John Nuzzo, a.k.a. porn star John Leslie, dies

John Nuzzo, a 65-year-old Mill Valley resident who died from an apparent heart attack at his home Sunday, was better known to legions of fans as John Leslie, the groundbreaking adult-film actor who appeared in more than 300 movies before becoming a prolific director.

Mr. Nuzzo made his initial mark during the industry's so-called Golden Age of budgeted big-screen films, notably in 1980's "Talk Dirty to Me," when he unofficially succeeded John Holmes as porn's most famous leading man.

"John was the closest thing to an artist that got near porn," said Berkeley resident Howie Gordon, a friend and former porn star who performed under the stage name Richard Pacheco. "John was the alpha male - a Frank Sinatra Italian from Pittsburgh - and that struck a chord with consumers. Pornography was made for John Leslie."

As a young man, Mr. Nuzzo worked as a bartender in Michigan and sang and played harmonica in a blues band before he fell into adult acting, according to friends.

At a time when a modicum of acting talent and screen presence was required for leading males, Mr. Nuzzo appeared in such scripted X-rated films as 1976's "Cry for Cindy" and 1981's "Nothing to Hide."

Yet, unlike many of his era's co-stars, Mr. Nuzzo managed to extend his performing career beyond two of the Golden Age's biggest challenges - the invention of the VHS tape, which shuttered adult theaters, and the AIDS epidemic, which temporarily slowed the industry's momentum.

Mr. Nuzzo turned to directing in the late '80s, becoming one of the first adult-film actors to make the successful transition to the other side of the camera, said Mark Kernes, a senior editor at Adult Video News.

"John knew the little things, the details that helped get the most out of his actors and made people want to work with him," Kernes said. "He was very good at, for want of a better term, getting the actors to express the erotic message."

In 1987, Mr. Nuzzo received the Best Director award from Adult Video News, and his sexuality later translated as a director in the "gonzo" genre - the all-sex, all-the-time unscripted fare that has dominated the video porn industry in the DVD and Internet video era.

"He came from the old world, where people made movies that included sex, rather than people who were having sex that made movies," said Christian Mann, general manager of Evil Angel Video, which distributed Mr. Nuzzo's films for nearly two decades. "Whether it was emotional, angry, joyful, anxious - he managed to bring the psychology element to it. It made his gonzo work more compelling and watchable."

Aside from playing the blues, Mr. Nuzzo was also a gourmet chef, as well as a photographer and painter, friends said.

He is survived by his wife of 23 years, Kathleen Nuzzo. The family has not decided whether there will be a public memorial, Mann said.

"John was much more than his resume in the adult entertainment world," Mann said. "He was a well-rounded guy who loved life. Pornography was his job - he was great at it and it was a passion - and it wasn't going to define his life."

E-mail Justin Berton at jberton@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page C - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle