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Bruno (adult performer)

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Bruno
Born
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Model, adult film actor
Known forGay pornography

Bruno is a model and adult performer famous for his work in adult magazines and pornographic films for gay men. AEBN refers to Bruno as "perhaps the quintessential gay porn icon from the 'gay macho' period of the 1970s and early 80s."[1] Little is publicly known about his personal life or career outside of the gay adult industry.

Biography

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Bruno was born in Cuba[2] and moved to Miami, Florida, when he was 10 years old.[3] As a young man he considered a career in professional weightlifting, but decided against it.

Bruno began modeling for gay publications at age 18; his first photo shoot was fully nude and involved other men, but no physical contact.[3] Bruno later met Lou Thomas (also known as Jon Target[4]), who was then working for Colt Studio.[3] In a 1979 interview with Mandate, Bruno recalled,

He gave me his card, and said that when I was ready to model to give him a call. About two or three months later I called him and went to New York. Then I went to California to be photographed by Rip Colt. Both sets of photographs were used in the Gallery magazine that Colt did on me.[3]

In 1977, Bruno posed for a photograph for the cover of Rod McKuen's 1977 album Slide Easy In.[5][6][7] Only Bruno's arm is visible in the photograph, gripping shortening from fictional brand "Disco" in his fist; the photograph is generally regarded as a reference to gay sex, especially fisting, for which Crisco was commonly used as lubricant at the time.[6] An inscription on the cover states:

If this album sounds different, it tried to be. The performers, producers, the players (whether part of the enormous rhythm section or the full symphony complement of strings) knew this was a project everyone had to get into; not just on the surface, but deeply—and together. If you don't feel "easy in" then perhaps your threshold of pain or pleasure needs looking into.[7]

In 1979, a portrait of Bruno by Tom of Finland was featured in Target By Tom; The Natural Man, a series of portraits and photographs that Tom co-produced with Lou Thomas.[8]

In addition to modeling, Bruno starred in numerous pornographic films by Colt Sudio[9] and Bijou Video, including Pleasures In The Sun (1980)[10] and the Bullet Videopac series #2,[11] #6,[12] and #9.[13] In his 1979 Mandate interview, Bruno stated that he also had a job "in the rate department" of an airline as well as a degree in business.[3]

In 2019, The Advocate described Bruno as having "the mustache that launched a thousand fantasies."[14]

Bruno reportedly continued to star in gay porn well into the early 2000s, sometimes under the stage name "Hermes."[15] His astrological zodiac sign is libra.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "The Best Of Bruno 2". AEBN. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "The Best Of Bruno". AEBN. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Zweigler, Mark. "Bruno". Mandate (March 1979). smutjunkies. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "Colt Studios. Tretter Audio and Video Inventory, Tretter-3". University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides. Jean Nickolaus Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Alfonso, Barry (August 29, 2019). "Rod McKuen: Poet, Songwriter, Gay Activist". The Gay & Lesbian Review. September-October 2019 Issue. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Frank, Gillian (February 19, 2015). "Straight After Death: Misremembering the Queer Life and Times of Rod McKuen". NOTCHES. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  7. ^ a b 1977 cover art for Slide Easy In by Rod McKuen, digitized and published on Blogspot.com on January 29, 2015. Inscription on cover reads, in part: "If this album sounds different, it tried to be. The performers, producers, the players (whether part of the enormous rhythm section or the full symphony complement of strings) knew this was a project everyone had to get into; not just on the surface, but deeply—and together. If you don't feel "easy in" then perhaps your threshold of pain or pleasure needs looking into. EASY IN was produced in Great Britain, South America, France, and the United States during a four month period. The completed tape was mastered the second week of February, 1977 in Los Angeles.* It was first played before an audience on St. Valentine's Day on a cruise down the Dalmatian coast between Dubrovnik and Cypress—before a somewhat captive, but nevertheless invited and approving, audience. The producers wish to thank the governments of Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy, Tunisia; and the directors of "The Islanders" Club without whose cooperative efforts, it would not have been possible. *DON'T DRINK THE ORANGE JUICE was written and recorded on March 25th — the natal day of Ms. O. J. [...] Photos of Bruno courtesy of Target Studios. Bruno Courtesy of The Bull Pen. Special thanks to Target."
  8. ^ "Tom of Finland (1920-1991), Lou Thomas (Dates Unknown), Target by Tom; The Natural Man". Swann Galleries. Retrieved August 1, 2024. The Natural Man. Six chromogenic prints. Each sheet 203x254 mm; 8x10 inches (sheet). 1975. Target by Tom. Eight offset lithographs. Each sheet 254x203 mm; 10x8 inches (sheet). Signed and dated "79" in the plate. This dual portfolio set was executed by photographer and co-founder of Target Studios, Lou Thomas. Thomas photographed the models and Tom of Finland drew the models from Thomas' photographs to make the prints. The models included Jeremy Brent, Chuck Gatlin, Steve Sartori, Roger, Barry, Brand, Dak, and Bruno.
  9. ^ a b "Model: Bruno". Colt Studio. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "Pleasures In The Sun". AEBN. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "Bullet Videopac 2". AEBN. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  12. ^ "Bullet Videopac 6". AEBN. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  13. ^ "Bullet Videopac 9". AEBN. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Harrity, Christopher (November 7, 2019). "Gay/Bi Men and Mustaches, a History in Photos". The Advocate. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Stabile, Mike (December 31, 2012). "Gay Porn Before and After: Bruno!!!!!". Gay Porn Blog. Retrieved January 21, 2024.