Eric Verberne Founder About Gay Movies

Eric Verberne was born on May 28th 1963 in a little village in the south of the Netherlands. Since the age of 9 he has lived in Amsterdam. With a highschool diploma he started working at the age of 17. Alongside work he went to night school and got several diplomas including a degree in financial management. He built a career during 21 years in accountancy. He founded his own company Interim Finance for financial management on a project basis. In 1990 he was one of the founders of the Girth & Mirth Netherlands. This club is one of the first in Europe for chubbies (big men), bears (hairy men) and chasers (men who like big/hairy men). For more than 10 years he has volunteered in this club and organized many (international) meetings. In 2001 he had to stop his work for physical reasons. That year he designed a personal website. One of the pages was about his big interest in movies. Especially those with a gay theme. This page grew longer and longer and had to be scrolled intensively. But it was very well visited by people from all over the world. That made him decide to make a new website devoted to movies & tv-series with a gay theme: About Gay Movies. Since that time the site has grown and grown and the number of visits has skyrocketed. Nowadays the work for the site has developed into a full time job.

Joseph DeMarco Editor

Larry Duplechan Editor

Larry Duplechan was born in Los Angeles, California, of Louisiana Creole parents. His passion for American popular culture, particularly movies and music, dates back to early childhood. His favorite movies include "Stage Door", "Auntie Mame", "All About Eve", "Fifth Element", "Maurice", "Trick", "Beautiful Thing", and "The Wizard of Oz". He enjoys all genres of music, but with a particular affinity for "girl group", "doo-wop", big band swing, and Billie Holiday. He considers Joni Mitchell a goddess, and considers Rufus Wainwright the Joni Mitchell of his generation. He thinks Rick Nelson was the most beautiful man in the history of rock and roll. Larry Duplechan is the author of four gay-themed novels: Eight Days A Week (1985), Blackbird (1986), Tangled Up in Blue (1989), and Captain Swing (1993). He is also an accomplished singer, a so-so guitar and ukulele player, and a fledgling songwriter. In 2003, he released a self-produced CD of songs (covers and originals) with ukulele accompaniment, entitled Go Go Go, under the name Larry D. He is currently at work on his fifth novel, and is spending inordinate amounts of time in the gym and eating more protein than many small nations have ever seen, in an attempt to become a muscle-daddy. He is a deacon at Metropolitan Community Church in the Valley (North Hollywood, California), and created and maintains the church's website (www.mccinthevalley.com). Larry lives in Los Angeles with his partner (since 1976) and a neurotic black cat named Butthead. Please visit Larry's personal website: Larry-d.com. Shout-out to Robert Gant ("Queer as Folk"): call me!

Giovanni Franco Editor

Giovanni Franco was born near Como, Italy, but was raised in Southern California. He spent his college years in San Francisco before returning home to Southern California. An interest in all things theatrical hit Giovanni early, leading to working in numerous acting, musical performance and backstage roles, beginning in high school and running through his college years. After graduating with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, he dove headfirst into the crowded job pool, which proved to be fruitless. The tough job market for creative types led to a decision to return to graduate school, and a focus on educational psychology as a new career path. Giovanni is currently working as an School/Educational Psychologist in Southern California, and he finds the job especially rewarding when he gets to mentor young gay men and lesbians who are struggling to come to terms with their issues. Giovanni has been participating in the computer/BBS scene since his college years. He was a member of some of the first BBS systems in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the '80s and '90s, and eagerly jumped into the new forum known as "The Internet" when widespread use began. He was co-moderator of a popular gay-related IRC chat group from the mid 90's through 2000, co-hosting weekly gatherings in West Hollywood. His love of theater and film continues, with Giovanni spending his free time attending films, plays and musicals as often as he can. A special affection for gay-themed projects arose in the '90s. He goes to numerous local gay-oriented plays, and in 1993 started attending and sponsoring Outfest, the annual Los Angeles Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered film festival. As DVDs became a popular and affordable medium for purchase, Giovanni began collecting these gay films, and at this point he began to feel the urge to let others know which of these films he felt were worth their time and money. This renewed desire for creative expression led Giovanni to start posting reviews on various retail sites, and ultimately brought about his participation with About Gay Movies.

Simon Gosling Editor

Simon Gosling was born on July 4th 1984 in a little town called Shrewsbury, in England. With 11 passes and a GNVQ in business he started working at the age of 16, as a trainee manager and chef of a nationwide Restaurant chain. In 2001 he founded Hairy Chested Male Celebrities. This yahoo group is dedicated to male Celebrities with one thing in common, a hairy chest. With over 2000 members this group has been increasing day by day. In 2003 he decided to stop working in the catering industry and to follow his interest in movies and music. He started working in the retail industry, in a video and music shop, and also started up an eBay business selling DVDs, Videos, CDs and many other products. During this time he discovered About Gay Movies and has been helping out ever since. Inspired by About Gay Movies in November 2004 he started another eBay business. Now in its early stages, selling male celebrity photograph collections and photograph collection associated with gay themes under the name becauseofmen.