Billy Byars, Jr. - Revision history

Thorn at 15:52, 30 April 2024

2024-04-30T15:52:37Z

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	<div style="margin-right: 25px; float: left;">__TOC__</div>'''Billy Byars, Jr.''' (1936-), owner of [[Lyric International]], producer of ''The Genesis Children'', partner to pornographer Guy Strait, friend of J. Edgar Hoover, key figure in "the first [[child pornography]] ring ... brought to public view", perpetual footnote in Kennedy assassination theories, is a fascinating figure. And also a public figure, which permits his discussion here. Mr. Byars is of primary interest here as the owner of Lyric. Many of Lyric's reputedly 90 magazines and many movies still circulate on the Internet. Photographed by Harlan 'Slim' Pfeiffer, many were filmed in Mr. Byars's home - also the Lyric studio - and around ''the pool with the cinderblock walls'' in his backyard. While Lyric's films featured extensive nudity of [[boy]]s and young men, Lyric produced only "physique" photography and never pornography. However, two of the "Lyric boys" who played around Byars's pool later found their way into the bed - or at least the limousine - of the Director of the FBI.		<div style="margin-right: 25px; float: left;">__TOC__</div>'''Billy Byars, Jr.''' (1936-), owner of [[Lyric International]], producer of ''The Genesis Children'', partner to pornographer Guy Strait, friend of [[J. Edgar Hoover]], key figure in "the first [[child pornography]] ring ... brought to public view", perpetual footnote in Kennedy assassination theories, is a fascinating figure. And also a public figure, which permits his discussion here. Mr. Byars is of primary interest here as the owner of Lyric. Many of Lyric's reputedly 90 magazines and many movies still circulate on the Internet. Photographed by Harlan 'Slim' Pfeiffer, many were filmed in Mr. Byars's home - also the Lyric studio - and around ''the pool with the cinderblock walls'' in his backyard. While Lyric's films featured extensive nudity of [[boy]]s and young men, Lyric produced only "physique" photography and never pornography. However, two of the "Lyric boys" who played around Byars's pool later found their way into the bed - or at least the limousine - of the Director of the FBI.

	==Adopted with a silver spoon in his mouth==		==Adopted with a silver spoon in his mouth==

The Admins at 20:53, 3 July 2023

2023-07-03T20:53:21Z

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	One of Lyric's early magazines, ''Coq d'Or'', says "Peter rarely wears clothes around the studio." However, there is no reason to believe that Lyric's text about its models is any more factual than what Playboy prints about its models.		One of Lyric's early magazines, ''Coq d'Or'', says "Peter rarely wears clothes around the studio." However, there is no reason to believe that Lyric's text about its models is any more factual than what Playboy prints about its models.

	Robin Lloyd affirms in 1976 that a "Peter, a thirteen-year-old and one of Byars's favorites, still commands a high price in the chicken market."[Lloyd, Robin, ''For Money or Love: Boy Prostitution in America'', Ballantine Books, NY, 1976, p. 79] Lloyd's "Peter" may not be intended to be Peter Glawson, and even so on the same page Lloyd also claims that "One of Billy Byars's best sellers, Genesis Children, portrayed the "delights" of Guy Sommers, a boy ... imported from Hawaii". There is no "Guy Sommers" credited in that film, but Lloyd provides no footnotes or bibliography and cannot have envisioned that his readers would have access to something like IMDB. He also refers to "Guy Strait (probably not his real name)" without bothering to check.[Lloyd, p.77] It is the name Strait was born with. [Clifford L. Linedecker, Children in Chains, 1981, p.228] Online rumor seems reliable in comparison with Lloyd.		[[Robin Lloyd]] affirms in 1976 that a "Peter, a thirteen-year-old and one of Byars's favorites, still commands a high price in the chicken market."[Lloyd, Robin, ''For Money or Love: Boy Prostitution in America'', Ballantine Books, NY, 1976, p. 79] Lloyd's "Peter" may not be intended to be Peter Glawson, and even so on the same page Lloyd also claims that "One of Billy Byars's best sellers, Genesis Children, portrayed the "delights" of Guy Sommers, a boy ... imported from Hawaii". There is no "Guy Sommers" credited in that film, but Lloyd provides no footnotes or bibliography and cannot have envisioned that his readers would have access to something like IMDB. He also refers to "Guy Strait (probably not his real name)" without bothering to check.[Lloyd, p.77] It is the name Strait was born with. [Clifford L. Linedecker, Children in Chains, 1981, p.228] Online rumor seems reliable in comparison with Lloyd.

	The previously cited Lyric producer did respond to questions about the Lyric boys, one of whom lived with him. He says that one of his accusers in the 1973 scandal "was the kid brother of a fellow that was living with me at the time. The older brother was just a beautiful boy, a really great guy, whom I had taken in because things were so rough for him at home-an alcoholic father, the whole bit." In response to the direct question, "The older brother was your lover, then?" he responded,		The previously cited Lyric producer did respond to questions about the Lyric boys, one of whom lived with him. He says that one of his accusers in the 1973 scandal "was the kid brother of a fellow that was living with me at the time. The older brother was just a beautiful boy, a really great guy, whom I had taken in because things were so rough for him at home-an alcoholic father, the whole bit." In response to the direct question, "The older brother was your lover, then?" he responded,

JohnHolt at 17:42, 19 September 2021

2021-09-19T17:42:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:42, 19 September 2021
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	'''Billy Byars, Jr.''' (1936-), owner of [[Lyric International]], producer of ''The Genesis Children'', partner to pornographer Guy Strait, friend of J. Edgar Hoover, key figure in "the first [[child pornography]] ring ... brought to public view", perpetual footnote in Kennedy assassination theories, is a fascinating figure. And also a public figure, which permits his discussion here. Mr. Byars is of primary interest here as the owner of Lyric. Many of Lyric's reputedly 90 magazines and many movies still circulate on the Internet. Photographed by Harlan 'Slim' Pfeiffer, many were filmed in Mr. Byars's home - also the Lyric studio - and around ''the pool with the cinderblock walls'' in his backyard. While Lyric's films featured extensive nudity of [[boy]]s and young men, Lyric produced only "physique" photography and never pornography. However, two of the "Lyric boys" who played around Byars's pool later found their way into the bed - or at least the limousine - of the Director of the FBI.		<div style="margin-right: 25px; float: left;">__TOC__</div>'''Billy Byars, Jr.''' (1936-), owner of [[Lyric International]], producer of ''The Genesis Children'', partner to pornographer Guy Strait, friend of J. Edgar Hoover, key figure in "the first [[child pornography]] ring ... brought to public view", perpetual footnote in Kennedy assassination theories, is a fascinating figure. And also a public figure, which permits his discussion here. Mr. Byars is of primary interest here as the owner of Lyric. Many of Lyric's reputedly 90 magazines and many movies still circulate on the Internet. Photographed by Harlan 'Slim' Pfeiffer, many were filmed in Mr. Byars's home - also the Lyric studio - and around ''the pool with the cinderblock walls'' in his backyard. While Lyric's films featured extensive nudity of [[boy]]s and young men, Lyric produced only "physique" photography and never pornography. However, two of the "Lyric boys" who played around Byars's pool later found their way into the bed - or at least the limousine - of the Director of the FBI.

	==Adopted with a silver spoon in his mouth==		==Adopted with a silver spoon in his mouth==

JohnHolt at 17:38, 19 September 2021

2021-09-19T17:38:38Z

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	[[Lyric International]]		[[Lyric International]]

	[[Category:Official Encyclopedia]][[Category:People]][[Category:People: Media]][[Category:People: American~~]][[Category:History & Events~~]][[Category:History & Events: 1970s]][[Category:History & Events: Personal Scandals]][[Category:History & Events: Real Crime]][[Category:History & Events: American]][[Category:Law/Crime]][[Category:Law/Crime: American]][[Category:Child Pornography]][[Category:TV & Media]]		[[Category:Official Encyclopedia]][[Category:People]][[Category:People: Media]][[Category:People: American]][[Category:History & Events: 1970s]][[Category:History & Events: Personal Scandals]][[Category:History & Events: Real Crime]][[Category:History & Events: American]][[Category:Law/Crime]][[Category:Law/Crime: American]][[Category:Child Pornography]][[Category:TV & Media]]

Stephen James: /* The Scandal */

2009-06-09T13:22:37Z

The Scandal

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	Lyric came to an end in late 1973, in a scandal that the Meese Commission later called "the first child pornography ring ... brought to public view." (Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (1986) PART 3: Law Enforcement Recommendations. Chapter 3, paragraph 5 [http://web.archive.org/web/20070629205045/http://www.porn-report.com/303-child-pornography-law-recommendations.htm]. ''The Los Angeles Times'' article about the arrests was titled "14 Men Indicted in Sex Movies Featuring Boys Ages 6 to 17: Son of Actress, Heir to Oil Fortune, YMCA Counselor, Scoutmaster, Schoolteacher Among Those Facing Charges". [''Los Angeles Times'' Oct 27, 1973, p. B1]		Lyric came to an end in late 1973, in a scandal that the Meese Commission later called "the first child pornography ring ... brought to public view." (Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (1986) PART 3: Law Enforcement Recommendations. Chapter 3, paragraph 5 [http://web.archive.org/web/20070629205045/http://www.porn-report.com/303-child-pornography-law-recommendations.htm]. ''The Los Angeles Times'' article about the arrests was titled "14 Men Indicted in Sex Movies Featuring Boys Ages 6 to 17: Son of Actress, Heir to Oil Fortune, YMCA Counselor, Scoutmaster, Schoolteacher Among Those Facing Charges". [''Los Angeles Times'' Oct 27, 1973, p. B1]

	The "Heir to Oil Fortune" was Billy Byars, Jr. and the "Son of Actress" a Lyric producer. As the policy of the ''Los Angeles Times'' was then to not index criminal justice proceedings, it is difficult to determine just what happened to the fourteen accused. A later story confirms that the first of the accused to go to trial ("YMCA Counselor") was acquitted after a full day of jury deliberation, and that two others had pled guilty. A jury deliberated four days before convicting D.M.Y, accused on nine counts, although one of the two thirteen-year-old victims testified that he had been dangled over a cliff by two policemen who insisted he name men with whom he had had sex. (Lloyd, ''supra'', p. 151) also [http://web.archive.org/web/20070629205045/http://www.paedosexualitaet.de/exp/cliffsrc.html]. The defendant in that case received a $500 fine.[''L.A. Times'', May 31, 1974, p. E4. Online summary only consulted]		The "Heir to Oil Fortune" was Billy Byars, Jr. and the "Son of Actress", a Lyric producer. As the policy of the ''Los Angeles Times'' was then to not index criminal justice proceedings, it is difficult to determine just what happened to the fourteen accused. A later story confirms that the first of the accused to go to trial ("YMCA Counselor") was acquitted after a full day of jury deliberation, and that two others had pled guilty. A jury deliberated four days before convicting D.M.Y, accused on nine counts, although one of the two thirteen-year-old victims testified that he had been dangled over a cliff by two policemen who insisted he name men with whom he had had sex. (Lloyd, ''supra'', p. 151) also [http://web.archive.org/web/20070629205045/http://www.paedosexualitaet.de/exp/cliffsrc.html]. The defendant in that case received a $500 fine.[''L.A. Times'', May 31, 1974, p. E4. Online summary only consulted]

	While the Meese commission and the ''Los Angeles Times'' both refer to films of child pornography, the news article says that the accused were charged not with child pornography, but with molesting children. It says "One confiscated film shows the boys playing nude on a beach believed to be near Corpus Christi." Lyric did produce such a film, ''Summer Freedom'' but perhaps no charges were filed based on the film because it was not pornographic under California law.		While the Meese commission and the ''Los Angeles Times'' both refer to films of child pornography, the news article says that the accused were charged not with child pornography, but with molesting children. It says "One confiscated film shows the boys playing nude on a beach believed to be near Corpus Christi." Lyric did produce such a film, ''Summer Freedom'' but perhaps no charges were filed based on the film because it was not pornographic under California law.

Stephen James: /* The next film */

2009-06-09T13:19:31Z

The next film

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	==The next film==		==The next film==

	There are several ~~version~~ of what Byars and Lyric were planning at the time of the scandal. In 1972 Swisher says,		There are several versions of what Byars and Lyric were planning at the time of the scandal. In 1972 Swisher says,

	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
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	* Byars may have tilted his interview with Swisher, who was primarily a dance writer, to her interests. He twice describes his film sequences as "ballet" when speaking to Swisher, while elsewhere he prefers the term "symphony". Also, when pushing one's current films, it may be inadvisable to indicate that one has abandoned that line for something completely different.		* Byars may have tilted his interview with Swisher, who was primarily a dance writer, to her interests. He twice describes his film sequences as "ballet" when speaking to Swisher, while elsewhere he prefers the term "symphony". Also, when pushing one's current films, it may be inadvisable to indicate that one has abandoned that line for something completely different.
	* Just how the L.A. Times or the police would know of Lyric's plans is unclear, and the reporting may be unreliable. Perhaps only in Los Angeles does one include in an arrest report the suspects' plans for their next movie.		* Just how the L.A. Times or the police would know of Lyric's plans is unclear, and the reporting may be unreliable. Perhaps only in Los Angeles does one include in an arrest report the suspects' plans for their next movie.
	* Lyric may have been planning to make two films at the same time, during the same trip: one for television, and one for DOM-LYRIC.		* Lyric may have been planning to make two films at the same time, during the same trip: one for television, and one for DOM-LYRIC.

	==The Scandal==		==The Scandal==

Stephen James: /* Photography of enduring quality */

2009-06-09T09:54:43Z

Photography of enduring quality

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	Mr. Byars himself was a sometime photographer. ''Zipper'' magazine, a Hollywood publication which billed itself as “Art/Entertainment For Men” included in its February 1972 issue the pictorial “Photographer of the Month: Billy Byars.”		Mr. Byars himself was a sometime photographer. ''Zipper'' magazine, a Hollywood publication which billed itself as “Art/Entertainment For Men” included in its February 1972 issue the pictorial “Photographer of the Month: Billy Byars.”

	Something more ~~that~~ being "one of the biggest" is needed to explain the frequency with which Lyric's films and photographs circulate even today. Perhaps it was the quality of Pfeiffer's photography, which transcends the genre, or the choice of models, or the beauty of the settings. Pfeiffer's camera captured a swimming pool full of splashing boys, high above Los Angeles and in the hazy distance the sea, and made those summer afternoons eternal.		Something more than being "one of the biggest" is needed to explain the frequency with which Lyric's films and photographs circulate even today. Perhaps it was the quality of Pfeiffer's photography, which transcends the genre, or the choice of models, or the beauty of the settings. Pfeiffer's camera captured a swimming pool full of splashing boys, high above Los Angeles and in the hazy distance the sea, and made those summer afternoons eternal.

	==Byars and the Lyric boys==		==Byars and the Lyric boys==

Stephen James: /* Adopted with a silver spoon in his mouth */

2009-06-09T09:47:52Z

Adopted with a silver spoon in his mouth

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	The 1941 movie ''Blossoms in the Dust'' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033407] highlighted the accomplishments of Edna Gladney, two of which are important to the story of Billy Byars, Jr. In 1936 Edna Gladney succeeded in having the Texas legislature pass a bill to have children registered as the children of their adoptive parents, removing the stigma of illegitimacy. Byars was one of the earliest beneficiaries of this law. In 1951, again at the instignation of Gladney, Texas law was changed to give adopted children the same inheritance rights as biological children.[http://www.adoptionsbygladney.com/html/about/history.php]		The 1941 movie ''Blossoms in the Dust'' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033407] highlighted the accomplishments of Edna Gladney, two of which are important to the story of Billy Byars, Jr. In 1936 Edna Gladney succeeded in having the Texas legislature pass a bill to have children registered as the children of their adoptive parents, removing the stigma of illegitimacy. Byars was one of the earliest beneficiaries of this law. In 1951, again at the instignation of Gladney, Texas law was changed to give adopted children the same inheritance rights as biological children.[http://www.adoptionsbygladney.com/html/about/history.php]

	That same year the Byars family adopted Billy, they purchased a large corner lot in Tyler, Texas, and in 1937 built a two story house in the Monterey style. The scale of the house was sumptuous for the midst of the Depression: brick and frame construction with three baths, a three-car garage and a ~~servants~~ room with a bath. The house was enlarged to 5,000 square feet in the 1940s, and Byars's parents resided for the rest of their lives. There was a Steinway grand piano in the living room, and parties that included such guests as Ronald Reagan. [http://www.historictyler.org/spring_tour/tour_2004/summers_2004]		That same year the Byars family adopted Billy, they purchased a large corner lot in Tyler, Texas, and in 1937 built a two story house in the Monterey style. The scale of the house was sumptuous for the midst of the Depression: brick and frame construction with three baths, a three-car garage and a servant's room with a bath. The house was enlarged to 5,000 square feet in the 1940s, and Byars's parents resided there for the rest of their lives. There was a Steinway grand piano in the living room, and parties that included such guests as Ronald Reagan. [http://www.historictyler.org/spring_tour/tour_2004/summers_2004]

	Tyler is in the eastern, green part of Texas, the closest major city being Shreveport, Louisiana.		Tyler is in the eastern, green part of Texas, the closest major city being Shreveport, Louisiana.

	Byars is quoted as describing his mother "an elegant but colorful woman" of Irish descent. [Swisher, ''supra''] The family businesses included not only oil, but the Byars Royal Oaks Farm in Tyler, where the elder Byars bred champion cattle. [http://eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/1101.cfm] The Byars family includes a sister who continued raising cattle [Swisher, ''supra''] and in 2003 there were still Byars breeding champion cattle.		Byars is quoted as describing his mother as "an elegant but colorful woman" of Irish descent. [Swisher, ''supra''] The family businesses included not only oil, but the Byars Royal Oaks Farm in Tyler, where the elder Byars bred champion cattle. [http://eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/1101.cfm] The Byars family includes a sister who continued raising cattle [Swisher, ''supra''] and in 2003 there were still Byars breeding champion cattle.

	Billy Jr. was also fond of telling people that his biological parents were of Russian royalty, ~~however~~ local Tyler, Texas residents contend he was the son of a coffee shop waitress and a lonesome trucker.[Interview. Anthony Aikman-2006 by Ballog] [Anthony Summers, Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1993]		Billy Jr. was also fond of telling people that his biological parents were of Russian royalty. However, local Tyler, Texas residents contend that he was the son of a coffee shop waitress and a lonesome trucker.[Interview. Anthony Aikman-2006 by Ballog] [Anthony Summers, Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1993]

	Although Billy Jr. would often tell people he held various degrees and was a molecular biologist, in truth he only attended MIT for one semester from Sept. 16, 1954 - January 7, 1955 and held no college degree. [MIT Registrar - 2006] After dropping out of college, Billy reportedly had a falling out with his father regarding his [[homosexuality]] and left his Texas home.[Interview: Anthony Aikman-2006 by Ballog] Apparently, Billy and his father somewhat reconciled their differences and in the early 1960s, in his mid twenties, he was still joining his father for annual vacations at Clint Murchison's Del Charo Hotel in San Diego, where they often took the bungalow next to J. Edgar Hoover's.[Anthony Summers, ''Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1993, p. 337]		Although Billy Jr. would often tell people he held various degrees and was a molecular biologist, in truth he only attended MIT for one semester from Sept. 16, 1954 - January 7, 1955 and held no college degree. [MIT Registrar - 2006] After dropping out of college, Billy reportedly had a falling out with his father regarding his [[homosexuality]] and left his Texas home.[Interview: Anthony Aikman-2006 by Ballog] Apparently, Billy and his father somewhat reconciled their differences and in the early 1960s, in his mid-twenties, he was still joining his father for annual vacations at Clint Murchison's Del Charo Hotel in San Diego, where they often took the bungalow next to J. Edgar Hoover's.[Anthony Summers, ''Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1993, p. 337]

	==At the summit in Los Angeles==		==At the summit in Los Angeles==

Rez at 15:48, 27 October 2008

2008-10-27T15:48:04Z

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	Usually when this quote is cited online Byars, Jr. is described as "teenage", but he would have been in his late twenties.		Usually when this quote is cited online Byars, Jr. is described as "teenage", but he would have been in his late twenties.
	~~[edit]~~ Common Errors
			==Common Errors==

	Several errors are frequent in online information about Byars.		Several errors are frequent in online information about Byars.

Rez at 15:47, 27 October 2008

2008-10-27T15:47:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:47, 27 October 2008
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	[[Lyric International]]		[[Lyric International]]

	[[Category:Official Encyclopedia]][[Category:People]][[Category:People: Media]][[Category:People: American]][[Category:History & Events]][[Category:History & Events: 1970s]][[Category:History & Events: Personal Scandals]][[Category:History & Events: Real Crime]][[Category:History & Events: American]][[Category:Law/Crime]][[Category:Law/Crime: American~~]][[Category:Countries and Cultures]]~~		[[Category:Official Encyclopedia]][[Category:People]][[Category:People: Media]][[Category:People: American]][[Category:History & Events]][[Category:History & Events: 1970s]][[Category:History & Events: Personal Scandals]][[Category:History & Events: Real Crime]][[Category:History & Events: American]][[Category:Law/Crime]][[Category:Law/Crime: American]][[Category:Child Pornography]][[Category:TV & Media]]
	~~[[Category:Countries and Cultures: Historical~~]][[Category:Child Pornography]][[Category:TV & Media]]