A Peek Inside Adult Video with Mickey Skee

Jeff Stryker was his charming self during his A Sophisticated Evening With Jeff Stryker performance at the Celebration Theatre. The limited run, he says, is only a preview of a show he may take on the road. He comes out fully clothed, talks about himself in a casual, at times self-deprecating way, and eventually strips to nothing, playing with a hard-on. Master funnyman Bruce Vilanch (and longtime friend of Stryker) wrote the piece and sat in the sidelines, watching audience reaction. It's charming, even with Stryker occasionally reading from a script. The Big One is never flustered or ruffled, and he even jokes about needing a script to talk about his life. Personal photos of him as a child, as well as his dog, his son and others, are shown on a screen behind him as he talks, channels a preacher from his early years, and recounts how he first got involved in the porn biz. It was truly the best acting job I've seen Stryker do in the decade or so I've watched his plays and live performances. Ironically, I was there the day that John Travis, the man who groomed and gave Stryker his start, was in the audience. Travis, who just sold Studio 2000, laughed when Stryker approached him with his oiled-up body, and quipped, "Been there, done that!" No, the specific people who helped Stryker along, like Travis, weren't mentioned in the play, but that's really a whole other story, and perhaps not as sophisticated.

Michael Lucas is doing the most amazing publicity event perhaps ever in porn. Not only is he headed to Israel to do a porn appearance and dance naked on stage, but the gay club he'll be performing at is offering free admission to anyone in the Israeli army. My immediate response to Lucas was asking him if he was inviting a terrorist attack at a club that not only would be filled with gay people, but also Israeli military. "Don't worry about me, honey; I'm no hero, but I'm not afraid either," Lucas told me.

He's getting tons of press, and Reuters is going to film his appearance. Blogs from liberal Jews and radical Islamists are commenting on the show, some saying they don't want him, with headlines ranging from "Stay away Lucas garbage!" to "He is defending the land of Israel." Lucas simply responds, "I just want to support a country that I love. I will not cancel no matter what. I've performed there many times before for thousands of gay men." He's performing with Jack McCarthy in a live sex show in Club Vox. I'll be happy when he's back on U.S. soil, ready to do his La Dolce Vita porn spoof.

Lucas still has a rift going on with Chad Hunt, and the director's preventing the big star from working—holding him to a contract until the end of the year. Hunt, whose 11-by-7 inches makes him the big man in the business, tells me from his New York apartment that he's doing bigger and better things with his career. He may be doing a cameo in a mainstream movie with an Oscar-winning actress that is being filmed on another continent—more on that when details are confirmed.

Speaking of Manhattan, Raging Stallion's director Ben Leon shows a side of the Big Apple we've never seen before with local city stud Manuel Torres. He has sex with Mario Cruz on the rooftops of New York, and the DVD includes 20 minutes of personal thoughts from Torres, who talks about his dirty thug past.

If that isn't enough, Raging Stallion jumps the pond and takes the studs abroad in Collin O'Neal's London. Collin stars in it and he's taking this international group of superstars on a tour of his town. Edu Boxer, Jean Franco, and Luca are among Collin's conquests, and he's a force to reckon with as Chris Ward once again takes a chance with a porn star who knows how to direct and film a movie, too (a la Michael Brandon).

Blue is back! Blue Blake is back out of his short retirement after being inducted into the Adult Video News Hall of Fame, and he's going to direct and produce again. Blue hinted to me a short time ago at a Gino Colbert party that he was really going to make a comeback. Now, Pacific Sun is going to distribute the Big Blue Productions titles. Blue has his own solo series of hunks, including the new stud Peter Latz, who looks like he popped right off a Mr. Clean bottle. The buzz is generating already over the return of blond muscle stud Ty Fox, who is bottoming for the first time in Moving Company 2. Fox, you may recall, was outed by a fan who wrote him at his home in the East Coast, and he was fired as a teacher and wrestling coach because he did porn. Blue knows how to put together a great team.

Mickey Skee has covered the adult entertainment industry since 1986, and his latest porn fiction book, F.U., was released by Alyson. Mickey Skee's F.U., Bad Boys, and Best of Gay Adult Video series are on Amazon.com.