Following is a comprehensive list of the celebrated figures we've lost in 2021 ... so far.
Each name is followed by the deceased figure's age at the time of death, birth and death dates, a description and a link to the original obit.
Who did I miss?
Read 'em and weep ...
Shawn loved to be showered with attention — but it had a price. (Images by Kurt Deitrick)
Doug Probst is someone you might recognize under his professional name — Shawn Mayotte.
As a well-endowed, blond top twink, Mayotte appeared in the 1983 gay-porn classic Hot, High & Horny, whose title adhered to the precept of truth in advertising. He also posed many times for photographer Kurt Deitrick, the man who took over for the legendary shooter Bruce “Bruce of L.A.” Bellas when Bellas died in 1974.
250 Greatest Gay-Porn Stars — EVER!
Mayotte never became a true porn star, though he knew many and has lovingly eulogized them online from time to time, because he was making much better money as an A-list escort, a position he achieved not long after being abandoned to the streets by his parents while still a teenager. He was rented many times by rich and famous men — and women — and would be rich today himself if it weren't for his struggle with addiction.
Since his heyday, Mayotte — now Probst — has survived unthinkable abuse at the hands of his parents and government officials charged with protecting him, HIV, drugs and a long battle with narcissism, a defense mechanism that allowed him to function when so many in his world were telling him he didn't deserve to live.
The result is a pair of confessionals. First up, available now, is Mayotte: The Musings of a Narcissist, a searing memoir that documents the abuse that challenged him in his early years, and is filled with fascinating remembrances of his clients, albeit some whose names have been changed. Following this no-holds barred autobiography, which is a classic survivor's tale, Probst will publish Shawn Mayotte After Hours: Naked & Unashamed, a coffee-table book filled with his sexiest poses from over the years.
Doug, now a musician, opened up so much in Mayotte, which I've read and recommend, yet generously did so again for Boy Culture's questions. He really is an open book. Two, in fact ...
Mystery solved! (Image via movie still)
January 13 is the 102nd anniversary of the birth of movie and TV star Robert Stack, whose hotness is sometimes forgotten in favor of his comically serious narration of Unsolved Mysteries forever.
Please follow Gr8erDays on IG here, for more celeb b'days, anniversaries and other milestones and factoids, and keep reading for more of Robert at his peak ...
ABOVE: Who cares whether he cleans up well?
Give him some Lynch, he'll take a mile. (GIF via GIPHY)
January 2 marks the 54th b'day of sexy James Marshall. Keep reading for a gallery of his hotness:
ABOVE: Eric (Head-)Turner and his Oryx line.
ABOVE: Attitude is on the money with its Bridgerton cover.
