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Tom DeSimone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom DeSimone
Born1939 (age 84–85)
Alma materEmerson College
University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation(s)Director, writer, producer, editor

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.

Career

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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

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Film

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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

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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

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  1. ^ Murray 1998, p. 44.
  2. ^ "All the Good Boys • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine". letterboxd.com. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  3. ^ "BJ's TOM DESIMONE page; great gay film maker". bjland.ws. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  4. ^ The New York Times
  5. ^ The Los Angeles Times
  6. ^ Blair, Linda; Curtis, Bruce Cohn; DeSimone, Tom; Yablans, Irwin (1999). Hell Night Audio commentary (DVD). Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Sources

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  • 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.
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