Apparently, Wakefield Poole passed away on Wednesday the 27th. So little in the press at this point, rather astounding. I found out via FACEBOOK, a post from Vinegar Syndrome, who did great reissues of Boys In The Sand, Bijou, and Bible!; along with a combo reissue of Moving! and Take One.
my Wakefield Poole page
I met him way back in 2002 – during a retrospective of his work called Reflecting Poole at Anthology Film Archives – I was so excited, and wanted everyone to go, so I even made a schedule of showtimes, having just learned how to do html “tables”
and I met him again in 2009 at a talk at the LGBT Community Center in NYC, and he politely pretended he remembered meeting me years earlier at Anthology, when I gushed at him about his work, and how happy I was that he was leaving his collection there where it would actually get his work SHOWN again to the public… sigh… not good at these things… obits…. but had to acknowledge in a small way his passing
6 replies on “Wakefield Poole (1936-2021)”
Ah, BJ honey! Don’t sell yourself short! I think this obit is just perfect! I’m sure Poole would have appreciated it, immensely! Thanks for letting us know! : (
I’m also so grateful for the Ledermeister obit that you did – just perfect! I don’t think I would have known if it wasn’t for you! I really don’t follow The Datalounge, anymore. Too many of the posters there, are insufferable! : /
Wow, I wonder how many viewers are aware of what a pioneer, Poole was! How many of us, are left? He was so creative, and had genuine talent! His influence can’t be underestimated. : 0
To think that “Boys in the Sand (1971)”, came before “Deep Throat (1972)”! Both films ushered in “Porno Chic”.
“Boys…” made quite a splash in its day. Because of it, Casey Donovan is generally considered the first “gay porn star”, though he wasn’t the first performer in all-male porn, to gather a fan base. I’ll talk about this in a later reply, when I have the time.
Your readers would do well to read his book “Dirty Poole”. What a fascinating life about not just porn, but show business in general! You’re always collecting more readers! Congratulations!
Wakefield Poole – rest in peace. Thank you for your legacy!
And thank you, BJ honey! For your wonderful blog! : )
; )
My condolences, B.J. You and others have talked about him here for years, and yet I somehow thought he’d left us long ago. It’s at least good to find that he lived a very long and rich life.
This is sad news, but thank you for the info. R.I.P. What an important figure in the evolution of gay porn films over the last fifty years. Boys In The Sand is of course iconic at this point, but I think Bijou is the film that best captured his creative talents as a director and filmmaker. From the start the way the camera is following these three strangers as they go about their day in NYC, the car accident that draws them all together at the same intersection, Bill Harrison’s impulsive decision to steal the woman’s purse which leads him to the sex club – that’s compelling and Hollywood-worthy drama in his storytelling, all without a word being spoken (and Mars: The Bringer of War playing in the background on the car radio!)
I’d heard that the entirety of the scenes at the Bijou club were in fact filmed inside Wakefield’s apartment, where he created these elaborate sets to give the impression that Bill was walking around a huge maze, shot a few seconds of footage, tore it all down and built the next set so it took him months to accomplish that. That weird penis coming out of a mouth in the foreground of one shot, that’s just brilliant.
I’ve tried leaving links to my imgur here before, not sure if this will work for everybody but this is a pic of Wakefield au natural (with his leg modestly crossed so I feel like this is OK and not disrespectful) taken at an art exhibit, that was printed in the Bay Area Reporter sometime in the 70s. Not sure if I ever linked you to this before, anyway it’s below:
https://i.imgur.com/LTYUamR.jpg
Pioneers! O pioneers!
For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
Sad, lose of an Icon.
A fitting tribute to a porn legend. Well done, BJ.