JGPR

Michelle Tarrio on an episode of Jenny Jones in 1992 You may remember a beautiful yet hard to understand transsexual named Mona who appeared on your television screens on some of the most popular talk shows of the 1990’s? What happened to the beautiful transsexual in the age before social media? Born Michelle S Tarrio in Lisbon, Portugal she immigrated to New York, USA where she worked as a prostitute beginning at age 16. As detailed on her episode of Taxicab Confessions,  at age 17 she began dating an Italian mobster for six years. A volitile relationship, the pair dated until she was 23-years old. The mobster was married to a woman and had children. Originally planning to retaliate against the mobster (for threatening to inform police of a prostitution ring ran by Michelle) by telling his wife of his affair with a transsexual prostitute, Tarrio was a hit by her boyfriend who had another man shoot her in the back. Michelle survived and recovered in the hospital for two months befo...

Photo by Brian Lantelme You may remember the name “Exotica” as a person from your list of favorite 1990’s talk shows or may have seen her modeling on the cover of Blood Orange’s album Coastal Grooves but what became of the popular transsexual dominatrix who graced the screens of some of the most popular talk shows of the 1990’s? Such shows as: Jenny Jones , Donahue , and The Howard Stern Show to name a few? Find out below! Born Boris F. Maldonado on October 29, 1965 in Ecuador, Boris would later change her name to Bianca after immigrating to the United States; settling in New York. Bianca worked as a phone sex operator, dominatrix, and for a brief period of time as a prostitute under the name Exotica, which became the name she became famous under as a frequent guest on some of the most popular talk shows on television. Exotica made the rounds in the early 1990’s on episodes of Donahue and Jenny Jones discussing her life as a transsexual dominatrix, relationships with heterosexual me...

Production on Robert Brown’s latest movie “Berserk: Golden Age Genesis” began on location in Manassas, Virginia on June 10th. Originally scheduled to be filmed at Manassas Battlefield Park, production was temporarily halted by park rangers (who rode up to the actor and crew holding area on horses) to move production to another location.  According to an official source, Brown did not have a permit to film on the property. Under the belief that it’s a public park and that filming could take place, park officials (who were tipped off by signs advertising the filming process and alerting park goers to be respectful) notified the cast and crew that the Berserk fan film would be “disrespectful” as thousands of people were massacred on the grounds nearby. Since the movie isn’t related to the massacre, production was moved to nearby Bull Run Recreational Park, after a recommendation by one of the park rangers. “At least she (park ranger) suggested another location we could film at” said ...

Along Came a Shadow is a horror short film about two thieves who while on the run after their latest robbery, discover that their hideout is haunted by unexplained supernatural forces hidden behind the lens of a camcorder. Joseph Herrera as Grayson The movie stars Joseph Herrera as Grayson or Gray, a young man who is in need of extra cash to support his mother’s chemotherapy costs. After being roped into a string of robberies by some of his friends, he and the other thieves find themselves responsible for accidentally killing a gas station clerk who they planned to rob. Co-starring in the film is Christina Gonzalez as Jen, a thief and friend of Grayson who meets him at the hideout as they wait for their friends and fellow thieves Brooke and Trent to arrive.  Christina Gonzalez as Jen Along Came a Shadow opens with an explanation for the strange occurrences that happen in the home. The Shadow (portrayed by Stephen Kucera) was involved with black magic which trapped his spirit in th...

NOTE: I will be using present tense for Freddie and male pronouns until I both know he is still alive or deceased and if he’s male or female identifying. Freddie Stroble as Transvestite in The Last Dragon (1985) Freddie Stroble is an American actor most known for his second and final film role in 1985’s kung fu comedy film “The Last Dragon” credited as Transvestite, Freddie appears in the movie theater scene when character Sho’Nuff approaches the main character in the front of the theater. Stroble’s character can be seen getting out of their seat to exclaim “Don’t hurt the face, baby!” and in the next frame can be seen putting their hands over their face and exclaiming “Ooh!” The scene is memorable as it shows a diverse group of people featured in a mainstream movie, something not often done in big budget movies, especially in the 1980’s. Freddie’s first film is the 1984 (other places listed as 1983) erotic drama feature “New York Nights” (also titled “Shackin’ Up”) where he plays a cl...

Transgender superstar Rajee Narinesingh most known for her reality television appearances on E! Entertainment’s hit reality docu-series Botched has recently transitioned into a successful acting career after Botched doctors Terry and Paul Nassif helped correct the damage caused to Rajee’s face from now convicted fake doctor O’Neal “Duchess” Morris. Rajee received the corrective procedures in 2015 and 2016 and has since gone to appear in the films: Prophecy (2018), Sylvia (2019), and will be making her web series debut on one episode of the upcoming drama series “Seconds in a Heartbeat”.  Misein was filmed in 2019 and originally released in 2020 but was retracted shortly thereafter. Three years later on August 20th the project was re-released to YouTube where it can currently be streamed for free.  Mauricio Bemudez as Alvaro Gomez The movie follows Alvaro Gomez, a pizza delivery driver (portrayed by Mauricio Bemudez) who is tasked with delivering a pizza to his previous res...

Australian-American pop superstar Iggy Azalea will be releasing her as-of-yet untitled comeback single this August 25th, two years after announcing her retirement from the music industry. What is known about the single is that it is produced by music legend Tricky Stewart. A cryptic and playful image seeming to be the single’s artwork was posted to Azalea’s Instagram and other social media on August 19th. The image shows Iggy on top of a frazzled man in a suit as she rides him and sprays one hundred dollar bills out of a pink money gun. UPDATE: “Have you ever seen five bad bitches at ya door?” says Iggy in the caption on her social media post for her latest single announced as being titled “Money Come”. Azalea posted the single artwork on her social media on August 22nd. The release date will be this August 25th. 

Dallas-area actor and filmmaker Joseph Herrera, best known for his web series Detour and films Spiral Deep and Drop Dead,  will be making his mainstream television debut this August 28th on Lifetime’s drama series #TextMeWhenYouGetHome. Joseph will be portraying the role of Carlos Caicedo, the brother of Carla Stefaniak, a young woman who was murdered in Costa Rica in 2018.  This episode will mark Herrera’s first acting role in a mainstream production. It will also be the first project that he stars in, but does not direct or produce. The episode follows a biographical portrayal of the events leading up to and in the kidnapping and murder of Carla Stefaniak, a 36-year old Miami, Florida native who disappeared while visiting Costa Rica for a birthday trip. The episode airs this August 28th at 9 PM EDT on Lifetime. 

Karen in a yearbook picture from North Shore High School (c. 1979)  A Jane Doe originally from 1996 known as either Fire Island Jane Doe or Jane Doe #7 was identified on August 4, 2023 as Karen Ann Vergata. Karen was born Karen Ann Vergata in Roslyn, Long Island, New York on November 4, 1961 to Dominic and Virginia Vergata. Karen had one brother, Victor J. Vergata. Karen was a 1979 graduate of North Shore High School in Glen Head, New York. She was remembered by classmate Eugene Koebler as “artistic” for being the only female (and peer in general) to wear floppy hats in school. Eugene also noted Vergata’s love of wearing jewelry and fringe. They were both in a remedial mathematics class “Math for Daily Living”, taught by Mr. Grahm, in which Karen made a lasting impression on Koebler when she coaxed Mr. Grahm into allowing her and another student to retrieve a bag of ice from the cafeteria for a “math experiment”. When Karen and the other peer returned, Karen used the ice to assist ...

After two successful autobiographies, Channon has ventured into the culinary field with her first cookbook. On April 9th YouTube personality and author Channon Rose released her third book and first non-autobiographical book “Gluten-Free & Vegan Recipe Book: Easy & Delicious Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes For the Whole Family”. The book was originally only made available on her Etsy shop (ChannonRoseArt) for fifteen dollars and is the third book in her bibliography; following the success of her first two autobiographical books in “The Story of Channon Rose” series. Recently the book has been released to Amazon for twenty dollars. The book was inspired by Channon’s recent diagnosis with Hashimotos, Addison’s disease, and her candidacy for Schmidt syndrome, autoimmune diseases. Ways to help ease symptoms of the disorders are to adopt a gluten free diet. Rose, an influencer (made popular by her inspirational stories on her YouTube channel) and vegan for eight years, wanted to continue ...

The colorful music video is directed by Nestor’s Photography, a frequent collaborator of Lila’s. On July 14th Chicago rapper Lila Star (most known for her guest vocals on Shea Coulee’s 2017 single “Cocky”) released the vibrant music video for her latest single “Sex Appeal” to her self-titled YouTube channel ( https://youtu.be/3Y3E2MZCl_g )  The video is directed by long-time collaborator Nestor of Nestor’s Photography and features Star in a variety of risqué scenes. Filmed in Nestor’s eclectic apartment Lila is introduced performing the song’s interlude on a rotary phone clad in a cowboy hat and transparent dress shirt. She can also be seen mimicking a penis with a phone, romping on a satin sheet bed in revealing lingerie, on a bed with a small television between her legs, among other tantalizing scenes. “Sex Appeal” is written and performed by Lila with production handled by Jeremiah Meece. Paul Scudder handled assistant editing with Aurora Gozmic acting as production assistant on...

  Alana Kela was an American transgender model, performer, and pageant competitor known for her Tahitian dance style. Born on November 9th (1954 or 1955) in Honolulu, Hawaii, with roots in Kauai, Alana moved to the U.S. mainland in the 1980’s. She was a regular performer at The Baton in Chicago, Illinois, a model for Starra (Chicago-based clothing boutique), and Miss Gay Polynesia 1977. In addition to modeling and performing, Alana also made a few television appearances on talk shows during the 1980’s such as: Donahue, Geraldo, and Sally Jesse Raphael. One year before Kela’s murder, she appeared on an episode of Jenny Jones; discussing her life as a transgender woman, dealings with plastic surgery, and her work as an escort for high-profile clients (rumored to be the likes of Eddie Murphy). She did however disclose that her clients names would remain private and that she frequently turned down offers to tabloids for a tell-all interview regarding the names of actors and musicians t...

Heavenly Housekeeping is Ashly Poindexter’s second and latest solo business after joining her fiancé’s irrigation business. She began in the business industry with the allergy sensitive baked goods company My Goodies in 2020. Her housekeeping service is currently serving residential and AirBnB’s in the Greater Raleigh Triangle and Triad, but is seeking expansion to other areas. In the Summer of 2021 while working with her fiancé’s irrigation business, Ashly noticed a need for housekeepers in the the Raleigh area, so by January of 2022 and with only one-hundred dollars, a pure presence, Poindexter launched Heavenly Housekeeping, named for its purpose to relieve customers of daily struggles that neglect their cleaning duties. It, like Ashly, offers a comfortable and open appearance. Her company’s description is as follows: “At Heavenly Housekeeping we live by the motto “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. We are committed to providing environmentally sound cleaning practices (chemical fre...

The film will be Joseph’s first union project as both an actor and filmmaker. Along Came a Shadow is a horror short film following Gray, a thief who needs fast cash for his mother’s chemotherapy. While with friends: Brooke, Jen, and Trent, they stage a gas-station robbery. With the gun going off and killing the clerk, the group separate, and on the run, plan to meet at a mysterious location. Upon arrival Gray begins experiencing strange occurrences in the home. Could the mystery behind the odd instances all lie within the lens of a dated camcorder? The movie stars Joseph Herrera as Gray, a thief involved in a botched gas-station robbery ending in murder. Herrera also serves as the film’s: writer, director, editor, and co-producer. Co-starring with Joseph is Christina Gonzalez as Jen, a stern yet carefree thief who assists her friends in a botched robbery. She is reluctant to believe Gray that something odd is going on in the hideout until an unseen figure begins assaulting her soon af...