Pat Rocco

Pat Rocco
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Born	Brooklyn, New York
Nationality	American
Occupation	Filmmaker Photographer Activist

Pat Rocco (born Pasquale Vincent Serrapica) was an American filmmaker, photographer, and activist who specialized in gay erotica and documentaries about the Los Angeles LGBT community in the late 1960's - early 1970's.

Life and Career

Rocco was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent his teenage years in California. He sang in televised talent shows and produced musical records as a singer. In the late 1960's, Rocco began photographing male nudes, which soon turned into a successful mail-order business of 8mm and 16mm gay erotic short films. In 1968, the owners of the Park Theatre in the Moorpark neighbourhood of Los Angeles reached out asking to exhibit Rocco's narrative erotica. As a result, Rocco became the first filmmaker to publicly exhibit gay erotic films in the United States.

Erotic Filmmaking

While Rocco's erotic films included nudity, their portrayal of sexuality was experimental rather than explicit. Filmed on 16mm, they often did not include dialogue and focused more on dreamlike and interpretive imagery. Rocco's films would feature notable places in Los Angeles, such as Griffith Park, Hollywood Boulevard, and City Hall. By doing so, Rocco defied contemporary stereotypes that gay life was exclusively underground and secretive, instead portraying it as public and joyous.

In 1969, Rocco made Disneyland Discovery (also known as Ron and Chuck go to Disneyland). The film follows the encounter of two young men (Ron and Chuck) as they spend a day at Disneyland, often putting their arms around each other and showing subtle signs of affection. The pair go to a secluded area on Tom Sawyer Island (actually filmed in a secondary location outside of Disneyland) where they undress and have a sexual encounter as "When You Wish Upon a Star" plays over the scene. According to Rocco, attorney Stanley Fleishman informed him of "17 full ways that Disney could sue for the use of that film". The film was pulled from exhibition and cut to remove any visible Disneyland indicators.

Activist Filmmaking

In the early 1970's Rocco's experimental and soft-core of erotica was falling in popularity in favour of hardcore pornography. In an interview with Jim Kepner for the One National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California, Rocco reflected:

Rocco began filming public demonstrations by gay activist groups. In 1970, he filmed a demonstration at the West Hollywood restaurant Barney's Beanery. A family-run restaurant since the 1920's, in the 1950's the restaurant's owner displayed a number of signs around the space which read 'Fagots [sic] stay out'. A number of activists and members of the community gathered one night to protest the sign. Among them was Reverend Troy Perry, activist and founder of the Metropolitan Community Church. Also present was Morris Kight and other members of the Gay Liberation Front. The sign would eventually come down in 1984 when West Hollywood was incorporated as a city.

Also in 1970, Rocco filmed an arrest as it took place at the short lived Meat Market gay bar in El Segundo, California. Days earlier, a dancer had been arrested for performing a nude dance at the bar on the grounds of obscenity. At this time, nude dancing was not considered obscene itself, unless it appealed to “prurient or sexual interest”. In order to create a defence for the arrested dancer, Rocco had gone to the Meat Market with the intention of filming the dance to be presented in court, when the second arrest happened unexpectedly. At the bar, Rocco interviews defending attorney Walter Culpepper and dancer Bob Philpott, who goes on to finally perform the dance in question.

In addition to these demonstrations, Rocco filmed the very first Los Angeles Pride Parade in 1970 (then called the Christopher Street West Parade), speeches by San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk, and social activities within Los Angeles' gay community. His presence at these events have served as rare cinematic representations of gay life during this time period. At one demonstration in Los Angeles, Rocco notes that he is the only person filming the event, narrating: “These motion pictures are the only documented details of the homosexual movements in Los Angeles".

Hudson House

In the late 1970's and early 1980's, Pat Rocco was the director of the Hudson House, an emergency shelter for members of the LGBTQ community located at 6732 Franklin Place in Hollywood and founded by the United States Mission.

Later life and Death

Rocco and his partner David Kirk Ghee moves to Hawaii in the early 1980's, later returning to Los Angeles. They remained together until Rocco died on November 8, 2018, at the age of 84.

Legacy

During the height of his career, Rocco inspired the creation of the Society for Pat Rocco Enlightened Enthusiasts (SPREE). This group was part fan club, part charity organization, part advocacy group, and part filmmaking workshop. SPREE participated in the first Los Angeles Pride Parade in 1970 and many members partook in local protests and demonstrations for gay rights. SPREE members learned about filmmaking by helping Rocco on his productions, and eventually formed a repertory theatre group. The group would also go on field trips throughout Southern California, such as Mt. Baldy, Disneyland, and Catalina Island, some of which were filmed by Rocco.

Prior to his move to Hawaii, Rocco donated the entirety of his film collection to the UCLA Film and Television Archive, where it remains. His collection consists of approximately 700 items, including erotic shorts and home movies. Several of his films have been restored by the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project for LGBTQ Moving Image Preservation.

Rocco's career and life was recounted in the 2021 documentary Pat Rocco Dared by filmmakers Charlie David and Morris Chapdelaine.

Select Filmography

• Ron and Chuck go to Disneyland (1969)
• Meat Market Arrest (1970)
• SPREE on a Spree (1970)
• Sign of Protest (1970)
• Mondo Rocco (1970)
• The Drifter (1974)
• We Were There (1976)
• Silent No More (1977)

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