J. Brian(1942-1985)

Jeremiah Brian Donahue, born in Alameda County, California, in 1942, is credited with several firsts in the gay adult industry. As J. Brian he began as a photographer and in 1964 was allegedly the first in the modern era to publish male full frontal nudes. ("Physique Pictorial" did not publish its first fully nude male until 1969). Brian moved to San Francisco in the mid-1960s. He and his partner Bob Damron, who opened the San Francisco gay bookshop Adonis, formed Calafran Enterprises, a photographic studio, which also published the magazine "Golden Boys" from 1968. (Damron published gay guides to the US from the 1960s to the 1990s). Brian began producing silent "loops", among them "Opus One" (1969), "Little Boy Lust" (1970) and "Come to the Orgy" (1971), the latter perhaps the first modern gay porn film with group sex. He also ran a gay escort agency, which was closed down by police in 1972. His first feature, "Seven in a Barn" (1971) is said to be the first gay adult feature with synchronised sound. This and subsequent films were distinguished by the appearances of "all-American" young men in rural locations. One of the best-known is "Raw Country" (1976). At some point during his film career he moved to Hawaii, where he may have worked as a radio announcer. He was associated with tattoo artist Samuel Steward, whose novel "Stud" was filmed by Brian as "Four More Than Money" (1971). Brian's later life was blighted by alcoholism. Porn model Jim Cassidy claimed that Brian "had a huge ego, would get drunk on the set and generally screw things up" (Gay Erotic Video Index). Some of his photos and loops and extracts from some of his films are included in "The Best of J. Brian", released in 1993 by Bijou.