photography

Gary Lee Boas on Hot Gay Porn Stars and Hollywood Heroes

 

Gary Lee Boas

Gary Lee Boas by Nadine Fraczkowski.

Gary Lee Boas is a documentary photographer and a mega fan of America’s two greatest cultures: porn and celebrity. His two books are cult classics: Starstruck is a feverish recording of 1970s celebrity glitterati, while New York Sex is an unparalleled showcase of sleaze during the golden age of porn. Gary’s parallel obsessions are also the obsessions of our editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg and Artforum contributing editor David Rimanelli, so the fans called their idol to talk about Leo & Lance, celebrity excess, and why they are lifelong devotees to Gary’s art.

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MEL OTTENBERG: Hey Gary, for real, we’re two of your biggest fans. 

GARY LEE BOAS: Oh, man. For something you just did as a hobby that turned into a lifestyle, you can never hear that enough. You know what I mean? 

DAVID RIMANELLI: That’s the dream, isn’t it? 

BOAS: I collected people, and 57 years later I’m still doing it. 

OTTENBERG: I think that in a lot of ways, David has always been collecting really interesting art people, right David? 

RIMANELLI: Yeah.

OTTENBERG: And I’ve always been collecting celebrities too, but differently. Anyway, there are reasons why we’re obsessed with you, Gary. 

RIMANELLI: What drove you to start taking pictures? 

BOAS: So are we starting the interview now? 

OTTENBERG: We’re in it hot. 

BOAS: I have been a subscriber of your magazine forever. Ever since Andy Warhol handed me an issue. 

Gary Lee Boas

Bianca Jagger and Andy Warhol. All archival imagery courtesy of Gary Lee Boas.

RIMANELLI: Did you know Andy? 

BOAS: Yes. I mean, I worked at Studio 54 for four years. So I waited on him and then sometimes after we were done at six, seven in the morning, we would go over to The Factory and hang. 

OTTENBERG: So wait. There were afters at The Factory when you got off of work at Studio?

BOAS: Either there or at Halston’s, there was always somewhere that we could go once we got all cleaned up and put our pants on.

Halston and Elizabeth Taylor.

OTTENBERG: What was your job at Studio? 

BOAS: I was one of those boys that ran around collecting the drinks. 

OTTENBERG: So you’re wearing little blue shorts? 

BOAS: Blue, gold, whatever they chose that week, and knee-high gym socks. I was a dancer, so I had that lean body back in the day.

OTTENBERG: Yeah you did. That’s amazing. So you danced and stuff, and then you would go to the afters. What’s that like? How many people are there? What’s going on? Is everyone fucking? 

BOAS: No. They’ve already fucked at Studio 54. 

RIMANELLI: They’re recovering. 

BOAS: Exactly. Maybe second rounding. Who knows. 

OTTENBERG: So back to David’s question, how did you get started taking all these amazing pictures?

BOAS: I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was homeschooled from the seventh to 12th grade. 

OTTENBERG: Amish country, really far away from the glitz and glam. 

BOAS: So far away. I had a nanny and one day she said, “Miss Universe is in town, she’s going to cut the ribbon for a hotel.” I thought, “I’ll go and get her autograph.” I don’t know what made me grab my Brownie Instamatic camera. You had to change the flashbulb every single time you took a photo. I felt like Ansel Adams showing up. So, she’s doing her Miss Universe thing and what excited me the most was how much control this one woman had. Everybody is just flocking to her for an autograph or a picture and everybody is in awe. In a small town, you don’t have access to any celebrity, let alone somebody who’s carrying a title. 

RIMANELLI: Were you very excited by Broadway? There are a lot of show-people in your photographs as opposed to just film and TV. 

BOAS: Well, yeah. Mainly because my mother worked at a watch factory, and she would get weekend trips to New York; they would put us up at the Manhattan Hotel. My first Broadway show was Sweet Charity with Gwen Verdon. 

OTTENBERG: Wow. So you went to Sweet Charity and got hooked on the Broadway buzz.

BOAS: I don’t even know what sent me to the stage door. People ask, “Did you have a theatrical mother that pushed you?” No. Not at all. But if a Marlene Dietrich type walked out, and I didn’t have any idea who she was, she would sort of push me towards her. When I started doing the stage door, a lot of times I didn’t go see the plays. I was just waiting for the play to end.

Marlene Dietrich.

OTTENBERG: You were like Eve in All About Eve at that stage door, Gary. 

RIMANELLI: Exactly. 

BOAS: I know. I was Katharine Hepburn’s Eve Harrington, because I actually had a camera underneath her on a fire escape in Philadelphia, and she read me the riot act; she said, this is where we stand. 

OTTENBERG: Wow. Eve, babe. 

BOAS: I know. 

OTTENBERG: All right. So it’s the ’70s, and we’re getting into porn. Tell us  

RIMANELLI: How did you transition from celebrity stalking into the porn world? 

BOAS: I was in between the shows a lot. I would go to 8th Avenue, and I would just hang out by the Haymarket and watch the hustlers working the streets. 

OTTENBERG: What market?

BOAS: The Haymarket. It was right on 8th Avenue. It was a hustler bar right in the Theater District. Watching the prostitutes doing their thing always jazzed me, and I was young enough that sometimes I was approached as if I was working. 

OTTENBERG: Were you? 

BOAS: No. Not for money. 

RIMANELLI: That’s the right answer. 

BOAS: But you know, we’re always working. 

OTTENBERG: Right. Babe. 24/7. Yeah. How did you get into the sex scene? 

BOAS: Show Palace was at the corner of 42nd and 8th. And then there was The Follies around the corner. I recognized a porn star’s name when I walked past The Follies. David Ashfield, he was appearing there, and I thought, “Well, this is sort of like a stage door. I mean, he’s got to come in and he’s got to come out.” And I was so young, I didn’t feel compelled to go in yet, because I was a horn dog, but—  

RIMANELLI: Were you scared to go in? 

BOAS: A little bit. Yeah. But anyhow, David came out, and I met him. He was so down to earth and lovely. He asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him, so I did, and that’s how the porn thing started. 

RIMANELLI: What did you guys talk about? 

BOAS: I found out his real name was Jay, it was like meeting two people. I had already met the porn persona, now I’m sitting there with Jay, and we’re just eating and talking. 

OTTENBERG: Nice. Who were your favorite stars? My favorite porn stars of the early ’80s were Lance and Leo Ford. 

RIMANELLI: Me too. Leo & Lance is like Gone with the Wind for me. 

OTTENBERG: Oh. Me too. That scene when they’re fucking in Leo & Lance is just so amazing. It’s so beautiful. They’re so perfect. I know Lance was your favorite too, Gary, so we’re going to get into that, but who else besides Lance were you like, “They are the ultimate star?” Do you have any Leo Ford stories?

BOAS: Oh my god. Yes, because he was one of my favorites. I hung out with him and Johnny Sex a lot. They were good friends. I got to know the guys when I used take them down to The Robin Byrd Show. 

OTTENBERG: Channel 35 forever. Tell us about The Robin Byrd Show.

BOAS: Well, part of their contract for Show Palace was to promote themselves. They wanted to let people know, like, “Oh, Lance is there. I’m going to go.” There wasn’t really any other way to find out about it unless you passed the theater, because there was no place to advertise. Of course, Robin Byrd was the porn show. 

Gary Lee Boas

The Robin Byrd Show.

OTTENBERG: If you watched Channel 35, you’d be like, “Wait, Lance is at Show Palace.”

BOAS: Yeah. I would take the cab with them down to where she would film it in the meatpacking district. Now I can’t get the show where I live.

OTTENBERG: The old episodes are not easy to find. I would be happy to just sit at home and watch Channel 35 all the time. 

BOAS: I’m sure if you actually contacted her, she might have back footage.

OTTENBERG: Unlike you, Gary, she’s not very receptive to fans. 

RIMANELLI: She needs to be coaxed out. For history. 

OTTENBERG: But Gary, you’re so cool. By the way, I’ve been daydreaming about doing this interview with you for literally forever. And I’ve been talking to David about doing it with me forever. We just met today in order to interview you.

RIMANELLI: We’ve been corresponding. 

OTTENBERG: I had a sex Instagram called @powertoool during COVID lockdown to pass the time. I would post different porno stuff, and a lot of Gary Lee Boas. David followed it and we started talking and realized we were both huge Gary fans. I mean, I have a big print of your Badlands photograph [“In front of Badlands at the corner of Christopher and West Street”] in my kitchen. 

BOAS: Now, wait, so you’re the one who ordered that. 

OTTENBERG: I’m that one, Gary. I think you and I emailed a long time ago. Am I the only one?

BOAS: Dude, you are the one. 

OTTENBERG: Wait, let’s talk about the boy on the cover of New York Sex. When I bought the big picture of Badlands, I also bought the blonde hustler photo and I gave it to my boyfriend. The lady at the frame store called it “Lucy’s Pork.” Who is he? It’s like you seeing Greta Garbo on the street and just knowing you’re seeing a great star. You were obsessed. You don’t know him, right? 

BOAS: I didn’t know him from a can of paint. He was just standing on that corner hustling. I stood in the doorway and kept taking pictures of him. With six foot blondes, I’m butter.

RIMANELLI: Wow. 

BOAS: He would reach down and get a little semi-erect, because he had to show his goods. I was just watching him and trying to sneak in a photo. I was hoping he didn’t catch me.

Boy on the Corner.

RIMANELLI: Amazing. It’s better that we don’t know who he is. It’s more iconic somehow.

OTTENBERG: It’s one of the greatest photos of New York City ever, period. 

RIMANELLI: It really is. It says a lot. 

OTTENBERG: I want to say, on behalf of many people like me, thank you for New York Sex, because I love it so much. It is really important to me. 

BOAS: Well, thank you. 

RIMANELLI: Me too. In terms of art, I think both Starstruck and New York Sex have this incredible dialogue between the stars—the mainstream stars and the stars from the subculture. For me, they exist in dialogue. What you were telling me about your life and how you got into photographing stars in the first place, all builds up and supports that narrative. 

BOAS: It’s all the same person. 

OTTENBERG: Let’s be real, the star system of today is not what it used to be. There are still major, tremendous stars, but there are no more porn stars, Gary. 

RIMANELLI: No, it’s gone. 

OTTENBERG: It’s fucking over, Gary. 

BOAS: I know. 

OTTENBERG: It’s such a bummer because we believe in porn stars. Are you into OnlyFans?

BOAS: No. I wasn’t even aware of it until just recently. 

OTTENBERG: Wait, what’s this guy’s name, I’m flipping through New York Sex people, and I’m holdng this photo up on Zoom for Gary to see. Do you see it, Gary?

BOAS: His name’s Aaron Gage. He was my 20-year side-fuck. 

OTTENBERG: You were fucking Aaron Gage for 20 years? Look how gorgeous he was.

RIMANELLI: Oh my god. 

BOAS: His real name’s Eric. He was from my hometown. I talked him into going to California, making these movies, and he did for a while. Then he just got sick of L.A. and came home and he was Eric again. 

OTTENBERG: I love this picture of Aaron Gage in New York Sex because he looks so unassuming. You’re saying so much about stardom with this picture. He’s dressed like a normal guy with glasses on, in front of a thrilling dirty-movie poster of him as this absolute silver-screen illicit fantasy god. It’s really hot. 

Aaron Gage.

RIMANELLI: Oh my god. It’s just amazing. 

OTTENBERG: You liked the Aaron Gages and the Lances and our favorite blonde boy who we will never know the name of. 

BOAS: One of my first encounters, I don’t know how much of this you’re printing—

OTTENBERG: Go for it. Don’t hold back. 

BOAS: A friend of mine lived on Bedford Street and said, “I have a neighbor that lays out nude on his roof all the time and I think he’s a porn star.” So one day we went up to the roof and there was Marc Stevens, 10 ½, laying out next door. 

Jill Monroe, Gary Lee Boas, Marc Stevens.

OTTENBERG: Right, Mr. 10 ½.

BOAS: Yeah. I thought, I know him. I was 19 or 20—I went over to the apartment and his name was listed next to the buzzer so I rang the doorbell and he answered. I told him that I was a big fan from Pennsylvania and asked if I could bring these photos I had of him up and have him sign them. He said yeah. He was gay in his private life but he did a lot of straight films; I think he wanted to separate his two lives. He was a twink chaser and I was a twink at that point, so I came up with my photos and of course it was like seduction heaven. He had a robe on and as he’s looking at the photos he’s deliberately spreading his legs and the goddamn schlong is just hanging. Can you hear me?

OTTENBERG: We can hear you loud and clear Gary. Continue.

BOAS: He started with a very slow seduction, and it worked. He had me inside out before I knew it.

OTTENBERG: Oh my god.

BOAS: Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.

OTTENBERG: So you were just living the dream?

BOAS: I was living the dream but unfortunately my friends were living in a box. I was so excited to tell them the story but the first thing they’d say to me was, “Oh my god, you took 10 ½ inches?” It made me feel like the Holland Tunnel.

OTTENBERG: Gary, you’re not alone babe.

BOAS: Honey, I know but at the moment it didn’t feel—

OTTENBERG: Glamorous.

BOAS: No, not at all. So I made up this joke. I said, oh the ten inches was a breeze, that half-inch was a bitch.

OTTENBERG: It’s not a husband-sized dick, as they say. Okay. So are we ready to talk about Lance? I don’t want to forget about Lance because he’s our favorite.

Early-’80s porn star, Lance.

BOAS: Well, I was just thinking about it because I’ll be spewing out something very personal.

OTTENBERG: Hello, yes.

BOAS: Okay. I’ll tell you. It’s New York City, 1981—280 stars flew in from all over the world to do this Night of 100 Stars. For me, that was two weeks of constant hotel haunting. Ginger Rogers here, Orson Welles there, Grace Kelly here. I was all over New York like a god-damn ping-pong ball.

OTTENBERG: Okay.

BOAS: So anyhow, I was knee deep in that and I was crossing Seventh Avenue to start walking over to the Helmsley Palace. I looked over and there was Lance, my all-time favorite porn star, just standing there. David Ashfield had told me that his real name was David Reece. So I’m standing on this corner melting. I said, “Excuse me, David? You don’t know me but I’m good friends with David Ashfield and Tim Kramer. I’ve known of you for so long. I never thought you would come to NewYork because you’re so California.”And he said, “Oh, I’m dancing at this gay place over here called The Follies.” Well I was usually on top of that but, Christ, I was dealing with 280 stars so The Follies didn’t exist to me at that point. He was going to be in town for one more week. Sunday night was The Night of 100 Stars, and Monday night I was at The Follies to see Lance. He was such a sweetheart. He was lost in New York. It was too fast for him. He was yearning for a friend. He wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, and go to Ellis Island and the World Trade Center. So we went and did all this shit together. We were going out on dinner dates between his Follies shows and my celebrity chasing, and I’m trying not to get that yearning, lust look.

OTTENBERG: Because, for those who don’t know, the beauty level is just unbelievable. The hair, the everything.

BOAS: Okay.

OTTENBERG: So he’s the most beautiful guy ever and you guys were together all week. And he’s straight, et cetera.

BOAS: Yeah. So I don’t want to bring this up because I don’t want to be one of them, right? Plus, I was young enough that I didn’t have to pay.

OTTENBERG: Honey, you were dancing at Studio. You were a major twink, a hot commodity.

BOAS: Thank you. So we were at a diner one day and he looked at me and said, “I know what you’re going to say. Can I just save you the time? I’m enjoying your company because you’re so down to earth and so open but, you yearn to fuck me.” So I said, “Well, yeah. I’m sorry.” And he said, “No, don’t be sorry. I don’t usually prostitute on the side but we could work out a little deal. I have been trying to score a gram of coke for a week and I’d get ripped off every single fucking time. They don’t comeback with my money or it’s not real shit. I’ve been dancing for two weeks, my ass is dragging. I need help.” Well it was the ’70s, so fuck yeah, I knew where to get. Back then it was like $30, no big deal. So I showed up after one show when he had like an hour-and-a-half break. We went back to his hotel room. The minute he undresses he’s standing there erect. I’m standing there like I was going to have a stroke or something because it was real life, there he was and here I am. He didn’t do any of the coke because he said he didn’t want to get coke dick.

OTTENBERG: Right. 

BOAS: He laid back on the bed and more or less said, “Do what you want with me.” So I started blowing him and all of a sudden I heard loud snoring. He was sound asleep, but his dick was still hard as a rock. 

RIMANELLI: Oh wow. 

BOAS: He didn’t lose his erection. He’s just snoring away and I’m just like, oh man, this ain’t right. The TV was on behind me and, wouldn’t you know, as comical as this may seem, Dynasty was on. It was the night that two bitches were fighting in the pond. 

OTTENBERG: Alexis and Krystle, one of the most iconic TV scenes of the 1980s. 

BOAS: Yes. That was behind me. So there I was blowing him, looking at Dynasty, looking at dick, looking at Dynasty, looking at dick. 

OTTENBERG: Pure glamour. 

BOAS: I know. 

OTTENBERG: The most Gary Lee Boas moment ever. 

BOAS: Really. I had to wake him up to go back to Follies. As soon as he woke up he went, “Oh my god, I fell asleep. I am so sorry.” I said, “No, man you must have needed rest. Don’t worry about it.” I was nervous too, because I was very shy. 

OTTENBERG: Right, you’re a very respectful man. 

BOAS: Two years later I’m at the Copa in Fort Lauderdale and there he is. So I walked over and said, “David? Do you remember me?” And he said, “I don’t remember your name but I remember I owe you something, do you want to leave?” I thought, hell yeah. Second time’s a charm. So we left and he said, “Do you want to go to the bathhouse?” I thought, I’m not going to the bathhouse with you, I mean, my god, I’d need a dog chain. 

OTTENBERG: You would need riot gear. 

BOAS: So I secured a place for us to go, my friend’s apartment. He said, “Could we do one more thing? Could we stop at my hotel so I can get some clothing so when we get up tomorrow we can go to the beach or something?” So I take him to the hotel he was staying at and he goes in. The next thing you know he’s coming out with a suitcase and a backpack like he’s skipping town. Right when he got to my car, this heavy-set guy came across the parking lot and started screaming at him, “Don’t you ever fucking walk out on me again. I paid for your ass.” He kept calling him Lance, so he was obviously a John. I’m standing there dumbfounded in this parking lot. And finally the guy said, “Who the hell are you?” And I said, “I’m the guy who knows his real name.” 

OTTENBERG: Oh, that’s so romantic. 

BOAS: So bitchy of me. 

RIMANELLI: So did you get it? 

BOAS: No, he looked at me. He shrugged his shoulders and he said, “Gary, I’m sorry. Third time’s the charm.” And then he died. 

OTTENBERG: Motorcycle accident. 

BOAS: That’s my Lance story. 

OTTENBERG: Well Gary, you’ve been great on this for sure. 

BOAS: So this interview is more about New York Sex than Starstruck

RIMANELLI: You’re the star Gary. 

OTTENBERG: We want to talk to Gary, our hero, not about one book versus the other book.

RIMANELLI: The whole picture. 

BOAS: You’re overwhelming me. 

OTTENBERG: We just love you, Gary. 

BOAS: Okay, because we haven’t really talked about the stars. 

OTTENBERG: Okay, let’s talk about the stars because I definitely want to put some celebrity pictures in this thing. What I think is interesting about you, is that you’re not a paparazzo, you’re a fan. 

BOAS: Thank you. 

OTTENBERG: You weren’t working for anyone. Also, you were only taking two to three pictures per star, right? You were just taking a few as they walked away. 

BOAS: Yeah, because I had film and flashbulbs, it became costly. 

OTTENBERG: Right, but part of your art is really nailing the moment. Everyone looks really cool. What was the Aretha moment like? It’s so amazing.

BOAS: Oh my god. That was her just leaving the Grammy party. 

OTTENBERG: The white fur photo? So phenomenal. And then the Greta Garbo picture is so modern. It’s so The Row, right, David? It’s very chic. Wait, didn’t you say when you were being Eve Harrington that she yelled at you outside the stage door? 

Gary Lee Boas

Aretha Franklin.

BOAS: No, that was Katharine Hepburn. 

OTTENBERG: Excuse me. And you became friends with Katharine Hepburn, right? 

BOAS: Yes. Very good friends insofar as a fan can weasel into a star’s life. 

OTTENBERG: I’m going to Lana Del Rey’s house this Easter Sunday. She was like, “Do you want to come over for an Easter egg hunt with me and my family?” I’m like, yeah, Lana, I want to come over. She’s the queen so I get it. What about Bob Fosse and Jessica Lange together? I love this picture in Starstruck. Were they a couple when they were doing All That Jazz? This was from ’78 to ’79. 

BOAS: Yes. I studied dance with Ann Reinking. So I did all those moves, the Fosse dances.

OTTENBERG: Okay. Wow. 

BOAS: This is a really good story. So I’m in Key West being a beach bum for a year, just living life. One day I’m riding my bike and I’m like, holy shit, there’s Jessica Lange and Bob Fosse. So I jumped off my bike and Bob goes, “Oh, how are you Gary?” Jessica had just done All That Jazz, so she wasn’t really a big star yet. Anyhow, they agreed to take photos with me over the years. She’s not the friendliest person. She’s very private. Then, a few years ago, I’m doing the luncheon for the Drama Desk Awards. Jessica Lange was right in front of me, I could smell her. In the press room, we’re not allowed to talk to people, but I was like, “Listen, I have this photo that I took of you and Bob Fosse back in the ’70s in Key West.” She said, “Oh my god, I didn’t get very many photos taken with him. I remember it was a nice sunny day. We were walking. Do you still have that print? Oh god, I’ve got to have it.” Now she’s grabbing my shoulders and almost pleading with me for this freaking photo while there’s like 15 photographers behind me snapping the hell out of her because she’s finally giving some emotion. 

RIMANELLI: Did you end up giving her the photo? 

BOAS: It’s a long story, but yes. 

Bob Fosse and Jessica Lange.

OTTENBERG: A week or two ago I was walking down my block and there before me was an extremely intimidating Jessica Lange in giant black sunglasses and a black N95 mask just standing there glaring at me, giving me the devil stare. It was thrilling. You guys would’ve loved it. 

BOAS: That’s good to hear. Most New Yorkers are just going from A to B and not looking at the sea of faces. 

OTTENBERG: Stars, they’re just like us. 

BOAS: Okay. So did you get the interview? 

RIMANELLI: Yeah, absolutely. 

OTTENBERG: Oh my god, Gary. It was really fun to talk to you and I’m glad we talked about everything. 

RIMANELLI: It really was. You are a star. You had a big impact on people as a photographer and a persona. So thank you, Gary. 

BOAS: Hey. What can I say? You’re very welcome. 

Liza Minelli.

 

Al Pacino.

 

Gary Lee Boas

Tina Turner.

 

David Bowie.

 

Gary Lee Boas

Mick Jagger.

 

Gary Lee Boas

John F. Kennedy Jr.

 

Yoko Ono and John Lennon.

 

Gary Lee Boas and Frank Sinatra.

 

Gary Lee Boas

Michael Jackson.

 

Sylvester Stallone.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Gary Lee Boas.

 

Greta Garbo.

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Grooming: Simon Chossier

Production: Paige Viti

Special Thanks: OFR Librairie