January 12, 2021 | The Biz

RIP: director and author Jerry Douglas

Well-respected and much-loved director Jerry Douglas has died following a prolonged illness. He was 84.

His career in porn, as a filmmaker and journalist, spanned several decades. In the 1970s, he worked on The Back Row and Score, both featuring one of the biggest names in porn at the time, Casey Donovan.

Scholar Jeffrey Escoffier said Douglas' The Back Row was the first example of homorealist gay pornographic cinema, which "created a synthesis of a documentary-like view (in this case focusing on the gay sexual subculture) and the more psychopolitical themes of sexual liberation."

Casey Donovan

Douglas then shifted gears to focus on his writing, becoming editor-in-chief of the popular gay porn mag Mandate.

In the 80s, Douglas got back into creating porn, and would spend the next three decades making X-rated content that was popular with fans and critics. He created titles like Fratrimony, Honorable Discharge and BuckleRoos 1-2. His work was recognized with wins at the Adult Video News Awards, Gay Video Guide Awards, and the Grabby Awards.

His final film was COLT's Brotherhood in 2007.

Brotherhood

He was also a playwright (1973's Tubstrip), play director (2010's The Deep Throat Sex Scandal), and a novelist (2012's The Legend of the Ditto Twins).

mr.Pam was just one of many industry insiders who spoke about his impact on their careers.

"Jerry was a huge influence in my life, career and cinematography," she told XBIZ. "Way back in 2003, that first night in a barn shooting the lovemaking cowboy scene with Dean Phoenix and Marcus Iron [for 'BuckleRoos'], sitting with [COLT Studio's] John Rutherford... Magic! I listened close through a fog of cigarette smoke, clinging to every word.

"His teachings were gold and love of gay erotic filmmaking was contagious. Thank you Jerry; love and miss you."

You can find out more about Douglas' life and see more tributes from people in the industry at XBiz and AVN.