Wade Nichols

Dennis Posa, aka Dennis Parker, (October 28, 1946 – January 28, 1985), better known by his performance name of Wade Nichols, was an actor and singer who started his career in adult films.[1][2]

Wade Nichols
Born
Dennis Posa

(1946-10-29)October 29, 1946
Freeport, New York
DiedJanuary 28, 1985(1985-01-28) (aged 38)
New York City, New York
Occupationadult film and television actor, singer
Years active1972-1985 (his death)

Early life

Nichols was born in Manhattan, New York and raised in Freeport, New York.[3] He attended the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, studying Furniture Design.[3][4] During his stint at PMCA, he won a role in a touring company production of The Trojan Women. He later attended New York University and the Herbert Berghof Studio, where he studied acting.[3] He supported himself by working as a carpenter for several years.[4]

Career

Nichols' first feature film role was probably in the gay adult film Boynapped! (1975). He subsequently appeared mostly in straight porn films shot in New York, such as Barbara Broadcast, Blonde Ambition, Jail Bait, Maraschino Cherry, Punk Rock, Summer of Laura, Take Off, and Teenage Pajama Party.[1] Posa was credited as Wade Nichols in most of the adult films in which he appeared.

In 1979, using the name Dennis Parker, he recorded a disco album on Casablanca Records titled Like an Eagle.[3][4] The album was produced by Village People creator and producer Jacques Morali, who was Nichols' boyfriend at the time.[5] He also toured Europe to promote the album.[3] He later appeared in the French film Monique that same year, with "Like an Eagle" being used as its theme song. The title track was released as a single and appears on the box set The Casablanca Records Story (1994). "New York By Night," another song recorded by Nichols as Dennis Parker, peaked at #11 on the South African music charts in 1980.[6]

Posa (still as Dennis Parker) joined the cast of the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1979 as Police Chief Derek Mallory. He continued in the role until 1984.[3][4][2]

Seriously ill by October 1984, Posa was unable to continue working on The Edge of Night and his character was written out of the show. The show went off the air two months later.

Death

Parker died on January 28, 1985.[3] In a tribute to Parker in a 1985 issue of Soap Opera Digest, fellow Edge of Night actor Ernie Townsend wrote "He died in early January after a long and painful illness that took away a talent in its prime." An obituary released in Virginia stated that he died after a "brief illness, survived by his mother, brother, and partner." It was revealed later that he died of an unspecified AIDS-related illness.[2]

Partial filmography
Movie Title Distributor Year
Bang Bang You Got It Video-X-Pix 1976
Barbara Broadcast VCA 1977
Boynapped Hand-In-Hand 1975
Call Me Angel Video Home Library 1975
Captain Lust International Home Video Corporation 1977
Come to Me Air Video 1976
Honeymoon Haven Video-X-Pix 1977
Hot Pursuit VCA 1983
Jail Bait Command Video 1976
Jawbreakers Ventura 1985
Love You Essex Video 1979
Magic Girls Horizon 1980
Maraschino Cherry Video-X-Pix 1978
Odyssey VCX 1977
Punk Rock Atom 1978
Secret Dreams of Mona Q Arrow Productions 1976
Summer Of Laura VCA 1975
Sweetheart Video-X-Pix 1977
Take Off Video-X-Pix 1978
Teenage Pajama Party VEP 1977
Virgin Dreams VCX 1976
Visions Quality-X-Video 1978
Beach House Caballero Home Video 1980
Blonde Ambition Video-X-Pix 1980
Bizarre Thunder Ribu Video 1984

References
  1. Variety Magazine (daily) (September 16, 1985 ed.). 16 September 1985.
  2. Carter, Alan (17 June 1989). "Timing determines 'scandal'". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  3. Variety Magazine (weekly) (February 6, 1985 ed.). 6 February 1985.
  4. Durdan, Douglas (24 July 1982). "Sons on a soap, but not here". Richmond Times Dispatch. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  5. Wade Nichols: ‘A Galaxy of Pleasure and Pain’ – His Untold Story, profile of Wade Nichols, The Rialto Report, June 25, 2017"
  6. http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(P).html
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