Johnny Rahm

Johnny Rahm (June 11, 1965 - November 7, 2004) was the stagename of Barry "J.T." Rogers, an American film actor who appeared in gay pornographic movies and magazines.

Biography

Christian upbringing

Barry Thomas Rogers, who was known to friends as "J.T.," was born in Milledgeville, Georgia, the son of J.T. and Connie Rogers, and raised in a conservative Baptist home. He attended Gilead Christian Academy, a Christian high school in Macon, Georgia and the fundamentalist Bob Jones University (BJU) in Greenville, South Carolina. Rogers was expelled from the university midway through his senior year when he chose to come out. He had a Celtic cross tattooed above his right bicep, clearly visible in all his pornographic films.

Rogers had minor roles in films outside of the gay [...] industry. He was an extra in the made-for-tv movie "Unconquered", appeared twice on "The Dating Game" (winning once), and appeared on the Jerry Lewis Telethon as a Jerry Lewis impersonator.

Gay [...] star

In the 1988, Rogers moved to California and worked for more than a decade in the gay [...] industry, often making films for Chi Chi LaRue. He won two Adult [...] Gay Video Awards: "Best Supporting Actor" in 1993 for the film Body Search (directed by Chi Chi Larue) and in 1995 for All about Steve he also won the AVN Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for the latter film. He also was employed at Drakes Melrose, Pier One Imports, and worked as a barback for the Atlanta club, "The Metro".

He moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999 and tried stand-up comedy, but he struggled financially. After being diagnosed as HIV-positive, he continued to make pornographic films, working with Atlanta-based producer [...] Wadd to make hardcore and bareback [...] films.

[...]

After April 2004 Rogers shared a house with his friend Adam Kahn in midtown Atlanta and sought financial assistance to find a home of his own. Rogers suffered from chronic depression, and lived with both HIV and hepatitis. He committed [...] on 7 November 2004 by hanging himself with wire on the fence of the Atlanta Botanical Garden. A [...] note complained of his frustration at not being able to receive assistance from Social Security.

After his death, his cousin Jamey Rousey, who worked with the Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund, called Rogers "a kind and gentle soul, and as tragic as his death was, I hope he’s found the peace he couldn’t find in life."

Filmography

External links

• Newspaper report of death
• Internet Movie Database Entry
• Express Gay News discussion of Rahm's [...]
• A poem encapsulating the life and death of Johnny Rahm by Brad Walton

See also

• List of gay [...] stars