S4E36: Pat Rocco / Come of Age / Rick Cassidy

[00:00:00] A pioneering filmmaker and activist, Pat Rocco produced an exhibited the first openly gay, erotic films

[00:00:07] and gay-related newsreels in the 1960s that were widely embraced by the gay community and mainstream press.

[00:00:14] Come of Age was directed by a man named Brad Kingston.

[00:00:18] It is a side-note entry in the history of gay erotic cinema.

[00:00:22] But it becomes an interesting subject piece when you discover that Brad Kingston was actually Pat Rocco.

[00:00:30] What turns you on?

[00:00:34] What come on?

[00:00:35] What turns you on, Cassidy?

[00:00:39] Well, some years ago I used to have this little pool cleaner now that I ran.

[00:00:45] You used to service some real nice places on the west side of town

[00:00:49] in more ways than one two.

[00:00:51] It was a good way to get some of my first keen to the city, but it sure wasn't a way to get rich.

[00:00:56] So I gave it up after a while.

[00:00:59] Well, I was doing that though and it had several helpers.

[00:01:01] None of them stayed too long except for one.

[00:01:04] You stuck around so I want to hear it.

[00:01:07] I'm a nice guy and we hit it off pretty well.

[00:01:11] I often wondered what happened to him and how he made out.

[00:01:14] Jim Cassidy was one of the most popular and famous actors in both gay

[00:01:18] and straight adult entertainment from the Los Angeles area.

[00:01:22] And be it clothed or unclothed, he gained a massive following through photo shoots, films,

[00:01:28] and an incredible physique.

[00:01:31] On this episode we're going to celebrate and scratch the surface of Pat Rocko,

[00:01:36] a truly pioneering photographer, filmmaker, activist, and important figure

[00:01:40] during the sexual revolution whose work is barely recognized today in the narrative of gay history.

[00:01:46] Come a page, filmmaker Pat Rocko's first dive into the hardcore erotic entertainment market

[00:01:52] and we're going to celebrate Rick Cassidy, an east coast amateur who became a physique model,

[00:01:57] popular cover model, and adult entertainment during the golden age of erotic cinema.

[00:02:02] This is Demis Define Gaporn, my name is Aykigrande and if you watch Gaporn I've definitely helped

[00:02:07] you get off. Pat Rocko was born in Pascuali Vincent, Sarapika, in Brooklyn, New York on February 9,

[00:02:32] 1934 and live there until his family moved to California when he was 11.

[00:02:37] His father was a draftsman and his mother, a homemaker and movie fan, we take

[00:02:42] young Rocko to see films whenever she wanted to see the latest blockbuster. This started Rocko

[00:02:47] down the entertainment path, watching double features, stage shows and Hollywood films.

[00:02:54] As a team manager, Rocko also sang on television talent shows. Rocko would attend Pascadena City

[00:03:00] College but never took any kind of course in film or acting or camera, although he always had an

[00:03:06] interest in photography. In 1967, Rocko answered an ad, placed by Victor Associates,

[00:03:12] in the free press asking for someone to take male physique pictures. It started with that and then it

[00:03:17] went to I took along the Nate Millmeter movie camera with me and I'd make a total

[00:03:22] 8-millimeter film when I was still still. Rocko made a brochure and advertised it in the free press

[00:03:29] and from there turned it into a successful male order business. Screening during a sensitive

[00:03:39] time in Los Angeles, Rocko quickly began to see the injustice and censorship that would follow

[00:03:45] his programs as well as the K community. What you have just seen is an actual arrest right here

[00:03:52] at Nightclub, the Street of Mead Market. I believe the owner has been asked also to

[00:03:58] attend the jail services, I would say, and he's on his way, police officer at the door. I think it's

[00:04:04] another example of what might be considered a form of police harassment and I would go on record

[00:04:11] a statement and obviously I'm going on film, I say. Rocko presented positive pictures of

[00:04:16] gay life and love in his films. All the while he was armed with film camera. Rocko also began to

[00:04:27] document important events during the gay liberation movement that increased after the stone wall

[00:04:32] of June 1969. Rocko did enjoy celebrity during his time and one of the most flattering was

[00:04:46] spree. Was the society of Pat Rocko enlightened enthusiasts? It was started by

[00:04:52] one of the people who became a fan, I said, all right go ahead you have my blessing and that started

[00:04:58] something that lasted for 10 years and the fan club itself started a film workshop and that's how

[00:05:05] came about. Founded in June 1969, spree was comprised mainly of gay men and various female

[00:05:12] demistars that was intended to encourage more people to make films with artistic and gay integrity.

[00:05:19] With an eurusso of its founding it viewed away from its original intent and shifted towards stage

[00:05:24] production performed by its resident company with gay and usually comedic plots. They would also

[00:05:48] symbolism of someone like Kenneth Anger or the whatever of Andy Warhol, Rocko's films were sentimental.

[00:05:54] His films were about attractive young men holding hands walking through shady woods and kissing,

[00:05:59] rarely showing anything explicit. Nevertheless, showing two males kissing was considered daring

[00:06:04] when he made these films. His entire career, Rocko was a director, writer, editor and sound man

[00:06:11] having total control. One of the most controversial films Rocko made was discovery.

[00:06:16] Shot in 1968, the film takes place in Disneyland and follows true young men naked and kissing

[00:06:23] on Tom Sawyer's island, ending with them holding hands and walking out of the park.

[00:06:31] Shane sales and Monro Bealer asked to see his work. He showed them both a few hours of his films

[00:06:37] to which sales replied these don't belong in a private collection they belong in the screen.

[00:06:44] They're good enough to show and we'd like to start the park theater with them.

[00:06:49] Rocko's films were reviewed by mainstream publications like Variety, The Hollywood Reporter,

[00:06:54] Life and Esquire. Rocko's prolific output of erotic films slowed down in the early 1970s

[00:07:09] as gay erotic films began to shift a hardcore. Rocko had a hard decision to make. This is what

[00:07:14] the audience wanted to see. He was offered a significant amount of money by sales and his business partners

[00:07:21] to make a hardcore feature but Rocko refused. His personal belief was showing the complete sexual

[00:07:28] action was not necessary to make the story real. When Monro Bealer left Shane sales and

[00:07:34] continental theaters, he began his own Jaguar productions and once again tried to persuade Rocko

[00:07:39] to make a hardcore film. Only this time Rocko agreed and made a number of hardcore films under

[00:07:45] name Brad Kingston. As Kingston, Rocko maintains his innocent approach but the audience passed him by.

[00:08:11] Rocko continued his activism later in his career, covering gay events and as a director of the

[00:08:17] Hudson House, an emergency shelter from members of the gay community in Hollywood, California.

[00:08:22] I started the first shelter for homeless gay men and lesbians who as gay men and lesbians

[00:08:30] when they went to other shelters, the poor for everybody. When they needed help, they would get

[00:08:35] beat up and robbed and kicked and spat upon and yelled at and all those good things. And it was terrible.

[00:08:42] Mom's home cooking is the type of restaurant you could expect to see on a street corner in any

[00:08:47] American town. What's unique about moms is that it may be the first restaurant ever run by the homeless

[00:08:53] for the public. Hat Rocko got the idea for moms because he runs several shelters for the homeless.

[00:08:58] Instead of just feeding the homeless and giving them a place to sleep, giving them a chance to make money

[00:09:04] really made sense. In the early 1980s, Rocko and his partner moved to Hawaii. The couple would

[00:09:11] return to Los Angeles years later. On November 8th, 2018, busqualee Vincent, Sarah Peca, Pat Rocko,

[00:09:24] passed away at the age of 84. This wall is pictures rather than trophies and these are friends

[00:09:35] people I've worked with at friends and all that kind of thing. And this is how the pictures go.

[00:09:40] I'm turning, I'm turning, they're still clear up in that corner, they're still way up to the sky over there,

[00:09:46] they're going around and keep going and then I hope the camera's following and then they're over

[00:09:52] on that side of the room and then they keep going around that side of the top of that room and then finally

[00:09:58] we get to get back to go. In 2021, filmmakers Charlie David and Morris Chetalaine

[00:10:04] released the documentary, Pat Rocko dared featuring some of the last interviews with the

[00:10:09] prolific filmmaker. Do you still favor? Find it and watch it. Find Pat Rocko films online and

[00:10:15] watch them. For too long Pat Rocko, like many of the pioneers of the sexual liberation movement

[00:10:21] have been a footnote but they deserve to be front and center. Through his photography and early

[00:10:28] films, he dared to show depictions of men in love. As an activist with his camera rolling,

[00:10:34] he has provided some of the only existing moving image documentation of the major beginnings

[00:10:39] of the gay rights movement in the United States. His collection consists of approximately 700

[00:10:46] items including erotic shorts and home movies. Several of his films have been restored by the

[00:10:58] watch. See what happens? We'll all find out together. Bye for now.

[00:12:14] He used many of his contacts from his time with continental theaters. One of those contacts was Pat

[00:12:21] Rocko. Bealer made the decision to once again ask Rocko to think about directing a hardcore

[00:12:26] gay erotic film. And this time, Rocko accepted. He did, however, directed under the name Brad Kingston.

[00:12:35] His first film would become a Vage. So we begin with this innocent looking young surfer type named

[00:12:49] Ron, walking down a crowded street. Ron is a recent transplant from Nebraska. Ron immediately bumps

[00:12:57] into another guy Mark, who offers to give our protagonist a ride to Hollywood. Such simpler times.

[00:13:05] So I have come out to that way and maybe find the job. Well, if you've found one yet,

[00:13:09] no, I can't say that I have. Well that's too bad. Hey, well it's an, I think I have a possibility.

[00:13:15] We get back to my apartment on Pull of Friend of Mine. I think you can mine the Pajot for anything.

[00:13:19] Great. Oh, oh now we're going to Mark's apartment. I have a great idea. I have planned to spend

[00:13:24] a weekend at the mountains. I have a cabin up there. I use occasionally and I think that's what

[00:13:28] we'll do. We'll go up there. Oh, now we're going away for the weekend.

[00:13:34] Geez, this guy works quick. Mark makes good on a job opportunity. Meanwhile, Ron looks around

[00:13:41] the room before taking a shower and finds some money. He decides to leave it. Mark decides that he's

[00:13:47] going to take a shower with Ron and then Mark goes in for the win. It's said, you know what?

[00:13:53] He's really got it. Brooving. Come on. Mark and Ron drive up to Mark's cabin.

[00:13:58] When they get there, we find out Mark doesn't allow anyone to wear clothes in his cabin.

[00:14:04] Is this really what things were like in the 60s and 70s? I'm asking. Please let me know.

[00:14:10] Mark and Ron then share a closing moment by the fireplace. The next morning,

[00:14:15] Ron is called breakfast from Mark. Then the two fall at naked in the woods.

[00:14:20] Two other hikers, Tom and Ralph, run into Mark and Ron after being a bit reluctant to their

[00:14:26] intrusion. Mark and Ron join them. Only to find the two engaging in some pretty steamy stuff

[00:14:31] and watching. The four-thin frolic back to Mark's cabin have a good time and then the movie ends.

[00:15:01] Hey, that's just how it all of the film. The sound for come of age is decent,

[00:15:14] although most likely dubbed. But the film did have a good amount of heavyweight behind it when you

[00:15:19] look at the credits. The film absolutely feels like a pat rock-o-film. It's sentimental and relaxing.

[00:15:26] It shot very much like a soft-core film until you see the typical fare for hardcore erotic films.

[00:15:33] Sometimes, you can feel the reluctance of the filmmaker as the viewer.

[00:15:44] Tom of age was released in 1971 and most probably screened at the century theater for its premiere.

[00:15:51] While it is not the best film, it is significant to rock-o-o-sterear,

[00:15:55] which had previously only been made up of romantic and soft-core films.

[00:16:00] Rock-o had an eye for what made cinema work and incorporated elements of game-ends lives into a

[00:16:05] layered fabric. Although it was less explicit than his contemporaries.

[00:16:11] Rock-o, as Brad Kingston, would follow come of age with films like a dream of a body,

[00:16:17] a deep compassion, and get that sailor.

[00:16:36] I'm Jim Cassidy, a signature film. Jim Cassidy was born Richard Edward C. As in the act junior

[00:16:41] on July 22, 1943 in New Jersey. He was raised in Laco, Wanda County, Pennsylvania.

[00:16:49] Cassidy was raised in a Roman Catholic family and remembered his childhood fondly,

[00:16:54] climbing trees, and running around in the woods. At 14, inspired by actor Steve Reeves,

[00:17:02] Cassidy pursued an interest in professional bodybuilding, lifting weights, and participating

[00:17:06] in sports. One of the memories Cassidy had was an interest in pornography at a very early age,

[00:17:13] when he found two erotic films his uncle hidden his bar. In an interview, Cassidy said he took

[00:17:18] them home and ran them until they fell apart. Cassidy wasn't aroused in what he was watching.

[00:17:24] He was more interested in the way the models appearing in the film would act,

[00:17:28] what made people act in them, how were these films made? Cassidy would watch her bloopers and

[00:17:33] inconsistencies, or when a model would look to the side for direction. Not knowing that one

[00:17:37] day he would be on that side of the camera. I can't wait to see our names up there right on the

[00:17:42] screen right? A suit of. After graduating high school Cassidy enlisted in the navy,

[00:17:49] and after two years returned to Pennsylvania before beginning his modeling career. In 1970,

[00:17:54] Cassidy would meet Pat Rocko, who told him to participate in the Groovy Guy contest.

[00:17:59] Cassidy would come in third place but became more popular than the first and second place contestants.

[00:18:06] Rocko would ask Cassidy what his stage name would be, to which he replied,

[00:18:10] but Cassidy, that would immediately be shut down by Rocko and go with the name Jim Cassidy,

[00:18:16] or Rick Cassidy. Cassidy would make his screen debut in Mondo, Rocko, a documentary by Rocko.

[00:18:37] He was uncontacted by Tom Dissimonie to be in Monroe Bealors film, AMG story.

[00:18:42] A somewhat hardcore documentary about Bob Meiser's beginnings in 1946.

[00:18:52] AMG studios is the oldest professional studio in the world.

[00:18:58] His specializes in male films and his own and operated by Mr. Bob Meiser.

[00:19:04] Cassidy would serve as a host of the film. Cassidy found Meiser's treatment of the models,

[00:19:10] disconcerting, and the idea of working gay porn unappealing.

[00:19:18] I didn't disturb you or anything. You don't have a couple tricks in your day yet.

[00:19:21] No, it's okay. I got a couple with everybody finished. Oh good.

[00:19:25] Hey, is that the film? Yeah, yeah, I just got it from the lab. That's it. Can you give me any trouble on it?

[00:19:30] No, I told him it was some whole movies that I shot on my vacation and peoria and join on.

[00:19:38] That same year Cassidy would star in a bisexual film called Drill's Deep.

[00:19:45] The film had no sound and starred Cassidy, Dakota, a fellow part-time gay porn star who

[00:19:50] Cassidy met a gold gem and a modeling duty Coleman. Drill's deep directed by Scott Masters

[00:19:57] became a hit. Cassidy and Dakota would go on to work together in two more loops and a number of

[00:20:04] shoot. Hey, where were you last night? I had a late date. Why, uh, and you missed me? Yeah, good

[00:20:15] hell. Hey, look over there. Cassidy appeared in several straight and gay films during the first

[00:20:25] half of the 1970s, mostly straight and tried his hand at producing and editing as well.

[00:20:31] His straight films were under the name Rick Cassidy. Unlikely the slight name change

[00:20:36] fooled anyone but in that pre-eight era at the end of the swinging 60s,

[00:20:41] crossed over between straight and gay porn was quite common and not much commented on.

[00:20:46] In the summer of 1974 he appeared on the stage at the Hollywood Center Theatre in a production

[00:20:52] of Tubstrip directed by Jerry Douglas and Colstarring Casey Donovan. He would be replaced half way

[00:20:58] through the run. By the end of 1974 Cassidy semi retired and returned to Pennsylvania to

[00:21:05] come a real estate agent. He did manage to pop up in magazines and appear in small film roles.

[00:21:13] Is someone there?

[00:21:19] Good evening, Tase Deane. The minister says that we've worked together now. You and are made.

[00:21:26] Shall we reverse a little hug? Cassidy would return to porn in 1984

[00:21:31] and appeared in the handful of straight films alongside Marilyn Chambers, Ginger Lynn,

[00:21:36] and starred in a little film called New Wave Hookers starring Tracy Lawrence. If you're not

[00:21:41] familiar with that whole scandal, it was a huge scandal resulting in investigations and a lot of heat.

[00:21:48] After that ordeal Cassidy decided to retire from the adult entertainment industry for good.

[00:22:13] Cassidy moved back to Pennsylvania and continued his work as a real estate agent.

[00:22:20] Jim Cassidy, Richard Edward C. Asniac Jr., died on December 23rd, 2013 at the age of

[00:22:46] Cassidy never really wanted to be in films. They would just come his way. He would get a phone call

[00:22:52] and work out a deal. All of his contracts were verbal since at the time making these films

[00:22:56] were illegal. I've asked you to stay because, well, I hope for you. Yes, of all my senior year

[00:23:03] students, they only wanted that as an aptitude to become a champion. What I thought we'd do would be

[00:23:10] to run through some of the basic number up and generally get to know each other.

[00:23:17] He preferred soft core films because it was more acting, but they were way harder to come by.

[00:23:23] Cassidy appeared in around 100 adult features and sex loops in total,

[00:23:27] plus made the occasional non-adelved film appearance.

[00:23:31] Interviews and articles after his career do not exist. However, we can only hope Cassidy

[00:23:37] would have seen the appreciation for his contributions to the Delta Entertainment industry

[00:23:42] from his adoring fans. Well, I think this guy should get started really for this number.

[00:23:47] So you think that's for sure. You've been listening to Demis Define Gaporn.

[00:23:56] I'm your host, Stike Gerdande. Demis Define Gaporn can be found on every podcast

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[00:24:26] like me to cover. This is Demis Define Gaporn. My name is Ike Gerdande and if you watch Gaporn,

[00:24:32] I definitely help you get off.