Clone: The Life and Legacy of Al Parker, Gay Superstar

by Roger Edmonson

Al Parker's story, as uncovered by Edmonson, reveals a young man out of place in his world who would find his home in front of and behind the camera as the star of 21 adult films and the founder of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555835295
• ISBN13: 9781555835293
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Alyson Books
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Easy Reading

I was amazed to read how hungery Al Parker was for sex all through his life. This book is well written except for the ending. At the end of his life, Drew spent a lot of time raising money for people with AIDS and doing other community service events. Very little is said about this and the final days of his life. So little in fact, it seems the book ends too abruptly.

compelling portrait of porn pioneer

As a long-time admirer of Al Parker, I was delighted to stumble across this account of his life. The author's access to intimate details of Parker's youth made for compelling reading, especially the macabre accounts of Al's losing his virginity to a knife-wielding psychopath! Al's experiences at Woodstock were a hoot. I also found the story of his entry into the porn world with the encouragement of his lover to be very interesting. I had always imagined Rip Colt to be as hot as the men he photographed. What an eye-opener that was! The background info on the films themselves was very welcome to an aficionado like myself. I've seen them all a hundred times and the insider gossip and behind-the-scenes details make for interesting reading.Most of all, I was delighted to discover just how ordinary this sexual icon of gay liberation really was. To know that he was involved in a serious relationship that spanned fifteen years, all the while fueling fantasy fires across the gay spectrum was quite a turn-on for me. It was also gratifying to read about his pioneering efforts in bringing safer sex to the gay, X-rated video screen. While checking out this site, I couldn't help but notice that a couple of people had just the opposite opinion of this book. All I can think is that they didn't read it carefully, or that they expected Al Parker to be what he seemed to be on film. From all I gathered from the book, Drew Okun was a great guy. I wish I could have known him.Read the book and you'll have a better sense of the gay porn industry from its early years through the AIDS crisis. Kudos to Roger Edmonson for giving substance to a legendary figure in underground gay culture.

Fun and fast read about a bygone star and era

This is a good book if you're interested in the story of Al Parker, but what surprised me is it's a great portrait of gay culture in the 70s and the rise and fall of an era. Al Parker symbolized a care-free sexuality, but maintained a close relationship with his boyfriend and business partner throughout his entire life. The book can be seen as a spiritual struggle against the promiscuous and often dangerous (but somehow sexy too) world of cruising and gay culture as it exsisted before AIDS. The story is wild -- it takes you from the closets of THE PLAYBOY MANSION to the sets of Surge Studios as they shoot porn. Woodstock is covered, and a whole lot of California in the "bathhouse culture" days. Parker's story is touching, and ultimately not as depressing as you would initially think. Here is a guy who wanted to be a sex star, but never had the ego to think he really could make it as big (sorry about the pun) as he did. It's a great read! It's by the same publisher who put out the Joey Stefano biography WONDER BREAD AND ECSTASY. I'm wondering who's next in line for a bio? Ryan Idol or Jeff Stryker would be a lot of fun. But I guess we'll have to wait until their demise to get the full scoop like Roger Edmonson gives us on Al Parker.

Touching yet sexy portrait of an era....

Very indepth and very HOT biography of Drew Okun, known to the gay world as Al Parker! Though the author spends a little too much time detailing all of Parker's films, his extraordinary coverage of the Al Parker, the man as well as the culture that created him more than makes up for this. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and, most of all, you'll remember.....