Ken Sprague

Kenneth Ray Sprague (born July 14, 1945) is an American bodybuilder, businessman, author and school teacher.

He competed in numerous Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships and won the Mr. Cincinnati bodybuilding title in 1967.

After enrolling at the University of Cincinnati, Sprague was encouraged by a friend to try modeling, which led him to COLT male erotica studio in New York City.

His instant popularity in the porn industry brought him enough money and contacts to establish his own independent film studio and purchase the Gold's Gym in 1972.

[1] His mother was a ballet dancer, his father a contractor, and his two brothers were both honored athletes who attained Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

After he had previously attended an "all-white" middle school, this time he decided to choose the predominantly black Taft instead of the Central High across town, mostly because of their better athletic teams.

"I was married, working ten hour night-shifts at a local machine tool company, training, and taking a full academic load.

In March 1970, Sprague arrived to California and did his second photo session when he was approached by a private collector to appear in a hardcore sex film.

The two have since appeared in a handful of scenes and magazine spreads together, often being referred to as the "Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald of gay porn films".

The author described Sprague as never feeling "any guilt," and someone who "would take whatever position was necessary to ensure that he would end up in good shape financially."

In 1972 Sprague made a notable appearance in the drag-spoof of All About Eve, “All About Alice,[8]” where he played the boyfriend of “Mona” and also had a couple of full-frontal nude scenes.

According to the book, Keith Spaulding (Sprague) and James Cass (Cassidy), as a result of their films, each earned at least an additional $100,000 a year by turning "tricks".

[10] "I purchased the gym more or less as a hobby; I was training there at the time and the current owner (Danits) couldn't make money with it – in fact, the gross income of Gold's in 1971 was $19,000.

Originally started with the idea of becoming a major influence in the field of pornography, the stage served mainly to produce gay porn films.

Various television commercials and independent productions were shot at his stage, as well as the weekly religious telecasts of Tony and Susan Alamo.

[12] When trying to land a bid on the 1977 Mr. America contest, Sprague was confronted by the AAU board about his porn past as Dakota.

[13] On January 17, 1976, Sprague filed a lawsuit against Joe Gold that blocked him from opening a new fitness center World Gym because of the non-competition clause in the initial sales agreement.