PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Actor Marcus Patrick and out basketball player Mike Survillion are among the gay and bisexual celebrities scheduled to attend the 3rd Annual Blatino Erotica Awards. The awards will be presented in a gala ceremony that is part of Blatino Oasis weekend in Palm Springs, May 8-11.
The awards ceremony will take place May 9 at the Canyon Club Hotel, and Survillion will host. The youngest player for San Francisco's gay basketball team the Rockdogs, Survillion is the narrator and star of the reality series "Shirts & Skins" on MTV's Logo network.
Survillion said was proud to become the first openly gay professional basketball player in the U.S. after he was denied a spot on a college team because of his sexual orientation. After graduating from Michigan State, he established himself as the Rockdogs' starting point guard. He also plays semi-pro ball with the San Francisco Rumble in the American Basketball Association.
The 2009 Blatino Erotica Award for Sexiest Hollywood Actor to actor and former "Days of Our Lives" star Marcus Patrick. Patrick was dismissed from the cast after a controversial explicit photo shoot in the September 2007 edition of Playgirl.
Although shoot ended Parick's stint as a soap star, it elevated him to international sex symbol status. Born in Bath England to Jamaican and Irish parents, Patrick has been called "one of the most beautiful men in the world" and has performed in a variety of television shows including "My Wife & Kids" with Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell, "CSI Miami" and "Dancing with the Stars."
In addtion to Patrick, honorees for 2009 include porn performers Bobby Blake (Lifetime Achievement), Eddie Diaz (Best Porn Star), Ian Rock (America's Top Top), Aarin Driver (America's Top Bottom) and N'Tyce (Best Erotic Stripper). Publishing industry veterans Latin Inches (Best Erotic Magazine), Papi Chulo (Best Erotic Blog) and Lee Hayes (Best Erotic Author) also will be honored.
"Blatino Oasis is an attempt to de-stigmatize homosexuality and bisexuality in the gay-men-of-color community and to provide each of us with an opportunity to become more exposed to different gay-friendly destinations through travel and to release, relax and rejuvenate," Joe Hawkins, producer of the event, said.
More information about Blatino Oasis and the Blatino Erotica Awards is available at ClubRimshot.com/Blatino_Oasis.html.
