Adult film producer David Hurles, who created iconic gay erotic images in the 1970s, dies at 78
Bay Area Reporter.Born in Ohio, Hurles’ interest in photography began as a teen and flourished upon moving to California in the 1960s.
After being introduced into the adult film business, he founded Old Reliable Studios in the ’70s. Up until that time, gay pornography centered mostly on white clean-cut models.
Hurles preferred a different aesthetic and lensed gritty models plucked from obscurity, including hustlers, drug addicts, and convicts. “David’s work for Old Reliable exposed gay audiences to a subculture in which we found excitement and thrills, an encounter with the type of man we have always been told to avoid.
His pioneering work in the field has revolutionized the art of desire,” said Den Bell, founder, president, and CEO of the Mizer foundation.Hurles was the only employee at Old Reliable Studios, which has been closed since his stroke in 2008.
