CASEY DONOVAN

MODEL, ACTOR

Among the best-known and most widely admired actors in hard-core all-male pornographic films, handsome, blond Casey Donovan was probably the first man to make a career as an openly gay male sex symbol. Because of his star quality and his frankness and easy acceptance of his sexuality, he represented liberation and gay pride for many American homosexuals.

Donovan was born John Calvin Culver in 1943 in New York state, where he was educated. After graduating from college he taught elementary school for a few years before embarking upon a career as a model and actor. He took his professional name from the character he portrayed in a late 1960s gay porno flick, Casey.

His most successful film by far was Boys in the Sand (1972), which set new standards for eroticism and artistry in X-rated gay movies. In the 1980s, Donovan told an interviewer from Studflix magazine, "My whole existence is based to this day on that one movie-I've done thirteen other films...but everything since is predicated on Boys in the Sand, including my hustling."

Acting in sex films pays very poorly, and in 1977, Donovan began to support himself as a full-time hustler (a male prostitute providing sex to men). He told Studflix he enjoyed that work and the men involved. "There have been many cases where I've been able to help clients-so many people are fucked up sexually-just so many! I hope I can continue doing what I do. I feel I'm contributing an important commodity."

Casey Donovan died of AIDS on August 10, 1987. In his career as a hustler he may have infected many clients. Next Card 15: PERRY ELLIS: Fashion Designer