John Leslie Nuzzo January 25 1945 December 5 2010 was an American pornographic film actor-director-producer who worked under a number of aliases including John Leslie Dupre Frederick Watson and Lenny Lovely Leslie was a stalwart male star of the Golden Age of Porn alongside Ron Jeremy Jamie Gillis John Holmes and Harry Reems when blue movies had narratives higher quality production values and distribution in some legitimate movie theaters With the success of Talk Dirty To Me in 1980 Leslie inherited the mantle of the porn industry's top male superstar from Holmes who had suffered setbacks due to drug and legal problems He eventually starred in over 600 porn films before making the transition to director - Infancy Leslie was born on January 25 1945 into an Italian-American family in East Liverpool Ohio and grew up in the Midland area of Beaver County Pennsylvania After high school he worked at Crucible Steel Company before moving to New York to attend the Art Students League of New York After finishing art school he joined the band Brooklyn Blues Busters where he played harmonica and sang - Professional Development Leslie moved to the Mill Valley area of California in the mid 1970s and began performing in adult films his first being Coming Attractions He appeared with some of the era's most notable porn stars including fellow Ohioans Traci Lords and John Johnny Wadd Holmes as well as Seka Kay Parker and Annette Haven Beginning with Nightshift Nurses in 1987 he was one of the first porn actors to make the transition from performing to directing and since then he has directed over 90 adult films including The Chameleon 1989 Curse of the Catwoman 1992 Dog Walker 1994 and Drop Sex 1997 as well as the Voyeur's Though much of his later work in keeping with current trends in adult video was in the gonzo genre such as the Fresh Meat and Crack Her Jack series Leslie continued to make feature films or sex dramas most recently in 2007 he directed the film Brianna Love Her Fine Sexy Self On December 5 2010 at the age of 65 John Leslie died of a heart attack at his home in Mill Valley California He was one of several former porn stars featured in the 2012 documentary After Porn Ends which was about life after being a porn actor and his final appearance was posthumously in the 2016 documentary X-Rated 2 The Greatest Adult Stars of All Time - Recognition As a performer I'd like to make the following statements Best Supporting Actor Coming of Angels AFAA Award in 1977 Best Actor Talk Dirty to Me AFAA Award in 1980 Best Actor Talk Dirty to Me CAFA Award 1980 Best Actor Wicked Sensations AFAA Award in 1981 Best Actor Talk Dirty to Me 2 AFAA Award 1982 Best Actor Talk Dirty to Me 2 CAFA Award 1982 1984 AFAA Award for Best Actor Dixie Ray and Every Woman Has a Fantasy shared with himself for both films Best Copulation Scene Every Woman Has a Fantasy XRCO Award 1984 Best Supporting Actor Taboo 4 AFAA Award in 1985 Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Firestorm AVN Award 1985 Best Actor Every Woman Has a Fantasy 2 XRCO Award 1986 AVN Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Firestorm 2 in 1988 As a director 1988 XRCO Award for Best Actor Beauty and the Beast XRCO Award for Best Director Video Nightshift Nurses in 1987 Best Director Catwoman XRCO Award 1988 Catwoman received the 1989 AVN Award for Best Director Video XRCO Award for Best Film Chameleons Not The Sequel in 1992 Best Film Dog Walker XRCO Award 1994 Best Director 1994 XRCO Award Best Director Film Dog Walker AVN Award in 1995 Best Director Video Bad Habits AVN Award 1995 Best All-Sex Release John Leslie's Fresh Meat 3 AVN Award 1997 Best Director 1997 XRCO Award Best All-Sex Release John Leslie's Fresh Meat 4 AVN Award 1998 Best Director 1998 XRCO Award Best All-Sex Release John Leslie's Fresh Meat 5 AVN Award 1999 Best Director Video The Lecher 2 AVN Award 1999 AVN Award for Best All-Sex Release The Voyeur 12 in 2000Other awards 1989 AVN Award for Best Screenplay Video Catwoman co-written with Mark Weiss Best Screenplay Film Dog Walker AVN Award 1995