Following a brief career as a Latin teacher and a stint as a highly-paid male model, Donovan appeared in Boys in the Sand (1971), the film that would cement his status as a gay icon.

Attempts to build on his notoriety to achieve mainstream crossover success failed, but Donovan continued to be a bankable star in the adult industry for the next 15 years.

[3] Culver attended the State University of New York at Geneseo (SUNY), where he was a member of Phi Sigma Epsilon fraternity and the drama club.

[4] He later took a job at the private Ethical Culture Fieldston School on New York City's Central Park West[5] but was fired during his second year following an altercation in which he physically disciplined a female student (reportedly the daughter of actor Eli Wallach).

While the film was a commercial and critical failure, Variety noted his performance positively, saying "Only Calvin Culver ... shows any indication of better things to come.

Tool & Die with Bob Blount and Richard Locke,[17] The Other Side of Aspen with Al Parker, Steve Turk and Dick Fisk,[18] Boys in the Sand II[19] and Inevitable Love, with Jon King and Jamie Wingo.

He also appeared in a number of heterosexual porn films, most notably The Opening of Misty Beethoven where he had a scene with Constance Money, in which he plays a gay male art dealer who is seduced by a woman.

"[25] In 1974, Donovan starred as Brian, a gay bathhouse attendant, in the play Tubstrip, written and directed by Jerry Douglas, which had successful runs in Los Angeles and San Francisco before moving to Broadway.