Sunday, July 21, 2013

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight was a poet, novelist, and university professor who left the world of academia to became a tattoo artist and pornographer. Today's Out Spotlight is Samuel Steward.

Samuel Morris Steward  was also known as Phil Andros, Phil Sparrow, and many other pseudonyms,throughout his life he kept extensive secret diaries, journals and statistics of his sex life. He lived most of his adult life in Chicago, where he tattooed sailor-trainees from the US Navy’s Great Lakes Naval Training Station (as well as gang members and street people) out of a tattoo parlor on South State Street. He later moved to the San Francisco Bay area, where he spent the late 1960s as the official tattoo artist of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.

Steward was born in Woodsfield, Ohio on July 23, 1909, and began attending Ohio State University in Columbus in 1927. He taught English at OSU in 1932 during the final year of his PhD. His first year-long post was as an instructor of English in 1934 at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. In 1936 he was summarily dismissed from his second teaching position, at the State College of Washington at Pullman, as the result of his sympathetic portrayal of a prostitute in his well-reviewed comic novel Angels on the Bough. He subsequently moved to Chicago, where he taught at Loyola University until 1946. After leaving Loyola to help re-write the World Book Encyclopedia, he subsequently taught at DePaul University.

Born into a Methodist household, he converted to Catholicism during his university years, but by the time he accepted his teaching position at Loyola he had long since abandoned the Catholic Church. From the mid-1930s until 1949 he was deeply alcoholic, but he managed to overcome his addiction to alcohol with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Steward gained an introduction to Gertrude Stein in 1932 through his academic advisor Clarence Andrews, and so began a long correspondence with Stein which resulted in a warm friendship. He paid visits to her rented country home in France during the summers of 1937 and 1939. During the 1937 trip, he also met with many other literary figures, including Thornton Wilder, Lord Alfred Douglas (the lover of Oscar Wilde), Thomas Mann, and André Gide. He detailed these encounters, some of them sexual, in his brief memoir, Chapters from an Autobiography. He also described his friendship with Stein and Toklas in his book Dear Sammy: Letters from Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.

Steward met famed sex researcher Alfred Kinsey in late 1949 and subsequently became an unofficial collaborator with Kinsey’s Institute for Sex Research. During his years of work with the Institute, Steward collected and donated sexually themed materials to the Kinsey archive, gave Kinsey access to his lifelong sexual records, introduced him to large numbers of sexually active men in the Chicago area, and provided him with large numbers of early sex Polaroid photographs which he took during the frequent all-male sex parties he held in his Chicago apartment. He also allowed Kinsey to take detailed photographs of that sexually-themed apartment. He ultimately donated a large numbers of drawings, paintings and decorative objects that he himself had created to the Institute.

In spring of 1950, at Kinsey’s invitation, he was filmed engaging in BDSM sex with Mike Miksche, an erotic artist from New York also known as Steve Masters. After Gertrude Stein, Kinsey was Steward’s most important mentor; he later described Kinsey not only "as approachable as a park bench" but also as a god-like bringer of enlightenment to mankind, thus giving him the nickname, “Doctor Prometheus.”

While making the transition from professor to tattoo artist during the 1950s, Steward befriended a number of gay artists and writers including Paul Cadmus, George Platt Lynes, Julien Green, Fritz Peters, and Glenway Wescott. At Kinsey’s specific request he also kept highly detailed journals and diaries of his daily sexual activities, and chronicled them in a secret card catalogue he referred to as his “Stud File.” Starting in 1957, he began contributing short stories based on his many sexual encounters to the Zurich-based magazine Der Kreis (“The Circle”), to which he also contributed essays, reviews, and news.

During his final years in Chicago, he befriended beefcake photographer Chuck Renslow, owner of Kris Studio, and Renslow’s partner, Dom Orejudos, the homoerotic illustrator also known as “Stephen” and “Etienne.” Renslow would later go on to open The Gold Coast, Chicago’s first leather bar, and to found IML, or International Mr. Leather, a yearly gathering of leathermen from around the world.

In the 1960s Steward began writing and publishing his erotica under the name of Phil Andros, initially doing so with the Danish magazine Eos/Amigo. Some of his early works described his fascination with rough trade and sadomasochistic sex; others focused on the power dynamics of interracial sexual encounters between men. In 1966, thanks to changes in American publishing laws, he was able to publish his story collection $TUD with Guild Press in the United States, under the pseudonym Phil Andros. By the late 1960s, Steward had started writing a series of pulp pornographic novels featuring the hustler Phil Andros as narrator.

As a leading tattoo artist of the 1950s and '60s, Steward was mentored by Milwaukee-based master tattooist Amund Dietzel. Steward in turn mentored Cliff Ingram, aka Cliff Raven, and Don “Ed” Hardy, later known simply as Ed Hardy, encouraging both to practice the Japanese-style tattooing he himself most admired. After retiring from tattooing in 1970, Steward wrote a social history of American tattooing during the 1950s and 60s, which was ultimately published as Bad Boys and Tough Tattoos.

In his later years Steward’s abilities as a writer were compromised by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a barbiturate addiction. He died December 31, 1993, at the age of 83 in Berkeley, California.

Starting in 2001, Steward’s biographer Justin Spring tracked down Steward’s archive and began writing Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade, which was ultimately published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2010. The book was the recipient of many literary honors, and was a finalist for the National Book Award.

21 comments:

Covering for 5:01 said...

Anonymous said...

All I see here is a girl who desperately wants to make it big in the modeling world before she gets too old. Doing what ever it takes to get not only her name out in the media but also her face. I find it so hard to believe that Jake would go so low. I really thought he was smarter than that. It really makes me sad to think that an intelligent man thinks he needs to date a model for the only soul purpose to also get his name out in the media. That photo op with his mom and this model last week Saturday is not only fake but almost embarresing for all parties involved. I mean they had to bring the dog! I hope for Jake's sake that he wakes up and truely finds what makes him happy.

July 22, 2013 at 5:01 AM
Delete

covering for 5:14 said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do have one question. What is the point of Jake and this model to be out and about in NYC when there is no photo op organized. Are they hoping that people will talk about the sighting on twitter and facebook. And are they also hoping that someone will take there picture on their camera phone in the hope it will be on twitter or facebook? I don't really understand this. Would you not want another photo op from a papperazzi to take your picture so it is in a magazine. I was just wondering about this. Because there were sightings on twitter and facebook again about seeing these two walking in Soho.

July 22, 2013 at 5:14 AM
Delete

DataLounge said...

45 comments and going

Why did Jake Gylleenhaal fade into obscurity?


An earnest discussion

destiny said...

Yes, the point is to be seen and talked about on social media. I'm sure the strategy is to limit the number of pap photos on the erroneous assumption that more people will then think this is a real relationship and not a showmance.

Even some who think Jake is straight were turned off by the blatant staging with Reese and especially Taylor.

destiny said...

I'd read a little about Steward when that book came out a couple of years ago, but there was a lot I didn't know about him. I always find it interesting to read about people who did so many different things. I wonder if all those Hell's Angels knew he was gay.

Fellow Cancerian said...

Awesome Spotlight, Special.

And happy birthday wishes too!

PR said...

PR through social media is the most effective strategy now, across the board, whether you are promoting a new toothpaste, a political candidate, or a hetero showmance.

We live in a time when people don't trust the government, they don't trust the mainstream media, they don't trust business...

...but they'll trust anything posted on social media.

PR is well aware of this and all over it.

My theory is that it's the same social psychology principle at work as eyewitness testimony. Jurors tend to place more value on eyewitness testimony than anything else, even hard evidence, but the reliability of eyewitness testimony is actually quite low. Doesn't matter - people inherently place more trust in it.

prairiegirl said...

In case no one has checked out that thread on DataLounge with regards to Jake, there are a couple of comments from people regarding Jake and Austin parenting children.

As if there are indeed people "out there" who know full well that he and Austin have children.

What kills me is the mentions are just dropped out on the thread and no one even says "WHAAATT?!" They lie there on the thread like pebbles on the road.

prairiegirl said...

Will be interesting to go there later today and see if PR has swooped in and raised a stink. I'm sure they're not going to like those comments.

The clues, wink-wink's, and signs continue to mount.

dl said...

Maybe because we know you planted that fanfic about the bt crap. You are not fooling anyone pg and the rest

Photo op said...

New pics with the beard on IHJ.

Sad humans said...

wow 45 comments on datalounge about Jake's fall from stardom yet those folks chose to comment on him. It amazing to me how obessed you all are with someone who you say is irrevlant.

prairiegirl said...

Nope, not even registered there, Jack. Don't be looking at me. Sorry!


I have been giving Jake a terribly bad time but you know, he looks destroyed in those new pictures. Austin needs to see what this is doing to him. For gosh sakes, open your stinkin' eyes.

They need to stop it. You know, you can only push a human so much and pretty soon, they crack. He's only human.

I'm laying off for awhile. I can't deal with that.

leave jake alone said...
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I agree said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
destiny said...

Lots on interesting comments on that DL thread on Jake, especially the one from someone who knows and actress who has worked with him and says his mood can really change from day to day.

It is odd that no one has reacted to the baby comments, not even to shoot them down.

prairiegirl said...

I don't know but this whole Into the Woods thing is becoming a bad deal. It is looking all kinds of strange.

Twitter lit up today with the chatter that Jake is being replaced with a Billy Magnussen for the role of Rapunzel's prince. Only those familiar with theatre know who this guy is. Not only that, but someone keeps commenting that the role of Rapunzel's prince was greatly reduced for the movie.

So now with this guy being said to be in negotiations, it makes no sense that Jake was even involved? I don't know, I'm scratching my head on this one. All I know is it just doesn't look good from this angle.

the real m said...

Wow, Special. I don 't know how you manage to find so may interesting spotlights, but I'm glad you do.

I hope you all continue to highlight the discussion on Data lounge. Whenever I try to go there, it always seems to be too busy with their own users and I cant get in anyway.

Yes, this into the woods deal is odd. Jake was barely even on the books. Could be that his singing voice just does not cut it. Voices get poorer as you age, not better and this new guy has a Broadway background. If he is who I think he is from that Atlantic City show, he's pretty darn cute.

There are some new pics of Jake and the beard on IHJ and he is carrying a newspaper. Didn't we suggest that he do that a week or two ago, to prove that the pictures are current. Jake, if you want to prove the date, you have to hold the paper up so that the headline can be read! He looks just as bored and disinterested as he did in Reeke days.

don't get it said...

I don't know about Jake, but it seems to me he's lost his way over the years. Those IHJ photos are pathetic. Those two absolutely have no chemistry together and Jake looks like he does with all his fake GFs...AWKWARD. I still don't know why he's doing the bearding game again right now. At first, I thought it was because of Disney, but with the movie falling through, that can't be it. By the way, he looks awful. He isn't fooling anyone yet he continues to play the game as if its going to help him getting better parts. Sure doesn't look like it's working.

sighting with the beard said...

Eric R Alvarez · 9 followers
11 hours ago via mobile ·
Just crossed path with Jake Gyllenhaal in shorts and black tube socks and his new girlfriend in the Meat Packing district walking in the rain without umbrellas enjoying an impromptu rain shower and intimate conversation How cool is that? I don't think i can picture Reese doing that. Do you?
facebook


Pic of Jake alone at Juice Press: thecownyc

Daily Mail said...

More proof that the beard’s instagram pics are not only for the fans but for the media too. From the Daily Mail:

"Alyssa Miller rocks black bra-top at Blue Jasmine premiere...without her boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal

She gained international fame posing in bikinis and body paint for Sports Illustrated.
So it was fitting that Alyssa Miller rocked a midriff-baring black bra-top to the Blue Jasmine premiere at New York's Museum of Modern Art Monday.
The 24-year-old IMG model finished off her summery night look with a black floral pencil skirt and black strappy wedges.

(PIC)
Where's Jake? A solo Alyssa Miller rocked a midriff-baring black bra-top to the Blue Jasmine premiere at New York's Museum of Modern Art Monday

The bushy-browed beauty sported minimal make-up and wore her ombré-tinged locks down to watch the Woody Allen flick - due out July 26.
Alyssa stays fit thanks to boxing classes and regular sessions with her 'favourite' trainer Michael Olajide.
Not seen Monday night was her new boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal.

(PIC)
Casual premiere: The 24-year-old IMG model finished off her summery night look with a black floral pencil skirt and black strappy wedges

'They met at their gym. It's very new. They really like each other, but it's new,' an insider told Us Weekly last month.
And when Miller turned 24 on July 4, she posted two Instagrams of her gift-wrapped presents and homemade birthday cake.
'Spoiled!' the brunette bombshell tweeted to her 23,000 followers. 'Homemade birthday cake and banana bread..I'm a lucky girl :)'
Jake's distinctive blue Nike high-tops could be seen in one of the snaps.


(PIC WITH THE DOG)
'They met at their gym. It's very new. They really like each other': Alyssa's beau Jake Gyllenhaal is clearly excited about her as well as her adorable black Boston Terrier Charlie

(JAKE'S SHOES INSTAGRAM)
'I'm a lucky girl ': Jake's distinctive blue Nike high-tops could be seen in this Instagram of her 'Homemade birthday cake and banana bread'

(PINKY RING INSTAGRAM)
'Spoiled!' The Brokeback Mountain stud has even introduced Miller to his Oscar-nominated screenwriter mother, Naomi Foner


The Oscar-nominated 32-year-old is clearly excited about Alyssa as well as her adorable black Boston Terrier Charlie.
The Brokeback Mountain stud was also spotted taking Miller to brunch at Hudson Clearwater alongside his Oscar-nominated screenwriter mother, Naomi Foner.
Gyllenhaal previously romanced Kirsten Dunst, Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift, Minka Kelly, and Sports Illustrated model Emily DiDonato.
Jake will next appear in the crime thriller Prisoners - due out September 20 - alongside Hugh Jackman and Melissa Leo."


Daily Mail