BUTT >> The David Hurles Interview

From BUTT Magazine
By Christopher Trout

Twenty years ago, David Hurles was rolling in cash. He had spent the better half of his life photographing and filming the surliest, dirtiest rough trade motherfuckers the West Coast had to offer and selling these photos and videos under the name Old Reliable Tape and Picture Company. His fans ranged from patron of filth John Waters to cerebral playboy Gore Vidal. He lived the sweet life in a gigantic home in the Hollywood Hills. When I met David two years ago, things had soured a bit. He shared an apartment with his longhaired 30-something boyfriend, Mykey, much closer to Hollywood Blvd. than the Hollywood Hills. They survived off of David’s Social Security checks and occasional government-issued cans of food, generically printed with the names of their contents – FISH, CHICKEN, BEEF.

Today, David is the most popular resident of a state funded nursing home in East Hollywood. Having suffered a stroke over a year ago, he spends his days in bed, listening to the constant noise of his roommates’ TVs, sleeping and gossiping with his close friend, and de facto caregiver, Dian Hanson[i]. The place is a dump, really, mere miles from the palace that porn built, but David isn’t altogether bitter. Sure, he’s pissed – understandably so – but if you catch him at the right time, you’ll find him transported to another place in his memory, a place where the rough trade runs free. With a retrospective of David’s outsider porn photos (curated by John Waters) set to open at Marianne Boesky gallery in New York in June, and a Joe Gage-directed documentary about him in the works, I sat down with David to find out just what got him to where he is today.

Check out the full interview @ the BUTT Blog

David Hurles Curated by John Waters @ Marianne Boesky NYC

Raging hard-ons, sketchy prison tattoos, and junkies, junkies, junkies – they have all been represented in contemporary art, but never like this. Starting June 4, and continuing through June 26, David's work will be on display at one of New York's most respected galleries, Marianne Boesky (509 West 24th St.). The show, Outsider Porn: The Photos of David Hurles, is the brain child of King of Filth, John Waters. Waters worked closely with David's friend Dian Hanson, to come up with a truly compelling collection of photographs from his vast portfolio of American street trade. David's aggressively pornographic images, will now occupy the same space once taken up by the works of such art stars as Takashi Murakami, Liz Craft, and Mr. Waters himself. 

Say Goodbye to the Old Reliable Store

Starting immediately the Old Reliable Store is closed!

No need to panic–David's movin' on up, supplying his work with much fancier accommodations. It's been a good year, and a lot of people have reached out to help, but we're happy to pass the torch. Where, then, will you be able to find Old Reliable? We're not at liberty to say, but you'll be the first to know when we are.

As far as David's health is concerned, he's doing OK–not great, just OK. He's still crazy about sweets–a peek in his bedside table revealed a stash of assorted candies and cookies, ranging from strawberry Hostess Cakes to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups–and his spirits are as high as they can be.

The last time I saw him, which was early December, I believe, I read to him from James Leo Herlihy's Midnight Cowboy, which, having been written about one of David's roughest old models, Barry Hoffman (pictured above sometime in his 50s), really struck a cord with him. A very creepy, and all too well described trailer park rape scene brought our man to tears. Afterward David took me on a trip down memory lane–more like Hollywood Blvd–where he imparted a real pearl, which was handed down to him from a wise old drag queen–something about fucking marines and praying to Jesus.

I don't do it justice, but it's in those moments with David that you realize just how superficial his handicap really is–he's still witty, charming and sharp, but his body just hasn't caught up with his mind. We know he is still a capable human being, now it's up to his body to prove it.

We salute David in his new ventures and we'd like to thank you for giving your support when David needed it most. We'll continue to update this blog with details about upcoming OR products and events, but, for now into the foreseeable future, you'll have to go somewhere else to buy Old Reliable.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Sneak Peek: David Hurles' Outcast

We've received a number of requests for information about David's new book, but for the most part you know as much as we do–well, almost. If you've kept up with the progress of Outcast, then you know that it was set for release in November. Well, word on the street is...nothing. We tried to get a solid date from the publishing house, which proved fruitless, and for all of our digging on the Internet, we've come up with dick. The publisher's website, GreenCandyPress.com, still shows no trace of the full-color volume, and Amazon has changed it's release date to March 1, 2010. So what does that mean for the fate of Outcast? We don't know. What we do know is the book was ready for press a few months ago–we received an advanced PDF, roughly laid out, but not yet polished for printing, in September. Basically, it should be ready to go, but there's clearly somehting gumming up the works.

Well, we'll let you know if we hear anything. Until then, enjoy the above spread of early Old Reliable color stills.

David Hurles' Outcast - Nov. 2009 in Bookstore's Near You

With the recent release of David's new book, Outcast, and John Waters' upcoming reflections on his greatest influences, Role Models, due out early next year, Old Reliable continues to expand its reach over the world of dirty books. In Outcast, David gathers his favorite photographs along with an autobiographical intro, and short bios of the Hollywood hustlers he loved most. From what we've seen of John Waters' new book, it's a witty and enlightening homage to a group of filthy, depraved and thoroughly interesting human beings – one of them being David, or at least we hope. Barring some major oversight in editing, a 2006 interview between these two purveyors of 20th Century trash, should be the basis for a chapter on David. Role Models is still a ways off, but you can enjoy David in his own words now,

Trash Can 0013 - OJ's Third Leg

Trash Can 0012 - Meat