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OUTCOME: There's also something great about working for yourself.
OUTCOME: There are also fewer & fewer shops selling newsstand magazines. They've converted to videos. MEL: There are some but they're
very, very raunchy. I didn't really care about getting into pornography. I enjoyed looking
at it, but I felt what I really wanted to do, and felt there was a tremendous need for was
here were all these "girlie" magazines, PLAYBOY & PENTHOUSE &
everything, but on one ever took the male figure seriously. My publisher out here, I had
begged him to let me slant my magazines more toward women. I used to send my magazines to
my sisters, I have 2 sisters back
OUTCOME: That's fantastic! MEL: Everyone said ,on the basis of my experience in the film industry, I should be a good instructor. I went to U.S.C. I graduated from the Dept. of Cinema there. I went with a lot of famous people you've probably heard of and with & for them at times. Then I worked on the only film that was ever "black listed" in the united States called "SALT OF THE EARTH". This was during the McCarthy period when it was dangerous to have any views other than that of the right wing. And I was very active in forming a union in Hollywood. I was also active in the MATTACHINE SOCIETY --the Gay rights organization way back in the 50s. And so I've always had a lot of experience & my friends said "you should go into teaching" & there was an ad in a cinema magazine looking for a professor at college not too far away.
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MEL: Right, exactly, so I was offered the
chance to publish a magazine of my own, I made my own layouts and did my own artwork. It
came out as MEL ROBERTS' BOYS, and I went on to publish issues under that title. Clark
Polak in Philadelphia, published a magazine called DRUM , saw my first several issues and
offered to publish my work and guarantee a greater financial reward. He continued to
publish "BOYS" until I
moved to London Enterprises, where I published additional titles such as MEL
ROBERTS' MALE, and MEL ROBERTS' CALIFORNIA BOY, REX, and, MEL ROBERTS' SEX FANTASY. My
last publication was MALE #3 WHICH CAME OUT IN May 1978. By that time there was less money
paid, and after being raided, I lost my appetite to continue in the field. One thing this
interview does is to allow me to apologize to those customers who may never have received
their orders, late in this period. After the police confiscated
all my correspondence and mailing lists, as well as all my negatives and magazines, I lost
contact with those customers and some orders were never completed. When I finally got
everything back, I decided to abandon my business and retire. I know I may have
disappointed many of my customers. 
east, and they loved them. They used to take them to work and
show them to their girlfriends. Because I thought damn it women like to look at guys
bodies, not just Gay guys, but women too. But he would never accommodate me, 'naw naw' he
couldn't be bothered. He just wanted to keep it to the Gay audience and he kept the
advertising to the Gay audience. With the
success of PLAYGIRL, we now know that I was right. And again, I
didn't want to get into porno. It was difficult enough doing simple physique stuff & I
was getting raided by the L.A.P.D. , what would they do it I was doing hardcore duos &
stuff? So right around 1980, actually closer to '81, when I decided to hell with it and
gave up everything completely. Right now, believe it or not, I'm getting ready to get into
teaching. I've applied to a college for a professorship to teach film. 
OUTCOME: There are too many crafts being lost because young people only want
to make quick, big bucks (thanks to Reagan's cult of greed) & this country is the
loser.
