October 13, 2026
For those of you who are relatively new to Boy Culture’s Substack, I wanted to compile some of what I consider my best posts of the past two years since it can be hard to dig through all the links.
Remember, a paid post can be unlocked for just $8/month or $80/year, and you could then read everything I post. We all have subscription fatigue, but I’m going to keep creating content along these lines — queer, pop culture, links — until I drop, so it’s an investment.
I’m also sprinkling some of my nearly 20 podcast episodes throughout and at the end. Easiest way to keep up with my podcasts is to subscribe to my YouTube channel or keep track of them on Spotify.
Here we go — everything purple is clickable:
“History’s 250 Greatest Gay-Porn Stars” — I have a hard time (or at least semi-hard time) imagining writing anything that becomes as popular as this. It’s by far my biggest Substack hit, and when I wrote it on my old Typepad site, it had like 500,000 shares on Facebook. We all have opinions on gay-porn stars, but we should at the very least know more about them and honor them for the low-paid, highly satisfying work they’ve done.
“Are You for Real? Debunking Famous Fake Photos” — AI has only made this problem swell, but someone has to point out when enough is enough. See also: “The James Dean Nude That Wasn’t.”
“Colt Legend Mickey Squires on His Revealing New Doc Mickey & Richard — Richard was kind enough to chat with me about this fascinating doc that’s making the film-fest rounds, all about what it’s like to be a Colt model and a humble dude just making his way through the world on the inside.
“Tony Ward Flexes His Hustle” — The iconic male model opened up to me about Herb Ritts, Madonna and the first (but not the last) time he had gay sex.
“He Outed Elvis, Became Charles Manson’s Penpal, Was Threatened by Sinatra” — Bill Dakota was a fearless gay gadfly who made his living terrorizing the very celebs he adored. I love hunting for forgotten parts of LGBTQ+ history, and I’m glad I got to speak to him a bit before he died.
“Frank Diernhammer: The Man That (Almost) Got Away” — Physique photography of the past is a passion of mine, so discovering this unheralded master of it, via a CLAMP exhibition put together by Travis Hutchison, was one for the ages.
“Robert Joy’s Big Break Was a Choice” — Lovely to connect with Robert Joy of Ragtime and Atlantic City and Desperately Seeking Susan fame to discuss his brilliant career and his relationship with his husband Henry Krieger, who wrote Dreamgirls.
“Fred Bisonnes, Beefcake King, Bares All” — I loved talking with and becoming friends with this octogenarian artist. The man shot for Falcon, created Advocate Men and has myriad stories of gay publishing to impart.
“You Had to Be There: Gay New York 1970s and '80s Founder Michael Hawke Morris Is Making Histroy” — Meet the sweet guy who created the Facebook group attracting thousands of older gay men eager to reminisce about the Gay Golden Age.
“An Oral History of Randy Wicker” — My chat with the indefatigable LGBTQ+ rights champ and former roommate of Marsha P. Johnson. First gay person out on TV. Ever. Speaking of TV firsts, don’t miss “The Queens’ Messenger,” my exhaustive list of LGBTQ+ appearances on TV from the medium’s inception until about 2000.
“To Have & to Hold: Alan Eichler on His One-of-a-Kind Pop & Queer Archive” — Lately a movie producer (the Studio One doc, the upcoming Mamie Van Doren doc), Alan used to tape-record TV shows in the ‘50s and ‘60s, graduating to the first VCR in the ‘70s. His archive contains, in whole or in fragments, otherwise unavailable documents of history. Plus, he went on to manage great ladies including Yma Sumac!
“The One & Many Jimmy James Reenacts Like a Woman Should” — A Q&A with one of the all-time greatest female impersonators, Jimmy James, whose Marilyn was more Marilyn than Marilyn.
“We’re Here: Inside a Gay Photo Album of the ‘40s & ‘50s” — This is the post where I share all the pages of a wonderfully personal document of a bygone era, when a gay couple was existing as openly as possible and documenting their love.
“Making It Big: ‘80s Porn Actor Ken Colbert’s Survivor’s Tale” — Ken was a porn star on the rise when he received a death sentence: AIDS. He retired, but he didn’t give up, and he is alive today to talk about that journey.
“Oh, Yes I Am! Quizzing a Gay Man Who Made It Big at Star Hits” — I grew up on ‘80s teen mags, later editing a teen mag in the 2000s, so talking with David Keeps was like going home! (Part 2 with Steve Korté is here.)
“Whatever Became of … Richard Lamparski?” — Speaking of growing up, I discovered this man’s nostalgia books as a kid, which is why I was a 10-year-old who knew all about Baby Sandy and Ding Dong School. I had to hunt, but was happy to meet Richard Lamparski by phone and turn the tables on the prolific interviewer several years before he died.
“Mining the Physique Mystique with Homobilia’s Barry Harris” — This evergreen post is drenched in vintage male nudes. Need I say more?
“The Boy in the Band: Catching Up with Nathaniel Flatt” — I used to write about him at Popstar!, and Nathaniel Flatt truly blazed trails as the first out gay member of an American boy band.
“The Library Is Open: First & Last Sentences from Queer Novels & Novellas” — This will get you back to reading.
“The Hustler: Johnny Harden Revealed” — One of my favorite pieces to write was this long investigation of Johnny Harden, a gay-porn icon who transformed himself into a pro poker player, and then died without anyone noticing. Should be a movie, don’t you think?
Thank you for reading, watching and listening!⚡️