Al Parker

Born Andrew Drew Okun on June 25, 1952, Al Parker lived a full life before finally succumbing to AIDS in August of 1992. As a teen living in Natick, Massachusetts, pre-Al Parker Okun was able to convince his parents to lend him their brand new Mustang and drive to Woodstock, which he told them was a classical music festival. Later, when a documentary was made on the event, Okun was seen in the crowd featured on the movie poster. 

At Woodstock, Okun had several homosexual encounters, several of which were in the back of a van. These were not his first sexual encounters with men, as Okun was raped at knife point when he was only 15 years old. This was the type of scene that would be replayed and filmed several times throughout his career as an adult film star. 

Upon graduating high school, Okun moved to Los Angeles and scored a job as a butler at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion. While there, adult film producer Rip Colt discovered the butler and changed his name to Al Parker, a manlier name that paid tribute to the famous artist. Soon, the new Al Parker was starring in several of Colt's 8mm short films. 

Shortly after being discovered, Parker met Richard Cole, a man many years his senior. It was Cole who introduced Parker to sexual hedonism and the two began a long and open relationship. In fact, they even put a bed in the back of their van so they could pick up and have sex with men during their cross country road trips. 

In 1980, Cole and Parker started Surge Studios and began producing their own films. Parker's role in the business expanded beyond just acting, and soon included producing and directing. The duo began creating larger budget themed films, many shot out of their home in Hermosa Beach, California. 

In 1986 Cole died of AIDS. As a result of how hard HIV and AIDS were hitting the adult film industry, as well as the community at large, Surge Studios began mandating safe sex practices during filming (and was one of the first studios to begin doing so). After Cole's death, Parker began seeing Justin Cade, a Canadian porn star. Parker also remained in the business, even after he tested positive for the virus. Finally, in August of 1992, Parker died of AIDS in San Francisco.