OCEANSIDE, Calif.—Dave Cummings, who long held the "title" of being the oldest actor in porn, died on October 5 in his sleep at his home in Oceanside. He had recently been suffering from Alzheimer's, and that may have contributed to his demise. He was 79 at the time of his death.
A former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, Dave Cummings began acting in adult movies in 1994, at the age of 54, for a company called Home Video Connection, which appears to have gone out of business later that year. However, the next companies he worked for had much greater longevity: Sin City (now a part of Metro), where Cummings participated in an anal-themed gangbang of then-popular performer Lennox, and Fat Dog Productions.
In all, Cummings had appeared in nearly 240 productions, and was a favorite of the late director/producer Bobby Rinaldi, who cast Cummings in almost every volume of Wildlife Productions' Screw My Wife Please from its first appearance in 1997 through the end of the series, Volume 76, in 2012. Cummings also impressed director Luc Wylder, who built an entire series around the elderly performer, Dirty Dave's Sugar Daddy, for Wylder's Fallen Angel imprint. Cummings also acted in productions for many top adult studios including Wicked Pictures, VCA and Elegant Angel, though most of those appearances were non-sex.
In 1999, Cummings created his own studio, Dave Cummings Productions, and directed and acted in the self-created series Sex Fun and Kneepad Nymphos. Cummings abandoned his studio in 2005, and retired from adult acting altogether in 2012.
Early in his adult career, Cummings became involved in politics, and often worked with Free Speech Coalition (FSC), the adult industry trade organization, to fight against government intrusion the industry. Cummings went to Sacramento several times as part of FSC's annual lobbying days at the Capitol, and was awarded a Positive Image Award in 2003 and a Hal Freeman Freedom Isn't Free Award by the Coalition in 2006. When FSC first attempted to get rid of the onerous federal record-keeping and labeling act, 18 U.S.C. §2257, in a lawsuit filed in Colorado in 2005, Cummings was one of the plaintiffs in that suit, which resulted in a temporary restraining order against federal prosecution for 2257 violations. In 2009, Cummings signed on as a plaintiff in Free Speech's Third Circuit lawsuit against the same law—a lawsuit which is still under appeal.
Cummings was also quite vocal in his opposition to California Assembly Bill 332, the AIDS Healthcare-created bill introduced to the Assembly by member Isadore Hall III, which would have required all adult productions to use condoms, rubber gloves, facemasks and other "protective devices" when shooting hardcore scenes. Cummings gave written testimony against the bill in 2013, when it was before the Assembly Labor Committee. (The bill eventually failed.)
Cummings was quoted several times in newspaper articles about the industry, most notably in The New York Times, and in 2011, he even was the subject of a humorous skit on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.
The following statement was posted on Facebook on October 6 by Cummings' brother Al:
"We lost a good one last night. Lt. Col. David [Cummings]. He was suffering from Alzheimer's and passed away in his sleep. It is with great sorrow that I inform of this.
"His distinguished service in the U.S. Army spanned over two decades and involved many key assignments as an Instructor at West Point and in many hot spots including a courier tasking into Cuba in the middle of the Missile crisis, patrolling the Russian side of the Berlin wall, Military Attaché to Saudi Arabia and war taskings in Vietnam where he was awarded a Bronze Star for heroism during an attack on his infantry company. Dave retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and is survived by his daughter Lauri and son Mike.
"I can say that every single time he and I got together we laughed and had a great time. He was the life of the party. He is really going to be missed."
Added son Michael: "I echo these words completely, of my Uncle Al. We are so grateful for your support and love during this difficult time. He was an amazing and loving father and loyal friend to all who knew him."
Michael also stated that the family will be holding a memorial for his father on Wednesday, October 16, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., at the McLeod Mortuary, 1919 E. Valley Pkwy., Escondido, CA 92027, and all in the adult industry who knew Cummings have been invited. There will also be a graveside service the following day in San Diego; Cummings' industry friends may email [email protected] for time and location.
