Wade Nichols

Parker was born in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Freeport, New York.{{cite magazine |magazine=Variety |title=Obituaries|page=134 |date=February 6, 1985}} He attended the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, studying furniture design.{{cite web |last1=Durdan |first1=Douglas |title=Son's on soap, but not here |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/nb-osd-toolbar/file-download/Richmond_Times_Dispatch_1982-07-24_6?setup=http://172.25.5.5:10009/SiteLinks/imageviewer/image/html/index.html%3Frem=nb_osd_toolbar%26image=fullsize%26url=image/v2:135B950C9F3CF0C6@GB3NEWS-14A0EA3BA47BF6DD@2445175-149C66451C1A8F23@5-149C66451C1A8F23%26xywh_relative=98%7C166%7C4951%7C3831 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20181221214959/https://www.genealogybank.com/nb-osd-toolbar/file-download/Richmond_Times_Dispatch_1982-07-24_6?setup=http://172.25.5.5:10009/SiteLinks/imageviewer/image/html/index.html%3Frem=nb_osd_toolbar%26image=fullsize%26url=image/v2:135B950C9F3CF0C6@GB3NEWS-14A0EA3BA47BF6DD@2445175-149C66451C1A8F23@5-149C66451C1A8F23%26xywh_relative=98%7C166%7C4951%7C3831 |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |access-date=July 16, 2018 |newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=July 24, 1982}} During his stint at PMCA, he won a role in a touring company production of The Trojan Women. He later attended New York University and the Herbert Berghof Studio, where he studied acting. He supported himself by working as a carpenter for several years.

Parker's first feature film role was in the gay adult film Boy 'Napped (1975).{{Cite web|url=https://www.retromales.com/scenes/Boy-Napped-Part-1_vids.html|title=Boy {{'}}Napped (1975) – Part 1|website=Retromales|access-date=April 28, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tlavideo.com/videos/3330781/scene-2|title=Boy {{'}}Napped (1975)|website=TLA Video|access-date=April 28, 2025}} He subsequently appeared mostly in straight porn films shot in New York, such as Summer of Laura (1975), Jail Bait (1976), Barbara Broadcast (1977), Teenage Pajama Party (1977), Maraschino Cherry (1977), Punk Rock (1977), Take Off (1978) and Blonde Ambition (1981). Parker was credited as Wade Nichols in most of the adult films in which he appeared.

In 1979, using the name Dennis Parker, he recorded a disco album on Casablanca Records, titled Like an Eagle. The album was produced by Village People creator and producer, known as Jacques Morali. He was Parker's boyfriend at the time.{{cite web |url=http://www.therialtoreport.com/2017/06/25/wade-nichols/ |title=Wade Nichols: 'A Galaxy of Pleasure and Pain' – His Untold Story |website=The Rialto Report |date=June 25, 2017}} He also toured Europe to promote the album. He later appeared in the French film Monique that same year, with "Like an Eagle" being used as its theme song. The title track was released as a single and appears on the box set The Casablanca Records Story (1994). "New York By Night", another song recorded as Dennis Parker, peaked at No. 11 on the South African music charts in 1980.{{cite web |url=https://sacharts.wordpress.com/2022/07/15/dennis-parker-us/ |author=musicstats |title=Dennis Parker (US) - SA Singles Charts |website=SA Singles Charts - The Weekly South African Singles Chart History |date=July 15, 2022 |access-date=December 30, 2022}}

Parker joined the cast of the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1979 as Police Chief Derek Mallory. He continued in the role until 1984.

Parker died on January 28, 1985.{{cite web |first=Kevin Jr. |last=Mulcahy |url=https://www.welovesoaps.net/2011/12/crothersparkerlee.html |title=World AIDS Day Tribute |website=We Love Soaps |date=December 1, 2011 |access-date=May 8, 2023}} It was revealed later that he died of an unspecified AIDS-related illness. There was a prevalent rumor that circulated around that Parker had died by suicide after receiving his AIDS diagnosis rather than dying directly of the illness, but his older brother denied this was true in an oral history published on The Rialto Report.{{cite web |last1=West |first1=Ashley |title=RIP Henri Belolo - The Story of Wade Nichols and Dennis Parker |url=https://www.therialtoreport.com/2019/08/11/dennis-parker/ |website=The Rialto Report |access-date=24 June 2024 |date=11 August 2019}}

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|id=0629754|name=Wade Nichols}}
• {{iafd name|id=wnichols|gender=Male|name=Wade Nichols}}
• {{afdb name|id=5102|gender=Male|name=Wade Nichols}}
• [http://www.therialtoreport.com/2017/06/25/wade-nichols/ Wade Nichols: 'A Galaxy of Pleasure and Pain' His Untold Story], profile of Wade Nichols, The Rialto Report, June 25, 2017

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Category:1946 births

Category:1985 deaths

Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)

Category:American actors in gay pornographic films

Category:American male pornographic film actors

Category:American male soap opera actors

Category:Gay pornographic film actors

Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)

Category:Male actors from New York (state)

Category:People from Freeport, New York