Tom DeSimone (born 1939) is an American director, writer, producer and editor, perhaps best known for directing the cult films Chatterbox (1977), Hell Night (1981), and The Concrete Jungle (1982) and a number of pornographic films for Hand in Hand Films, a gay production studio established in the "golden age" of adult films in the early 1970s.
Career Writer/ director, Tom DeSimone, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received his bachelor's degree in directing from Emerson College in Boston and then headed West to UCLA where he earned a master's degree in Motion Picture production. Following graduation Tom worked briefly as Post Production Supervisor at Bosustow Productions in West Los Angeles.
DeSimone began his career as a director of numerous adult films in the late 1960s, including several gay pornography films under the pseudonym Lancer Brooks. His 1970 film The Collection was the first X-rated gay feature film to include dialogue and a plot while his 1971 effort Confessions of a Male Groupie or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Electric Banana was awarded the Mama Cass award in the "Wet Dream Film Festival" in Amsterdam that same year.
Under Hand in Hand Films, DiSimone worked behind the scenes as a camera man on three of the gay porn studio's releases and directed some of his own, including Catching Up (1975) and The Idol (1979).
Chatterbox (1977), the cult musical sexcapade released by American International, was Tom's crossover film from the adult film world to mainstream Hollywood features. The film was produced by Bruce Cohn Curtis who would then hire him to direct his subsequent film Hell Night (1981), starring Linda Blair. Other films he directed include Reform School Girls, his send-up of women's prison films starring Wendy O Williams, The Concrete Jungle and the television series Freddy's Nightmares and Dark Justice.The New York TimesThe Los Angeles TimesBlair, Linda; Curtis, Bruce Cohn; DeSimone, Tom; Yablans, Irwin (1999). Hell Night . Anchor Bay Entertainment.
After signing with Creative Artist's Agency he moved from features to television where the remainder of his career has been in directing episodic television for various production studios and networks including. Lorimar, Warner Bros, MGM Television, CBS Television, and USA Network. Tom also did a one-year stint in Mexico City where he directed all 120 episodes of the Telenova, Acapulco Bay, for Televisa Studios.
His awards include a Golden Eagle award/Cine Film Festival for his short, Wooden Lullaby; a UCLA Film School scholarship for his film, The Game, and a Lifetime Achievement award in the 2005 Gayvn Hall of Fame. Tom now resides in Palm Springs.
Filmography Film Year Title Notes 1970 How to Make a Homo Movie As Lancer Brooks 1970 Dust Unto Dust As Lancer Brooks 1970 The Collection As Lancer Brooks 1970 The Upstairs Room 1970 Inside A.M.G. (The Athletic Model Guild Story) Documentary film 1971 Lust in the Afternoon 1971 Assault As Lancer Brooks 1971 Confessions of a Male Groupie 1972 Chained As Lancer Brooks 1972 Prison Girls As Thomas DeSimone 1973 Swap Meat As Lancer Brooks 1973 Sons of Satan As Lancer Brooks 1973 Games Without Rules As L. Brooks 1973 Black Heat As Lancer Brooks 1973 Erotikus: A History of the Gay Movie As L. Brooks 1973 The Classified Caper As Lancer Brooks 1974 Duffy's Tavern As Lancer Brooks 1974 Station to Station As L. Brooks 1974 Everything Goes As L. Brooks 1974 Bad, Bad Boys As Lancer Brooks 1975 Good Hot Stuff As Thomas DeSimone 1975 Catching Up 1977 The Harder They Fall As Lancer Brooks 1977 Chatterbox 1977 Heavy Equipment As Lancer Brooks 1978Hot Truckin''' || As Lancer Brooks |- | 1979 || Gay Guide to Hawaii || |- | 1979 || The Idol || |- | 1979 || Gettin' Down || As Lancer Brooks |- | 1980 || Wet Shorts || |- | 1980 || The Dirty Picture Show || As De Simone |- | 1981 || Hell Night || |- | 1982 || The Concrete Jungle || |- | 1982 || Skin Deep || As Lancer Brooks |- | 1984 || Savage Streets || Uncredited |- | 1985 || Bi-Coastal || As Lancer Brooks |- | 1985 || Bi-bi Love || As Lancer Brooks |- | 1986 || Reform School Girls || |- | 1988 || Angel III: The Final Chapter || |- | 1997 || Coming Distractions'' As Lancer Brooks
Television Year Title Notes 1988–9 Freddy's Nightmares 4 episodes 1991–2 Super Force 6 episodes 1992–3 Swamp Thing 3 episodes 1991–3 Dark Justice 17 episodes 1995 Acapulco Bay 1996–7 The Big Easy 4 episodes 1998 Pensacola: Wings of Gold 1 episode 2002 She Spies 2 episodes
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