John Leslie Nuzzo (January 25, 1945 – December 5, 2010) was an American
pornographic film actor-
director-
producer. Usually credited under the name John Leslie, he also worked under a variety of pseudonyms, including John Leslie Dupre, Frederick Watson, and Lenny Lovely.
Along with
Ron Jeremy,
Jamie Gillis,
John Holmes, and
Harry Reems, Leslie was one of the stalwart male stars of the
Golden Age of Porn, when blue movies had narratives, higher quality production values, and distribution in some legitimate movie houses.
After Holmes experienced setbacks due to drug and
legal problems, Leslie inherited the mantle of the porn industry's top male superstar with the success of Talk Dirty To Me in 1980. He eventually starred in over 600 porn films before making the transition to
director.[1]
In the mid 1970s, Leslie relocated to the Mill Valley area in California and began performing in adult films.[2] His first film was Coming Attractions (1976).[6] He was a performer in almost 300 adult films and won numerous awards during his days as a performer. He appeared with some of the era's most noted porn stars, including fellow Ohioans
Traci Lords and
John "Johnny Wadd" Holmes, as well as
Seka,
Kay Parker, and
Annette Haven. His most noteworthy roles were in Obsessed (1977), Desires Within Young Girls (1977), A Coming of Angels (1977), Dracula Sucks (aka Lust At First Bite) (1978), Pretty Peaches (1979), Insatiable (1980), Nothing To Hide (1981), and Talk Dirty To Me, Part II (1982).
He was one of the first porn actors to make the transition from performing to directing, beginning with 1987's Nightshift Nurses. Since then he directed more than 90 adult movies, including The Chameleon (1989), Curse of the Catwoman (1992), Dog Walker (1994), and Drop Sex (1997), along with the Voyeur'
', Fresh Meat, and Crack Her Jack series. He won many awards for his work behind the cameras as well. Though much of his later work, in keeping with current trends in adult video, was in the
gonzo genre, such as the "Fresh Meat" and "Crack Her Jack" series, Leslie continued to make feature films, or "sex dramas"; most recently, in 2007 he directed the film Brianna Love, Her Fine, Sexy Self.[7]
He was a member of the
AVN,[8] and
XRCO[9] Halls of Fame.
John Leslie died of a heart attack at the age of 65 on December 5, 2010, at his home in
Mill Valley, California.[2][10] Leslie was one of several former porn stars featured in the 2012 documentary After Porn Ends, which was about life after being a porn actor. His final appearance was posthumously in the 2016 documentary X-Rated 2: The Greatest Adult Stars of All Time.
Awards
John Leslie in 2000
As a performer:
1977
AFAA Award - Best Supporting Actor (Coming of Angels)[11]
1980 AFAA Award - Best Actor (Talk Dirty to Me)[11]
^Harrington, Richard (3 September 1973).
"Blues and Jazz". Washington Evening Star. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.{{
cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link)
^Riley, Patrick (1997). The x-rated videotape star index II : a guide to your favorite adult film stars. Prometheus Books. p. 323.
ISBN1573921688.