The next step was contacting family members, friends and co-workers by phone to see if they would talk to me on camera. In addition, I was able to find Jon’s obituary in his hometown newspaper, the Baton Rouge Advocate, which provided me with critical biographic information. I was inundated with e-mails from men and women who had bought Jon’s time and felt that they knew him on a private level.Īlthough I was skeptical, these “johns” (and “janes”) provided me with enough background information-Jon’s real name, birthplace, phone numbers of family members and friends-that I was able to start piecing his life together. I posted messages, asking for any information on Jon, especially from people who knew him personally. An Internet search yielded dozens of websites with message boards devoted to porn stars. On the surface, Jon Vincent’s story held the same fascination as any other porn star’s-What draws someone to this line of work? How do you have sex on camera? Also, like every porn star, Jon (aka Jeff Vickers) had to reinvent himself with a porn “identity.” What are the repercussions of this fabrication and duality? In Jon’s case, the answer was death.įinding preliminary information on him was easy.
I decided to delve into the world of pornography and uncover the story of Jon Vincent. Now there was a story waiting to be told. The obit went on to state that two ex-wives and one teenage son survived him. In the midst of my ongoing frustration with the state of the Hollywood film machine and its lack of compelling characters and powerful storylines, I happened to read in a downtown NYC rag that gay porn star Jon Vincent had died of an apparent heroin overdose. Bill Kramer happened upon an obituary that led him to the shady netherworld of pornography, escort service and the American dream.
Editor’s Note-Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely sources-a plastic bag floating through a plaza, a little girl climbing up a tree to view a funeral.