Behind the Greek Door

1975 appears to be the year of Clay Russell's debut into smut films.  What a debut it was.  It's reported that his first screen appearance was in a movie called Sur and he also appeared in Snowballing, Six Card Stud, and Behind the Greek Door.  

 

Behind the Greek Door is actually something of a play-on-title from another smut movie from three years earlier in 1972.  Behind the Green Door was a feature-length straight pornographic film that became a huge hit and remains one of the genre's classic films.  But for this gay Greek Door film, Clay Russell and Shawn Everette bed in the same room and sleep whenever Shawn isn't sucking on hairy Clay's cock, massaging his ball sack, or getting screwed by Clay from behind.  The top star may have been Shawn but Clay is the guy you can't take your eyes off of when he's in a scene.  Finally, the frat brothers take Shawn behind the Greek door for-- you'll never ever guess what---Sex!  He gets restrained, spanked and there's a wild orgy with six frat men. Clay Russell isn’t in the orgy finale.  The movie also stars Caston Lee, Stan Ridge, Ronald Murphy, David Rosen, Bruce Walton, Ronald Howard, James Monroe, and Bob Gee.

 

Alan Bates

He could have been as recognizable a household name as his contemporary fellow British actors Michael Caine and Sean Connery, but Alan Bates selected roles for reasons other than celebrity. Otherwise Engaged: The Life Of Alan Bates by Donald Spoto offers many details suggesting that the sexy actor known for his roles in Women In Love, The Fixer and The Entertainer was romantically involved with numerous men over the course of his life.  The photo above of Alan is said to be a late-1960s classic physique pose by onetime lover Peter Wyngarde, a noted photographer of the time.

Bates in The Fixer

It's reported that young Alan spent two years in the Royal Air Force before he joined the new English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. His West End debut happened in 1956 at the age of 22. He was more than good looking.  Bates had an ability to seduce his audiences with his mannerisms and subtle gestures.  Four years later after his debut, Bates appeared in his first film The Entertainer (1960) in which he plays one of Laurence Olivier's sons. More than 50 film roles followed.  The Fixer (1968) earned an Academy Award nomination for Alan.

Bates played the madcap lead in the 1960s classic Georgy Girl. Alan spent five consecutive days filming love scenes on an uncomfortable settee, which he came to hate enough to state “I've become intimately acquainted with every broken spring in that thing. I'm as inventive as the next guy, but there are only so many ways you can use a sofa—especially one designed by the Marquis de Sade.”

 

Before his marriage in 1970, it's reported that the love life of Alan Bates had been a complex one, involving many sexual relationships with both women and men.  But when it came to male lovers, it seems that Alan preferred to keep his relationships in the closet as much as possible, which was typical for most men who desired a successful mainstream life and career in that era.  It's believed that his fears about being labeled a homosexual or bisexual were formed early in his life by a deeply conservative Baptist background in Derbyshire.  Good looking and charming in an unpretentious way, Bates was highly desirable boyfriend material by both sexes.  His decision to marry Victoria, a friend for several years, was made only after they discovered in 1970 that she was pregnant with twins. Their twin sons, Benedick and Tristan, were born in 1971.

 

Alan Bates in the legendary nude wrestling scene (with Oliver Reed) from 1969's Women in Love remains as charged today as when the film was first released.

In his 60s, Alan Bates continued to divide his time among films, theatre and television. After his death there was an outpouring of affection and respect for his work.

Hot of The Press

  

Hot Off the Press was a 1984 release that has an impressive list of very famous stars but unfortunately, it is standard fare in terms of that era's smut offerings.  It's basically 6 loosely connected scenes which are tied to a printer's shop.  This makes perfect sense for a porno storyline, right?  At least the title pays homage to the longstanding tradition of smut movies utilizing parody in its titles.  Some all-time favorite smut spoofs include Shaving Ryan's Privates, Forrest Hump, and Jurassic Pork.  Longtime VGMH  followers will remember our complete series on a different movie with a similar title (Printer's Devils) which is a title phrase that actually has historical reference to the printing industry.

Clay / King

In Hot Off the Press, tall dark and handsome Clay Russell plays the assistant store manager and John King plays his customer.  Horny Dennis (played by King) arrives to supposedly buy a print machine but what he's really after is the stuff inside of Clay's pants.  It's a good scene with King delivering energy and Clay giving an equally satisfying performance sucking on King's cock.  King's boyishly lean body, lustrous thick black hair, intensely dark eyes and youthful excitement made him a star that continues to shine today.   Clay's larger frame, curly hair and more muscular physique provides a good compliment and contrast.  It's fun to watch these two men having sex.

Clay / King

As mentioned, there are many well-known names in this movie.  In another scene, Michael Cummings delivers a package to Matt Ramsey.  Then the landlord (Michael Christopher) takes the shop owner (Brad Mason) for a ride. It's a shame that we didn't get a scene with Clay and Michael Christopher bonding together.   Christopher was truly talented at performing sex scenes with the camera in mind as he positioned himself for perfect shots. And least we not forget David Ashfield who was in so many movies back then.

Clay / King

Clay / King

What's telling from the movie's jacket is how prominently Clay's torso is displayed on the backside cover.  Clearly he was a hot marketing tool.  Luckily, the movie provided a gem in the form of a hardcore magazine called The Printer's Apprentice that starred Clay with Jon.  Stay tuned for more about that magazine.

Michael Christopher

The movie Hot Off the Press stars Brad Mason, Clay Russell, David Ashfield, Jon King, Matt Ramsey, Michael Christopher, Michael Cummings, Rob Wright, Robert Vega, and Trent Washington. 

Playgirl's Sexiest Men~circa 1979

Looking at this 1979 issue of Playgirl (with what we know now here in 2014) there are so many surprises with their picks as sexiest men.   Some of their selections were no doubt debatable even back then.  This was a time when men like Christopher Reeves (Superman), Neil Diamond and Warren Beatty were big-ticket hot draws in the sex appeal arena, but didn't make Playgirl's list. 

 

Playgirl did select some guys who would go on to dominate modern culture in many ways.  Sportsman  Ted Turner would revolutionize media and journalism.   Calvin Klein changed the American marketing of men's underwear in the 1980s and in the process helped make men sex objects in ads.  Legendary TV talk show host Johnny Carson remains the gold standard of late night shows.  Respected liberal U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy would have decades of work in support of the poor (and was one of the fourteen senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996).   Amazingly still going strong today in popularity are Bruce Springsteen and Jerry Brown.   Woody Allen would make many more hit movies (including this year) and would also make scandalous headlines about his personal life. 

Calvin model

O.J. Simpson made the list as they proclaimed that he had "all the right moves" in football which unfortunately would not be what he would ultimately be most-famous for.  It's reported that the jailed former football star is serving out a kidnapping, assault and robbery sentence in a Nevada prison.  Out of all of the men on Playgirl's list, it's sad that Alan Bates is not recognized today as much as he deserves to be. 

Bates

Alan Bates was a famous actor of the era.   He was knighted in January 2003 for his work.  Bates was married and fathered two sons but there were also those rumors concerning male lovers.  Bates has been reported to have had many gay relationships throughout his life, including with Nickolas Grace, Peter Wyngarde, and Olympic skater John Curry.  He passed away in 2003. Stay tuned for more about this man.

Which brings us to last but certainly never least on anybody's sexiest-men-list, Burt.  1970s sex symbol deluxe Burt Reynolds remains in a class of his own. Shown above in 1972, Burt looks like he could have easily been inspiration for many a sexual fantasy in a Tom of Finland story.

Oscar's Unspoken Relatives

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Lust and Love: The Art of Roger Payne

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Head for the Showers (Clay Russell part four)

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In these NOVA Studios scenes,  John Tower (aka Butch) and Clay Russell are playing two hotshot stars of their baseball team only they are not getting along so well after embarrassingly being thrown out of ball game practice.  Tower is pissed and blames Clay.  Exiled to the locker room while the action continues out on the field, Tower decides to show Clay where he ranks and humiliate him in the process.  He pulls down the elastic on his jock strap for Clay to suck his dick in retribution for causing him trouble out on the field.  Watching self confident Tower control Russell works in part because Russell is physically a larger man being forced into a subservient position.  Tower cums  and with lots of macho swagger in his step, goes into the shower room to wash the sent of Clay's mouth off his dick.

A frustrated Russell gets up off his knees, wipes Tower's spent sperm from his face and then follows Tower into the showers where he decides to get even and turn the tables.  Russell now becomes the dominant top jock and ends up screwing Tower on the tiled floor, but not before munching on Tower's ass first.    Both men cum and decide that good sportsmanship is best as they shake off a bad game and stay friends. Clay and Butch stand naked talk outside the shower when a handsome blonde appears with great buns. They look at each other and have the same idea as they follow this beefy booty back into the shower room. 

This appears to be from a 1977 loop titled Head for the Showers, which was later incorporated as part of 1980s Under Construction. Production values on this movie are top-notch thanks to the loving care that NOVA gave most of its films.  Butch McAlister and Clay Russell worked together several times and have a good chemistry on screen.  They appeared in the still-popular classic The Boys of Venice (in a pickup truck by the ocean).  Both men are macho in physical appearance and mannerisms with two different muscular body types that fit well together.