Al Parker was born Andrew Drew Okun on June 25, 1952. He lived a full life until he died of AIDS in August 1992. As a teenager in Natick, Massachusetts, pre-Al Parker Okun was able to convince his parents to let him borrow their brand-new Mustang and drive to Woodstock, which he told them was a classical music festival. Later, when a documentary was made about the event, the movie poster showed Okun in the crowd.
Okun had a few gay encounters at Woodstock, most of which took place in the back of a van. Okun had been raped at knifepoint when he was 15 years old, so these were not his first sexual experiences with men. This was the kind of scene that would be shown and filmed many times over the course of his adult film career.
Okun moved to Los Angeles when he was done with high school and got a job as a butler at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion. Rip Colt, who makes adult movies, found the butler there and gave him the name Al Parker, which is a more manly name and a tribute to the famous artist. Soon, the new Al Parker was in a number of short 8mm films made by Colt.
Soon after he was found, Parker met Richard Cole, who was a lot older than him. Cole taught Parker about sexual hedonism, and the two of them started a long, open relationship. In fact, they put a bed in the back of their van so that they could pick up men and have sex with them while driving across the country.
Cole and Parker started Surge Studios in 1980 and started making their own movies right away. Parker's job in the business grew to include more than just acting. Soon, he was also producing and directing. The two people started making movies with bigger budgets and themes. Many of these movies were shot at their home in Hermosa Beach, California.
Cole died of AIDS in 1986. Because HIV and AIDS were affecting the adult film industry and the community as a whole so hard, Surge Studios started making safe sex practises a requirement during filming (and was one of the first studios to begin doing so). After Cole died, Parker started dating Canadian porn star Justin Cade. Even though he had tested positive for the virus, Parker also stayed in the business. In August 1992, Parker died in San Francisco from AIDS.
