How Gay Porn Pioneer Chuck Holmes Funded The Early Days Of LGBT Activism
Legendary gay porn pioneer Chuck Holmes founded Falcon Studios in 1971 and revolutionized the gay porn industry following the invention of VHS cassettes. He "took porn out of the dirty bookstore and into the living room" and created a social movement in the process.
"Gay films have been the unspoken, unheralded leader in the social acceptance of gay men in America, the changing of laws, and in pushing gay society out of the closet around the world. And don't you ever fucking forget that," Steven Toushin, founder of rival studio Bijou Video, once said of Holmes' legacy.
[caption id="attachment_203142" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Chuck Holmes[/caption]
After amassing a fortune in the gay porn industry, Holmes used his millions to advance LGBT rights through fundraising and promoting heightened awareness. After developing AIDS later in life, he helped found the Human Rights Campaign, donated millions to community causes and even bankrolled David Geffen's early projects, as well as Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign.
But Holmes learned the hard way that porn and politics do not mix well, and often found himself ostracized by the mainstream due to his connection with the porn industry. His millions, however, were always welcomed by those willing to use him.
[caption id="attachment_203144" align="aligncenter" width="600"] A few of Holmes' earliest muses, from left to right: Dick Fisk and Sky Dawson in Falcon Studios' Champs, Al Parker, Casey Donovan, and Dick Fisk in Falcon's 1981 blockbuster, The Other Side Of Aspen[/caption]
Holmes' unprecedented life story is the subject of the crowdsourced documentary Seed Money, directed by Michael Stabile, which premiered at the Boston LGBT Film Festival in April.
After dazzling audiences with archival footage of a time since passed and interviews with porn icons Chi Chi LaRue and Jeff Stryker, Holmes' longtime partner, Hot House founder Steven Scarborough, and Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, the film is headed to San Francisco for a limited run at the Castro Theatre.
Check out the trailer for Seed Money below: