Johnny Dawes

Biography

Johnny Dawes (March 22, 1955 – July 25, 1989), born Brian Lee, was an American adult film actor, model, and writer. Active during the 1970s and 1980s, Dawes appeared primarily in gay pornography. Beyond adult film, he worked as a stage actor, photographer, and classical music contributor.

== Early life and education == Dawes was born Brian Lee in Akron, Ohio, one of five children. He attended local schools and graduated from high school in 1971. Following graduation, he moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue work in film and performance.

== Career ==

=== Adult film and modeling === In 1973, Lee began working as a dancer in an all-male erotic revue at the Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. He entered the adult film industry in 1974 under the stage name Johnny Dawes. Over the next decade, he became a contract actor for studios including Falcon Studios. He modeled for various gay magazines and erotica publications throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1983, Dawes starred as Steve in the adult feature Pleasure Beach, directed by Arthur J. Bressan Jr. For his role in the film, Dawes won the Best Actor award at the 1984 Gay Producers Association (GPA) Awards. Dawes retired from the adult film industry in 1986 but he returned to film work briefly in early 1989 to complete a final group of projects.

=== Theater and scholarly Work === Outside of pornography, Dawes worked in the Los Angeles arts and theater community. In 1985, he starred as Richard, the male lead, in the Los Angeles production of Night Sweats at the Fifth Estate Theatre. Written by playwright Robert Chesley, it was one of the earliest theatrical productions to address the AIDS epidemic. Dawes was also a portrait photographer and classical music enthusiast. He worked as an opera historian, contributing biographical articles to Opera Digest, including a study of the American lyric soprano Alma Gluck. Prior to his death, he was researching a full-length biography of Gluck. He also directed a documentary film titled A Dance with Death and filmed a minor role as a Russian spy in a non-adult feature film.

== Death == Dawes began experiencing health issues in December 1988. He was diagnosed with AIDS on June 16, 1989. He died from complications of the disease on July 25, 1989, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and he was 34 years old.

== Filmography ==

=== Film ===