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Making It Big: Sex Stars, Porn Films and Me
Just exactly how did a full-figured drag queen become one of the most well-known directors in the gay porn business? This is the classic American rags-to-riches story--with a twist. Young Larry Paciotti traveled to California to become part of the world he loved--gay porn. In record time he transformed the industry with his polished, steamy movies and turned himself into the irresistible Chi Chi LaRue.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
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138 people want to read
About the author
Chi Chi Larue
8 books3 followersChi Chi LaRue is a director of gay and bisexual pornography. He has also directed under the names "Lawrence David" and "Taylor Hudson." As the LaRue persona is achieved through Paciotti donning drag, LaRue is alternately referred to as "he" and "she."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 4, 2007
I always like to point out that Hibbing, MN actually spawned THREE geniuses: Bob Dylan, Roger Maris, and Chi Chi LaRue. Chi Chi's drag-queen porn-auteur memoir offers more hard-earned insights into human nature than Dylan could ever bounce off his poesie, or his reverent hype. Pick this one up and don't let the erectified hedonism deter you: the porn logistics and hilarious gossip turn it something approaching genius. Examples:
Most vital of all -- and I cannot stress this enough -- is what we in the industry call 'good length.' This refers not to the length of the dick being sucked but rather to the amount of dick moving in and out of the sucker's mouth with each stroke. There must be a distinct up-and-down motion, with as much of the cock as possible sliding out of the upstroke and in on the downstroke. This is easier with a bigger dick, of course, but even a moderate-size dick can display good length if the sucker goes all the way down to the base, then all the way back up to the head.
When you start casting real-life boyfriends together, that's where you get into some dangerous territory... Sure the lovemaking is authentic -- authentically sweet and tender and kind and gentle, exactly what you don't want in a porn film.
Ryan Idol had his own agenda. He was having tantrums virtually every day on the set. At one point, when Steve Marks had spit in his ass, Ryan screamed at us, 'Nobody spits in Ryan Idol's ass!' and threatened to come after me with a baseball bat if I left that in the final cut.
Most vital of all -- and I cannot stress this enough -- is what we in the industry call 'good length.' This refers not to the length of the dick being sucked but rather to the amount of dick moving in and out of the sucker's mouth with each stroke. There must be a distinct up-and-down motion, with as much of the cock as possible sliding out of the upstroke and in on the downstroke. This is easier with a bigger dick, of course, but even a moderate-size dick can display good length if the sucker goes all the way down to the base, then all the way back up to the head.
When you start casting real-life boyfriends together, that's where you get into some dangerous territory... Sure the lovemaking is authentic -- authentically sweet and tender and kind and gentle, exactly what you don't want in a porn film.
Ryan Idol had his own agenda. He was having tantrums virtually every day on the set. At one point, when Steve Marks had spit in his ass, Ryan screamed at us, 'Nobody spits in Ryan Idol's ass!' and threatened to come after me with a baseball bat if I left that in the final cut.
June 18, 2022
Parts of this book about a drag queen-turned-gay-porn-director are actually pretty interesting. Other sections are deadly dull if you don't know specific 1980s and 90s gay porn films or stars. It's a mixed bag that isn't badly written, even entertaining in spots, and refreshing in its approach to the gay community (often slamming political correctness). I don't think "Chi Chi Larue" (the fake drag name of a man named Larry from Minnesota) would get away with saying some of these things now, over twenty years later.
The most interesting section is the first fourth of the book, where Larry writes about his upbringing in Hibbing and how he got into the business in Minneapolis. It's refreshing that he claims no one knows if you're born gay, but he claims he must have been and it was genetic--just like his talent for performing and directing were from birth? That's what he says. He also oddly claims that some of the talent he has "can't be learned, you're born with it." False. If this guy is that confused about how you are able to develop abilities no wonder he's confused about being born gay.
Then he gets specific about working in the porn business and it quickly goes south as he describes what goes on at a porn shoot and then goes movie-by-movie through those he directed or star-by-star through the men he worked with. I had no idea what he was talking about during at least 80 of the 260 pages.
When he talks about his drag queen work things get confusing. Chi Chi Larue is the name of a female character portrayed by a man. The author uses "her" when referring to any drag queen, including himself, but they aren't really "hers" they are "hims." These aren't transgender females, but men that enjoy playing makeup for a few hours a week (as the author makes clear). Then why on the back of the book, in the summary about the author named Chi Chi Larue with a photo of Chi Chi in female drag, is the author called "him?"
And why is RuPaul called "her" in the book, even though when the star appears outside of drag makeup in his male clothing he is a man called RuPaul?
What's even more bizarre is when Larry went to France to do the drag show, "Chi Chi" was met by a hot guy in the men's bathroom, and while in drag Chi Chi proceeded to top the young Frenchman during hot sex, ripping apart "her" panty hose to do it. So a man dressed as a woman was screwing a man but calling himself a "she?"
Add to that Larry never directs his movies as Chi Chi Larue in female makeup, he always is in his male street clothes. So why is Chi Chi Larue the name on the screen, does that mean it was directed by a "she?" No, he calls himself a "he" in the book when directing under the name Chi Chi Larue.
So obviously there are a lot of inconsistencies. Can you say split personality?
I do admire him for standing up against the gay community in saying there are many different ways to be gay, and that gay men need to stop criticizing those that don't fit their very out and flamboyant image. Larry makes some politically incorrect statements, almost conservative in spots, that gays are the most intolerant, bitter, and critically mean people around (especially drag queens) and he has simple common sense when it comes to truly accepting all, tolerating even those who disagree with him, instead of marching in parades to try to jam a bigoted political perspective down the throats of Americans.
His inconsistencies really come out near the end, where he talks about his drug abuse. While he claims he rarely touches drugs and isn't an addict, he says he has used cocaine once or twice a month for decades. That's not an addiction? Same with drinking, where he doesn't have any booze in his home, but will go crazy when out at parties or bars. It was nice to hear him admit "I guess I'm a very antidrug drug user. I know that makes me a hypocrite."
There's not much sex in the book, beyond his descriptions of scenes in his films which are dull on paper, so if you're looking to get off it won't come here.
It's now outdated (most of the films he mentioned I couldn't find online) and some modern queer studies students will object to how "Chi Chi Larue" uses inappropriate gender language, but the guy (gal?) has a good positive attitude that brings a lot of charm to an otherwise charmless industry.
The most interesting section is the first fourth of the book, where Larry writes about his upbringing in Hibbing and how he got into the business in Minneapolis. It's refreshing that he claims no one knows if you're born gay, but he claims he must have been and it was genetic--just like his talent for performing and directing were from birth? That's what he says. He also oddly claims that some of the talent he has "can't be learned, you're born with it." False. If this guy is that confused about how you are able to develop abilities no wonder he's confused about being born gay.
Then he gets specific about working in the porn business and it quickly goes south as he describes what goes on at a porn shoot and then goes movie-by-movie through those he directed or star-by-star through the men he worked with. I had no idea what he was talking about during at least 80 of the 260 pages.
When he talks about his drag queen work things get confusing. Chi Chi Larue is the name of a female character portrayed by a man. The author uses "her" when referring to any drag queen, including himself, but they aren't really "hers" they are "hims." These aren't transgender females, but men that enjoy playing makeup for a few hours a week (as the author makes clear). Then why on the back of the book, in the summary about the author named Chi Chi Larue with a photo of Chi Chi in female drag, is the author called "him?"
And why is RuPaul called "her" in the book, even though when the star appears outside of drag makeup in his male clothing he is a man called RuPaul?
What's even more bizarre is when Larry went to France to do the drag show, "Chi Chi" was met by a hot guy in the men's bathroom, and while in drag Chi Chi proceeded to top the young Frenchman during hot sex, ripping apart "her" panty hose to do it. So a man dressed as a woman was screwing a man but calling himself a "she?"
Add to that Larry never directs his movies as Chi Chi Larue in female makeup, he always is in his male street clothes. So why is Chi Chi Larue the name on the screen, does that mean it was directed by a "she?" No, he calls himself a "he" in the book when directing under the name Chi Chi Larue.
So obviously there are a lot of inconsistencies. Can you say split personality?
I do admire him for standing up against the gay community in saying there are many different ways to be gay, and that gay men need to stop criticizing those that don't fit their very out and flamboyant image. Larry makes some politically incorrect statements, almost conservative in spots, that gays are the most intolerant, bitter, and critically mean people around (especially drag queens) and he has simple common sense when it comes to truly accepting all, tolerating even those who disagree with him, instead of marching in parades to try to jam a bigoted political perspective down the throats of Americans.
His inconsistencies really come out near the end, where he talks about his drug abuse. While he claims he rarely touches drugs and isn't an addict, he says he has used cocaine once or twice a month for decades. That's not an addiction? Same with drinking, where he doesn't have any booze in his home, but will go crazy when out at parties or bars. It was nice to hear him admit "I guess I'm a very antidrug drug user. I know that makes me a hypocrite."
There's not much sex in the book, beyond his descriptions of scenes in his films which are dull on paper, so if you're looking to get off it won't come here.
It's now outdated (most of the films he mentioned I couldn't find online) and some modern queer studies students will object to how "Chi Chi Larue" uses inappropriate gender language, but the guy (gal?) has a good positive attitude that brings a lot of charm to an otherwise charmless industry.
August 25, 2014
A poorly executed book with little content or redeeming value.
Having finished Thousand and One Night Stands: The Life of Jon Vincent, which was told in a straight-forward, direct way, I moved right into this book hoping for more insight into the late 1990’s world of gay porn stars from someone who was there. I was disappointed. As LaRue says:
“I have had sex with some of the stars of this industry, but I’m not going to name names here. Sorry if this disappoints you, but I’ve never liked kiss-and-tell books, and I’m not going to write one. That’s unfair to the other people involved. If they want you to know, let them tell you.”
I wasn’t so much looking for a kiss-and-tell book as just a tell. The best story in the book is about Ryan Idol threatening her with a baseball bat and that’s told in about one sentence. The whole book is short vignettes with a few paragraphs and then a page break, and rather than tell a linear story the book is grouped into categories like how to direct a porno or popular drag queens of 1996. The woman’s met Prince, Madonna, Cher, Jeff Stryker, Ryan Idol and tons more and each gets about a paragraph.
LaRue’s humour very occasionally comes out:
“Bradley’s also gotten me addicted to fans, the little handheld spreading kind that classy women throughout history have fluttered when swooning with the vapors or watching their plantations burn down.”
But the humour is too infrequent and I don’t know how well it translates to the page. The book was written with a ghost writer and I have no idea what he did, he certainly didn’t help flush out the narrative.
There’s a reason people usually write these books at the end of their career. LaRue seems so concerned with stepping on people’s toes that nothing gets said.
Having finished Thousand and One Night Stands: The Life of Jon Vincent, which was told in a straight-forward, direct way, I moved right into this book hoping for more insight into the late 1990’s world of gay porn stars from someone who was there. I was disappointed. As LaRue says:
“I have had sex with some of the stars of this industry, but I’m not going to name names here. Sorry if this disappoints you, but I’ve never liked kiss-and-tell books, and I’m not going to write one. That’s unfair to the other people involved. If they want you to know, let them tell you.”
I wasn’t so much looking for a kiss-and-tell book as just a tell. The best story in the book is about Ryan Idol threatening her with a baseball bat and that’s told in about one sentence. The whole book is short vignettes with a few paragraphs and then a page break, and rather than tell a linear story the book is grouped into categories like how to direct a porno or popular drag queens of 1996. The woman’s met Prince, Madonna, Cher, Jeff Stryker, Ryan Idol and tons more and each gets about a paragraph.
LaRue’s humour very occasionally comes out:
“Bradley’s also gotten me addicted to fans, the little handheld spreading kind that classy women throughout history have fluttered when swooning with the vapors or watching their plantations burn down.”
But the humour is too infrequent and I don’t know how well it translates to the page. The book was written with a ghost writer and I have no idea what he did, he certainly didn’t help flush out the narrative.
There’s a reason people usually write these books at the end of their career. LaRue seems so concerned with stepping on people’s toes that nothing gets said.
June 2, 2009
good memoir. not what i expected. not quite sure what i expected, but it wasn't this.
Currently reading
January 2, 2013this book is all a sex crazy girl could want. it reminds me of when my boyfriend fucked me last night. he really knows how to ride me hard and make me orgasm
November 17, 2014
Straight forward memoir/biography. I think an updated version is overdue, a sort of then and now would be great.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews