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Wonder Bread and Ecstasy: The Life and Death of Joey Stefano
Drugs, Sex, and Unbridled These were the main ingredients in the lethal cocktail that killed gay porn's brightest star, Joey Stefano. As pornography's marketable gay face and body, he was filmed having sex in more than 35 hard-core videos, danced an unforgettable striptease in clubs across America and Europe, and hustled his way through thousands of dollars paid to him by clients around the globe. But none of this filled the void inside Nicholas Iacona, a.k.a. Joey Stefano. From his childhood in the country's heartland to his tragic rise and fall in Los Angeles's dark and dangerous world of gay porn, Wonder Bread and Ecstasy paints a grim portrait of American life gone berserk.
256 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 19, 2024
Written soon after the 1994 death of the adult film star, Joey Stefano. The result is a trip down memory lane through the 1980s and up to the mid 1990s. The concept of internalized homophobia is discussed although the phrase itself had not yet achieved currency.
Very sad story, all in all, and one with hints of childhood sexual abuse. One element reading this book is a kind of voyeurism, a glimpse behind the scenes of all those photos and salacious videos. Another element is celebrity culture, and how that is a double edged sword — one that gave this young man his living and also arguably killed him.
Very sad story, all in all, and one with hints of childhood sexual abuse. One element reading this book is a kind of voyeurism, a glimpse behind the scenes of all those photos and salacious videos. Another element is celebrity culture, and how that is a double edged sword — one that gave this young man his living and also arguably killed him.
May 13, 2016
not what i really expected at all! "Butt", I guess u can judge a book by its cover sometimes
July 29, 2017
Amazingly well-written book that does so much more than tell the tragic story of Joey Stefano. This book provides insight into the porn industry's boom in that crazy time in the 80's and early 90's before the internet, it further explains addiction, and the self-destructive nature of some of us.
December 18, 2020
Always a book that intrigued me at Borders In the 90s. Finally happy to read it
February 23, 2016
This book gave a great description of how individuals that work in nontraditional careers are able to create amazing bonds and friendship because of their line of work. It brought me into an industry that I had no clue what to expect. It also showed that drugs can be fun in moderation but becoming addicted can turn those bonds that people create to nothing. It had me laughing at times and crying at others. I would definitely recommend this read to others.
January 31, 2014
A very good book, but a very sad story.
January 11, 2026
I have long had a concept of a story in my head and one of my intentions for 2026 is to start fleshing this story out, so I read this for some insights and inspiration.
Stefano (born Nick Iacona) was seven years younger than I, which means his entry into the world of porn and stardom was an explosive moment in my own wild years. I definitely crushed hard on him, the dark, thick hair, the beautiful eyes and the swarthy skin, were all things I loved in a man/boy crush in those years.
Stefano's presence in gay porn, and in this world, was brief. He set the gay porn world on its respective rear end (as a bottom performer, the pun is intended). He is remembered to this day (he died in 1994, more than 30 years ago now), and not many gay porn actors (or even straight porn actors) can claim this. That's how brilliant his star was, even in its brevity.
I took notes.
Stefano (born Nick Iacona) was seven years younger than I, which means his entry into the world of porn and stardom was an explosive moment in my own wild years. I definitely crushed hard on him, the dark, thick hair, the beautiful eyes and the swarthy skin, were all things I loved in a man/boy crush in those years.
Stefano's presence in gay porn, and in this world, was brief. He set the gay porn world on its respective rear end (as a bottom performer, the pun is intended). He is remembered to this day (he died in 1994, more than 30 years ago now), and not many gay porn actors (or even straight porn actors) can claim this. That's how brilliant his star was, even in its brevity.
I took notes.
September 30, 2025
Major bummer in more ways than one.
June 22, 2022
A waste of time and money. A bad writer with little actual information on his subject quotes from other interviews, articles, and videos. Want to know about the upbringing of fake named "Joey Stefano?" Won't find it here, beyond a couple sentences about how the porn star alleged he was molested by his father in childhood. There are only a few paragraphs about Stefano's first 15 years of life! Want to know details about movie sets or escort work or anything interesting? Nope, not here either. Other than some specifics about dancing in clubs, there's nothing very sexual in the book.
Instead it's more of a Wikipedia-like summary of Stefano's career but half of it deals with other people and not directly with Stefano. Chi Chi Larue gets way too much space and much of what's included is a distraction, put in simply because the author doesn't have enough material on the main subject to pull together an entire book. There's one ridiculous section where Isherwood actually wastes space naming potentially gay Hollywood stars (Tom Cruise, John Travolta, George Clooney, etc.) and should be sued for including a definitive statement that at least some of them are actually closeted homosexuals. The writer also loves to psychoanalyze people in the porn industry and quotes "research" that has nothing to do with the life story of Joey.
Stefano's life sounded sad, he seemed to hate everything except the adoration of his body from fans, he made suicide attempts and in the end when he overdosed on a huge mixture of illegal drugs they ruled it "accidental." It's a disappointing summary that gives no insight into the porn actor's life, though the bad writer makes conjectures without basis. Skip this.
Instead it's more of a Wikipedia-like summary of Stefano's career but half of it deals with other people and not directly with Stefano. Chi Chi Larue gets way too much space and much of what's included is a distraction, put in simply because the author doesn't have enough material on the main subject to pull together an entire book. There's one ridiculous section where Isherwood actually wastes space naming potentially gay Hollywood stars (Tom Cruise, John Travolta, George Clooney, etc.) and should be sued for including a definitive statement that at least some of them are actually closeted homosexuals. The writer also loves to psychoanalyze people in the porn industry and quotes "research" that has nothing to do with the life story of Joey.
Stefano's life sounded sad, he seemed to hate everything except the adoration of his body from fans, he made suicide attempts and in the end when he overdosed on a huge mixture of illegal drugs they ruled it "accidental." It's a disappointing summary that gives no insight into the porn actor's life, though the bad writer makes conjectures without basis. Skip this.
October 6, 2017
This was a "discount bin" purchase and has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I remember being initially intrigued because I realized that I knew the name 'Joey Stefano', despite being unfamiliar with his work. Also, having known a fair number of escorts, dancers, and porn performers in my life, I'm always interested in hearing the stories of such, as they often have some of the richest and most poignant tales to tell. Isherwood does a good job of painting a vivid portrait of Nick Iacona, the exuberant, moody, and tragically flawed man who performed for too brief a time under the name 'Joey Stefano'. Informed largely by interviews with those who were Iacona's closest compatriots during Iacona's few years in "the business", Isherwood ties together first-hand accounts with an empathetic, and at points charmingly sarcastic narrative, though he does delve a bit too often for my tastes into dime-store psychoanalysis of his subject's behavior and motivations. A quick read and a sad story, presented by a decent writer; a good addition to my shelf.
March 31, 2021
Joey Stefano isn’t particularly the most enduring or interesting of 80s porn stars, however, the people around him were, and this tawdry tale of the 80s/90s brat-pack of porn is awesome. Stefano is the centrepiece of course, his fame and untimely death has garnered him a somewhat legend status, and his story is indeed very sad, but what I loved so much about this book were the supporting characters. Chi Chi La Rue, Karen Dior, Sharon Kane, what an amazing troupe, and with Stefano thrown in it makes for a fantastic read.
I have to say it’s very well written too, I picked this up from the gay and lesbian bookstore on Oxford St, it was buried among all the discount junk they’re trying to get rid of, it has sat on my shelf for so long because I just thought it’d be some hack job biography that I’ll get to one day, silly me, this is a legit excellent biography by an author who showed the utmost respect to their subject.
I enjoyed it a lot. Fingers crossed the doomed film project about these character finally comes to fruition.
I have to say it’s very well written too, I picked this up from the gay and lesbian bookstore on Oxford St, it was buried among all the discount junk they’re trying to get rid of, it has sat on my shelf for so long because I just thought it’d be some hack job biography that I’ll get to one day, silly me, this is a legit excellent biography by an author who showed the utmost respect to their subject.
I enjoyed it a lot. Fingers crossed the doomed film project about these character finally comes to fruition.
September 11, 2021
This book is more about Chi Chi LaRue and the countless other performers in the video porn industry, but perhaps that is due to his often retiring personality. Another gay man crushed and confused over the lack of affection from his father who dies when Joey is in his teens. He certainly was plagued with addiction to drugs and alcohol. A sad read.
June 23, 2020
An interesting look into the life and death of gay porn star Joey Stefano (or at least as much as is known based on second hand information from friends and acquaintances) but also and intriguing look into the porn industry of the 80’s and early 90’s
June 10, 2021
I always got in a bad mood while reading this book. It's such a sad story, with so much wrong choices. Don't do drugs kids!
June 27, 2021
Very '90s. Concise insight into an interesting and troubled life of a unique gay porn star.
May 19, 2012
some are born to be teachers, some are born to lives of servitude. some arguably, if you wish to consider joey stefano's case as written by isherwood, were born to do porn. this is by no means, an unfamiliar story for anyone whose been sick in bed for a day confined to watching a string of "e! true hollywood story" episodes or believes the myths the press string along for every unfortunate, young celebrity who dies of an overdose. isherwood barely saves the book from becoming an overlong celebrity tale of too much, too soon by making joey stefano's case a totally believable one, making the argument for joey's place in gay history. it is a controversial argument, to say the very least, but is a fascinating one nonetheless, if you're willing to look with an open mind.
it is undeniable that the cultural history of homosexuality in the late 20th century is tangled in the history of pornography. isherwood's argument that stefano was the first true star to emerge from the post AIDS epidemic into the decadent late eighties and nineties without the looks of a tom of finland cartoon or the top-heavy muscleman iconography of jeff stryker is a fascinating one, even if isherwood's bias for stefano becomes obvious, especially in his glowing, obsessive reviews in the humorous glossary of stefano's films.
further impressive, though isherwood shows his bias for stefano, he refuses to make concessions for his behavior, depicting stefano as a dorian gray for the 90's set. the usual sympathetic pratfalls of the "young artists" biography is a hard road to travel, but does so, regardless of all the tough fixes, suicide attempts and drug binges young stefano flings himself into.
isherwood delivers a time and a place, the drug fueled days of porno in sunny LA, the gritty Porno theatre's of the quickly vanishing New York City Underworld, fully depicting the world that Joey Stefano willingly joined and willingly allowed to destroy himself, in its confines. overall, isherwoods knowledge of the subject and his world is impressive, startling and often times shocking.
it is undeniable that the cultural history of homosexuality in the late 20th century is tangled in the history of pornography. isherwood's argument that stefano was the first true star to emerge from the post AIDS epidemic into the decadent late eighties and nineties without the looks of a tom of finland cartoon or the top-heavy muscleman iconography of jeff stryker is a fascinating one, even if isherwood's bias for stefano becomes obvious, especially in his glowing, obsessive reviews in the humorous glossary of stefano's films.
further impressive, though isherwood shows his bias for stefano, he refuses to make concessions for his behavior, depicting stefano as a dorian gray for the 90's set. the usual sympathetic pratfalls of the "young artists" biography is a hard road to travel, but does so, regardless of all the tough fixes, suicide attempts and drug binges young stefano flings himself into.
isherwood delivers a time and a place, the drug fueled days of porno in sunny LA, the gritty Porno theatre's of the quickly vanishing New York City Underworld, fully depicting the world that Joey Stefano willingly joined and willingly allowed to destroy himself, in its confines. overall, isherwoods knowledge of the subject and his world is impressive, startling and often times shocking.
February 25, 2014
Humans have always elevated certain of our number -- warriors, athletes, artists, poets -- we've idolized them, worshipped them and looked to them as models for ourselves. In the 20th century, no one is more idolized than the movie star. With few exceptions, gay men have not had positive movie star idols to look up to. It's not surprising then, that porn stars have sometimes come to fill that need. Sadly, in most cases, porn stars are not the best examples to look up to.
I admit to having a certain fascination with porn stars. They're blessed with natural beauty and get to make a living by having sex with other beautiful folks. Where's the downside? Well, Isherwood gives us the downside in this truly tragic story of the brief life of Joey Stefano.
This is a very dark book but it's well worth reading. Isherwood has done a great job of commemorating Stefano's all too brief life as a star.
I admit to having a certain fascination with porn stars. They're blessed with natural beauty and get to make a living by having sex with other beautiful folks. Where's the downside? Well, Isherwood gives us the downside in this truly tragic story of the brief life of Joey Stefano.
This is a very dark book but it's well worth reading. Isherwood has done a great job of commemorating Stefano's all too brief life as a star.
February 21, 2014
This book was on my shelf for awhile, not really sure why I got it in the first place once I pulled it out to read it. After awhile the book got rather repetitious: porn/hustling, drugs, disappointment, start over. Chapter after chapter of that, it got old. This was a book I had to force myself to finish. The book had no real depth to it. Yes, lots of people were interviewed to give their respective comments on his life but in the end the whole thing came across as shallow and superficial.
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July 19, 2008Up and coming gay porn star Joey Stefano, becomes and huge success in the adult film industry. He becomes so big that he actually changes the focus of the film from the "tops"(penetrator) to the "bottoms"(reciever). But when he starts to use drugs he is faced with some skeletons coming out that he cannot deal with and dies.
Good book. I hadn't known him before then but it is quite a read.
Good book. I hadn't known him before then but it is quite a read.
November 19, 2023
“This book may titillate you, it may disturb you, it may break your heart, but it will never bore you.” - James Spada, author of Streisand: her life, said, and I agree. Not to be missed is the short (three page) videography section at the end of the book. It is a great addition to this well researched and written biography.
August 18, 2009
I don't know why, but I spotted this book while working at Borders. It was sitting next to the poetry section. I had to pick it up. I borred it for a few days and that's all it took me to read the whole book. It's a tragic story, but interesting. Check it out if you have time and very open minded.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews