Homoerotic Archaeology: Blueboy (March 1978), Part One

Friday, March 20, 2026

Blueboy (March 1978), Part One

In September of 1975, twenty-eight-year-old Mark Frechette died two years into his prison sentence for robbery. It marked a tragic end to the actor’s short and tumultuous career. In his early twenties, he was discovered by Sally Dennison, the casting director for Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni, while Frechette was engaging in a heated fight at a bus stop. Struck by the young man’s beauty and temper, Dennison recommended him to Antonioni, who cast him in his movie Zabriskie Point. During filming, the novice actor and Antonioni had numerous confrontations over artistic ideas. Although Zabriskie Point was a box-office failure, Frechette’s beauty made him an instant success and he appeared in several magazines, including Vogue, and on multiple talk shows, with his appearance on The Merv Griffin Show ending in a fight with another guest. His popularity earned in roles in two additional films before he joined the Fort Hill Community, a cult ran by musician Melvin Lyman. In August of 1973, Frechette and two other cult members attempted to rob a bank, which resulted in his arrest and conviction. In this March 1978 issue of Blueboy (which has been broken into two parts), Robert Hudson’s article offers a biography of Frechette, lamenting the actor’s lost potential as a major heartthrob. As contained in this first half is a discussion of Man Ray’s contributions to the field of photography.

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What is Homoerotic Archaeology?

In 2016, I discovered several discarded boxes at an estate sale. Under their flimsy flaps were hundreds of well-worn issues of homoerotic magazines from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. I purchased them out of mild intrigue and, as I perused their pages, I was startled to realize that something commonly disregarded as pornographic smut earnestly chronicled the evolution of gay culture: the social and sexual liberation of the 1970s, the crushing devastation from AIDS during the 1980s, and the gradual strengthening of the community in the 1990s. As a gay man, I was touched by the subtle narrative these publications told. As a historian, I was motivated to digitally preserve their content. And, as an educator, I was driven to create a platform to share that information freely with others interested in the progression of gay society. Homoerotic Archaeology is that venue. Here you will find the advertisements, articles, short stories, and (of course) pictures found in these magazines lovingly preserved and presented for future generations of gay men to enjoy and study.

Why Preserve Homoerotica?

As early as the 1970s, scholars such as June Rook have stressed the need to preserve homosexual history in an effort to combat repression and establish a cultural background for future generations. Much of the preservation process admirably focuses on the substantial works of homosexual artists and thinkers; however, it sadly ignores other elements quintessential to the community’s history, particularly homoerotica. Although frequently labeled obscene filth, homoerotica has, just like the significant creations of artists and thinkers, been a prevalent part of the group’s culture and has played an integral role in shaping identities and perceptions (consider how influential Tom of Finland’s hypermasculinity has been in molding the body ideals of modern gay men). Due to this factor, the conservation of homoerotica is just as essential as the preservation of major artistic and theoretical homosexual works.