Tom DeSimone
Tom DeSimone (born 1939) is an American director, writer, producer and editor, perhaps best known for directing the cult films Chatterbox (1977), Hell Night (1981), and The Concrete Jungle (1982) and a number of pornographic films for Hand in Hand Films, a gay production studio established in the "golden age" of adult films in the early 1970s.
Tom DeSimone | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1939 (age 83–84) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Emerson College University of California, Los Angeles |
| Occupation(s) | Director, writer, producer, editor |
Career
Writer/ director, Tom DeSimone, was born in Cambridge MA. He received his bachelor's degree in directing from Emerson College in Boston and then headed West to UCLA where he earned a master's degree in Motion Picture production. Following graduation Tom worked briefly as Post Production Supervisor at Bosustow Productions in West Los Angeles.
DeSimone began his career as a director of numerous adult films in the late 1960s, including several gay pornography films under the pseudonym Lancer Brooks.[1] His 1970 film The Collection was the first X-rated gay feature film to include dialogue and a plot while his 1971 effort Confessions of a Male Groupie or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Electric Banana was awarded the Mama Cass award in the "Wet Dream Film Festival" in Amsterdam that same year.[2][3]
Under Hand in Hand Films, DiSimone worked behind the scenes as a camera man on three of the gay porn studio's releases and directed some of his own, including Catching Up (1975) and The Idol (1979).
Chatterbox (1977), the cult musical sexcapade released by American International, was Tom's crossover film from the adult film world to mainstream Hollywood features. The film was produced by Bruce Cohn Curtis who would then hire him to direct his subsequent film Hell Night (1981), starring Linda Blair. Other films he directed include Reform School Girls, his send-up of women's prison films starring Wendy O Williams, The Concrete Jungle and the television series Freddy's Nightmares and Dark Justice.[4][5][6]
After signing with Creative Artist's Agency he moved from features to television where the remainder of his career has been in directing episodic television for various production studios and networks including. Lorimar, Warner Bros, MGM Television, CBS Television, and USA Network. Tom also did a one-year stint in Mexico City where he directed all 120 episodes of the Telenova, ACAPULCO BAY, for Televisa Studios.
His awards include a Golden Eagle award/Cine Film Festival for his short, WOODEN LULLABY; a UCLA Film School scholarship for his film, THE GAME, and a Lifetime Achievement award in the 2005 Gayvn Hall of Fame. Tom now resides in Palm Springs.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | How to Make a Homo Movie | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1970 | Dust Unto Dust | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1970 | The Collection | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1970 | The Upstairs Room | |
| 1970 | Inside A.M.G. (The Athletic Model Guild Story) | Documentary film |
| 1971 | Lust in the Afternoon | |
| 1971 | Assault | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1971 | Confessions of a Male Groupie | |
| 1972 | Chained | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1972 | Prison Girls | As Thomas DeSimone |
| 1973 | Swap Meat | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1973 | Sons of Satan | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1973 | Games Without Rules | As L. Brooks |
| 1973 | Black Heat | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1973 | Erotikus: A History of the Gay Movie | As L. Brooks |
| 1973 | The Classified Caper | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1974 | Duffy's Tavern | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1974 | Station to Station | As L. Brooks |
| 1974 | Everything Goes | As L. Brooks |
| 1974 | Bad, Bad Boys | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1975 | Good Hot Stuff | As Thomas DeSimone |
| 1975 | Catching Up | |
| 1977 | The Harder They Fall | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1977 | Chatterbox | |
| 1977 | Heavy Equipment | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1978 | Hot Truckin' | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1979 | Gay Guide to Hawaii | |
| 1979 | The Idol | |
| 1979 | Gettin' Down | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1980 | Wet Shorts | |
| 1980 | The Dirty Picture Show | As De Simone |
| 1981 | Hell Night | |
| 1982 | The Concrete Jungle | |
| 1982 | Skin Deep | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1984 | Savage Streets | Uncredited |
| 1985 | Bi-Coastal | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1985 | Bi-bi Love | As Lancer Brooks |
| 1986 | Reform School Girls | |
| 1988 | Angel III: The Final Chapter | |
| 1997 | Coming Distractions | As Lancer Brooks |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988–9 | Freddy's Nightmares | 4 episodes |
| 1991–2 | Super Force | 6 episodes |
| 1992–3 | Swamp Thing | 3 episodes |
| 1991–3 | Dark Justice | 17 episodes |
| 1995 | Acapulco Bay | |
| 1996–7 | The Big Easy | 4 episodes |
| 1998 | Pensacola: Wings of Gold | 1 episode |
| 2002 | She Spies | 2 episodes |
References
- Murray 1998, p. 44.
- "All the Good Boys • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine". letterboxd.com. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- "BJ's TOM DESIMONE page; great gay film maker". bjland.ws. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- The New York Times
- The Los Angeles Times
- Blair, Linda; Curtis, Bruce Cohn; DeSimone, Tom; Yablans, Irwin (1999). Hell Night Audio commentary (DVD). Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Sources
- Harper, Jim (2004). Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies. Manchester: Critical Vision. ISBN 978-1-900-48639-2.
- Murray, Raymond (1998). Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video (Revised ed.). Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-840-23033-8.
- Rockoff, Adam (2011). Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-46932-1.
External links
- Tom DeSimone at IMDb
- Tom DeSimone at AllMovie
- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived March 16, 2012)