David Hurles interviews, 1998-1999

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
Abstract:
VHS videotapes and compact audiocassette tape interviews of David Hurles, founder and proprietor of Old Reliable Tape and Picture Company, conducted by Pat Allen with the assistance of Bill Wyman, September 1998-January 1999. The collection also contains two compilation CD-ROMs of Old Reliable photographs, copyright 1998.
Extent:
2 archive cartons. 0.8 linear foot.
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

David Hurles Interviews, Coll2008-034, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The bulk of the collection consists of interviews of David Hurles, founder and proprietor of Old Reliable Tape and Picture Company, conducted by Pat Allen with the assistance of Bill Wyman. The materials consist of VHS videotapes (masters and copies) of a nine-part interview conducted from August 18 to December 29, 1998, and 6 compact audiocassette tapes of what appears to be a four-part interview conducted on January 12, 1999. The collection also contains two compilation CD-ROMs, copyright 1998, of Old Reliable photographs, As Seen from the Rear ... the Butt CD! and Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar!

Biographical / historical:

David Randolph Hurles was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the end of World War II. By his teen years he recognized his attraction to the neighborhood bullies and toughs. By the mid-1960s he was working for H. Lynn Womack at Guild Press, in Washington, D.C. In 1968, Hal Call, who ran San Francisco's notorious Adonis Book Store, persuaded Hurles to appear before the camera. His skill before the camera and easygoing personality led Call to rent Hurles a room and employ him. Hurles worked as a model, book store employee, and later as an office manager in Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles, Hurles gained experience behind the camera with Ken Albert, and was introduced to a few models. In 1975, with funds obtained from Womack, Hurles formed the Old Reliable Tape and Picture Company, specializing at first in audio tapes and still photography, and later in video tapes of street boys, tough guys, and "rough trade," men, typically working class laborers and hustlers, who did not want their masculinity or sexuality questioned, but would appear before the camera.

Sources:

Rex, text editor. Speeding: The Old Reliable photos of David Hurles>. San Francisco: Green Candy Press, 2005.

Sears, James T. Behind the Mask of the Mattachine: The Hal Call Chronicles and the Early Movement for Homosexual Emancipation. New York: Harrington Park Press, 2006.

Acquisition information:
Date and method of acquisition unknown.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Michael C. Oliveira, June 16, 2008.

Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner. Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).

Preferred citation:

David Hurles Interviews, Coll2008-034, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.

Location of this collection:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007, US
Contact:
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
Website