Dennis Posa (October 28, 1946 – January 28, 1985), also known by the performing names of Wade Nichols and Dennis Parker, was an American actor and singer, who started his career in adult films.
Early life Posa was born in 1946 in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Freeport, New York. He attended the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, studying furniture design. During his stint at PMCA, he won a role in a touring company production of The Trojan Women. He later attended New York University and the Herbert Berghof Studio, where he studied acting. He supported himself by working as a carpenter for several years.
Career Posa's first feature film role was in the gay adult film Boy 'Napped (1975). He subsequently appeared mostly in straight porn films shot in New York, such as Summer of Laura (1975), Jail Bait (1976), Barbara Broadcast (1977), Teenage Pajama Party (1977), Maraschino Cherry (1977), Punk Rock (1977), Take Off (1978) and Blonde Ambition (1981). He was credited as "Wade Nichols" in most of the adult films in which he appeared.
In 1979, using the name "Dennis Parker", he recorded a disco album on Casablanca Records, titled Like an Eagle. The album was produced by Village People creator and record producer, Jacques Morali, of whom he was boyfriend at the time. He also toured Europe to promote the album. That same year, Parker appeared as a singer in a disco club in the French film Monique, with "Like an Eagle" being used as its theme song. The title track was released as a single and appears on the box set The Casablanca Records Story (1994). "New York By Night", another song recorded as Dennis Parker, peaked at No. 11 on the South African music charts in 1980.
Parker joined the cast of the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1979 as Police Chief Derek Mallory. He continued in the role until 1984.
Death Parker died on January 28, 1985. It was revealed later that he died of an unspecified AIDS-related illness. There was a prevalent rumor that circulated around that Parker had died by suicide after receiving his AIDS diagnosis rather than dying directly of the illness, but his older brother denied this was true in an oral history published on The Rialto Report.
Partial filmography Movie Title Distributor Year Boy 'Napped Hand-In-Hand 1975 Summer of Laura VCA 1975 Bang Bang You Got It! Video-X-Pix 1976 Call Me Angel, Sir Video Home Library 1976 Odyssey: The Ultimate Trip VCX 1977 Captain Lust International Home Video Corporation 1977 Jail Bait Command Video 1976 Come to Me Air Video 1976 Punk Rock Atom 1977 Teenage Pajama Party VEP 1977 Barbara Broadcast VCA 1977 Virgin Dreams VCX 1977 The Secret Dreams of Mona Q Arrow Productions 1977 Maraschino Cherry Video-X-Pix 1977 Honeymoon Haven Video-X-Pix 1977 Sweetheart Video-X-Pix 1977 Take Off Video-X-Pix 1978 Visions Quality-X-Video 1978 Love You! Essex Video 1979 Magic Girls Horizon 1980 Beach House Caballero Home Video 1980 Blonde Ambition Video-X-Pix 1981 Hot Pursuit VCA 1983 Bizarre Thunder Ribu Video 1984 Jawbreakers Ventura 1985
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