Richard Pacheco
Encyclopedia
Richard Pacheco is a former American pornographic film & video actor, writer, and director
who retired from the X-rated business in the mid-1980s.
He appeared in more than 100 x-rated films and videos. He has won multiple adult film awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director. He was Playgirl
magazine's Man of the Year in 1979 as Howie Gordon.
, the younger of two brothers. He graduated with honors from Taylor Allderdice High School
in 1966 and was the president of his class.
His first role in pornography was during his term at Antioch College
, Ohio
, in an amateur student production. After graduation, he quit his job, and moved to Berkeley, California
, to live in a commune
. In 1971, he met his wife, Carly, through the commune and they married in 1975. In the mid-1970s, Gordon was earning $5 per hour for construction work, and looking to begin a new career. He applied to the Episcopal Theological School at Harvard (to study history) and the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley
.
(released 1978) for $200 per day. That began his pornographic career.
He appeared in that first film under the name "McKinley Howard", and used many different aliases until Anthony Spinelli
's Talk Dirty to Me (1980), in which he co-starred as "Richard Pacheco". When that film became a groundbreaking success, he kept the pseudonym for the box office value it began to accrue.
In November 1984, Pacheco stopped acting in porn movies without condom
s in reaction to his wife's concerns about the growing AIDS
epidemic. This cost him most of his pornographic acting job offers, and became an effective forced retirement from pornographic acting. He worked in non-sex roles, and as an assistant director to John Leslie until 1986. He only directed one film himself, 1987's Careful, He May Be Watching, starring Seka
, but that one won the Best Film award and won him the Best Director award from AVN Awards 1988.
His other adult film awards include Adult Film Association of America
awards for Best Supporting Actor for Talk Dirty to Me (1980) and Nothing to Hide (1981), the NY Critics Adult Film 1981 awards for Best Actor for Nothing To Hide, and Best Supporting Actor for The Dancers, AVN Awards
for Best Actor - Film for Irresistible, Best Supporting Actor - Film for Nothing to Hide in 1984, and Best Couples Sex Scene - Video (with Nina Hartley
) and Best Supporting Actor - Video for Sensual Escape in 1989.
He was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame
in January 1999, along with Bob Chinn
and Annie Sprinkle
. Pacheco and Sprinkle were given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Free Speech Coalition
(FSC) in the year 2000. And in 2006, Pacheco was presented with the pioneer induction into the X-Rated Critics Organization
's (XRCO) Hall of Fame.
with his wife initially, which became considerably less open after they had children and AIDS became a threat, but he credits his pornography career for giving him the opportunity to continue sexual encounters for a time without endangering his home life. They have three children, born in the 1980s, with whom they have been open about his pornography career.
who retired from the X-rated business in the mid-1980s.
He appeared in more than 100 x-rated films and videos. He has won multiple adult film awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director. He was Playgirl
Playgirl
Playgirl is a print quarterly adult magazine published in the United States that is marketed mainly to heterosexual women, but has also gained a considerable gay following...
magazine's Man of the Year in 1979 as Howie Gordon.
Early life
Howie Gordon grew up in PittsburghPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, the younger of two brothers. He graduated with honors from Taylor Allderdice High School
Taylor Allderdice High School
Taylor Allderdice High School, also referred to by the Pittsburgh Public Schools as “Pittsburgh Allderdice” or informally by students as "Dice", is a public high school located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh’s East End. Allderdice is the "largest of the Pittsburgh Public Schools'...
in 1966 and was the president of his class.
His first role in pornography was during his term at Antioch College
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, in an amateur student production. After graduation, he quit his job, and moved to Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, to live in a commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
. In 1971, he met his wife, Carly, through the commune and they married in 1975. In the mid-1970s, Gordon was earning $5 per hour for construction work, and looking to begin a new career. He applied to the Episcopal Theological School at Harvard (to study history) and the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Pornography career
In 1978, he was offered his first professional erotic film role in The Candy StripersCandy Stripers (1978 film)
Candy Stripers is a 1978 pornographic film by director Bob Chinn and starring Nancy Hoffman and Sharon Thorpe. The film is a comedy about the sexual encounters hospital volunteers have with hospital patients and staff...
(released 1978) for $200 per day. That began his pornographic career.
He appeared in that first film under the name "McKinley Howard", and used many different aliases until Anthony Spinelli
Anthony Spinelli
Anthony Spinelli was a pornographic film director. He was born Samuel Weinstein on February 21, 1927 in Cleveland, Ohio, and died on May 29, 2000....
's Talk Dirty to Me (1980), in which he co-starred as "Richard Pacheco". When that film became a groundbreaking success, he kept the pseudonym for the box office value it began to accrue.
In November 1984, Pacheco stopped acting in porn movies without condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
s in reaction to his wife's concerns about the growing AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic. This cost him most of his pornographic acting job offers, and became an effective forced retirement from pornographic acting. He worked in non-sex roles, and as an assistant director to John Leslie until 1986. He only directed one film himself, 1987's Careful, He May Be Watching, starring Seka
Seka
Seka is an American pornographic actress who appeared in many pornographic films during the late 1970s and the 1980s.-Career:...
, but that one won the Best Film award and won him the Best Director award from AVN Awards 1988.
His other adult film awards include Adult Film Association of America
Adult Film Association of America
The Adult Film Association of America, the AFAA, was the first American association of pornographic film producers. It fought against censorship laws, attempted to defend the industry against prosecution for obscenity, and held an annual adult film awards ceremony.It was founded in 1969 in Kansas...
awards for Best Supporting Actor for Talk Dirty to Me (1980) and Nothing to Hide (1981), the NY Critics Adult Film 1981 awards for Best Actor for Nothing To Hide, and Best Supporting Actor for The Dancers, AVN Awards
AVN Awards
The AVN Awards are movie awards sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine AVN to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of the creation and marketing of American pornographic movies. They are called the "Oscars of porn"...
for Best Actor - Film for Irresistible, Best Supporting Actor - Film for Nothing to Hide in 1984, and Best Couples Sex Scene - Video (with Nina Hartley
Nina Hartley
Nina Hartley is an American pornographic actress, pornographic film director, sex educator, feminist, and author.-Early life:...
) and Best Supporting Actor - Video for Sensual Escape in 1989.
He was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame
AVN Hall of Fame
This is a list of members of the AVN Hall of Fame. The AVN Hall of Fame honors the legends of the adult entertainment industry.- AVN Hall of Fame members :[Top]| style="vertical-align:top; width:15px;"|...
in January 1999, along with Bob Chinn
Bob Chinn
Bob Chinn is an American pornographic film director. He is a member the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame.Chinn started his career circa 1970. He directed the Johnny Wadd series of films featuring actor John C. Holmes...
and Annie Sprinkle
Annie Sprinkle
Annie M. Sprinkle is an American former prostitute, stripper, pornographic actress, cable television host, porn magazine editor, writer and sex film producer...
. Pacheco and Sprinkle were given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Free Speech Coalition
Free Speech Coalition
The Free Speech Coalition is a non-profit trade association of the pornography and adult entertainment industry in the United States...
(FSC) in the year 2000. And in 2006, Pacheco was presented with the pioneer induction into the X-Rated Critics Organization
X-Rated Critics Organization
The X-Rated Critics Organization is a group of writers and editors from the adult entertainment industry who each year present awards in recognition of achievement within the industry....
's (XRCO) Hall of Fame.
Post-Pornography career
He has extensively written and spoken about pornography, including columns, articles, reviews, speaking about pornography and AIDS. He still seeks to publish an autobiography of his time in the adult film business.Family life
He told his parents about his career as he was becoming successful, with appearances in Playgirl (Man of the Month November 1978 before Man of the Year in 1979), and on the Phil Donahue Show, which he says made them more supportive. He had an open relationshipOpen relationship
An open relationship is an interpersonal relationship in which the parties want to be together but agree to a form of a non-monogamous relationship. This means that they agree that a romantic or sexual relationship with another person is accepted, permitted, or tolerated...
with his wife initially, which became considerably less open after they had children and AIDS became a threat, but he credits his pornography career for giving him the opportunity to continue sexual encounters for a time without endangering his home life. They have three children, born in the 1980s, with whom they have been open about his pornography career.
About Richard Pacheco
- "Richard Pacheco" LukeIsBack.com page
- "Richard Pacheco: The Accidental Porn Star with the Average Endowment", Xandria Collection June 30, 2000 interview
- "Easy Come, Easy Go", Stuff Magazine article February 26, 2003
- "Ex-porn stars enlisted in AIDS fight" Mercury News article April 14, 2006
- "Ex-porn stars talk sex to Cubberley" Stanford Daily Online Edition, April 17, 2006
- "Speaker celebrates sexuality", by Jessica Roy, The Daily BruinDaily BruinThe Daily Bruin is the student newspaper at the University of California, Los Angeles.-Frequency and governance:When classes are in session, the Bruin is published Monday through Friday during the school year and once a week on Mondays in the summer quarter.It is overseen by the ASUCLA...
, February 16, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
By Richard Pacheco
- Love and a Good Right Hook: A Rebirth of Hope Article about the first World Conference on Pornography, 1998.
- Porn's Hall of Fame: A Slice Of Immortality, A Side Of Fries April 1999 article on his induction into the AVN Hall of Fame.
- Sex Tips From Men Who Ride The Sexual Frontier Libido magazine review of a 2001 book by Jo-Ann Baker
- The Abacus of Limited Desire Libido magazine article on the May–December romance, December 2002