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pages but could not say who requested the probe. <ref>Fields-Meyer, Thomas, Champ Clark, Frank Swertlow, and Sam Jemielity (December 8, 2003). L.A. Confidential. ''[[People Magazine]]''</ref>
pages but could not say who requested the probe. <ref>Fields-Meyer, Thomas, Champ Clark, Frank Swertlow, and Sam Jemielity (December 8, 2003). L.A. Confidential. ''[[People Magazine]]''</ref>


According to [[Andrew Morton (writer)|Andrew Morton]], Barresi arranged for a porn performer to meet with him and Pellicano in June 2001 to discuss selling a story about a suspected [[London]] [[sexual encounter]] with [[Tom Cruise]].<ref name="morton2008">Morton, Andrew R.. ''[[Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography]]''. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-35986-1</ref><ref name=RushMolloy>Rush, George and Joanna Molloy (May 20, 2005). [http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/311288p-266281c.html Holmes is where Tom's heart is.] ''[[New York Daily News]]''</ref> Barresi now claims that he felt the story was not credible,<ref name=Halbfinger/> but Pellicano informed Cruise's [[lawyer]], [[Bertram Fields]],<ref name=Halbfinger/> who then warned the performer in an alleged letter to drop the matter.<ref name="lasden">Lasden, Martin (2006). [http://www.callawyer.com/story.cfm?pubdt=NaN&eid=877922&evid=1 The Pelicano Effect.] ''[[California Lawyer Magazine]]''.</ref> Barresi claims that he received $5,000 for his efforts <ref name="morton2008">Morton, Andrew (2008). ''Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography.'' Macmillan, ISBN 9780312359867</ref>after the alleged performer [[fled]] to [[Europe]] on Barresi's advice.<ref name=Halbfinger/>
According to [[Andrew Morton (writer)|Andrew Morton]], Barresi arranged for a porn performer to meet with him and Pellicano in June 2001 to discuss selling a story about a suspected [[London]] [[sexual encounter]] with [[Tom Cruise]].<ref name="morton2008">Morton, Andrew R.. ''[[Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography]]''. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-35986-1</ref><ref name=RushMolloy>Rush, George and Joanna Molloy (May 20, 2005). [http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/311288p-266281c.html Holmes is where Tom's heart is.] ''[[New York Daily News]]''</ref> Barresi now claims that he felt the story was not credible,<ref name=Halbfinger/> but Morton's story further suggests that Pellicano informed Cruise's [[lawyer]], [[Bertram Fields]],<ref name=Halbfinger/> who then warned the performer in an alleged letter to drop the matter.<ref name="lasden">Lasden, Martin (2006). [http://www.callawyer.com/story.cfm?pubdt=NaN&eid=877922&evid=1 The Pelicano Effect.] ''[[California Lawyer Magazine]]''.</ref> Barresi claims that he received $5,000 for his efforts <ref name="morton2008">Morton, Andrew (2008). ''Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography.'' Macmillan, ISBN 9780312359867</ref>after the alleged performer [[fled]] to [[Europe]] on Barresi's advice.<ref name=Halbfinger/>


Barresi was bequeathed illegally taped phone conversations made by [[Jim Mitteager]], the Los Angeles bureau chief of [[tabloid]] ''[[The Globe (tabloid)|The Globe]]''. after Mitteager died of [[throat cancer]] in 1997.<ref name=Finke2006>Finke, Nikki (March 14, 2006). [http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/old-old-news-pellicanotabloids/ Old, Old News: Pellicano/Tabloids]. ''LA Weekly''</ref> Barresi told reporter [[Drew Griffin]] "<nowiki>[Mitteager]</nowiki> indicated to the person who gave them to me that I would know what to do with them," and Barresi arranged for [[KCBS-TV]] to air them in a multi-part series in 2004. <ref name=KCBS>Drew Griffin (February 12, 2004). The Real Source. CBS 2 Special Assignment, KCBS-TV</ref> The tapes aired by KCBS include a conversation where Pellicano offers Mitteager a story about his new client [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]] in return for Mitteager's dropping one about client [[Whoopi Goldberg]]. <ref name=Whoopi>Studio Briefing (February 25th, 2004). [http://www.movieweb.com/news/42/2842.php The Private Eye and the Tabloids.] via movieweb.com</ref>
Barresi was bequeathed illegally taped phone conversations made by [[Jim Mitteager]], the Los Angeles bureau chief of [[tabloid]] ''[[The Globe (tabloid)|The Globe]]''. after Mitteager died of [[throat cancer]] in 1997.<ref name=Finke2006>Finke, Nikki (March 14, 2006). [http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/old-old-news-pellicanotabloids/ Old, Old News: Pellicano/Tabloids]. ''LA Weekly''</ref> Barresi told reporter [[Drew Griffin]] "<nowiki>[Mitteager]</nowiki> indicated to the person who gave them to me that I would know what to do with them," and Barresi arranged for [[KCBS-TV]] to air them in a multi-part series in 2004. <ref name=KCBS>Drew Griffin (February 12, 2004). The Real Source. CBS 2 Special Assignment, KCBS-TV</ref> The tapes aired by KCBS include a conversation where Pellicano offers Mitteager a story about his new client [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]] in return for Mitteager's dropping one about client [[Whoopi Goldberg]]. <ref name=Whoopi>Studio Briefing (February 25th, 2004). [http://www.movieweb.com/news/42/2842.php The Private Eye and the Tabloids.] via movieweb.com</ref>

Revision as of 00:56, 19 November 2008

Paul Barresi in 2002.

Paul Barresi (born 12 January 1949 [1]) is an American film director and media personality who has appeared in and directed pornographic movies under his own name, as well as under Jason Thorpe[citation needed], Joe Hammer[1], and Michael Franco[citation needed]. Barresi has also been involved in various capacities in several high-profile celebrity scandals.[2][3]

Early life and military career

Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, when Barresi was 12 his family moved to Annapolis, Maryland for his father's job at military installations. Barresi has told reporters he attended the University of Maryland on a wrestling scholarship [1] but left to enlist in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. [4] Barresi served at bases in the United States and the Philippines, and he was honorably discharged as a sergeant in 1973 after completing his tour at March Air Force Base[5]. He soon began working at a gym in nearby Riverside, California.[5]

Work in modeling, theater and film

During filming in Riverside, Barresi worked as an uncredited production assistant for Raquel Welch [4] and had an uncredited role as a bartender in The Wild Party, released in 1975. In March 1975, Barresi appeared with a pre-Elvira Cassandra Peterson in a Playgirl pictorial. Barresi was selected by Rip Colt as an early Colt model, and was featured with other Colt men on the cover of the November 1975 Mandate. He was also on the cover of Hustler in December 1978. [6]

The print modeling led to a number of appearances in film as a pornographic model and actor. He appeared in a straight scene with Becky Savage in the 1979 gay classic L.A. Tool & Die, and his first role in a straight feature was in 1980's Co-Ed Fever, where he is credited as Jason Thorpe.[7] He played the minister and performed in a straight scene in the breakthrough 1983 transsexual film Sulka's Wedding, starring Ron Jeremy with the eponymous bride. [8] Barressi appeared in dozens of straight films after that, including Hollywood Confidential 3: Secrets Of Stage Five (1983) [9], Nasty Nurses (1983), [10] Diary Of A Sex Goddess (1983), [11] All American Girls 2: In Heat (1983), [12] Bad Girls 2 (1983), [13] and Miami Spice 2 (1986), [14] among many others. [15]

His roles in films for the gay market are straight or solo performances, and they frequently involve him playing a domineering straight authority figure punishing submissive younger males without explicit sexual contact with male performers. [16] Classics such as Men of the Midway (1983), [17] Falconhead II (1984), [18] and What the Big Boys Eat (1985) [19] are often listed among the best in the history of the genre. In 1992, Razor Close, a Joe Hammer fetish video, won AVN and Gay Video Guide awards as "Best Specialty Video." Barresi has been nominated for several other AVN Awards, including 8 nominations for the 1998 gay mafia epic which he wrote, directed, and produced, titled GoodFellas/BadFellas, and featuring him in a non-sexual role. Barresi earned a 2003 GayVN Awards nomination for "Best Non-Sex Performance - Gay or Bi" for Long Strokes [staring Michael Brandon (porn star) ], noting he got the nod "just for taking my shirt off; if I knew they wanted more, I'd have done more." [20]

Barresi has continued to direct adult films, including several popular titles for the gay market, often with military or discipline themes. Adult Video News has said Barresi's directorial efforts make him "undisputedly the king of military-themed videos." [21] In 2005, Barresi directed a straight feature under the name Michael Franco[citation needed].

In addition to his work in pornographic film and video, Barresi toured in a 1980 summer stock suite of scenes from Neil Simon plays, headlined by Paul Lynde. [22] Barresi told Entertainment Tonight of the difficulty crossing over into mainstream film: "No one really takes a porn actor seriously... and no one really respects a porn actor." [23] Barresi had a speaking role as a member of the former West Hollywood Sports Connection gym in the 1985 film Perfect, directed by James Bridges and starring John Travolta.[24]

Involvement with tabloids and celebrity scandals

John Travolta claim and retraction

According to an investigative report by Mark Ebner, "Barresi moved sharply higher on the Hollywood notoriety scale in 1990 when The National Enquirer ran a front-page story showcasing his claim that he'd had a two-year love affair with John Travolta. Barresi told the tabloid he'd met Travolta in 1982 when the actor followed him into the shower room of an L.A. health club." [5] According to Jim D'Etremont of The Guide, Barresi said his relationship with Travolta continued through the filming of Perfect, but had cooled by 1990, when Travolta passed over Barresi for a personal trainer job. Barresi asked for and received $100,000 from The Enquirer in exchange for the details of his relationship with Travolta. [25] The issue was published on May 8, 1990, [26] but several months later, Barresi retracted his story, saying in a letter to Travolta's attorney that he'd never engaged in homosexual activity with Travolta. [3] Barresi told The Guide's Jim D'Etremont that he did so with assurances from Travolta's attorney that the affair could be brought "to a soft landing" if he issued a retraction and an apology: "I was having a nervous breakdown… I just wanted it to be over. But when the dust settled, I regretted the retraction a lot more than I regretted that initial call to the Enquirer." [25][27]

Michael Jackson allegations

After making the rounds on the talk show circuit, [1] Barresi became a self-styled private investigator. [28] In the wake of 1993 child molestation allegations against Michael Jackson, Barresi attempted to sell tabloid gossip in 1994 after secretly taping two accusers in order to scoop them. [29] Barresi claimed he met and dated Stella LeMarque, then surnamed "Marcroft," before she and husband Philippe married. The LeMarques tried to cash in on their story after being dismissed in 1991 as workers at Jackson's Neverland Ranch, claiming they had witnessed Jackson inappropriately touching Macaulay Culkin. [30] When their asking price was $100,000, Barresi said "'the hand was outside the kid's pants' … As soon as their price went up to $500,000, the hand went inside the pants." [31]

Barresi appeared in a PBS Frontline documentary about the incident and described his involvement:

Barresi: So I called the editor at The Globe and I said, 'I have a tape, I'm on the way down town to hand it to the District Attorney.' And his words were, 'let us come with you.' And then I knew I had him. The next thought in my mind was I'm going to ask for $30,000. You always ask for twice as much as what you hope to get. He put me on hold, and within less than a minute he came back and he said 'well, we can't give you thirty, we'll give you ten.' I said 'make if fifteen,' he said 'you have a deal.'
Reporter: Could you see the headlines coming?
Barresi: Oh yeah, sure, and I could see that money coming too. [2]

According to Maureen Orth of Vanity Fair, Barresi had arranged the $15,000 deal with The Globe, but he got impatient and contracted tabloid broker Kevin Smith of Splash News Service, who placed it with The Daily Mirror for $2,400. When the Globe deal came through, Smith couldn't undo the Mirror deal, and the Mirror scoop kept Barresi from getting paid by The Globe. Smith claims Barresi came to his office "with a gun and a huge bodyguard," and Smith arranged for Barresi to get $1,000. [32] In the end, the DA decided that the stories of the LeMarques and that of the Quindoys (who also sold their story to the tabloids) could not be used. Barresi ended up making $30,000 in total on the Jackson story. [2]

Eddie Murphy incident

Following a 1997 incident involving Eddie Murphy and a transgender prostitute, Barresi attempted to collect sworn statements from other sex workers alleging encounters with Murphy. Ebner notes some received as much as $15,000: "[Barresi] offered them payoffs to reverse their stories and coached them to give false testimony. He personally squired two of them to [Murphy lawyer Marty] Singer's law office, where they declared under penalty of perjury that they'd lied to the tabs about having sex with Murphy." [5] With the exception of the person with whom Murphy was found, Barresi said, "In less than 10 days, I got them all to sign sworn, videotaped depositions, stating it wasn't Murphy himself, but rather a look-alike, who they'd encountered." [33] In a review of Ebner and Breitbart's book, Publishers Weekly notes "when Murphy's lawyers didn't compensate Barresi, he turned all his records over to the authors." [34]

Involvement with Anthony Pellicano

Barresi began working with private investigator Anthony Pellicano around the time of the 1994 Jackson incident. According to Barresi, Pellicano would purchase tabloid reporters' celebrity gossip before it became public. He then would offer to do damage control for $25,000 or more. "He says these people pursue him to hire him, when in fact, he pursues them," said Barresi. [35] Barresi says he also assisted Pellicano in a 1994 investigation of paternity claims involving Barry Bonds and a porn actress. [36]

Barresi told ABC News about his work with Pellicano, "Whenever there was a damaging story involving a celebrity client that involved sex, then I was involved." Barresi said that Pellicano hired him to "get dirt on" Pellicano's former client Sylvester Stallone. The actor's phone was allegedly bugged by Pellicano during a lawsuit over Planet Hollywood. [37] Barresi told Vanity Fair that Pellicano had a vendetta against Stallone after the two had a falling-out: "Pellicano hired me on two occasions to find dirt on Stallone.The first time was in 1995 or '96 and then again in late 2001." [38]

Barresi told LA Weekly that Pellicano hired him when Arnold Schwarzenegger was considering running for governor in 2001, "to look for information that may be of good use to Schwarzenegger’s detractors," so Schwartzenegger's team could prepare for any damage control. [39] Barresi submitted 27 pages but could not say who requested the probe. [40]

According to Andrew Morton, Barresi arranged for a porn performer to meet with him and Pellicano in June 2001 to discuss selling a story about a suspected London sexual encounter with Tom Cruise.[41][42] Barresi now claims that he felt the story was not credible,[35] but Morton's story further suggests that Pellicano informed Cruise's lawyer, Bertram Fields,[35] who then warned the performer in an alleged letter to drop the matter.[43] Barresi claims that he received $5,000 for his efforts [41]after the alleged performer fled to Europe on Barresi's advice.[35]

Barresi was bequeathed illegally taped phone conversations made by Jim Mitteager, the Los Angeles bureau chief of tabloid The Globe. after Mitteager died of throat cancer in 1997.[44] Barresi told reporter Drew Griffin "[Mitteager] indicated to the person who gave them to me that I would know what to do with them," and Barresi arranged for KCBS-TV to air them in a multi-part series in 2004. [45] The tapes aired by KCBS include a conversation where Pellicano offers Mitteager a story about his new client Jean-Claude Van Damme in return for Mitteager's dropping one about client Whoopi Goldberg. [46]

In 1999, Barresi says he was assigned by Pellicano to investigate a model who named Chris Rock in a paternity suit. [47] Barresi also says he was hired to look into the sexual orientation of Gavin de Becker, a successful security consultant of whom Pellicano was jealous. [48]

Barresi also claims that he has been sought out for comment by the press as the 2002-present Pellicano criminal-defense case has unfolded. Barresi told the New York Times he has been aiding the defense team for entertainment lawyer Bertram Fields, a long-term client of Pellicano's who is now under investigation, in hopes of a later payday. [35] Barresi also reportedly worked with attorneys for producer Jules Nasso in 2006. As part of a lawsuit, they seek Pellicano's wiretapped calls for any evidence that Steven Seagal ordered Pellicano to terrorize former Variety reporter Anita Busch[49] In May 2006, Barresi turned over tapes from Mitteager with transcriptions to the FBI [50]

References

  1. ^ a b c d D'Entremont, Jim (March 1998). "Profiled: Paul Barresi." The Guide
  2. ^ a b c Cramer, Richard Ben (February 15, 1994) Tabloid Truth: The Michael Jackson Story. Frontline, PBS
  3. ^ a b Young, Paul (2002). L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels. St. Martin's Griffin, ISBN 9780312206468
  4. ^ a b Mardonov, D. (March 2003). Standing Tall with Paul. Adult Video News
  5. ^ a b c d Ebner, Mark and Jack Cheevers (April 26, 2001). The Bagman. New Times LA
  6. ^ Barresi is sometimes described as "the first man ever to appear on the cover of Hustler" [1]. A couple with their backs to camera pose as Adam and Eve on the July 1978 cover by Clive McLean. A cartoon of Jimmy Carter reading Hustler is the first identifiable male (August), and Barresi is the first identifiable male after three previous 1978 photographic covers of couples where male partners' faces are not visible. See these thumbnails of 1978 covers for reference.
  7. ^ Froelich, Paula (December 23, 2007). Hedge fund sex tales denied. New York Post
  8. ^ Stryker, Mike (dir.). Sulka's Wedding, Caballero, 1983
  9. ^ Lyons, Paul (dir.) Secrets Of Stage Five, also released as Backstage Pass, Hollywood Confidential 3, and Hollywood Lust Machine, Classic X Collection, original release 1983.
  10. ^ Vatelli, Paul G. (dir.) Nasty Nurses, Caballero, 1983
  11. ^ Diary Of A Sex Goddess, also released as Hot Nights and Sex Star Search, VCA Pictures, 1983
  12. ^ Milling, Bill (as Bill Eagle), dir. All American Girls 2: In Heat Caballero, 1983
  13. ^ Frazier, David I. (dir.) Bad Girls 2, Gourmet (Collector's), 1983
  14. ^ Svetlana (dir.) Miami Spice 2 Caballero, 1986
  15. ^ for a partial list, see Paul Baressi entry at International Adult Film Database
  16. ^ For example, see the 2003 clip anthology Paul Barresi Superstar by Control T
  17. ^ Roger Earl (dir.) Men of the Midway, Le Salon, 1983.
  18. ^ Michael Zen (dir.) Falconhead II, HIS, 1984
  19. ^ West, Jim (dir) What the Big Boys Eat Vivid Video, 1985
  20. ^ Skee, Mickey (July 2003). Bad Boys. Paul Barresi. Sam Tyson and Michael Knight Impersonators? Gay/Bi Gossip column on Adult Video News
  21. ^ Spencer, Jeremy (October 2002). Reporting for Booty (review). Adult Video News.
  22. ^ Barresi played the Borden Eisler role from Plaza Suite. Wilson, Steve and Joe Florenski (2005). Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story. Advocate Books, ISBN 155583793X, and tribute site
  23. ^ Moran, Julie (March 8, 1997). Cover story: Porn. Entertainment Tonight
  24. ^ Scott, Paul (September 8, 2006). Kiss of death for Travolta's career? The Daily Mail
  25. ^ a b D'Entremont, Jim (March 1998) Tricking with Travolta. The Guide
  26. ^ Gallagher, John and Alan Frutkin (April 4, 1995). The Final Frontier. The Advocate.
  27. ^ Wockner, Rex (Mar 21, 2000). Quote Unquote #169.
  28. ^ The Smoking Gun (April 4, 2005). The case against Michael Jackson: D.A.'s sleazy witness.
  29. ^ MJEOL (March 31, 2005). DA Got Conned with LeMarque "Witness" Story? MiniBullet #17. Contains embedded clip from Cramer's 1994 Frontline piece.
  30. ^ Friedman, Roger (April 11, 2005). Jacko 'Major-Domo' Lied About Cashing In. Fox News
  31. ^ Fischer, Mary A. (October 1994) Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story. GQ.
  32. ^ Orth, Maureen (January 1994). Nightmare in Neverland. Vanity Fair
  33. ^ Wilson, Chris (March 2, 2006). Scandal Haunts Murphy Split. New York Post
  34. ^ Review: Hollywood Interrupted. Publishers Weekly, February 2, 2004. via Amazon.com
  35. ^ a b c d e Halbfinger, David M. and Allison Hope Weiner (April 6, 2006). Complex Maneuvering Over Evidence in Hollywood Wiretapping Scandal. New York Times
  36. ^ Rush, George and Joanna Molloy (April 5, 2006). Did Bonds cast a private eye on porn star? New York Daily News
  37. ^ ABC News Primetime (February 16, 2006). Hollywood 'Fixer' Now Has Some Celebrities Fearing the Worst.
  38. ^ Burrough, Bryan, and John Connolly (June 2006). Inside Hollywood's Big Wiretap Scandal. Vanity Fair
  39. ^ Finke, Nikki (November 20, 2003). Arnold, Pellicano, and Politics. LA Weekly
  40. ^ Fields-Meyer, Thomas, Champ Clark, Frank Swertlow, and Sam Jemielity (December 8, 2003). L.A. Confidential. People Magazine
  41. ^ a b Morton, Andrew R.. Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-35986-1 Cite error: The named reference "morton2008" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  42. ^ Rush, George and Joanna Molloy (May 20, 2005). Holmes is where Tom's heart is. New York Daily News
  43. ^ Lasden, Martin (2006). The Pelicano Effect. California Lawyer Magazine.
  44. ^ Finke, Nikki (March 14, 2006). Old, Old News: Pellicano/Tabloids. LA Weekly
  45. ^ Drew Griffin (February 12, 2004). The Real Source. CBS 2 Special Assignment, KCBS-TV
  46. ^ Studio Briefing (February 25th, 2004). The Private Eye and the Tabloids. via movieweb.com
  47. ^ Krikorian, Greg, Chuck Philips and Robert Welkos (April 25, 2006). Chris Rock Turned to Pellicano in '99 Suit. Los Angeles Times
  48. ^ Rush, George and Joanna Molloy (March 17, 2006). Private eye looked to ruin H'wood security honcho. New York Daily News
  49. ^ Rush, George and Joanna Molloy (February 6, 2006). Exciting testimony on tap? New York Daily News
  50. ^ Grove, Lloyd (May 9, 2006). Supersnoop had an eye for top talent. New York Daily News
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