ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Dominic Zicari, one of the original Zane Brothers and father to AVN Hall of Famer Rob Black, died August 17 at his home in Sanibel, Florida after an extended battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 86.
A funeral for Zicari was held Saturday in Rochester, N.Y., attended by many of his family and close friends, including Black's fellow AVN Hall of Famer Tom Byron, who relayed the news to AVN.
"He was a really great guy," Byron told AVN. "Tough as nails, but as kind as anyone you'd ever meet. I'm really gonna miss him, but I'm glad he's no longer suffering from the horrible condition he was in. Fought it every step of the way like the real man he was."
Zicari got his start in the adult business in 1972 by opening adult bookstore State St. Book Mart in Rochester, which would become one of about 40 sex shops he would own at one point in the Northeast. The store would remain in operation for more than 40 years, until it finally closed in 2015 as Rochester's last adult bookstore standing. Located right in between City Hall and the local FBI office, the store battled numerous raids, arrests, obscenity charges and more over the years, but it managed to get grandfathered in when the city council passed a zoning ordinance several years prior to its closing prohibiting adult businesses from opening in the area. After it closed, Zicari moved to Florida with his wife, JoAnn.
In 1983, Zicari and his brother Chuck launched Zane Entertainment Group, originally known as The Zane Brothers, but Dominic would leave the business after getting arrested in 1987 by the Los Angeles County Vice Squad on a charge of pandering for financing the 1986 parody Backside to the Future. Having already served time in jail in the early '80s for tax evasion, he turned the company over entirely to Chuck, under whom the late Max Hardcore got his start and the also departed John T. Bone had a long run as a director/performer.
Tom Byron, Rob Black & Dominic Zicari
Dominic would go on to provide the initial funding for Black's Extreme Associates. Black was indicted in August 2003 on obscenity charges for Extreme Associates material both posted on its website and mailed to Pennsylvania. The case would stretch out for many years, over the course of which he was awarded AVN's Reuben Sturman Award (in 2006) for remaining steadfast in the protracted fight. Finally, in 2009, he and then-partner Lizzie Borden pled guilty to one count each of "conspiracy to distribute obscene material" and respectively spent roughly 10 months in separate federal prisons.
Dominic's nephew, Matt Zane—who would become a prolific director in his own right starting in the late '90s and continuing into the mid-2010s, working exclusively for Zane Entertainment Group until 2004—offered the following comments to AVN: "As far as I was concerned, my Uncle Dominic walked straight out of a movie. His charisma, attitude and presence was something you didn't normally see or experience in day-to-day life. Truthfully, I was kind of scared of him when I was a kid, yet always fascinated.
"As I grew older, the stories and enthusiasm in which he portrayed his colorful life was intense, but also hilarious," Zane added.
Black spoke about his father's passing on the August 27 episode of his podcast "The Rob Black Show," available here.
In addition, Byron posted a tribute to Dominic Zicari on X, which can be viewed below:
Today a legend was laid to rest.
— Tom Byron (@realTomByron) September 1, 2024
Dominic Zicari was one of the original Zane Brothers, along with Chuck Zane aka Chuck Zicari. He was also Rob Black’s father and my very good friend. A kind, generous man who loved his family. He and his wife JoAnn Zicari made me feel like… pic.twitter.com/4GeCmGFshX
UPDATE (9:25 a.m. 9.2.24): Rob Black gave AVN the following comments Monday morning about his father:
"My dad was one of what they would call the founders. Because without him on the frontlines of the adult stores in western New York, you have no outlets to sell your products. He was busted countless times for obscenity and never gave up the fight.
"As far as the production end, without him there is no Zane Brothers, eventually Zane Entertainment Group. And when I got the idea to leave Elegant Angel and start Extreme Associates, I had about 50k saved. And I called my dad and said, 'I'm thinking about doing this huge move,' and it was right after the AVN show where I won director of the year for Miscreants. And I said, 'I'm a little short to pull this off.' He said, 'What's a little?' I said, 'About 100k.' He said, 'OK.'
"He was in L.A. two days later. On the third day, he was at Elegant Angel getting Tom Byron out of the remainder of his contract (not sure how that happened, might have made him an offer he couldn't refuse). A day after we had our first office in Canoga right around the corner from the old AVN office. The rest, as they say, is porn history.
"My dad was a man's man. Was my hero and was always there for me. Rest in peace, Big Dom."
Photos courtesy of Tom Byron
