Ronald Hightower (born January 25, 1966 in Los Angeles, California) is an American adult-mainstream director who began his career as a pornographic actor. He has also directed music videos for various hip-hop recording artists, particularly rappers.
Born in Los Angeles, Hightower entered the adult entertainment world in New York City after working as an exotic dancer in the early 1990s. His good looks and muscular physique soon caught the eye of West Coast studio executives who recognized his potential as a top sex star, and they wasted no time in tempting him with better and more prominent roles.
Career in adult filmsedit
Arriving at the San Fernando Valley-based porn scene at a time when there were very few black men in the business who were actual celebrities (and when most interracial movies consisted of showing Caucasian men having sex with African American women), Hightower rapidly gained popularity as a natural born performer who always pleased his female co-stars[citation needed], and his early appearances in productions like White Men Can't Hump and the Dark Alleys series (both 1992) were well received by many fans of black themed and interracial erotica. He also displayed much talent as a hard-working director early on in his career and began directing his first of many movies almost immediately after he had begun performing, starting with Dark Alleys 8 (also 1992).
Hightower had often made public his frustration with what he felt were stereotypical depictions of black men in pornography, and at the risk of jeopardizing his career he would take the opportunity during interviews to expose the restrictions that were placed by studio heads at the time on black actors whose female partners were white. Like his contemporary and friendly rival, Sean Michaels, he worked hard to eliminate negative stereotypes of African Americans in the business and also to break new ground for them.
Directorial careeredit
In 1996 Hightower retired from performing sex in front of the cameras to become a full-time adult film director, later to pursue work for mainstream productions. By 1997, he was dubbed by one book as the "king of the black porno market".[1]
Music videosedit
As a mainstream director, Hightower has produced and directed music videos[2] for such recording artists such as Above The Law, Gang Starr,[3] New Child,[4] and Tupac Shakur, for whom he directed the music video 'How Do U Want It'.[5]
Referencesedit
^Harris Gaffin (1997). "13". Hollywood blue: the tinseltown pornographers. Batsford. p. 59.
^Cheryl L. Keyes (2004). Rap music and street consciousness. University of Illinois Press. pp. 213. ISBN9780252072017.
^"Production Notes: New York". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 15. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1998-04-11. p. 90.
^"Production Notes". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1997-10-18. p. 90. ISSN 0006-2510.
^Chairman Mao (October 1996). "Freaky Deaky". Vibe. Vibe Media Group. 4 (8): 40. ISSN 1070-4701.
hightower, american, tennis, player, tennis, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, i. For the American tennis player see Ron Hightower tennis This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Ron Hightower news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ronald Hightower born January 25 1966 in Los Angeles California is an American adult mainstream director who began his career as a pornographic actor He has also directed music videos for various hip hop recording artists particularly rappers Ron HightowerBornRonald Hightower 1966 01 25 January 25 1966 age 57 Los Angeles California U S Height6 ft 5 in 1 96 m Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Career in adult films 3 Directorial career 3 1 Music videos 4 References 5 External linksEarly life and career editBorn in Los Angeles Hightower entered the adult entertainment world in New York City after working as an exotic dancer in the early 1990s His good looks and muscular physique soon caught the eye of West Coast studio executives who recognized his potential as a top sex star and they wasted no time in tempting him with better and more prominent roles Career in adult films editArriving at the San Fernando Valley based porn scene at a time when there were very few black men in the business who were actual celebrities and when most interracial movies consisted of showing Caucasian men having sex with African American women Hightower rapidly gained popularity as a natural born performer who always pleased his female co stars citation needed and his early appearances in productions like White Men Can t Hump and the Dark Alleys series both 1992 were well received by many fans of black themed and interracial erotica He also displayed much talent as a hard working director early on in his career and began directing his first of many movies almost immediately after he had begun performing starting with Dark Alleys 8 also 1992 Hightower had often made public his frustration with what he felt were stereotypical depictions of black men in pornography and at the risk of jeopardizing his career he would take the opportunity during interviews to expose the restrictions that were placed by studio heads at the time on black actors whose female partners were white Like his contemporary and friendly rival Sean Michaels he worked hard to eliminate negative stereotypes of African Americans in the business and also to break new ground for them Directorial career editIn 1996 Hightower retired from performing sex in front of the cameras to become a full time adult film director later to pursue work for mainstream productions By 1997 he was dubbed by one book as the king of the black porno market 1 Music videos edit As a mainstream director Hightower has produced and directed music videos 2 for such recording artists such as Above The Law Gang Starr 3 New Child 4 and Tupac Shakur for whom he directed the music video How Do U Want It 5 References edit Harris Gaffin 1997 13 Hollywood blue the tinseltown pornographers Batsford p 59 Cheryl L Keyes 2004 Rap music and street consciousness University of Illinois Press pp 213 ISBN 9780252072017 Production Notes New York Billboard Vol 110 no 15 Nielsen Business Media Inc 1998 04 11 p 90 Production Notes Billboard Nielsen Business Media Inc 1997 10 18 p 90 ISSN 0006 2510 Chairman Mao October 1996 Freaky Deaky Vibe Vibe Media Group 4 8 40 ISSN 1070 4701 External links editRon Hightower at IMDb Ron Hightower at the Internet Adult Film Database Ron Hightower at the Adult Film Database AdultFYI Conversations with Ron Hightower Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ron Hightower amp oldid 1166662334, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
