Lost Boys: Vintage Images of Chad Douglas

Lost Boys: 

Vintage Images of Chad Douglas

Born: February 4, 1957, Winston-Salem, NC
Died: October 11, 1999, Clayton, GA
Full name: Martin Raymond Cox

Years Active: 1985-1989  
Hair: Brown
Height: 5 feet, 11 inches (180 cm)

Chad Douglas is one of the true mystery men of porn; a case where separating fact from fiction turns out to be a bit of a challenge. His time in the industry amounts to only seven films in four years and there seems to be very little known about him. Yet, he made quite an impression - and I base that on the number of sites that remember and celebrate him as a porn icon.

With his muscular body, hairy chest, booming, gruff voice and prominent mustache, Douglas was a visitor from another time. His look had more in common with the Castro clone, credited to Al Parker, than the shaved, preppy twinks he was frequently paired with. Men who looked like Douglas were considered a relic by the mid-80's. He looked nothing like the other stars of the day.

His most distinguishing feature was his very large, very thick penis (purportedly 11" in length); a cock which has been described as ‘the most perfectly-shaped penis I have ever seen’. He was an exclusive top in every one of his films, frequently playing a dominant 'daddy' type. 

Off-screen? He rarely spoke - in fact, many people didn't even realize his ethnicity. Throughout his porn career, Douglas remained very guarded about his personal life. Never was this more apparent than during a rare interview he granted Stallion magazine in 1987. When asked about his private life, he first tried to evade giving an answer and, when pressed, impatiently offered up only the vaguest of facts. Not that his fans minded; his private nature and lack of pretense made him all the more desirable.  

Chad Douglas (Martin Raymond Cox) was born in Puerto Rico on February 4, 1957. 

His entry into the world of gay porn came about when a staff member from Advocate Men approached Douglas in a bar and asked if he would be interested in posing for some photos for the magazine. As a youth, Douglas had posed nude a number of times for various artists, so, after thinking it over a bit, he agreed. 

Those photos, in turn, caught the eye of a producer at the production company California Dream Machine, who was then casting what would become Douglas' gay porn debut. 

There was just one problem; Douglas had been cast as a top, something he had little experience doing.  In real life, he was a talented bottom who could handle dildos equal to or larger than his own stupendous appendage. Enter super-bottom porn star Chris Burns. As porn star Scott O'Hara tells it in his book, Autopornography, Douglas was in need of a bit of  coaching and Chris Burns was the man for the job. Before production began, Burns, an experienced, kinky bottom, spent hours carefully coaching Douglas on how to speak and act like an aggressive top.  

Whatever Burns taught him worked like a charm. Douglas made his successful porn debut at the age of 28 - something of a rarity in an industry that values youthful appeal -  in 1985's Below the Belt. Among it's many memorable scenes is an impressive orgy where the entire karate studio class worships Douglas' cock. Below the Belt was the only film he made that year.

His next appearance would be in 1986's Giant Splash Shots II. His first two movies were shot on video, as opposed to film - reflective of a transition the porn industry was making at the time. 

A transition the industry had yet to fully embrace? The use of condoms. All seven of Douglas' movies would be done without the use of condoms. 

Waiting yet another full year to make an appearance, Douglas' next feature, 1987's Big Guns, was shot as a full-feature movie, on actual film.  Produced by Laguna Pacific, the film is considered, to this day, a bonafide classic of the genre. In fact, it was nominated in 2006 for a GAYVN Best Classic DVD Award and includes a knock-out scene featuring Douglas with Kevin Wiles.

Douglas' performances were anything but vanilla. He was an athletic performer, frequently placing his partners in every conceivable position, including holding them in the air, during intercourse. On film, he vigorously and relentlessly dominated his partners. In the interview he gave Stallion magazine, he said, “In all of the films, I am myself! My character does not change.”

Now, considering that, up to this point, he was only doing one movie a year... what was this man doing during all that down-time? 

Well, turns out he was very adept with a pair of shears. Apparently, sitting for a haircut with Chad Douglas was always entertaining. The brisk snip of his scissors only served to accentuate the sarcastic, caustic tales he would tell regarding the never-ending trail of men who were trying to "get in his calzoncillos".

But his work as a barber was also supplemented by... babysitting!

A woman, Gabi Sifer, whom Douglas used to take care of as a child, wrote an article for Vice magazine about what it was like to be babysat by "Uncle Chad". She also reviews two of his movies! Sifer described him as a "cool and wonderful" babysitter. The writer only learned about her babysitter's work as a porn star after Douglas' death. 

1988 would prove to be Douglas' most prolific year in porn, with one full-length feature to his name, Too Big for his Britches, and three direct-to-video releases: Larger Than Life, Spokes II: The Graduation, and Spring Break. It has been said that Douglas played the perfect leather top clone in both Spokes II and Springbreak.

1989 would mark Douglas' final year in the industry.  He would appear as himself in two direct-to-video releases - Manrammer  and In Your Wildest Dreams. It is the latter video that is the source of a rather unsettling rumor regarding Mr. Douglas, and may also provide an answer as to why he left the industry so abruptly. 

While searching for biographical information, I came across several mentions of a rumor regarding the abrupt disappearance from the industry of his final co-star, Kevin Williams. The rumor claims that William's departure from porn was because he had been raped by Douglas during the filming of his last scene. With the camera's rolling, the crew simply stood there and filmed it while it was happening. Supposedly, after that Williams left the porn industry and was never heard from again. 

Some claim this is not true and that it is, indeed, an unfounded rumor. However, it does make one wonder... is it merely a coincidence that both Douglas and Williams left the industry at the same time? 

But this is not the only rumor to plague the legacy of Chad Douglas. There's also the matter of his death...

...or is there?

Having disappeared from the porn world after 1989, no one seems to know what became of Douglas or how he spent the next ten years. He is believed to have died of complications from AIDS on October 11, 1999 in Clayton, GA. That is how his death is officially recorded. However, some reports claim he lived out his final days in his native Puerto Rico, while still others claim... that he isn't dead at all!

Sources cite an interview granted to a gay magazine in 2002, although I could not find any concrete information regarding this supposed interview. Also, given his past reticence to talk about his personal life when he was still active in the porn industry, this would not seem to hold much water. What possible motive could he have had to break his silence? To clear his name, perhaps?

I tracked down the issue of  the magazine this rumor cites; it is the January 2002 issue of Men magazine featuring a reprint of Douglas' 1986 photo spread. So, no, not an interview... just old pictures.

Still, the rumors persist, adding an additional layer of mystique to a man few seemed to have known well. 

Chad Douglas, enigma... but also a legendary figure in gay porn.  

--- ---

I remember the video box for Below the Belt, when I worked at US Video on Lake Street. However, I never saw the film. Or any of the other films Douglas appeared in. For me, he will always be a still photograph.

A rugged, masculine, sexy photograph. 

Thanks for reading. 

In Your Wildest Dreams - 

Tina Turner and Barry White

In Your Wildest Dreams - The Moody Blues

Here is a link to music from the video In Your Wildest Dreams, featuring Chad Douglas.