Added: 12 years ago
A farm boy of Finnish descent, DENNIS LAVIA was born Christmas Day, 1943 in Des Moines, but by 18 had already made his way to LA, where he worked in construction and as a short-order cook before Jim Panama (Bob Mizer's keen-eyed talent scout) brought him to the AMG compound. His slender build (5' 11", 170#) gave little hint of a considerable strength, and his quasi-poetic looks belied the rough & ready street-brawler within. Adept at shooting pool, he
could usually be found playing at one of the Hollywood-area bars on any given night. A longtime admirer (much taken by his "silky-smooth skin and Windex-blue eyes") introduced him to another Golden Age photographer, Pat Milo, who did nudes of him in the mid-late 60s, just as such material was beginning to circulate
legally. Still, he's best remembered for his AMG work--which, besides a mountain of stills, included several silent b&w shorts such as this
one--where he plays a "difficult model" made more cooperative after wrestling with painter John Pilkington.
bfurryman
9 years agoI have no idea how to adequately thank you for all the fine films you've posted, along with so much background info on the models and on Bob Mizer himself!! Many MANY thanks!!!!
JakeJock
12 years agoAnother awesome post!!! Thanks!!!
xychromo
12 years agoBob Mizer made his earliest movies toward the end of 1958--and this was definitely not among them. Dennis Lavia arrived in LA in 1961 and didn't pose for Bob until the following year. [See Waugh's impeccably researched history of gay erotica, "Hard to Imagine," p. 255 et seq.]
mppaloha
12 years agoThis film is from the 50's NOT the 60's.
xychromo
12 years agoHaving once spent 9 months in the slammer for an obscenity conviction, Mizer made sure that Dennis's asscrack was just as well covered as the family jewels by that posing pouch. (Speaking of family, the pouch had been sewn together by Mizer's mom, Delia!)
xychromo
12 years agoWhile AMG movies are notoriously hard to date, this one was almost certainly shot LATER than 1961. Although Bob Mizer consistently gave DL's birth-date as 1943, the first photos of him ("at age 19") didn't appear in Physique Pictorial until 1965 (V. 14 #3) Indeed, the first mention of his movies (V. 15 #2) didn't even include this particular title.
ray12210
12 years agoThis looks older than 1961 when he would have been 18.