Paul Barresi (born 1949) is an American actor, movie director, and media personality.

Early life and military career

Born in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

, when Barresi was 12 his family moved to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

for his father's job at the United States Naval Academy. Barresi was offered a wrestling scholarship to the University of Maryland but opted to instead enlist in the United States Air Force during the height of the Vietnam War. Barresi served at bases in the United States and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and he was honorably discharged as a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in 1971 after completing his tour at

March Air Force Base March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB) is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's Fo ...

.Ebner, Mark and Jack Cheevers (April 26, 2001)
The Bagman.
''

New Times LA ''New Times LA'' is a now-defunct alternative weekly newspaper that was published in Los Angeles, California by New Times Media from 1996 to 2002. History It was formed by the purchase and merger of the '' Los Angeles View''/'' Los Angeles Villag ...

'' Upon returning to civilian life, he soon began working as a

fitness trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

at a gym in nearby

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

Work in modeling, theater and film

In March 1974, Barresi was featured in ''

Playgirl ''Playgirl'' was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although i ...

'' magazine with

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage ...

. The following year he was selected by

Rip Colt Jim French (born James Thomas French, July 14, 1932 – June 16, 2017) was an American artist, illustrator, photographer, filmmaker, and publisher. He is best known for his association with Colt Studio which he, using the pseudonym Rip Colt, (and ...

as an early Colt model and featured on the cover of the November 1975 of '' Mandate''. In December 1978, Barresi was the first man ever to appear on the cover of ''

Hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more gener ...

''. The print modeling led to dozens of offers to star in adult film. Barresi's natural muscled build and unique persona on film made him into one the highest paid and most sought after adult film icons of the 70's, starring in adult film classics including ''Co-ed Fever'', ''Bad Girls II'', ''All American Girls II'' and ''Secret of Stage Five''. Barresi wrote, produced and directed adult films. In 1992 Barresi, using the name "Joe Hammer", won the Gay Video Guide Award in the Best Specialty Release category for the fetish video ''Razor Close''. Barresi earned a 2003

GayVN Awards The GayVN Awards are film awards presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornographic industry. The awards were sponsored by '' AVN Magazine'', the parent publication of ''GAYVN Magazine'', and continue the recognition for gay pornograp ...

nomination for "Best Non-Sex Performance — Gay or Bi" for ''Long Strokes''.Skee, Mickey (July 2003)
Bad Boys. Paul Barresi. Sam Tyson and Michael Knight Impersonators?
Gay/Bi Gossip column on ''

Adult Video News ''Adult Video News'' (also called ''AVN'' or ''AVN Magazine'') is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. ''The New York Times'' notes that ''AVN'' is to pornographic films what '' Billboard'' is to records. ''AVN'' spon ...

'' Barresi also won the 2007 GayVN award and a 2007

Grabby Award Grabby Awards (better known as The Grabbys) are presented annually in Chicago to honor work done in the gay adult erotic video industry. The awards are sponsored by ''GRAB Magazine.'' The Grabby Awards and ''GRAB Magazine'' are owned and operate ...

for "Best Non-Sex Performance" for his work in ''Velvet Mafia (parts 1 and 2)''. And in 2008, Barresi was inducted into the GayVN Hall of Fame. Barresi and was particularly noted for his military themes; ''

'' has said Barresi's directorial efforts make him "undisputedly the king of military-themed videos."Spencer, Jeremy (October 2002). (review). ''

''. Barresi toured in a 1980

summer stock In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock the ...

suite of scenes from

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

plays, headlined by

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his barely closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well ...

.Barresi played the Borden Eisler role from ''

Plaza Suite ''Plaza Suite'' is a comedy play by Neil Simon. Plot The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel. The first act, ''Visitor From Mamaroneck'', introduces the au ...

''. Wilson, Steve and Joe Florenski (2005). ''Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story''. Advocate Books, , an
tribute site
He had several roles in mainstream film and television projects, including '' Perfect'', ''

Spontaneous Combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high tem ...

'', '' JAG'' and '' Father Dowling Mysteries''. Barresi told ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

'' of the difficulty crossing over into mainstream film: "No one really takes a porn actor seriously ... and no one really respects a porn actor."Moran, Julie (March 8, 1997). Cover story: Porn. ''

References

External links

* *
Paul Barresi at Adultfilmdatabase.com"Paul Barresi"
''SexTV'', Episode 7–19, May 14, 2005.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barresi, Paul Living people 1949 births American male film actors Actors from Lynn, Massachusetts Male actors from Massachusetts United States Air Force airmen Private detectives and investigators Film directors from Massachusetts