Customer Reviews

Dirty Poole: The Autobiography of a Gay Porn Pioneer

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wanna read about LIZA, hands outstretched on Wakefield Pooles' fireplace mantle looking up at the ceiling and shouting "I Wanna Sing Like Momma", or what it was like to have sex with Rock Hudson? How about what it feels like to direct and film gayporn stars like Casey Donavan and Peter Fisk? Wildly funny scenes w/ Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward, Carol Burnett,Tallulah Bankhead, Angela Lansbury and more. Poignant and sometimes fiery friendships w/ Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rogers, Arthur Laurents and Michael Bennett. With cameos by Barbra Streisand,Margot Fontaine and Rudulf Nuryeav, George Ballanchine,Bernadette Peters,Grace Slick, Anita Bryant, Elizabeth Dole and Richard Nixon (yes-even Nixon!) Both the Good Witch (Billie Burke) and the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) make appearances - along with a whole assortment of other witchs,(b)witchs, kings and Queens - some good, some bad, some both. Oh yeah - and then theres all that amazing, groundbreaking porn making! If any or all of the above interests you - get this book - you won't be disappointed!

Just finished reading this terrific autobiography and was compelled to review it here. SO MUCH FUN to read! Clearly Wakefield Poole is good at everything he does...dancing, directing theatre, filmmaking...and now he has proven to be a terrific writer. The first half of the book is a very entertaining account of his "legit" life, growing up and moving into the world of dance and Broadway. He knew or met everyone who was anyone at the time. The second half is the story of how he casually made the leap into making gay porn, using his real (and well-known) name. No apologies. This is the really well told story of an interesting life.

I started reading this and I felt, you know, I don't like this guy. Then, I read more, and I felt, you know, I really don't like this guy. Then, I finished this and felt, God, I wish I had met this fellow. From a self-congratulatory story about his work on Broadway to his making Boys in the Sand, you learn a bit about a time and a man. However, when Wakefield faces his demons, you feel for someone who overcomes the labels that others have applied...wishing that we all shared his courage, dignity, and love. As the French say, if it isn't true, it should be.

Wakefield Poole pulls no punches in his honest, insightful, funny, touching, and in every way fascinating life story. You'll laugh with him, cry with him, and fall in love with him. Left me wanting more.

Poole had quite a life and he openly shares it here. From his early days as an entertainer through the years of early gay porn films - it's all here. Many interesting observations about the business and celebrity stories. The connections in showbiz are never far apart. I wonder how Kevin Bacon connects ...

Wakefield Poole might be a good filmmaker. Certainly, by the descriptions of his films, I'd like to see a few of his movies (especially IN THE BEGINNING, a porn parody of The Bible). Maybe Mr. Poole can direct a good movie but he certainly can't write an interesting autobiography. Dirty Poole is a bothersome self-congratulatory experiment in name-dropping. The book doesn't begin to move (albeit at a snail's pace) until it's 144 pages in. Until that point, it's a recollection of Poole's days in the theater where he gushes over the celebrities that he bumps into along the way. Definitely one to miss. (ISBN: 1555835619)