarino attended Fresno State University and took a job with Sal Anza’s printing company before he started FB Printing.
“Sal used to be a printer back in the days, it was Michael Warner and him,” Beechum recalled. “And then Frankie worked with Sal and then when Sal didn’t want to be involved with the adult business no more, Frankie opened up FB.”
Adult industry clients actually made up only about 10 percent of FB Productions’ business, Beechum said. The majority of FB’s deals were done with major Hollywood studios and cosmetics companies.
“He was big into cosmetics and back when VHS and Blockbuster Video was big, Frankie made all the big cardboard cutouts and displays you’d see in Blockbuster.”
Barbarino through the years maintained a loyal adult client base that included Orenstein’s Wicked Pictures, Dion Giarrusso’s Combat Zone and Filly Films, T.T. Boy’s Evasive Angles, Greg Alves’ Zero Tolerance, Jerry E.’s Juicy Entertainment, Jules Jordan Video and K-Beech, among others.
“Frankie still printed all the guys he liked,” Beechum said, noting FB Productions employed about 200 people at its height. “Those were all good friends of his that he printed.”
Beechum said he and Barbarino raced power boats in the Florida Keys for a five-year span.
“His boat was a couple million bucks,” Beechum said. “There’s nothing l didn’t know about him or he didn’t know about me.”
Barbarino was part of Beechum's notorious "Bad Boys Club" that all had the same custom-made rings. The tight-knit crew included everyone from Hell's Angels to UFC fighters. Beechum, who worked with a jeweler friend to design the ring, said they were made of white gold and included a diamond bar across the middle.
"There were over 50 guys that all carried that ring. They used to call us The Ring Gang," Beechum said.
Director Axel Braun remembered Barbarino's generosity and kindness.
"The first time I set foot in his home I was blown away by his exquisite taste in furniture and decorating, and I told him—we had literally just met— and when I told him I was about to close escrow on a house, he immediately volunteered all the numbers of the designers, artists and contractors who had worked on it," Braun recalled. "So for the following six years I lived in a house that I had modeled after his. Francesco was an exceptionally kind and generous man, loved by everybody who knew him, myself included, and his passing is as saddening as it is unexpected."
Remembrances of Barbarino poured in on Facebook Tuesday from numerous industry professionals.
Combat Zone and Filly Films owner Dion Giarrusso called him “my brother.”
“I love you and will never forget you,” Giarrusso said on his Facebook page.
“I loved Frank. I’ve known him for over 30 years,” industry veteran Wendy Nitz posted. “My heart is broken by this horrible loss.”
Lewis Adams, sales manager for Metro West, remembered how Barbarino treated him when he was first entering the industry.
“When I started in this business in 2000, Frank was the first printer I ever used," Adams said. "We even had a problem on our first order and he said, 'I want to get this right on your first because I want you to be successful,' and I’ll never forget that.
"Not long after that I was part of a regular lunch with Frank Barbarino and Dion Giarrusso. I can honestly say I learned most of the porn industry at those lunches.”
There will be a private funeral service for Barbarino on April 8 in Monterrey as well as a memorial gathering at 7 p.m. on April 11 at the Hilton Woodland Hills.
Barbarino is survived by his mother and father and two younger brothers—his brother Sebastian works at FB.
“It’s just really a sad, sad thing,” Beechum said. “Everybody knows there’s not a better guy on this earth.”
AVN's Peter Warren contributed to this report.
