After Dark November 1978

Well After Dark graced the cover of their November 1978 issue with one of the hottest young talents around back then. When I say hottest, I mean hottest. If you missed my Monday's Man post featuring Joseph Bottoms, take a look and you'll see what I mean. Kenn Duncan photographed this cover photo and the the other shots from this issue that I used in that Monday's Man post. I'm still trying to decide if I like Joseph with his hair slicked back or feathered. Either way, he couldn't go wrong.

In William Como's editorial, he mentions his recent trip to Palma with publisher Jean Gordon. While they were there, they ran into one of their contributing writers/editors Robert Pavlik and photographer Jack Mitchell. Well, Jack is not one to miss a photo opportunity and took a picture of Bill, Jean and Bob.

Mr. Como also found a new style of music called athletic rock. Mrozinski had a recent concert at the Hurrah rock club and performed his own material. In Bill's words, "...he sweats a lot."

The International Ballet of Caracas was about to lose their principal dancer. Dale Talley was being considered for the lead in the Berlin Opera Ballet's The Idiot. I wouldn't consider him for The Idiot, I would, however, consider him for something else.

A letter writer suggested featuring John Corvello, so After Dark obliged, but also stated that their January 1979 issue would have a feature on physical fitness. I'll have to go back and look at that issue to see if John is there. Of course, you know I'll post that one soon.

Another writer mentioned a new show called Sam and it's hunky star. It was a cop and dog partner series. Who was the hunky star? Mark Harmon!

The After Dark People section featured some new faces to look for. The first was San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Dennis Marshall.

Brian Nichols was featured in King of Hearts, a musical that was based on the film. The show opened on October 22.

In Praise of Older Women featured a young actor by the name of Tom Berenger. The issue misspelled his name as Beringer.

Death on the Nile had recently premiered a month or so before this issue hit the stands. One of its stars to be featured in the People section was Lois Chiles.

Anais Nin, the writer of the erotic Delta of Venus had a pen pal and friend from 1948 until her death in 1977. It was none other than James Leo Herlihy, author of Midnight Cowboy. In the photo of James is the portrait of Nin by Michel Seren.


"A Legendary Greek Plays a Greek Legend" was the name of the article by Patrick Pacheco featuring Melina Mercouri. The Topkapi actress was starring in A Dream of Passion that also starred Ellen Burstyn.




Sometime in the future, Louis Miele would take over as Editor-in-Chief from William Como. I know there are a couple of other people somewhere in there, but I'll have to work out the timeline another day. Back to the point...Louis Miele was Director of Advertising and Marketing at the time of this issue and he coordinated the following shot to promote boots. One woman with five guys in jock socks and boots. I don't know about you, but I think the models were getting a little too close together (especially the two guys on the right click on photos to see them larger). It's reasons like this photo, that I love After Dark!

Where was I? Oh yeah, we had Joseph Bottoms, a couple of dancers, Tom Berenger and now it's time for Ice Cream...I mean Ice Skating. John Curry won the gold medal at the 1976 Olympics and the 1976 World Championship. Now John was going to make his American debut with his Theatre on Ice.



The photos of Frances Farmer that were included with the article on the tragic actress showed me exactly why Jessica Lange would eventually be chosen to play Farmer. The resemblance is uncanny.


Paradise Alley was a new film from Sylvester Stallone and one of the new breed of brooding tough guy actors to emerge was Kevin Conway. He was being compared to James Cagney. Well, I guess, but whatever, okay. Why does someone always have to be the new someone else? Must there always be a comparison?

Speaking of Stallone-- an unnamed model in the Highlights section was sporting a fur from Brothers II in New York City. Who could it be?

There were a couple of other ads for men's furs throughout the issue. Which attracted my attention the most? The man in the business suit and fur for Brothers II?

The two guys in the ad for George Zessi where one of them is straining the crotch of his jeans?

Or the one for Robert Sidney Furs, Inc. with a naked guy in a fur with a bottle of wine and two glasses?

You advertising people out there need to answer the question for me. I am leaning toward the naked guy, but is that the marketing ploy they were going for? If I was a business man, would I have gone for the other one? I like the guy in the jeans, but it looks like he already has someone. So the single naked guy with an extra glass for me, is the one I choose, because I'm a lush and a slut? Hmmmm....

Speaking of slut, there was a new brief underwear hitting the market called the Botek Skant. It was a lightweight two-way, sheer-stretch fabric of nylon and Lycra spandex. What does that really have to do with being a slut? Well, when I first read it, I saw the word "skank". It seemed to just stick in my head.

Are you ready for a disco in your own home? Charles Burke, a noted interior designer and architectural consultant can make your dream come true. He designed one of the world's most sophisticated private discotheques for the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hans Smith in Beverly Hills. I wonder if they still live in that house? Does it now have a treadmill and exercise bike in it? When they got ready to sell it, did it stay as a feature of the house? Listing: SPAC 5BR, 3 1/2BA, DSCO...

Speaking of discos...Did you, or anyone you know, go to Michael Fesco's Flamingo?


Here is the write up on it and I am intrigued to know more:

Michael Fesco's Flamingo, the ultimate underground private club, through whose doors pass some of New York's finest bodies and hardcore discoers, recently blasted off for another season. Flamingo has maintained a special sensual chemistry that makes its membership one of the most sought-after cards to own. To join this inner sanctuary whose special parties are legendary, and Saturday night inferno gatherings the place to be--you must be recommended by a member and then hope you receive an application. Flamingo, located in SoHo, has a yearly membership fee of $75, and it's worth every cent for those who dig "getting down and doing it" to the hottest and latest disco music in town. Flamingo's address and phone number is a well-kept secret, so find a friend to lead you down to Flamingo's road.

After Dark June 1972

Where did my love of After Dark begin? It began with this issue.



My favorite actress was Carrie Nye (the wife of Dick Cavett) and because she was basically a stage actress, she appeared in only a handful of movies and guest starred on even less television shows. I was always on the lookout for articles, photos or memorabilia related to her. But more on Carrie Nye in a future post.



While searching through eBay for Carrie Nye, I found this magazine called After Dark which the lister had luckily listed many of the articles found inside. Carrie Nye was one of them. Mom Smackley was a fan and eventually a friend of Susan Tyrrell and there was another issue of After Dark which contained an article on her. Mom Smackley and I were also fans of Paul Lynde (yeah, I know, a stereotype) but there was another issue that featured him. Well I immediately bid on all three.

Well, I won all three of course and I was floored by them. The articles featured actors and actresses that were mainstream as well as those that weren’t. Many of the photographs were by Kenn Duncan and they were breathtaking. There were ads featuring acts in New York nightclubs and stage shows. And men, men, men. This magazine was not billed as a gay mag, but if you ever looked through even one issue, you’d realize that they were catering to that readership.

I immediately began searching for more issues and more issues. My collection is almost complete with only a few issues still eluding me. I began scanning them and posting them to a photo sharing website which was then linked on many other websites and views reaching over 5 million over 3 years. Many articles linked back to my photos and collections. Even the Wikipedia article on After Dark has a cover photo that was originally linked to my sets. The problem was I also posted screen grabs that were considered copyright infringement because I wasn’t actually reviewing the movie. Because of a few screen grabs, those archives were lost. Luckily, I still had the issues.

Information regarding After Dark is scarce and in some cases incorrect. I know this much, Rudolf Orthwine, Jean Gordon and William Como began this magazine by incorporating Ballroom Dancing Magazine and turning it into the magazine I love. It ran from May 1968 until January 1983. It covered the times from before the Stonewall Riots until just before the AIDS epidemic. To have been an adult gay male during that time would have been fun and exciting, but in hindsight very dangerous.

Well that first issue that featured Carrie Nye also featured Dennis Cole in a Kenn Duncan photo on the cover. Dennis was an actor and male model who frequently guest starred on Charlie’s Angels and married star Jaclyn Smith. I always thought he was a beautiful looking man. The inside article featured Dennis talking about his acting in Paradise Bay and his love of women. It also featured a fashion spread with him and actress Elizabeth Ashley.









After Dark Editor William Como could often be found in photos throughout issues of After Dark, like this photo of him with model Brian Rutley, actor Alex Wilson and actress Sylvia Miles.



An ad featuring Nocturnal Dream Shows promoting the Cockettes and Divine.



Norma McLain Stoop, an After Dark Associate Editor, wrote many articles throughout the run. In this issue, she wrote an article about Lily Tomlin featuring photos by Kenn Duncan.



Glenn Loney did an article on dancer turned choreographer turned director Bob Fosse, here pictured with Viveca Lindfors.



Paul Williams was featured in another article with the hilarious title, “An Erotic Teddy Bear…An Obscene Boy Scout…” by Henry Edwards.



Kenn Duncan’s photographs of men were always a joy to look at as the dancers featured in an article on Netherlands Dance World show.



Mrs. Dick Cavett, Carrie Nye, was featured in her article with photos by frequent contributing photographer, Martha Swope. At this point in her career, she had mostly been on the stage, with only a small appearance in the film The Group.



He ain’t John Travolta, he’s better. Barry Bostwick was nominated for a Tony for his role in the musical Grease and performing in the rock musical Salvation.



Called the most beautiful woman in the world is Vera Von Lhendorf aka Verushka in a photo by Scavullo.



Another highlight of After Dark were the ads for products or fashions like this one for Eleganza…I would totally wear the outfit on the right.



And lastly for this issue was the ad for the photobooks by After Dark’s own Kenn Duncan. They were called appropriately enough “Kenn Duncan Nudes” and “More Kenn Duncan Nudes“.



There were many other photos and articles and features to be found in this issue, but I wanted to hit the highlights that I found. If you can find a copy of this issue, it is worth the price. Some back issues of After Dark can be found for as little as $4.99 or you could pay upwards of $75.00 or more for some of the rarer issues. I've been pretty lucky. It seems that when I was buying them, there wasn't quite the run on them that I've seen lately.

I’ll be featuring other issues as time goes by, but I wanted to give the history of my love for them first and what better way than with (not the first issue ever) my first issue.