70's gay porn god Jack Wrangler is the subject of Jeffrey Schwarz's profile documentary Anatomy Of An Icon – how he first made men lust over his chiseled physique, then women, and what he decided to do afterwards is quite an entertaining story.
Before any other gay porn star thrusted his hips into porn icon status – Jeff Stryker, Ryan Idol – there was Jack Wrangler, who appeared on the scene at the peak of the sexual revolution.
In the film, Wrangler himself tells how he went from go-go boy to porn star almost overnight by starring in such classics as Kansas City Trucking Company. He would build his macho-man reputation in 80-plus porn films. An openly gay man, Wrangler then decided to conquer straight porn – having sex with a woman for the first time on film.
At the height of his career, Wrangler met pop singer and actress Margaret Whiting. While she was twenty-two years his elder, the pair fell in love and married eighteen years later in 1994.
Wrangler successfully metamorphosed into a musical theater producer in the late 70's.
Anatomy is a juicy look at the seemingly contradictory life of the man who epitomized the halcyon pre-AIDS gay sexual revolution of the 70's and turned his back on gay superstardom.
Look for rare celebrity interviews with porn insiders Chi Chi La Rue, Gino Colbert and Joe Gage.
Anatomy Of An Icon is one of the featured films included in TLA Releasing's mini gay & lesbian film festival TLA Releasing Presents. The festival arrives in West Hollywood (Laemmie Sunset 5) on August 15, Ft. Lauderdale (Gateway Cinemas) on August 22nd, and currently in New York City (Quad Cinemas).