RIP.

Here is one I really did not see coming. Shocking !

Surely gaypornblog.com must have heard a rumor of how he died.

What is it?

So what was it? An accident, suicide, or "liver cancer"?

Gay porn stars, like wrestling stars, seem to die prematurely more often. And yet, both industries are extremely hostile to anyone asking questions about this fact. I love gay porn but I sure hope, for the sake of the PERFORMERS, we take a long hard look at the industry. Are there counseling services etc?

I'm soooo sad by this news. Danny was so fun, sweet - great to work with and super fun to play with. He's such a sweetheart.
I had the honor to shoot his very first scene with Alex for COLT's Hard Studies (HOT!). The 3 of us have had a sweet lil porno-bond since that wonderful day on the patio & daybed.
I want to send big healing hugs to Alex and to Danny's friends and family. Also big hugs to COLT. We miss you Danny!!!!

i am so sad. he was a very nice guy. i will miss him. the world has lost a very good person

I checked with COLT this morning and made some phone calls.
The cause of death has not officially been confirmed, so it's not being released. We'll have news soon, but it was not HIV/AIDS.

I met Danny several times. He was a sweet guy. Jerry Douglas described him as "fragile" and that's apt.

Regards,
JCA

Although I did not know Danny personally I did write about him a few times on my blog and this news saddens me very much. Rest in peace, brother.

I really didn't know much about him,,but SAD nonetheless, i wouldn't be suprised if drugs played a part, most of these guys have very disfunctional backgrounds, and the studios and producers incourage drugs which is how most of the guys can deal with being in that industry..VERY SAD!!

T-Boy: I have to take issue with your comment that "studios and producers [encourage] drugs"...that is complete horseshit. The vast majority of directors, producers and studios are responsible and professional. A few shady individuals do not set the tone for the rest of the gay adult industry.

I want to say first off that I am also in great shock and complete sadness over this tragedy.

Thank you to everyone for their well wishes for both Danny and myself.

This is all so raw at the moment and the depth hasn't even begun to sink in. The cause of death is irrelevant at this point. What we should all be focusing on is celebrating the short time we had with him.

He was the brightness in my life and I am forever changed by him. He will always be a part of me.

Alex/Darin-

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Alex during this difficult time.

Rob

With all due respect, I certainly can understand why Matthew (Danny R.)'s friends would want to focus on his life rather than how he died but wouldn't it be simpler to just say how he died so we could do away with the speculation that borders on the offensive in some quarters.

If people knew, curiosity would die down over those gruesome aspects of the tragedy and we could indeed focus on celebrating his life.

All my thoughts to everyone involved.

Danny was a good kid from Sacramento until he got into the porn business. It fucked with his mind and he went down hill fast after moving to San Francisco. Him and his ex should have never moved nor started in the porn business. It fucks with your mind and makes you do things you never thought about. Drugs was a major factor I know that for a fact. I wish he could have been saved but drugs got the best of him. He will be missed but this is another example of how drugs and porn don't mix. Something needs to be done to stop this from happing to others. Shame on COLT and the people who say they where close to him to not stop him and get him help.

RIP Danny...

I'm in full support of Alex Chandler's request. Cause of death IS irrelevent. If you knew Danny, even in passing, you'd be deeply saddened by the loss. Besides being an object of desire and 'porn star' he was a sweet sweet person and a real human being. Its the latter quaities I will miss! I regret not having an opportunity to know him better. XO

I've recently been through a sudden loss myself, and I know how unbearable the pain can be. To those who knew and loved him, I offer my condolences.

J. C. Adams, get off your high horse.

The recent rate of deaths among young porn performers is on the scale of an Agatha Christie mini-series. Porn Studios chew up these guys and spit them out.

Cause of death is NOT irrelevant!!!!!! This guy was a young man, he had many decades left in him. If it doesn't matter how he died, then release the damn information! What is really sad is that no one will investigate this, unless some mainstream enterprising reporter tackled the gay porn industry like some are going after the WWE. Gay porn = $$$, at the expense of some of its stars.

J. C. ADAMS,
I'ts clear guys like you are part of the problem, who are you kidding, i know that as a "FACT" most of these studios do not condone this kinda stuff (drugs) they will do what ever it takes to get their movies made, that mix and guys with shaky backgrounds and this is what you get, its sad but i see lots more of this stuff to come, so you try to convince others, NOT ME!

It's scary as hell when an ex lover proclaims how the manner in which a former lover has died should not be revealed. I do not mean to be cruel but if it's not natural causes then there is always a lesson to learn from something this tragic. The truth hurts, and the truth may even lead us to look in the mirror, but out of respect for that persons life we have an obligation to tell the complete story in hope that something like this can be avoided in the future.

In this particular death it is very relevant to reveal the cause of death. Matt was a special soul. Those who knew Matt when he lived in Sacramento saw the fast decline in regard to the drugs once he and Darin moved to SF to work in the porn industry. I'm not going to sugar coat it because I'm angry this incredible man is gone. It should have never happened. If someone clearly saw he was fragile and innocent, then they also clearly saw the partying was out of hand as well. The two don't mix! Unfortunately the result is one of two things. The drugs will kill you or you will become so screwed up in your thought process that you will end up taking your own life.

God be with his family but please Darin if you truly loved him tell his story so that someone else never has to suffer a loss like this again.

My heart is broken.

Reveal how he died and then tell his story honestly Darin. You have an obligation to make sure no one has to go through this situation again. There is no need to protect an industry that won't give a damn about Matt once his name can no longer bring them some type of profit. This just breaks my heart.

Thank you everyone for your thought son this and to explain why i nor anyone has reveled the cause is because there is still an ongoing report being completed and until we have all the facts, there is no need to fuel the speculation and rumors that are out there.

In regards to taking the industry to fault on this death, that will also be taken care of. I am working with a couple of individuals to put a spotlight on certain aspects of the industry that have been pushed aside for too long.

I lost my best friend and soul mate but i also gained another reason to live. I welcome any help from others out there who have stories or would like to join me in my crusade to get studios to take more responsibility for the welfare of their models, especially those they have known for a long time have issues yet they prey on them in order to maximize their profit.

When a press release goes out about a death of one of its stars and it looks more like a marketing tool for their upcoming releases rather than a death notice, that is one of your first signs something is wrong. Where is the REAL focus?? Its obvious to me...

Alex Chandelier aka Darrin is real concerned. Just check out his myspace profile where he mentions the death of his friend and then quickly changes the subject back to himself and his latest purchases. He is a piece of trash and is the one that should be considered "irrelevant".

BTW, how was Kent North's death ruled?

Danny was a friend of mine, as I'm a friend of Alex's. Perhaps the cause of death hasn't been reported out of sensitivity to those close to him who are dealing with a hard enough time without the media rubbing their faces in it.

Danny ruled. He was a really cool person who was always happy to see me. He loved Jean Paul Gaultier and I remember when he came to my housewarming party, we went through my closet and talked about fashion and designers we liked. He had aspirations outside of the gay porn industry and it's tragic that he was never able to realize them.

Forget about your industry hang-ups and if you have any decency you'll leave Alex Chandler alone. Danny had cool taste and was one of the sweetest, most sensitive guys you could meet in this business.

Well wishes and condolences to everyone who knew him. I regret that I didn't get to know him better.

Have some class, people -- you're all acting like a bunch of vultures.

Who cares how he died!?

Alex Chandler, my deepest sympathies go out to you during this very tough time. I am truly saddened by your loss. Please don't take these obnoxious comments to heart.

Love,
Tommy

The fact that Danny Roddick died is terribly regrettable, but the idea that because he did porn, he's entitled to no privacy at all is ludicrous.

Similarly ludicrous is the idea that studios have a moral obligation to monitor their performers off screen behavior. I can't think of a performer who would want that. Studios do have an obligation to make sure their work sets are safe and drug free -- and given the difficulty of getting an erection from a drug addict, they are generally rigorous about this. But to become surrogate parents? That's a whole nother can of worms.

As adults, we all make decisions about how we live our lives, what risks we take and how to mitigate those risks. The comments that have been coming -- judging Danny, Alex or COLT -- are patronizing at best and offensive at worst. We all have responsibility to take care of friends in danger, but judging these people on the basis of the small amount of facts in a blog post is beyond ridiculous.

agreed! let the facts come out when they do, and take it from there, but the guy's dead, and his ex-partner is mourning.

Keep your bitchiness and the vulture curiosity to yourself while the grief is still so fresh for some.

What they hell ever happened to compassion and decency? You're talking about a human being here. I only hope that those who have made this a forum for negativity realize how fragile life can be and spend a little more time spreading positive energy intead of bashing other people.

This is a horrible tragedy. I met him over a year ago in San Francisco and was taken aback by what a sweet and handsome person he was. He left a lasing impression on me. I am really bummed out by this news. I am not religious but my prayers are with his family and loved oned.

The fact is that someone passed away - it makes no difference how or why - Danny was far to young and his passing is a tragedy plain and simple. Instead of sniping at each other and trying to lay blame, you should be remembering Danny for the bright spirit that he was in life. The porn doesn't matter - he is somebody's child, sibling, lover, friend. THESE are the things that matter and what he will be remembered for...

I had the pleasure of meeting and spending a very fun evening with Danny Roddick. he was a young, sweet, intelligent, and very talented boy. The industry has surely lost one of it's brightest rising stars. My thoughts are with his family, friends, Alex, the staff at Colt and anyone who had the opportunity of meeting this truly unique individual. Danny was supposed to be in L.A. a couple weeks ago and was going to spend time at my place with me and my bf. I truly wish I had the opportunity to get to know him better. I will miss you baby boy. I have to beleive you are in a better place now. May your beauty and life force continue it's journey into a new realm.

I will miss him. He was truly a wonderful person.

Not to sound uncaring, but this reminds me of Sarah Silverman's Porn Song. There's a line in it where she says, "Do you ever take drugs so that you can have sex without crying? Yeah yeah!"

No you're right J C Adams none of the producers and studios are encouraging drugs at all...no not at all. So let's get decent about it. The proper word would be manipulate wouldn't it? No need to bring horses into it they already produce something decent...
plop plop

Don't be fooled and don't be bamboozled. Of COURSE it matters how he died. It is not insensitive to ask. It is the question of those that care.

Also, the rhetoric about studios being responsible for their performers is ludicrous. You know who should be responsible to performers? THEIR FRIENDS. THEIR SOCIAL NETWORKS.

Porn studios are a business. Living in capitalistic Amerikkka, we all know what businesses are about -- especially big businesses. They are not there to coddle performers or make their lives go swimmingly (e.g. check out Britney Spears).

Did Danny have people he could turn to? He could talk to? No? Why? Could it be because gay men have forgotten how to relate to each other as people? Could it be because everyone wanted a piece of his ass, but no one was willing to really check out his soul, dig deeper, get behind that softness to find the person there?

I am sorry, but to me, so much of what everyone is discussing is an off-shoot of the fact that the gay community has become this thing wherein people only care about their instant gratifications and themselves. Maybe if we had all cared a little more about Danny (and each other) maybe things would be different.

I don't know why he died, but it is important. This is a TRAGEDY people. Don't let ANYONE tell you ANY differently!

I'm sorry, but I don't think that one can assume that everyone knows what big business is about, and with the incredible thrill of perhaps being able to break societal conventions and show on screen what it's like to express the passion of life to the fullest (and the beauty of what a human body can be when it engages in the enjoyment of what a body can be when the enjoyment of having a body is shared: and beyond that using a body for something else than a boundary which separates yourself from others). When there is that much passion and desire that can lead one to want to work for the porn studios: I don't believe one can say that everyone knows that big business isn't there to coddle one. In the passion involved that can be completely overlooked. In fact, I would think that it would only be logical and natural for the porn studios to understand this along with the bizarre split a porn actor has of finding themselves suddenly out of main stream society and relegated into someone who is used for a thrill (or the target of a weak moment that is later attributed to the devil). And so unfortunately, with all the insecurities there isn't perhaps the amount of support that there could be and it's nobodies fault... but, the studios are the ones who hire these performers and they are the ones who can create a support system or not which goes out to all the performers because they are the ones who hire them (a performer's friends or social networks haven't hired them or put them in such a position and might not even know). Further more friends and social networks should support performers ofcourse, but that doesn't happen when a performer is perhaps understandably insecure and incapable of reaching out. Society also shouldn't estrange performers but it does.

I think it manipulates people when you put them in a position which can cause them stress which they might be incapable of dealing with (and many turn up not being able to deal with) and there isn't proper support. How would these people know what they are getting into, and yet the studios do know. When a person doesn't know what they are getting into and don't have the proper support when it turns out they don't know how to deal with it how does this make them feel?

manipulate 1. to manage or influence skillfully, esp. in an unfair manner: to manipulate people's feelings.

Honestly, Nijinsky, that isn't the real world -- I'm sorry. Studios are not... daycare centers for their performers.

You have a point -- porn stars don't always tell their family and friends, but they tell someone. Even if the performers themselves got together and created a support network, that is more likely to happen than the studio.

And it isn't too much of a jump for people to know about business -- after all, unions were started to protect the workers from the business.

But to think the studio is going to cuddle the performer and stuff, is going to care about the performer past his ability to produce is living in lala-land -- which you are entitled, but someone has to tell you you are wrongheaded about that.

Dangerous place this computer screen. You might be seeing things which come in from lala land which doesn't exist (and seems to be endangering the position of ever changing objectivism which won't stay in the same place to be objective enough to wipe out lala land). There's also DoDo ReRe MiMi FaFa SoSo and TiTi land.

I have to clarify that when I mentioned coddling (and not actually cuddle as translated by "Posted by at October 3, 2007 3:01 AM"), I was not referring to actual coddling at all, I was referring to the fact that with the true intentions of the people who really care about what they are expressing about human intimacy, you can't assume that they know how cruel and dehumanizing the business can be. and to say "Living in capitalistic Amerikkka, we all know what businesses are about -- especially big businesses. They are not there to coddle performers or make their lives go swimmingly " is a great assumption that everyone would have hardened their heart and that a business which, because of the position they put the performers, should care about this doesn't.

Some people would rather die than see that that's what it's all come to and that that is supposed to be survival.

I never said that the studios are going to care about the performer past his ability to produce, I said that they should!

If I were to hire someone from a country so gypsy or "communist" that food was there to be eaten and shared rather than bought, and when a person needed a roof over their heads and it was available, it was available regardless of whether you had a limousine to ride up to it with: If I was to hire such a person I wouldn't want to find them frozen to death on the street or in a state of starvation, and then decide that they should have known about "big business in America." In the same way I wouldn't want to abandon them when they were likely not to get the emotional nourishment or warmth they needed.

Or is it just insulting to you that some people actually would want to do porno to express something different than your impotent form of survival and control tactics?

Good Luck
Good Bye

In response to the question about Kent North, his death was ruled accidental by the coroner's inquest and emphatically not suicide. The details should be kept private since this was accidental.

Further more I don't believe a WORD of any of this. And anyone sensitive enough to actually want to make any sense of it would not be able to get out of it safely or in a healthy manner!

Anyyow, what I do believe is what is this going on with Kevin Williams!? Like sure we can go to a store together and even buy something. Can't even mention cumin together perhaps, and then in the store this lady talks a'bout like e'vrythin...like she's inviserble,,,hmpf.

AND, poor Kevin looking very perturbed hiding how confused he is goes past me in the car and then they start questioning him at the store like he did something!?

I agree with the commenters who say cause of death matters. Cause of death is very relevant if it's AIDS (for the obvious reasons), drugs (because that means there are emotional problems that are not being dealt with by the studios), suicide (ditto), or murder (for obvious reasons).

If he's a great kid, and his death was avoidable, then IT MATTERS to know what his death was, so that someone else can avoid his fate. If someone else's life is saved, then something good has come out of this young man's untimely demise.

The cause of death...
Perhaps it was what killed the second Monroe, or it might be her son that was first or the people's trying to go to school in a country which needs guns so bad that Tom Cruise has to get a sex change operation before he opens his mouth about it....