Acting

Al Parker

Born 25 June 1952 · Natick, Massachusetts, USA · Died 17 August 1992 at 40

Gay porn star Al Parker was born Drew Okum in Natick, Massachusetts. When he was a teenager his loaned him their brand-new Mustang to attend Woodstock, which they thought was a classical music festival. While at Woodstock, Drew had several homosexual experiences, the most notable in the back of a van--a theme that would be repeated throughout his adult-film career. Nickname: Pony Boy After graduating from high school in Natick, he moved to Los Angeles, where he landed a job operating the film projector booth at 'Hugh Hefner"s Playboy mansion. He was "discovered" by gay-porn producer Rip Colt, who changed his name to Al Parker because it sounded like a man's name. Parker starred in several of Colt's 8mm shorts. Parker began a long-term, and open, lover relationship with Steve Taylor; together the two established Surge Studios, a gay-adult film production studio. Following Taylor's sudden death from AIDS, Parker's interest in the studio faded. Parker himself serio-converted and tested positive, following which he made several "safer" porn movies with other HIV-positive actors. He died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco, California, on August 17, 1992.