Anatomy of an Idol

There was a time in the history of gay erotica when the name 'Bruno' meant one thing only--the Cuban-American Ur-Bear who burst on the scene just as the partnership of Lou Thomas and Jim French was splitting into two brands: Target--run by Lou in New York--and Colt--which went West with Jim & soon became the finest & most successful macho-image studio of all time. Bruno's career spanned both enterprises, and, thanks to their collective pix of him, was so authentically an 'idol' as to merit this 15-minute movie tribute. Whether Lou or Jim actually shot it (and precisely when) is hard to figure out, but its setting is unmistakably Fire Island--just as its status as a silent jerk-off fantasy is surely classic.