LOS ANGELES—Jay Allan, the veteran adult photographer, producer and director, passed away on March 11 in Santa Barbara after a long battle with cancer, friends confirmed Monday.
He was 53.
One of the industry’s most prolific photographers in the past two-plus decades, Allan was known for his cinematic glamour aesthetic, becoming a go-to guy for countless print and video projects for many of adult’s leading brands.
Jay also established himself as a versatile director for studios such as Adam & Eve, where he called the shots for more than a dozen movies from 2015-21. His previous projects included sites such as DigitalDesire and Babes.com.
Allan photographed several covers of AVN magazine, including the cover of the March 2003 issue that featured the newly crowned AVN Female Performer of the Year Aurora Snow and Best New Starlet Jenna Haze—which was shot on location in Malibu.
His last AVN cover was the December 2016 “Going Green” issue that featured Misty Stone, Veronica Rodriguez and Jenna Sativa.
Allan also shot covers and layouts for Penthouse, Hustler, Club, High Society, Gallery and Finally Legal, among others. His first Penthouse cover and centerfold layout was of 2003 Pet of the Year Sunny Leone.
“He was a great photographer,” Paul Fishbein, the founder of AVN, said Monday. “He had a real sense of style—a mainstream style—and I loved working with him. We became friends over the years and I’m sick that he died. I knew he was ill but until this happens you’re never really prepared for it."
Allan in the fall of 2020 launched AgentErotica.com, a membership site that showcased exclusive photos and solo videos of many top stars.
AVN Hall of Fame performer Charlotte Stokely told AVN she knew Jay for more than 18 years.
“And he was consistently an amazing and ethical human being,” Stokely said Monday. “We cultivated a closer and dear friendship in the last five years. He taught me how to work camera settings and taught me about lighting. He loved to freely share his knowledge.
“We’d talk on the phone for long lengths of time about Star Trek or the current new show he was watching, vintage cars and his favorite places to watch the sunset or some cool new photography gadget he’d acquired.
“That man never missed a sunset. He would send me pictures saying ‘where I am now’ showing me how beautiful it was.”
Stokely continued, “I liked to visit him in Santa Barbara and we’d head to the beach where he’d smoke one of his favorite cigars, Partagas, and sip a scotch. In my career we worked together a few or more times mostly for Adam & Eve features—him as the director and myself as a performer. He always had great catering! Haha.
“We started to work for Playboy as a team; he was directing and I was executive producer. He was so excited for our first Playboy shoot together because we filmed at a location Star Trek had filmed!
“The last photo he sent me was of a sunset and the last text I sent to him said ‘I’m going to break you out of that hospital and we’ll escape to the rooftop. I’ll bring you a cigar and scotch and we’ll watch the sunset.’ That was three weeks ago. I never did make it to see him after that last text because of my ankle injury. I felt this urgent desire to text or call him the day he passed. For whatever reason I didn’t, thinking ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’ He died later that evening. There was just something special about him as a human and my heart is so sad he’s gone. His legacy will live on.”
A native of Rochester, N.Y., Allan studied photo illustration at the prestigious Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, where he graduated in 1992. His work wasn’t limited to adult—Allan also photographed architecture, products, mainstream celebrities and World Heritage sites.
Veteran cam and print model Bailey Rayne, the January 2018 CAMStar and co-host of the 2019 AVN Awards Show, also forged a strong friendship with Allan.
“I just saw Jay in August,” Rayne told AVN Monday. “He threw a huge ‘I beat cancer’ party and was surrounded by friends and family from all over the country. That was the last time I could see him because his cancer came back shortly after. That’s how I choose to remember him though. Seeing Jay laughing, smiling, surrounded by the people who loved him so much, and standing at a grill full of meat. That was our Jay. There may have been whiskey and cigars involved, too."
Bailey continued, “He was so genuine and cared for his friends like family. Most industry people were lucky enough to know Jay the brilliant photographer, who would do anything to get the perfect shot. I’m so grateful to have been able to know Jay as both a director and a friend. He was truly genuine in a superficial world, something I thought was nearly impossible to find, especially in L.A. He’ll be so deeply missed and my heart goes out to his family. Fuck cancer.”
She added that “Jay’s actually the reason I joined BeTheMatch.org. Just something we can all do to help people fighting some of these bone/blood disorders that require specific matches.”
