Wakefield Poole
Encyclopedia
Wakefield Poole is an American
dancer, choreographer, theatrical director, and pioneering film director in the gay pornography
industry from the 1970s and 1980s.
Born Walter Wakefield Poole III in Jacksonville, Florida
in 1936, Poole joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
in 1957 and later became a dancer, choreographer, and director on television and Broadway. From 1964 to 1968, Poole was married to Nancy Van Rijn, a Broadway performer and choreographer. In the late 1960s, Poole and his lover Peter Schneckenburger (later known as Peter Fisk, star of Boys in the Sand) began experimenting with film and multimedia shows, culminating in a legendary multimedia gallery show for Broadway poster artist David Edward Byrd at the Triton Gallery in New York. Poole made his directorial film debut with the enormously successful and influential Boys in the Sand
(1971). He, and Boys in the Sand producer Marvin Shulman, made another very successful film the following year entitled Bijou starring Bill Harrison. Poole and Shulman then attempted to make a crossover film, Wakefield Poole's Bible, a trio of Old Testament stories focusing on female Biblical figures and starring Georgina Spelvin
as a comic Bathsheba. The film was a flop with audiences, though well received by the few critics who saw it. A number of Poole's films starred Casey Donovan
, one of the best known porn stars of his time.
Poole appears in the documentaries Ballets Russes
, That Man: Peter Berlin, and Where Ocean Meets Sky. In 2000, Poole published his autobiography Dirty Poole, which was reprinted with a new afterward by Lethe Press in 2011. A documentary based on the autobiography will premiere in 2012, directed and produced by Jim Tushinski (That Man: Peter Berlin).
The Wakefield Poole Collection was released on DVD
in 2002. The two-disk set includes Boys in the Sand, Bijou, and Boys in the Sand II along with several shorts, director commentaries, image galleries and an interview with the director. Moving! and One, Two, Three... were remastered and released in 2011 on a single DVD by Gorilla Factory Productions, who also remastered Boys in the Sand and Bijou for future release.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dancer, choreographer, theatrical director, and pioneering film director in the gay pornography
Gay pornography
Gay pornography is the representation of sexual intercourse between men with the primary goal of sexual arousal in its audience. There is also a tradition, and continuing considerable output, of lesbian pornography....
industry from the 1970s and 1980s.
Born Walter Wakefield Poole III in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
in 1936, Poole joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
in 1957 and later became a dancer, choreographer, and director on television and Broadway. From 1964 to 1968, Poole was married to Nancy Van Rijn, a Broadway performer and choreographer. In the late 1960s, Poole and his lover Peter Schneckenburger (later known as Peter Fisk, star of Boys in the Sand) began experimenting with film and multimedia shows, culminating in a legendary multimedia gallery show for Broadway poster artist David Edward Byrd at the Triton Gallery in New York. Poole made his directorial film debut with the enormously successful and influential Boys in the Sand
Boys in the Sand
Boys in the Sand is a landmark American gay pornographic film. The 1971 film was directed by Wakefield Poole and stars Casey Donovan. Boys in the Sand was the first gay porn film to achieve crossover success and one of the earliest porn films of any genre to gain mainstream credibility, preceding...
(1971). He, and Boys in the Sand producer Marvin Shulman, made another very successful film the following year entitled Bijou starring Bill Harrison. Poole and Shulman then attempted to make a crossover film, Wakefield Poole's Bible, a trio of Old Testament stories focusing on female Biblical figures and starring Georgina Spelvin
Georgina Spelvin
Georgina Spelvin is the stage name of Michelle Graham, a former American pornographic actress who is best known for her appearance in the classic film The Devil in Miss Jones.-Early life:...
as a comic Bathsheba. The film was a flop with audiences, though well received by the few critics who saw it. A number of Poole's films starred Casey Donovan
Casey Donovan (porn star)
Casey Donovan was an American male pornographic actor of the 1970s and 1980s, appearing primarily in adult films and videos catering to gay male audiences....
, one of the best known porn stars of his time.
Poole appears in the documentaries Ballets Russes
Ballets Russes (documentary)
Ballets Russes is a 2005 feature documentary about the dancers of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. It was directed by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, and featured Irina Baronova, Alicia Markova, George Zoritch, and Tatiana Riabouchinska, among others. It was narrated by Marian Seldes...
, That Man: Peter Berlin, and Where Ocean Meets Sky. In 2000, Poole published his autobiography Dirty Poole, which was reprinted with a new afterward by Lethe Press in 2011. A documentary based on the autobiography will premiere in 2012, directed and produced by Jim Tushinski (That Man: Peter Berlin).
Filmography
- Boys in the SandBoys in the SandBoys in the Sand is a landmark American gay pornographic film. The 1971 film was directed by Wakefield Poole and stars Casey Donovan. Boys in the Sand was the first gay porn film to achieve crossover success and one of the earliest porn films of any genre to gain mainstream credibility, preceding...
(1971) - Bijou (1972)
- Wakefield Poole's Bible (1973)
- Moving! (1974)
- Take One (1977)
- Hot Shots (1981)
- The Hustlers (1984)
- Split Image (1984)
- Boys in the Sand II (1984) / Pirated version Men In The Sand
- One, Two, Three (1985)
The Wakefield Poole Collection was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2002. The two-disk set includes Boys in the Sand, Bijou, and Boys in the Sand II along with several shorts, director commentaries, image galleries and an interview with the director. Moving! and One, Two, Three... were remastered and released in 2011 on a single DVD by Gorilla Factory Productions, who also remastered Boys in the Sand and Bijou for future release.
Other notable achievements
- Dirty Poole: A Sensual Memoir (Book, Lethe Press, 2011, originally published by Alyson Publications in 2000)
- Bring Back BirdieBring Back BirdieBring Back Birdie is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.A sequel to Bye Bye Birdie, it focuses on a scheme for rock 'n' roller Conrad Birdie, who disappeared after being discharged from the U. S. Army twenty years ago, to make a comeback on a...
[Original, Musical, Comedy] Video sequences created by Wakefield Poole; Associate to the Director: Wakefield Poole. March 5, 1981 - March 7, 1981 - Dear World [Original, Musical] Assistant to Mr. Layton: Wakefield Poole. February 6, 1969 - May 31, 1969
- George M! [Original, Musical, Comedy] Assistant to Mr. Layton: Wakefield Poole. April 10, 1968 - April 26, 1969
- Do I Hear a Waltz? [Original, Musical] Choreographic Associate: Wakefield Poole. March 18, 1965 - September 25, 1965
- The Girl Who Came to Supper [Original, Musical] Assistant to Mr. Layton: Wakefield Poole. December 8, 1963 - March 14, 1964
- No Strings [Original, Musical] Performer: Wakefield Poole [Dancer]; Dance Captain: Wakefield Poole. March 15, 1962 - August 3, 1963
- "No Strings" London Company Directed/ Restaged by Wakefield Poole (1963)
- The Unsinkable Molly BrownThe Unsinkable Molly Brown (musical)The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and her wealthy miner-husband....
[Original, Musical, Comedy] Performer: Wakefield Poole [Dancer] - Replacement; Performer: Wakefield Poole [Denver Policeman] - Replacement. November 3, 1960 - February 10, 1962 - Tenderloin [Original, Musical, Comedy] Performer: Wakefield Poole [Dancer] October 17, 1960 - April 23, 1961
- Finian's Rainbow [Revival, Musical, Comedy] Performer: Wakefield Poole [Dancer]
- Dancer in The Ballet Russe Ballet Russes, An ode to the revolutionary twentieth-century dance troupe known as the Ballet Russes. What began as a group of Russian refugees who never danced in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
became not one but two rival dance troupes who fought the infamous "ballet battles" that consumed London society before World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, released 2005
External links
- Dirty Poole: A Documentary about Wakefield Poole
- ManNet Review: "The Wakefield Poole Collection: 1971-1986" Warning: Contains sexually-explicit adult content
- Ballet Russes, the movie
- Wakefield Poole at IMDB
- Wakefield Poole at Internet Broadway Database