‘Male Madam’ Of Gay Porn Stars David Forest Dies at 66

David Forest, the well known industry character and arranger of $2,000 “meetings” with gay porn stars, died last month at the age of 66. As this L.A. Times obituary tells us, Forest died on August 13 of complications from diabetes.

The Sword reported on Forest suffering a massive heart attack in mid-July, and it appears he never fully recovered from that.

As Gay Porn Blog reports,

“Despite suffering a massive heart attack and broken leg earlier this summer, Forest sent out a number of his trademark ‘colorful’ emails touting his 35th anniversary in the gay porn industry alongside the 5th and most-recent incarnation of his escort service IWannaMeetAPornStar.com.”

Forest started out in the music industry, working for the likes of Bill Graham and David Geffen, and booking artists like The Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Carpenters. It was in the 80s that he began working with adult stars. Per Gay Porn Blog:

According to Forest, it was in the summer of 1981 that he made his first “adult connection”, connecting porn stars Leo Ford, Lance, John King, and Jamie Wingo for “private meetings” with johns…
Soon, Forest began his first escorting service, first known as “Brad’s Buddies”, booking porn stars like Kip Knoll, Jon Davenport, and others. After spending two years in prison for pandering in 1996-1998, he returned, to booking porn stars for live appearances, movies, and escorting, this time around calling his service “Forest Meetings”, which later became “The Premiere Artists”. He was best known for managing the careers of gay porn mega-stars Ryan Idol, Ken Ryker, Zeb Atlas, Mark Dalton, Billy Brandt and Stonie, who later became transsexual porn star Britany Coxx.

There were various reports in recent years that Forest’s services had become less than reliable. Sword commenter Bob noted back in July that he had paid Forest $700 for a meeting with Ken Ryker, only to be told that Ryker wasn’t available due to a herpes outbreak, and there was no refund.

But Forest lived a colorful life in and out of the industry, with friend Jason Sechrest noting on Facebook, “It was all tuxedos and limos with David. He came from a different era of old school Hollywood.”

On July 24, Forest wrote his last blog post, and ever the salesman, he quickly transitions from explaining his medical woes to touting his booking services. “While I was just beginning my hospital ordeal, I had a request from Gold Coast Club in Detroit (oldest stripper bar there … maybe the oldest in the USA) to help them with their 40th Anniversary Weekend, August 7-9. Never one for letting a club down that needs the DAVID FOREST ‘touch’ for a big event …. I was able to put together a 40th Anniversary Tribute Performance by ‘The King – ZEB ATLAS’ on Sat., Aug. 8 for Gold Coast. Not an easy booking to work on while in the hospital.”

In the video below, Forest talks about his beginnings as a talent booker and agent, in college at Stanford, and first working with Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham before they were in Fleetwood Mac.

RIP, Mr. Forest. May you continue to make “connections” on the other side.