Filmmaker and gay erotic photography pioneer James Bidgood dies from COVID-19

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Filmmaker and gay erotic photography pioneer James Bidgood has died aged 88 from complications related to COVID-19.

According to the New York Times, Bidgood passed away on Monday, 31 January, in Manhattan, New York.

Bidgood was the creator of the cult queer film Pink Narcissus, which visualises the sexual fantasies of a gay sex worker, and he released it anonymously in 1971.

He filmed the entire movie in his tiny New York City apartment over seven years, and it was only publicly revealed that he was the film’s director, writer, producer and cinematographer in the 1990s.

A still from Pink Narcissus, created by James Bidgood. (YouTube) googletag.cmd.push(function () { deployads.push(function() { deployads.gpt.display("Video_Unit_1x1"); deployads.gpt.pubadsRefresh([Video_Unit_1x1]); }); }); console.log("Refreshing ad unit: Video_Unit_1x1");

Bidgood moved to New York from Wisconsin in 1951, when he was 17 years old, and became a drag queen at Club 82 in New York City’s East Village.

He soon ventured into photography, working with men’s muscle magazines and attending the Parsons School of Design in Greenwich Village, but was unlike other photographers of the time.

James Bidgood – Director of legendary Pink Narcissus
(1933-2022) pic.twitter.com/Ha5BFRMNaX

— Merlinka festival (@MerlinkaFest) February 2, 2022

Two days ago, one of the sweetest souls I’ve ever had the good fortune to call a friend died.

140 characters isn’t even close to describing our friendship. As such, I felt compelled to write a eulogy for him. I hope you won’t mind indulging me a moment.

RiP #JamesBidgood✨ 1/10 pic.twitter.com/LguLGqPkvP

— Paddy (@BananaCologne) February 2, 2022

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Bidgood didn’t understand why homoerotic photographs of men couldn’t be beautiful and creative, and he told the New York Times in 2011: “They were badly lit and uninteresting.

“Playboy had girls in furs, feathers and lights. They had faces like beautiful angels. I didn’t understand why boy pictures weren’t like that.”

The photographers trademark became images that were rooted in fantasy, with ethereal colours and stunning costumes, mostly taken on sets erected in his small apartment.

James Bidgood’s work has been so incalculably important and influential to a degree that has seldom ever been fully recognized. To me he’s one of the greatest artists, queer or otherwise, of the 20th century. We’ll be living with his legacy forever and always. RIP pic.twitter.com/nih4wA0TBK

— Brian