Ryan Idol, (real name: Marc Anthony Donais), superstar gay porn stud of the early 90's is back home in Alabama and linked to a scandal involving allegedly misappropriated funds for a Birmingham, Alabama municipal project that was supposed to be dedicated to providing computers for disadvantaged youth. The 41 year old actor seems a little elderly to be receiving that kind of funding but the acting gigs are few and far between for aging porn stars. There's only so many times you can do "Making Porn" or "Naked Men Singing/Dancing/Prancing". Though I shouldn't kid; Ryan/Marc did just make his Broadway debut in "The Ritz" last fall, and even though it didn't last long, that DOES look good on the resume, even though his role in "The Ritz" was billed as "Crisco Patron".
As for the scandal, you can read about it at: http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1203412513231020.xml&coll=2&thispage=1
In a nutshell, the mayor of Birmingham created this admirable program to help kids get access to computers but hired some crony of his to run it. The crony, John Katopodis, described as a "close" friend of the mayor, then blew $1,000,000 of tax payer money on trips, gambling and $30,000 worth of an ex-porn star's computer services. Here's a quote from the article in the Birmingham News:
Katopodis testified in his deposition that Donais, the adult-film actor, was paid to help the Council of Cooperating Governments and the Computer Help for Kids programs, both of which were handling money and expenses for Langford's computer initiative. Donais, a former Playgirl Magazine centerfold, has starred in seven gay adult films. Katopodis pointed out in his testimony that Donais also has appeared in plays in New York City.
"He's a businessman and had been working as, had done several off-Broadway productions and had been writing a play," Katopodis testified. "I don't know what else he was doing, you know."
Donais received $5,000 from the computer charity and $25,000 from the council, according to court filings. "He's very good at working on computers," Katopodis testified. "He's very adept at computers. But at the time he was working at the Council, he didn't work on computers."
Under further questioning, Katopodis said Donais worked for the computer charity without any formal training in that area.
"He repaired computers. He, as I say, helped us, he traveled helping to try to set up computer programs in other areas among disadvantaged communities," Katopodis said.
And check out these photos from the opening night party of "The Ritz". Uh, for 41 the dude looks a bit haggard. Granted, he DID survive a multi-story fall that may or may not have been a suicide attempt a few years ago, but he looks like a good-looking 51 instead of a handsome and vital 41. I shouldn't be so bitchy though. I have to admit, I saw Ryan Idol in "Making Porn" nearly 10 years ago, here in Seattle. The audience consisted of myself, 3 uncomfortable women, and 50 fat, middle-aged, bitchy old queens. This was after Ryan's accident and while he looked good, his stomach was NOT flat and he was carrying about 10 to 15 extra pounds on him, which I liked 'cause it made him more realistic and not as pumped up and overly muscled as most porn stars. But, at intermission, I overheard more than one fat old queen sniff, "My, he's not looking his best, is he?" which was pretty fucking ironic coming from a 55 year old poof with 60 extra pounds of fat hanging over his belt.
As for his acting, let's just say it was up to the play, which for those of you who've seen "Making Porn", can appreciate what I'm saying. (I've seen middle school students write better dialogue...) The best part of the evening was after it was over; Ryan Idol stood at the main exit to the auditorium and graciously offered to sign copies of his videos...for a small fee. Part of me wants to say, that he was naked at the door, but I can't swear to it. He might have had a towel or jockstrap on. It was a delightful evening of quality theatre.
Oh, and to give credit where it is due, I first heard about this at Towelroad.
And the more recent photos, I got from the Broadway World website, (http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=22126) and the photo credit is: Photos by Walter McBride
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