R.I.P.: Jack Wrangler—actor, gay pioneer and erotic icon

Photo: TLA Releasing

We have confirmed that legendary gay icon Jack Wrangler has passed away from lung cancer. He was 62 years old.

Jack, aka John Robert Stillman, was born June 11, 1946 in Beverly Hills. His father was legendary independent movie producer Robert Stillman (Home of the Brave) and his mother was a Busby Berkeley dancer.

Wrangler was a child television actor and later a star of many regional theater productions and almost 100 adult movies, gay and straight. He was one of the few gay adult peformers to work in straight films, and his first encounter with a woman was allegedly on screen.

Wrangler was also the husband of singing/recording legend Margaret Whiting. Their relationship was explored in director Jeffrey Schwarz's touching documentary Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon. Wrangler was catapaulted back into the spotlight when Schwarz's movie toured film festivals last year to wide acclaim. Wrangler won a 2009 GayVN award for "Best Alternative Release" in late March. The film is now on DVD.

Memorial and funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized, and Jack Wrangler's family is expected to make a statement soon.

One of Jack's last interviews was for Unzipped, and you can read his words and see a photo gallery of this incredible man after the jump...

Photos: TLA Releasing

Jack Wrangler: The Interview

By Sean Carnage, from the November 2008 Unzipped

“I always considered the sex I had on film to be just that—sex, not pornography,” laughs Jack Wrangler. Now 62, the ’70s XXX pioneer and gay idol can afford to chuckle. Jack Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, a remarkable new documentary by Jeffrey Schwarz and a breakout hit on the summer filmfest circuit, is now debuting on DVD to massive mainstream praise. First-time director Schwarz (whose other career is producer of DVD behind-the-scenes “extras” for video companies) lays Wrangler’s wild life story provocatively bare. Wrangler’s exploits are presented in a devastatingly candid manner by a bevy of pithy talking heads, including Bruce Vilanch, Michael Musto, Rod McKuen, Chi Chi LaRue, Joe Gage, and Gino Colbert, plus an unlikely assortment of Tony Award winners and adult performers. Every facet of Wrangler’s life is explored: his upbringing as Jack Stillman—Hollywood golden child of a movie producer father and model/dancer mother; his careers in both mainstream acting and stage directing; his adult work (in both straight and gay pornography); his 30-year relationship and subsequent marriage to singer Margaret Whiting; and his recent return to theater. The tale is unvarnished, sexy, and nearly a laugh-a-minute—like a nonfiction Boogie Nights, only more unbelievable, because it’s real. Though Wrangler has been comfortably retired from the adult world for over two decades, he’s not ashamed that his thick cock and macho bod have thrust him back into the spotlight. “It’s been a hell of a life—I’ve been very grateful for it,” says Wrangler from his home in Manhattan. “Whoever gave me this, thank you very much. Please—let’s have some more of this!”

You starred in some of the most enduring gay triple-X movies ever produced. What was it like to reconnect with the casts and crews of classics like Eyes of a Stranger, A Night at the Adonis, and Kansas City Trucking Co. again?
Jeffrey Schwarz kept digging up all these people. My God, that guy dug up where everybody was buried all around the United States and half the world! I ran into actors that I had worked with and the filmmakers, too, because they called me to ask if it was all right with me if they did an interview. But I really hadn’t kept up with them. I’m one of those guys who is a friend in spite of myself. I get distracted, and it’s a terrible excuse.

Anatomy of an Icon is surprisingly heart-warming and funny, despite the highly risqué subject matter. Were you surprised at how Schwarz assembled the footage?
When Jeffrey and I discussed this I said, “I want to be completely left out [of the process]. Make the film you want to make, and I’ll suffer the consequences.” So [the finished product] is a great credit to Jeffrey. He’s gonna be very important, that man.

One aspect he presents that is very endearing is how you view movie sex as both an extension of your career as a stage performer and as a form of queer activism.
At the time we were all trying to find out who the hell we were as individuals, what we wanted specifically on our own terms, who we wanted to be, what our potentials were, what our differences were, what made us unique… And I think that’s why the XXX-rated films were important, because it was like, Oh, my God, there are other people who like the same things as me, like leather, or being blown on a pool table. [Laughs] It was a start—literally stripping ourselves naked and trying to begin from there.

You famously lost your “straight” virginity on camera during the filming of China Sisters in 1978. But there are some kinds of sex you are not into.
That’s true. This whole sodomy/sodomite thing… I wish people would do a little more research on that. Not all gays have that as their ideal for a sex life. I was always very frontal and never much interested in what was going on behind anybody. I wish people would stop thinking that that is what gay sex is all about, because a lot of gays don’t do that at all—not that there’s anything wrong with anal intercourse.

Another controversial aspect explored in the documentary is your marriage to Margaret Whiting, who is 20 years your senior. What attracted you to her?
Margaret is amazing. Everyone who meets her falls totally in love. She’s funny and outrageous and we grew up in the same town about three blocks from one another. Our fathers worked for the same studio. Her daughter says we are two Hollywood brats who found each other. That’s exactly what our lives have been. So we’ve laughed our way through 35 years.

When I met Margaret, no one was more surprised than me when I fell in love with her. We knew right away. We became friends, and when we first started going together… I mean, I was out. I’m not straight, I’m not bisexual—I’m gay. When I got with Margaret, I knew I had to change course. She would have my bags packed and sitting outside the door when I got home at night and things like that. Plus I would go through massive guilt whenever I did go out with a guy and I was with her. So I finally said that’s it. I went to her one night and said I’m never going to cheat on you again with anybody. So my sex life became very masturbatory. And I’m good at that—very good at that, in fact. [Laughs]

Do you feel like you’ve given anything up, being that jacking is your only outlet?
I made so many films and I did everything—it was such a jam-packed era. I don’t miss anything. I don’t feel I’ve given up much. For me it was always more about the conquest rather than the sex, anyhow. Even during the glory days, the sex was not that important to me. And so when I masturbate, I don’t include anyone.

What do you fantasize about when you pet your little Wrangler?
Porn! Just because I went into adult because of certain circumstances at the time doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I enjoy pornography very much—always have. In fact, I have instructions for if I ever become ill for friends to come to the house and bail me out—get rid of the boxes and boxes of porn so that Margaret won’t be embarrassed when people start walking around the place after I’m dead.

I’m very visual when it comes to masturbation material—I’ve found that’s also true of many other people who are creative. You have to be creative and intelligent to really enjoy pornography.

What kind of contemporary porn do you prefer?
Group sex videos. [Laughs] Groups are always very exciting. Plus, I love the amazing bodies guys have nowadays. Where do they find these men, these gorgeous statues? It would be intimidating if I thought I was a part of that anymore. I would be considered a joke. So the attractiveness of the guys and the imagination that goes into the sex—and the number of guys involved is a turn-on. The only problem I seem to find now is that porn makers are trying to please everyone with each video. One scene has beating off, and the next scene will have a fucking scene, one will have three people, the next will have five. It’s like it’s demanded that there is each kind of scene in every [movie]. It gets a little redundant, you know? But don’t think I’m criticizing—the studios continue to make some great films.

What do you think your legacy will be?
One reason I’m glad this movie’s come out [is because it] looks back on an era that was very, very innocent. We were so vulnerable at that time, so fascinated with all the possibilities and so eager to learn about who we were and what we could accomplish. We forget about how innocent the ’70s were with all that sex. It contributed to the innocence. I swung from a lot of chandeliers, but I always felt like a kid. It was exploring. It was the first time you ever found a secret place that was all your own. I’m glad we’re taking another look at that. What came out of it was a very selfish finale. Once we did find ourselves, we decided we wanted it all for ourselves and ourselves alone instead of sharing what we had with one another as a worldwide group of people that all understood one another and respected one another and wanted to share. Instead, we isolated ourselves. And I’m very sorry about that. We became the most selfish generation of all time, and I really don’t know how we are going to bail ourselves out of that mess.

For a gallery of Jack Wrangler's iconic nudes, go Below the Belt (NSFW!)

Comments

[MOC Blog]

Very good, Sean. I know you like to ask more questions than are eventually used and that's the mark of good interviewer: the research. As I remarked on my blog, this is essential reading.

[Halnova]

Now if Unzipped had any sense they would make Jack Wrangler a cover in an upcoming issue.

[Cort Barnes]

So sorry to hear of Jack's passing. He is around my age,and now it's a matter of was. I imagined him living much longer than this. I've seen some of his films and the times I did actually get to talk w/him on the phone (I used to answer Jack and Maggie's line @ an answering service), he was always exceedingly nice with a great sense of humor - always left a smile on my face. A great person. He will surely be missed.

[John Whitlock]

I was one of those who Jack inspired to come out as a gay man. I have collected some of my favorites films of him and actually got to see him up close during an appearance at a gay theater in Washington DC; one of the highlights of my life. I'm sure I'm not the only one who will miss him. John

[Adam & Eve, Adult Sex Toys]

RIP, Jack.

Fantastic article for giving the respect he deserves. He will be missed.