Leo Ford

Leo Ford
Born	Leo John Hilgeford (1957-06-05)June 5, 1957 Dayton, Ohio, United States
Died	Los Angeles, California, United States
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Porn actor, Model
Partner(s)	Divine, Craig Markle

Leo Ford, born Leo John Hilgeford, (July 5, 1957 – July 17, 1991) was an American pornographic actor who appeared in gay pornographic films and bisexual pornographic movies and magazines in the 1980s. He was born in Dayton, Ohio.

Career

In 1989, Ford was crowned King of the Beaux Arts Ball in New York City. His Queen was Melissa Slade.

Ford paired with David Alan Reis aka "Lance" in Leo & Lance and Blonds Do It Best, both directed by William Higgins. In his starring role for the film Games, directed by Steve Scott, Ford played a medal-winning swimmer in the Gay Games competition with Al Parker playing a photographer assigned to take professional portraits of the athlete. In a scene that foreshadowed what happened to Ford in real life, the character he played in Games had a severe motorcycle accident that left him hospitalized, and in a coma. He died in Los Angeles some years later at the age of 34, a few days after being hit by a car while on a motorcycle.

Private life

Ford had a relationship with cult actor Divine. The two traveled together and he made appearances at the clubs in which Divine was contracted to perform in. After Divine's death, Ford began a relationship with Craig Markle. Ford and Markle lived together in Los Angeles and Hawaii and raised tropical birds. After Ford's death Markle ran a travel agency and over saw Ford's large collection of pictures from his career.

Death

Ford died July 17, 1991 when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by a truck making an illegal turn onto Sunset Boulevard. Ford suffered massive head trauma and died two days later. His partner, Craig Markle was riding with him but suffered only minor injuries. Ford was cremated and his ashes sent to San Francisco, where after a wake at Josie's Bar they were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Selected videography

Gay

• Best of Leo Ford
• Blondes Do It Best (1986)
• Colossal Cocks 5
• Flashbacks (J. Brian) (1980)
• Games (1983)
• Leo & Lance (1983)
• New York City Pro (1982)
• A Night at Alfies
• Sailor in the Wild (1983)
• Sex in the Great Outdoors (1980–1984)
• Spokes (1983)
• Stiff Sentence
• Style (1982)
• William Higgins Class Reunion (1983)
• Summer Of Scott Knoll (1981)

Bisexual

• Best Bi Far #1
• Passion by Fire: The Big Switch 2
• True Crimes of Passion

See also

• List of pornographic movie studios
• List of male performers in gay porn films

External links

• Leo Ford at the Internet Movie Database
• Leo Ford at Find a Grave

• Autopornography: a memoir of life in the lust lane (1997), Scott O'Hara, Routledge, ISBN 0-7890-0144-6, ISBN 978-0-7890-0144-3.
• Acts of intervention: performance, gay culture, and AIDS: Unnatural acts : theorizing the performative (1998), David Román, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-21168-9, ISBN 978-0-253-21168-2.
• http://www.beauxartssociety.org/19356.html
• Not simply Divine: beneath the make-up, above the heels and behind the scenes with a cult superstar (1994), Bernard Jay, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0-671-88467-0, ISBN 978-0-671-88467-3.