Will Clark (porn star)
Encyclopedia
Will Clark is an American performer
in gay pornographic films
. He is a member of the Grabby Awards
Hall of Fame, and has received a special citation from the GayVN Awards
for his fundraising work in support of HIV
/AIDS
charities.
. "I had trouble finding roles," he told Manshots
magazine (then the gay adult film industry's publication-of-record). "I just didn’t fit anything. I wasn’t the type they were looking for. No one was casting a young, redheaded male. So to earn money, I started go-go dancing at The Limelight
and Tunnel
and Palladium
. I also started doing male escort
work, and I really enjoyed that."
A music promoter encouraged him to apply to Falcon Studios as a gay porn star; he did and was rejected. "'You’re too white, you’re too hairy, you’re a redhead. We don’t care for any of that stuff. And you need to bulk up,'" he recalled being told. Through a connection in San Francisco, California
, Clark secured an audition with gay adult film director Steven Scarborough
of Hot House Video, and was subsequently cast in his first erotic feature, Dr. Goodglove, in 1996. Within a year, however, Clark had indeed added a significant amount of muscle, as well as begun to appear in leather
and BDSM
porn films. Clark subsequently appeared in roughly 50 adult films in a wide variety of adult film genres, although reviewers say his best performances were in leather and BDSM films.
Clark has managed his image and public persona to maintain his popularity. "I’ve been good at marketing on the Web. I take care of my fans when I tour—give them pictures and promotional materials," he told one interviewer. "The columns I write and the fund-raisers I do help raise awareness of my presence. Everything sort of blends together."
. A series of fundraisers titled the "Bad Boys Pool Party" (or some variation thereof) began one year later. "I did this birthday party for myself and Dino DiMarco and Sam Dixon
in March of ’98. And after that, I was talking to Mickey Skee and he was doing promotion for his 'Bad Boys of Video' book. And I was in the book, and I thought some other guys in the book would make great bartenders. I said, 'Hey, why not call it the Bad Boys Pool Party and promote Mickey’s book and the guys in the book?' And that became the hook of the party. And it evolved from that. The first party earned $8,300, and the second earned $10,600." Clark produced fundraisers featuring variations on this and similar themes in Los Angeles
, Palm Springs
and San Francisco.
He continues to produce similar events in New York City (as of 2008).
).
Clark is also the author of two children's plays, both of which were produced on the Southern California stage.
Clark also wrote and performed in a theatrical solo show based on his life and adult film career. Titled Altered Ego, the show was performed several times between 2002 and 2004. Reviews were rare, but positive . One reviewer noted, "Clark immediately establishes a rapport with his audience. Here is a wonderful performer who feels comfortable and natural with his remarks," said one reviewer.
In 1998 the GayVN Awards named him the recipient of the Performer Special Achievement Award for AIDS Causes, and in November 1998 he was awarded the Leo Ford Humanitarian Award by the Gay Erotic Video Awards
.
During his adult film career, Clark was nominated for or won a variety of other gay adult film awards not directly unrelated to his on-screen sexual performances. For example, the Men in Video Awards named him "Best Bushwhacker" in 1997 and 1998, an award which poked fun at Clark's penchant for severely trimming his pubic hair.
Clark also won the Northeast Mr. Drummer title in 1997, which enabled him to compete for the International Mister Leather
title (he did not win).
Pornographic actor
A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is a person who appears in pornographic film. Most actors appear nude in films...
in gay pornographic films
Gay pornography
Gay pornography is the representation of sexual intercourse between men with the primary goal of sexual arousal in its audience. There is also a tradition, and continuing considerable output, of lesbian pornography....
. He is a member of the Grabby Awards
Grabby Awards
Grabby Awards , are presented annually in Chicago to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by Grab Magazine, a free weekly that describes itself as "Chicago's premier LGBT publication." The Grabby Awards and Grab Magazine are owned and operated by Grabbys, LLC....
Hall of Fame, and has received a special citation from the GayVN Awards
GayVN Awards
The GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry. The awards are sponsored by AVN Magazine, the parent publication of GAYVN Magazine, and continue the recognition for gay pornography which was part of the AVN Awards from 1986–1998.The award recipients...
for his fundraising work in support of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
charities.
Porn career
Clark's career as a gay adult film performer began in 1995 and continued through 1999, with a final appearance (as of April 2008) coming in 2003. Since his last sexual on-screen performance, he made a handful of nonsexual cameo roles. Prior to his porn career, Clark was a struggling actor in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. "I had trouble finding roles," he told Manshots
Manshots
Manshots was an international film review magazine specializing in gay pornography. The magazine included interviews with the directors and actors, original glamour/soft porn photo spreads, video stills, special features on new film reviews and obituaries. The magazine was printed in the U.S...
magazine (then the gay adult film industry's publication-of-record). "I just didn’t fit anything. I wasn’t the type they were looking for. No one was casting a young, redheaded male. So to earn money, I started go-go dancing at The Limelight
The Limelight
The Limelight is the name of a chain of nightclubs that were owned and operated by Peter Gatien, located in Atlanta, Hollywood, Florida, and London, and formerly in New York City and Chicago.-History:...
and Tunnel
Tunnel (New York nightclub)
Tunnel was a nightclub in New York City, located at 220 Twelfth Avenue, in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, New York City, in the Terminal Warehouse Company Central Stores Building, which is now part of the West Chelsea Historic District. Tunnel was opened in early 1987 by Peter Gatien, in a...
and Palladium
Palladium (music venue)
The Palladium was a concert hall and later a nightclub in New York City. It was located on the south side of East 14th Street, between Irving Place and 3rd Avenue....
. I also started doing male escort
Male prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
work, and I really enjoyed that."
A music promoter encouraged him to apply to Falcon Studios as a gay porn star; he did and was rejected. "'You’re too white, you’re too hairy, you’re a redhead. We don’t care for any of that stuff. And you need to bulk up,'" he recalled being told. Through a connection in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Clark secured an audition with gay adult film director Steven Scarborough
Steven Scarborough
Steven Scarborough is an American director of gay pornography and the founder of Hot House Entertainment.- Career :Scarborough started directing at Falcon Studios in the summer 1988 with his first gay adult video Perfect Summer. Handing over the reins was his life partner and founder of Falcon...
of Hot House Video, and was subsequently cast in his first erotic feature, Dr. Goodglove, in 1996. Within a year, however, Clark had indeed added a significant amount of muscle, as well as begun to appear in leather
Leather subculture
The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities. Wearing leather garments is one way that participants in this culture self-consciously distinguish themselves from mainstream sexual cultures...
and BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
porn films. Clark subsequently appeared in roughly 50 adult films in a wide variety of adult film genres, although reviewers say his best performances were in leather and BDSM films.
Clark has managed his image and public persona to maintain his popularity. "I’ve been good at marketing on the Web. I take care of my fans when I tour—give them pictures and promotional materials," he told one interviewer. "The columns I write and the fund-raisers I do help raise awareness of my presence. Everything sort of blends together."
AIDS activism
Clark's AIDS activism and fundraising efforts began in 1997 when he volunteered with Stop AIDS Chicago and Aid for AIDSAid For AIDS
Aid For AIDS is a California-based nonprofit organization, founded in 1983 and dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by HIV disease.-Services:...
. A series of fundraisers titled the "Bad Boys Pool Party" (or some variation thereof) began one year later. "I did this birthday party for myself and Dino DiMarco and Sam Dixon
Sam Dixon
Sam Dixon is a high school basketball coach. Since April 2002 he has been the eighth head coach of women's basketball coach at Furman University...
in March of ’98. And after that, I was talking to Mickey Skee and he was doing promotion for his 'Bad Boys of Video' book. And I was in the book, and I thought some other guys in the book would make great bartenders. I said, 'Hey, why not call it the Bad Boys Pool Party and promote Mickey’s book and the guys in the book?' And that became the hook of the party. And it evolved from that. The first party earned $8,300, and the second earned $10,600." Clark produced fundraisers featuring variations on this and similar themes in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Palm Springs
Palm Springs
Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...
and San Francisco.
He continues to produce similar events in New York City (as of 2008).
Writing career
Clark is a published author. He has been a regular contributor to Dude magazine, International Leatherman, and Pulp (a fashion and style magazine published in Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
).
Clark is also the author of two children's plays, both of which were produced on the Southern California stage.
Clark also wrote and performed in a theatrical solo show based on his life and adult film career. Titled Altered Ego, the show was performed several times between 2002 and 2004. Reviews were rare, but positive . One reviewer noted, "Clark immediately establishes a rapport with his audience. Here is a wonderful performer who feels comfortable and natural with his remarks," said one reviewer.
Awards
Clark won a number of important awards in the gay adult film industry. He shared the Grabby Awards for "Performer of the Year" in 1999, and in 2002 was inducted into the Grabby Awards Hall of Fame.In 1998 the GayVN Awards named him the recipient of the Performer Special Achievement Award for AIDS Causes, and in November 1998 he was awarded the Leo Ford Humanitarian Award by the Gay Erotic Video Awards
Gay Erotic Video Awards
The Gay Erotic Video Awards were awarded annually for gay and bisexual pornography by the Gay Video Guide , a pocket-sized newsstand magazine that catered primarily to fans...
.
During his adult film career, Clark was nominated for or won a variety of other gay adult film awards not directly unrelated to his on-screen sexual performances. For example, the Men in Video Awards named him "Best Bushwhacker" in 1997 and 1998, an award which poked fun at Clark's penchant for severely trimming his pubic hair.
Clark also won the Northeast Mr. Drummer title in 1997, which enabled him to compete for the International Mister Leather
International Mister Leather
International Mister Leather is an international conference and contest of leathermen held annually in May since 1979 in Chicago, Illinois....
title (he did not win).
Selected videography
- 3 Degrees of Humiliation (MSR Videos)
- Bound For Leather (Catalina VideoCatalina VideoCatalina Video is an award-winning production house of gay pornography, founded in 1978 by William Higgins. The company was primarily a distributor for Nova Studios in 1982. In 1987, Scott Masters was hired as its head of production, and he began making films for the studio...
) - Country Hustler (Oh Man! Studios)
- Island Guardian (Titan MediaTitan MediaTitan Media is a San Francisco-based gay pornographic film company founded by director and cinematographer Bruce Cam in 1995.-Overview:The company grew to become one of the largest producers of gay adult content in the world...
) - Michael Lucas' La Dolce VitaMichael Lucas' La Dolce VitaMichael Lucas' La Dolce Vita is a gay pornographic remake of the Federico Fellini classic La dolce vita, directed by Michael Lucas and Tony Dimarco and released by Lucas Entertainment in 2006....
(Lucas EntertainmentLucas EntertainmentLucas Entertainment is a New York-based gay pornographic studio started by porn star Michael Lucas. It is one of the largest such studios in the world. The studio is known for lavish, big-budget movies, and it contends that its 2006 film Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita is the most expensive gay porn...
) (nonsex cameo) - Night Walk (HIS VideoHIS VideoHIS Video is a gay pornography studio. The company is a division of VCA Pictures .-Selected awards and nominations:*1984 Gay Producers Association winner of Best Video and Best Cinematography for "Pleasure Beach"....
) - A Porn Star is Born (Raging Stallion Studios) (nonsex cameo)
- Red Star (Raging Stallion)
- Wet Palms, Eps. 4-6 (Jet Set Productions) (nonsex cameo)
See also
- List of Grabby recipients
- List of male performers in gay porn films
- List of pornographic movie studios
- List of gay pornographic magazines