Lost Boys: Vintage Images of Rod Phillips

Lost Boys: 

Vintage Images of Rod Phillips

Blond curls. Green eyes. Dark tan. Sculpted body. 

Rod Phillips only appeared in a dozen films, but his legacy is undeniable. 

His was an interesting life. 

At a very young age, he discovered his vocation - a skill that would support him throughout his life and fulfill him creatively. It grounded him. 

Gay porn was something he chose to do, but it was also something he seemed to have no problem walking away from. 

His personal identity never seemed tied to the fame and notoriety that came with it, making him truly unique among the men of gay porn.

Rod Phillips
AKA Ron Greer, Gregory Leslie Patton
Birthdate: August 23, 1960 
Birthplace: El Centro, CA, USA 
Date of death: May 24, 1993

Cock: 9"
Height: 5'10"
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Green
Position: Versatile
Foreskin: Cut

Years Active: 1983-1993
13 Films

6 Compilations

Gregory Leslie Patton was born August 23, 1960, in El Centro, CA. The people he grew up next to owned a jewelry shop and this led to a lifelong fascination with gemology. By the age of 12, he was knotting peal necklaces and had learned how to polish basic gems. But gems were not his only interest. By the time he was fifteen, he had his first boyfriend (the boyfriend was 25 years old!)   

Graduating from Santa Barbara High School in 1978, Patton moved to Paris, TX. Here, he enrolled at Paris Junior College, studying jewelry-making and gemology. However, he left school to move to Midland, TX, before returning, in 1980, to Santa Barbara. There, he worked at The House of Turquoise, a jewelry store owned by Jon and Connie Berg. A friend and co-worker recalls that Patton "was a fun person to be around, kind, and always good for a laugh".

One day, Patton accompanied a friend to Laguna Beach to buy a used BMW. The seller called and said he would be an hour or so late. With time on their hands, the two made their way to the Boom-Boom Room, a popular beach-side gay bar in Laguna Beach. 

"I went in and there was this new pair of 501's with this little round butt. From the side it was a little flat, but it was a cute little round butt... a real small waist. So I walked up to get a drink and checked out the size, they were 27-34's. Turned around and the guy said hello to me, and I just fell over... over his eyes. He just had these incredible eyes. Walked away and turned around and he faced me again, and then I saw a dick halfway to his knees and, of course, that's the melting point."

By early 1983, Patton, then 22 years old, became romantically involved with gay porn star Lee Ryder. Ryder, 24 at the time, had made a name for himself in the world of gay porn during the previous two years, thanks to his starring roles in several Falcon Films. The two were deeply attracted one another, however, due to work commitments, Ryder lived in Los Angeles, while Phillips continued to reside in Santa Barbara. After a few months of long-distance dating, Patton joined Ryder in L.A. 

Shortly after, Ryder began urging Patton to join him and become part of the gay porn community - and that is when Rod Phillips was born.  

1983 

Winner Takes All

Spokes 1

Giants

1984 

Boys Town - Going West Hollywood
Biggest One I Ever Saw

1985 

Windows

1987 

Too Big For His Britches
Men And Films

Bare Tales

1990 

Hard Steal
Guess Who's Coming

1993 

Hologram

1995 

Rear Access (posthumously released)

Studios: Falcon, Catalina, Nova, Sierra Pacific/Tyger Films, Rollo Production 

The young couple would appear in several  films together, frequently paired with a third player, One of his first film roles was in the Falcon Studio film loop High Voltage, which co-starred Ryder and Mark Hunter. High Voltage would be included in 1983's Winner Takes It All. In it, Ryder would top Phillips, which would also be the case in 1984's Biggest One I Ever Saw. 

They made a handsome couple; Phillips had a dark tan with contrasting white buns. With his green eyes, blond curls, and lean, muscular, physique, he was somewhat beefier than Ryder. Plus, he was almost as well-endowed as his famous lover. Phillips often joked that while Ryder's dick was a bit longer, his was much thicker. 

Things looked promising for the pair. Their dual incomes provided them a handsome lifestyle. Also in their favor, they had similar interests outside of porn; Ryder with his background in flower design, and Phillips' fascination with gemology. Someone who knew them back in the day described them both as "sweet and charming",  "sexually hot", but with "no interest in flaunting their porn fame". 

However, problems quickly set in. 

The two did occasional work as escorts and would make appearances at various gay bars. If one got paid more than the other, jealousy would rear its ugly head. Accusations of enjoying the sex they were having on film with other actors more than the sex they were having at home followed. "It's not good for you to compete with your lover," said Phillips. "I don't think it's real healthy. It creates static in the relationship."

By 1985 or so, Phillips and Ryder more or less separated. From this point, theirs would be an on and off relationship. Aside from the occasional professional jealousies, the crux of the problem was... Ryder was in love with someone else! Back in 1981, Ryder met and fell in love with a man named Glenn, who was from Massachusetts, but living in Dallas. Glenn broke off the relationship in early 1982, and Ryder, in turn, began his career in gay porn.

At some point, later in their relationship, Ryder did admit to Phillips that he was still in love with Glenn... and that he never really fell in love with Phillips! 

Crushed, Phillips completed his remaining professional obligations and then, in 1986, without Ryder, moved to Philadelphia. Here, he resumed pursuing his main vocation: jewelry repair, Months later he would relocate to Wayne, NJ, so he could be closer to NYC.

 

After taking a year off , Phillips returned to doing films, completing three in 1987, his most prolific year since his debut in the industry. In Men on Film, he was interviewed as part of a documentary Bijou Studios was doing on the gay porn industry. Throughout the film, Phillips speaks well (and humorously) of Ryder and indicates that the two were still actively seeing one another. 

By 1988 he was back in Los Angeles. However, this time his hiatus from the industry would be even longer, lasting a full two years. Mounting a comeback in 1990, Phillips appeared in two films that year, the first of which was Guess Who's Coming? 

During the second film, Hard Steel, Phillips met and began dating gay adult film star Joey Stefano. In the film, Phillips got to top the young sensation.

Stefano had a reputation as someone who lived fast and hard. When he entered the industry in 1989, he was right out of rehab and remained clean and sober. He quickly built himself a following, playing an aggressive bottom. However, after a year of doing porn, he began drinking and was no longer sober by the time he met Phillips. The relationship only lasted a matter of months.

After completing the two films in 1990, with the exception of a photo spread in the September 1991 issue of Men magazine, Phillips again steered clear of the industry. Another two years would pass by before returning for 1993's Hologram.

Hologram, filmed in February of 1993, would prove to be his final film. 

Back in 1992, Phillips had been diagnosed with HIV-related lymphatic prostate cancer and was actively undergoing extensive chemotherapy. The toxic treatment took a huge toll on him, physically. Despite continuing to go to the gym, Phillips gradually became weaker and weaker. By 1993, he could no longer ride his motorcycle to his place of work, Diamonds on Rodeo Drive. Opting to limit his commute, Phillips took a freelance position at The Gauntlet instead, which was two blocks from his apartment in West Hollywood. This allowed him to walk to work. 

 

Phillips died on May 24, 1993, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His health had rapidly declined in the three weeks prior to his death. The exact cause of death has been hotly contested. In Phillip's Manshots October 1993 obituary, as well as a number of other published obits, cause of death was identified as due to AIDs-related complications, while other industry associated websites reported that he'd committed suicide, dying due to a drug overdose.

No matter the cause, yet another bright light associated with the world of gay porn had been extinguished much too soon. 

Phillips was 32 years old.

--- ---

I typically don't go for blonds. That's one of the reasons that I haven't been featuring them as part of this series. That is going to change, but fast. 

As for Phillips, there was something about him. His curly mane? That incredible body?

He struck me as having a personality... and I say that, having primarily familiarized myself with his photos, only. 

I see the child in him. It's in his eyes. 

I'd assumed, all this time, that he was just another blond, twink bottom. I tend to dismiss that type. But Phillips has made me see the error of my thinking. There's a lot more to him than a bottle of peroxide (no... he was a natural blond) and a well-defined tan line. 

The more I learned about him, the more I admired him. Yes, he was, indeed, a typical California kid. But there's a kindness and humility there that time in the industry has a way of destroying. 

But not in his case.

No, HIV/AIDs saw to that, instead.

Until next week...

Thanks for reading.

Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room - Blondie

The Winner Takes It All - ABBA