Pat Rocco
Directing
Biography
Pat Rocco was born Pasquale Vincent Serrapica in 1934 to an Italian-American family in Brooklyn, New York. Moved to California at 11, and "came out" at 13. Had his own radio show, in which he featured as a singer, at 16, and recorded an album at 19. As a charismatic, openly gay youth, Rocco pursued a career in entertainment in Southern California, singing and appearing on televised talent shows. Appeared in some early TV shows in the late 40s and early 50s, and created the part of Mack the Knife in the West Coast premiere of "The Threepenny Opera". A job as a photographer of male nude studies turned into a successful mail-order business of his own 8mm and 16mm films. Shown publicly for the first time in 1968 in L.A.’s Park Theatre, Rocco’s films were widely embraced by the gay community and favorably reviewed by mainstream press. The films were ecstatic affirmations of gay love and identity, groundbreaking at a time when homosexual activity remained illegal. “They were the first really overt gay films with nudity in a public theater […] they had something to say that was positive,” said Rocco in a 1983 interview. The significance of the films was deeply felt: “I’ve had a number of people tell me that ‘I came out because of your films.’ I can’t tell you, the letters, the phone calls, the things like that. ‘They made me feel like I was not alone.’ ‘They gave me a real positive feeling about myself because I could relate to the people on the screen.’” What was once a clandestine, black-market activity became a celebratory event.
Known For
Mondo Rocco is a collection of short films weaved together as it was seen in the Park Theater in Los Angeles in 1969/1970. Charming in their innocence, Rocco's films captured important moments in gay history and are an invaluable resource.
Mondo Rocco
This is the story of Ted, a dreamer whose secret desires come to life as he encounters a variety of men and escapes into elaborate sexual fantasies.
A Dream of Body
Based on the autobiography of the same name, The Light from the Second Story Window recounts the story of a naïve young man who goes to Hollywood in search of “fame and fortune,” but winds up working as a two-bit hustler.
The Light from the Second Story Window
When a pretty, young country boy with long, golden hair and bronze colored skin arrives in Hollywood from Nebraska, he is quickly introduced to the joy of gay sex during a series of highly capricious encounters involving other sexy young men.
Come Of Age
This entertaining and enlightening documentary sheds a light on a pioneering moment in film history and the gay rights movement, as it revisits the break-through 1960s gay films of Pat Rocco. Rocco was responsible for the very first gay films that were shown openly to the paying public in the late 1960s. Situated before hardcore porn became the norm, and in marked contrast to the somewhat darker gay porn that was coming out of New York at the time. Pat Rocco’s film were more sun-dappled, featuring tanned and happy-looking naked men on sail boats and on beaches, celebrating their identities and the beauty of the male body. The filmmakers got to talk to the generous, rather humble and open-minded Rocco just before his death. It took a team of dedicated Canadian filmmakers to capture a fairly obscure moment of indie film history that deserves to be remembered.
Pat Rocco Dared
A bisexual hustler tries to find a niche in the disparate worlds of straights and gays. He begins exploring relationships with members of both worlds, but his affairs do not go well.
Drifter
Two young men meet and fall in love in Disneyland.
Ron and Chuck in Disneyland Discovery
A collection of short films by Pat Rocco.
Sex and the Single Gay
ONE Adventure was filmed in 1972, only three years after the Stonewall riots. The trip was organized by One, Inc., whose members wanted a record of the trip to show audiences at home. The film chronicles a trip across Europe with Pat Rocco, Rev. Troy Perry, and six others.
ONE Adventure
A handsome male model is involved with a young lady, but begins to question his sexual orientation.
Someone
Short film by Pat Rocco starring Joe Adair.
A Matter of Life
Pat Rocco's fictionalized document of the 1977 Christopher Street West carnival and parade.
Silent No More
A southern California college jock spends a day at the beach with his best buddy. It turns from fraternal to romantic and sexual. Is it just a fantasy, though? If so, is it about to come true?
Autumn Nocturne
Jones strips off clothes while pantomiming walking down Sunset Boulevard. Overlaid with film elements of the Sunset Strip signs in Hollywood, California.
Strip Strip
Marco Antonio and his friends Francisco and Bruno take you on a perosnal tour of Rio, the Carnival, the Beach and his friends, as well as a secluded look into his bedroom activities.
Marco of Rio
Directed by pioneering gay documentary and erotica filmmaker Pat Rocco, Changes is a profile of Jennifer Michaels, a trans person living in Los Angeles.
Changes
Compilation of loops produced by C.R. Productions, a company created by Chuck Robinson, a protégé of Pat Rocco’s who starred in several of his loops as Brian Reynolds. Compilation of loops.
Let There Be Boys
A nude solo ballet performed in the streets of LA in the early morning hours.
Breath of Love
Pioneering LGBTQ activist and local Los Angeles filmmaker Pat Rocco (1934-2018) is singularly legendary for using his camera not just to joyfully portray gay love, but also as a tool of direct action in documenting the gay revolution of the late 1960s. Among his myriad community efforts includes the founding of S.P.R.E.E., or Society of Pat Rocco Enlightened Enthusiasts, which grew into a major hub and support system for entertainment artists of various stripes. This 30-minute documentary highlights S.P.R.E.E.’s various activities, beginning with a charitable Christmas party and culminating with five kaleidoscopic, orgy-filled minutes of the S.P.R.E.E. drama workshop’s original production of “Myra Breckinb*tch.”
S.P.R.E.E. on a Spree
A wild series of daring "male" movies including "Marco of Rio," filmed entirely in Brazil!!