LOS ANGELES — Noted gonzo director and Elegant Angel co-founder Patrick Collins passed away on Sunday at 73, according to industry associates.
Collins developed the Elegant Angel studio and brand starting in 1990, originally as a subsidiary of co-founder John Stagliano’s Evil Angel. Elegant Angel thrived as a pioneer of the “gonzo era” of the industry, taking Stagliano’s blueprint from his seminal “Buttman” series, and putting Collins’ own imprint on series such as “Buttwoman,” “Slutwoman,” “Sodomania,” “Big Wet Asses” and “Big Wet Tits.”
Collins was visible as the creative force behind Elegant Angel — which became its own company in 1996 — until he stepped down in early 2014, appointing Drew Kennedy and Gabriel Guzman as top execs. He also directed from the early 1990s until 2009, often under the pseudonym Roscoe Bowltree.
“Shooting porn regularly is one key to learning quickly — and if you can get paid to learn, you have it made,” Collins told XBIZ in 2005. “Focus on what's real. Whatever it is that stirs your soul is what you should shoot.”
Expanding on the secret of Elegant Angel’s success, Collins offered his philosophy: “I interview performers and directors to see what turns them on, and the excitement shows on film. I would rather have a grainy, poorly lit scene with real energy apparent in it than some perfectly produced cookie cutter scene that could never actually happen in real life.”
