Erik Rhodes (pornographic actor)
{{short description|American pornographic actor and director}}
{{distinguish|Erik Rhodes (actor, born 1906)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Erik Rhodes
| image = Erik Rhodes.jpg
| caption = Rhodes at the GayVN Awards in 2006
| birth_name = James Elliott Naughtin
| birth_date = {{birth date|1982|2|8|mf=y|}}
| birth_place = Massapequa, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|6|14|1982|2|8|mf=y|}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| spouse =
| height = 6 ft 3 in
| alias =
| website = [http://erikrhodes.tumblr.com/ Official blog]
}}
James Elliott Naughtin (February 8, 1982 – June 14, 2012), known professionally as Erik Rhodes, was an American gay pornographic film actor and director. After making his adult film debut as a performer in 2004, Rhodes became an exclusive model with Falcon Studios, and began directing adult films for Raging Stallion Studios when the studio was acquired by Falcon in 2011. Beyond his work in pornography, Rhodes was active in New York City nightlife and celebrity circles, and was once linked to fashion designer Marc Jacobs. In 2012, Rhodes died from cardiac arrest at the age of 30.
Biography
=Early life and career=
Rhodes was born James Elliott Naughtin in Massapequa, New York. He has an identical twin brother, Jon Naughtin. Rhodes worked at a CVS and a sex shop before working as a stripper, go-go dancer, and a male escort, where he was discovered by a recruiter for the gay pornography studio Falcon Entertainment. He broke into the adult film industry at the age of 22, in the 2004 film Flesh produced by Studio 2000. The role would be Rhodes' sole non-Falcon gay pornographic feature film; he would sign an exclusive contract with Falcon in 2004, and made his debut with the studio that same year with the film Super Soaked.
Over the course of his career, Rhodes appeared in over 40 scenes with Falcon, and directed eight films for the Falcon subsidiary Mustang Studios. He began appearing in films produced by Raging Stallion Studios when the studio merged with Falcon in 2011. His notable credits include Grabby Award-nominated performances in Heaven to Hell (2005) and The Velvet Mafia (2006), and the 2007 film The Ivy League, for which he won two Grabby Awards. Rhodes was noted by outlets as one of the final gay porn stars to achieve widespread recognition and fame "in an industry increasingly faltering amidst the explosion of piracy and amateur cam sites."
Beyond his work in pornography, Rhodes was active as a socialite in gay New York nightlife, with The New York Times describing him as "an unlikely celebrity in some New York social circles." He attended New York Fashion Week, and was written about frequently by Page Six and Gawker. Rhodes was often linked to the fashion designer Marc Jacobs, though Rhodes denied that their relationship was romantic or sexual in nature. He also appeared in an advertising campaign for the department store Loehmann's, in the 2007 mainstream comedy-drama film Dedication,{{cite web|url=http://www.friskyfans.org/profiles/erik_rhodes.htm|title=Porn Stars: Erik Rhodes|work=Frisky Fans|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318164039/http://www.friskyfans.org/profiles/erik_rhodes.htm|access-date=January 8, 2021|archive-date=March 18, 2018}} and in L.A. Zombie, a 2010 experimental film by director Bruce LaBruce. Rhodes recorded his own music, and published it on his MySpace profile.{{cite web |url=https://myspace.com/erikrhodesmusic/music/song/forgive-me-15613994-15415179 |title=Forgive Me by Erik Rhodes Music |publisher=MySpace |access-date=January 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108112139if_/https://myspace.com/erikrhodesmusic/music/song/forgive-me-15613994-15415179 |archive-date=8 January 2021 |url-status=dead}}
=Later career and death=
Rhodes continued to work as an escort while simultaneously shooting films with Falcon, and expressed skepticism about the gay adult entertainment industry in the final years of his life. Rhodes was open about his struggles with drug use and depression, and maintained a blog where he wrote frequently about his use of anabolic steroids and club drugs.
On June 14, 2012, Rhodes died in his sleep from cardiac arrest at the age of 30. Though an official cause of death was never released, outlets noted that Rhodes stated on his blog in the days preceding his death that he was cycling multiple steroids, including human growth hormone. In one of his final blog entries, Rhodes wrote regarding his steroid use that he was "waiting until i pop. Or my liver to fail... which every {{sic}} comes first." Rhodes' death was noted as one of several prominent deaths and deaths by suicide that occurred in the gay pornography industry in 2012 and 2013, alongside Arpad Miklos, Roman Ragazzi, and Wilfried Knight. A private funeral for Rhodes was held in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York; his remains were cremated, per his family's request.
In an obituary written for The New York Times, Rhodes was posthumously outed as HIV positive, with writer Jacob Bernstein revealing that Rhodes had previously been diagnosed while preparing to shoot a scene for the gay pornography website Randy Blue. Since Rhodes did not publicly reveal his HIV status during his lifetime, the Times' disclosure was the subject of controversy.
Filmography
=As actor=
=As director=
Awards
{{Awards table|4}}
|-
! scope="row" | 2006
| Heaven to Hell
| Best Group Sex Scene
| {{nominated}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2006
| {{sdash}}
| Best Newcomer
| Grabby Awards
| {{nominated}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2007
| {{sdash}}
| Best Performer
| Grabby Awards
| {{nominated}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2007
| {{sdash}}
| Best Versatile Performer
| Grabby Awards
| {{nominated}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2007
| The Velvet Mafia
| Best Actor
| Grabby Awards
| {{nominated}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2008
| Ivy League
| Best Actor
| Grabby Awards
| {{won}}
| Tied with Jason Ridge.
|-
! scope="row" | 2008
| {{sdash}}
| Best Versatile Performer
| Grabby Awards
| {{won}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2008
| Ivy League
| Best Group Sex Scene
| Grabby Awards
| {{nom}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2008
| Ivy League
| Best Rimming Scene
| Grabby Awards
| {{nom}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2008
| {{sdash}}
| Performer of the Year
| {{nom}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2008
| Ivy League
| Best Actor
| GayVN Awards
| {{nom}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2009
| {{sdash}}
| GLBT Performer of the Year
| XBIZ Awards
| {{nom}}
|
| {{cite web |last1=Hunter |first1=Tod |title=XBIZ Awards 2009 Official Nominees Announced |url=https://www.xbiz.com/news/102373/xbiz-awards-2009-official-nominees-announced |website=XBIZ |access-date=December 22, 2019 |date=December 3, 2008}}{{cite web |title=XBIZ Awards 2009 Winners |url=https://xbizawards.xbiz.com/winners2009.php |website=XBIZ Awards |access-date=January 5, 2022}}
|-
{{end}}
See also
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{cite web |title=Celebrating Erik Rhodes 1982-2012 |url=https://blog.falconstudios.com/?p=4360 |website=Falcon Entertainment |access-date=December 22, 2019 |date=June 14, 2012}}
{{cite web |last1=Tate |first1=Ryan |title=Marc Jacobs' Porn Star Friend Cannot Get You A Discount |url=https://gawker.com/5002845%2Fmarc-jacobs-porn-star-friend-cannot-get-you-a-discount |website=Gawker |access-date=December 22, 2019 |date=February 5, 2008}}
{{cite web |last1=Juzwiak |first1=Rich |title=Gay Porn's Erik Rhodes Is Dead After Slowly Dying in Public for Years |url=https://gawker.com/5918779%2Fgay-porns-erik-rhodes-is-dead-after-slowly-dying-in-public-for-years |website=Gawker |access-date=December 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016222701/http://gawker.com/5918779/gay-porns-erik-rhodes-is-dead-after-slowly-dying-in-public-for-years |archive-date=October 16, 2018 |date=June 15, 2012}}
{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jacob |title=An Early Death but Perhaps Not a Surprise |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/erik-rhodess-death-was-early-but-perhaps-not-surprising.html |website=The New York Times |date=June 20, 2012 |access-date=December 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709012206/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/erik-rhodess-death-was-early-but-perhaps-not-surprising.html |archive-date=July 9, 2018}}
{{cite web |last1=Panisch |first1=Alex |title=Beloved Gay Porn Star Erik Rhodes Found Dead |url=https://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/06/18/gay-porn-star-erik-rhodes-found-dead |website=Out Magazine |access-date=December 17, 2019 |date=June 18, 2012}}
{{cite web |last1=Gutierrez Jr. |first1=Oriol R. |title=Posthumous HIV Disclosure Stirs Debate |url=https://www.poz.com/blog/erik-rhodes-hiv |website=POZ Magazine |access-date=December 17, 2019 |date=June 22, 2012}}
{{cite web |last1=Barmann |first1=Jay |title=Porn Community Mourns of the Loss of Erik Rhodes, Dead at Age 30 |url=https://sfist.com/2012/06/14/sf_porn_community_mourns_of_the_los/ |website=SFist |access-date=December 21, 2019 |date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221231424/https://sfist.com/2012/06/14/sf_porn_community_mourns_of_the_los/ |archive-date=December 21, 2019 |url-status=dead }}
{{cite web |last1=Belonsky |first1=Andrew |title=Gay Adult Film Star Erik Rhodes Dead At 30 |url=https://www.towleroad.com/2012/06/gay-adult-film-star-erik-rhodes-dead-at-30/ |website=Towleroad |access-date=December 17, 2019 |date=June 14, 2012}}
}}
External links
{{commons category|Erik Rhodes}}
- {{iafd name|id=ErikRhodes|gender=male|name=Erik Rhodes}}
- {{afdb name|id=48863|gender=male|name=Erik Rhodes}}
- {{IMDb name|1906597}}
{{authority control}}
{{Portalbar|Erotica and pornography|Biography}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Erik}}
Category:American actors in gay pornographic films
Category:American male bloggers
Category:American male pornographic film actors
Category:American pornographic film directors
Category:Directors of gay pornographic films
Category:Gay pornographic film actors
Category:American LGBTQ film directors
Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)
Category:LGBTQ pornographic film actors
Category:People from Long Island
Category:Pornographic film actors from New York (state)