Subject: Paul Barresi article..on outing Travolta.
(Send to A.R.S. by Gary Scarff)

The following article by Jake Enclan (Arts Editor) is in the March issue of Fab!, a bi-monthly gay news magazine published in Los Angeles. The magazine's website is out-dated and does not currently carry this article. The article, much of what is Barresi's personal interpretation of events is prefaced in brackets with known facts that contradict statements made in this article.

Fab!
March 3, 2000

PAUL BARRESI: STILL ANGRY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

Outspoken, opinionated, rebel, snitch...or is he just misunderstood? Porn actor-director Paul Barresi is one angry man. With 52 films under his belt and a career that has endured 30 years, Barresi maintains a quirky love-hate relationship with the adult film industry, the gay community and Hollywood in general.

He's not your typical gay porn star. First of all - he's not gay. Secondly, he has probably achieved more mainstream recognition than most in the adult film industry, however, that probably has more to do with his JOHN TRAVOLTA connection than his creative endeavors.

After outing John Travolta in the National Enquirer in 1990 [and receiving $100,000 for his efforts], life has never been the same for Barresi, an extremely complex man who seems to be constantly dealing with issues of acceptance.

On the one hand he complains about being discriminated against in the gay porn industry and asks why he is not accepted by his peers. On the other hand, however, he claims that most of the key players are scum bags, pedophiles and liars - which makes one wonder why he would even want to be a part of a group he seems to so intensively dislike.

While disparity seems like it should be his middle name, the truth of the matter is that Barresi, as shocking as this may seem to some, gives the impression of an extremely moral, ethical and principled fellow, more like your favorite gym teacher in high school than an adult film legend.

Those seeking an answer to the various contradictions in this man's turbulent career might gain some insight from Barresi's bio. Born in 1948 in Lynn, Massachusetts, an industrial city north of Boston, Barresi was the second of four brothers. His father was a high-ranking civilian employee with the U.S. Navy, and Barresi, educated in Catholic schools, did his upmost to prove to his family that he was the best little boy in the world. After graduating from high school, he secured a wrestling scholarship to the University of Maryland. Later, during the patriotic "America - Love It or Leave It" days of the Vietnam war, Barresi left college to join the Air Force.

After his discharge, it seems as though Barresi, like so many other young men who returned from the battlefields with a different perspective on life, decided to reach for his true dream. In 1972, ex-Air Force man and all-around macho guy Paul Barresi headed out to Los Angeles to become an actor. At first things seemed to be going his way. He landed a small role in the movie "The Wild Party," starring Raquel Welch and James Coco, directed by James Ivory. Like so many young actors in Hollywood, however, the mainstream roles didn't seem to be pouring in and Barresi did what he could to make a living. In 1975, Barresi posed nude for Playgirl magazine and later on, during the late '70's and '80's, Barresi appeared in several adult films and videos, mostly straight, some gay. "I have no hang-ups about straight, gay, bi, or anything else," says Barresi, who is now married with children. "When I was young and wild, just like alot of other straight boys, I would just about fuck anything," says Barresi, eloquently.

"Had it not been for AIDS," he explains, "bi-sexuality would be far more accepted today than it is. But the virus threw everybody in the closet. Everybody kept their own behavior in check because they didn't want to be branded. That's why alot of closet cases like John Travolta would only go out with straight men because he was so fearful of catching AIDS."

Speaking of Travolta, while Barresi clearly doesn't like talking about this episode in his past, (during our interview Barresi emphasizes forcefully, that he doesn't think that the subject should be delved into too deeply) there is no way one can write about the man without going into one of the most famous outing incidents of the decade. [It should be noted too, that Barresi came under heavy attack and threats by the Church of Scientology ~ where Travolta has been a decades-long member and trumpets its cause in public whenever the opportunity arises ~ and the church's cavalry of church attorneys and P.I.'s.]

"It was not out of jealousy and it was not out of revenge," explains Barresi at first, but after a few seconds he recants. "Well maybe, there was some kind of a vendetta. Let me give it to you straight. In late 1983 when I was working with John Travolta on the film "Perfect," he promised me that I would be his new personal fitness trainer once his present trainer - Dan Isaacson - leaves. So, in 1990, I went to see John in Bel Air - he was staying in a hotel [Hotel Bel Air according to an earlier bio] and he introduced me to a gentleman that was in his suite and said, "This is my new trainer." I said, "Really? Nice to meet you," but that pissed me off."

"I was willing, however, to let it go because some years passed and maybe he'd forgotten the promise he made to me. But the straw that broke the camel's back was when I was leaving. He handed me the remnants of the complimentary hotel basket with partially eaten fruit inside and open packages. The only thing that was intact was the bottle of Dom Perignon champagne. So I took the champagne and put it on the shelf in my apartment as a reminder of how demeaning and how cruel he was to me. To give me leftovers as if he was giving me a gift of some kind. So, after that, I pondered the idea and I decided to tell the (National) Enquirer about who Travolta really is."

[Note: Barresi's summation of his experience contradicts earlier statements made by him, some of which appeared on court record in 1992 in the Church of Scientology v. Fishman & Geertz case, a legal case defended by former attorney Graham Berry - who later acted as Barresi's attorney, after Barresi dropped his first attorney, Scientology lawyer Lawrence Heller..]

First, Barresi has previously claimed in his bio and on court record that he met John Travolta in the shower room of a Beverly Hills gym and that they became "lovers".

Second, Barresi claims to have in his possession intimate letters sent to him by John while he was in Thailand and elsewhere on location and that each of these letters were signed "Love....John". [ Scientologists are generally known to sign off on their letters with this or a similar reply]. While Barresi strenuously objected last year to a post made Garry Scarff defining Barresi & Travolta's former relationship as one of "fuck buddies", both Graham Berry, Garry Scarff and a large crowd of diners at Mark's Restaurant in West Hollywood were witness to Barresi boldly standing up from his chair and yelling "I fucked John Travolta in the ass and he loved it."

Third, though Barresi claims he bears no ill will towards Travolta, and claims to be sensitive to the subject of Travolta's letters to him, this has not stopped Barresi from exploring the idea of selling the letters to the highest bidder for "a quarter to half a million dollars."

The hysterical reaction to the Enquirer's Travolta feature, in which Barresi revealed their sexual affair, was more, much more, than Barresi expected. In an interview with the gay mag 'The Guide' in 1998, Barresi claims that photocopies of the Enquirer article were sent anonymously [though earlier blaming Scientology agents] to the owners of his building, every one of his neighbors, every one of his fitness clients, his parents, and his brothers.

"It just about wrecked my life," Barresi told The Guide. "My whole world fell apart. My family disowned me. I lost all but two of my fitness clients. I was barred from almost every gym in town, and it cost me jobs." In the end, Travolta's attorney convinced Baresso to issue a retraction and an apology. [This contardicts earlier sworn testimony by Barresi who claimed he was being harassed and threatened by Scientology's attorneys and thier chief security officer (and former disgraced LAPD officer) Eugene Ingram. Barresi also claimed his retraction came with a price. He claimed to have ollected $25,000.]

"I was having a nervous breakdown," Barresi said. "I just wanted it to be over." However, Barresi told 'The Guide' that "when the dust settled, I regretted the retraction a lot more than I regretted the initial call to the Enquirer." [Barresi has claimed that although he made the profitable retraction, it never denied the sexual relationship Barresi had with Travolta].

That tumultuous episode seems to have left a lasting impression on the former wrestler, former Air Force man. While it seems as though Barresi felt that Travolta was getting what he deserved, he never expected the venomous reaction from the local gay community. Barresi, a man of his word, just wasn't ready to deal with Hollywood's "love-ya-mean-it" attitude.

Whether it has to do with his heterosexuality or the bad publicity from the Travolta affair, today, says Barresi, "not one gay-owned or run manufacturer of gay porn, despite my exceptional track record of having written, produced and directed over 52 successful gay videos to date, has hired me. They include All Worlds Video, Hollywood Sales, Odyssey, and Falcon Studios to name a few." [In 1999, Barresi ended his association with US Male videos after creative differences between him and the "owner's boyfriend and assistant, Nick DeMartino." Barresi now works under the Pacific Sun label]

One of the reasons for the animosity between Barresi and the gay porn industry, revolves around, it seems, Barresi's moral code, which, according to him, is quite a few notches higher than the others. Barresi expounds expansively on the low moral standards in the industry, mentioning names of directors and producers that, according to him, are guilty of pedophilia, prostitution and all around sleazy scum behavior.

[Barresi is well-known for his egocentric arrogance and profane tirades, which was in true form in 1999 when he responded to a 'gay porn forum' where he was the focus of the discussion... see http://www.atkolvideos.com]

Aside from that, Barresi also has a problem with the subject matter of some gay videos. "In the gay genre whenever you come up with a movie that suggests you're having sex with your son, or your father or relative, I mean the fucking video is a sell out, and the [gay porn] critics don't criticize it. But if you co-mingle some good straight man-to-man sex with scenes that have some violence.... for example, I did a movie called "The Underboss' and I got so much fucking criticism for that. The righteous gay-porn world put that and me down, and it really pisses me off.... They don't condone that, but they condone and support incest. Now explain that to me, buddy."

[Barresi fails to mention that theme of many of the gay porn videos in which he starred placed him as the daddy or authority figure engaging in sex with young men in the 18-20's crowd.]

While one might think that Barresi might be better off in the world of straight porn, his ongoing work - writing and directing gay porn videos - is just one of the many complexities that seem to revolve around this unique adult video star. In the ebd, however, it seems that the real gripe is about acknowledgement, approval and acceptance.

"I'm talking to you because I want to set the record straight about these people," says Barresi. "Why should I be the only one that always gets criticized and ridiculed? I'm not recognized by my peers in the porn industry. I'm discriminated against - maybe because I live my life as a straight man." [It should be noted that 25% of those models that appear in gay porn videos claim, like Barresi, to be straight "gay-for-pay" persons.]