LOS ANGELES — Tim Lutz, the well-known community figure and co-founder of pioneering LGBT publisher Cybersocket, has passed. He had received a diagnosis of Glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, in November 2020.
XBIZ spoke to industry figure Gunner, who confirmed Lutz, a close friend, passed Friday at his home in Palm Springs.
Cybersocket, which Lutz co-founded with Morgan Sommer, and sold earlier this year, celebrates its 25th anniversary in January 2022.
He and Sommer also produced the Cybersocket Web Awards, which marked its 20th anniversary in 2020, and was known for its collegial and inclusive yearly ceremony in West Hollywood that drew together hundreds of performers and CEOs, webmasters and artists from all corners of adult and beyond.
Industry memorials
“My friend Tim Lutz passed [Friday] and it could not have happened at a worse time because we need the brightest and most loving lights in the world right now," Falcon/NakedSword President Tim Valenti told XBIZ. "Tim was kind, generous, curious and always had a positive attitude. He was a loyal and supportive friend, but most of all he was a lot of fun! Tim's passing proves it is true when they say, 'The good die young.'"
Director Chi Chi LaRue was a longtime host of the Cybersocket Web Awards.
"I always enjoyed working on the Cybersockets with Tim and Morgan," LaRue said. "It’s very sad to hear of Tim’s passing. He will be missed by many!"
Sommer said Lutz, his business partner and friend for the past 25 years, "was being looked after by friends and family and was not alone."
"Tim would want his family and friends to remember him as a 'being of light' and to be happy that he is now free. If you knew him at all, you know he believed he was on the path to the next great adventure for his soul," Sommer recalled. "I was told of his passing while my husband and I were visiting Florence, Italy. Tim loved the ideals represented by Da Vinci and Michelangelo. At one of the first meetings I had with Tim, 25 years ago, he pointed to an image of Da Vinci’s 'Vitruvian Man' on a shelf in his living room, with the Latin phrase 'Omnia Vincit Amor,' and asked me if I knew what it meant. I translated it correctly. He is free of pain and suffering and onto the next phase of his evolution."
XBIZ will update this story on an ongoing basis.