We’ve had the good fortune of meeting Gay porn king Michael Lucas a few times — and we can confirm the man is nothing if not compelling!
So as we ease into tonight’s upcoming Rosh HaShanah events, it was oh-so appropriate to read in that bastion of old-fashioned Jewish reportage The Forward a large Lucas profile — complete with the above photo, en famille.
For those already familiar with Lucas’ tail (er, tale), The Forward piece (by Transracial bud Michael Kaminer) is a bit of a rehash. We learn about his childhood back in Russia, his escape to the West, early escort years and arrival in NYC where he became first a porn star — and later a porn mogul.
We also learn that Lucas likes Israel, loathes Arabs and is not so keen on the ultra-religious.
All good.
Even better, we feel, is Lucas’ obvious affection for his family — who are both well aware of his vocation and are well taken care of by their super-star son. After spending time in the USA, most of the Lucas clan (actually, Bregman clan) are back in Russia — all except for his grandmother who’s hanging with the rest of the Russians over in Brighton Beach.
Love it!
Lucas — who’s become a master at milking the mainstream media — has some fairly important admirers, who offer a few choice bon mots about the movie-man for The Forward piece.
“He’s a master self-promoter,” said Village Voice writer Michael Musto, whose column has chronicled episodes in Lucas’s career. “Sometimes he’ll say things just for effect. But on Israel, he is sincere. His opinions are fiery. He’ll tell you even if you don’t ask.”
Aaron Hicklin, editor in chief of the gay magazine Out, agreed. “I’m not sure the vast majority of his audience know or care about his political views,” he said. “The scuffles with various blogs are a bit of a sideshow, and I’m not sure they speak to anything bigger than the egos of those involved.”
Like Hicklin, we also feel that most of Lucas’ fans are indifferent to his political views.
But we will say that a Russo-Judeo-Homo-Porno-meister certainly makes for a good read.