James Bidgood, a filmmaker best known for his work on Pink Narcissus, has passed away at the age of 88.
He died on 31 January at his apartment in New York City, The Bay Area Reporter confirmed.
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Bidgood eventually moved to New York City at the age of 18 in 1951.
There he attended Parsons School of Design and began making gowns for balls alongside his work as a stylist, graphic designer and window dresser.
As well as this, he performed as a drag artist named Terri Howe when cross-dressing was still criminalised.
Bidgood worked on his landmark film Pink Narcissus for seven years as its writer, director and cinematographer.
It was released in 1971, though it did not have his name linked to it for many years because of issues with a producer.
It instantly became a hit in the underground gay scene, with its storyline focusing on the fantasies of a young gay sex worker.
He finally received recognition for his work when the movie was re-released in 1999 with his name attached to it.
That same year, a book of Bidgood’s photography was released which predominantly featured erotic images of men.
“I wanted to photograph naked young men as opulently and as attentively as those professional ladies appearing in Playboy-type magazines were photographed,” he told Another Man at the time.
According to a GoFundMe that was set up to pay for funeral and burial costs, Bidgood “lived a quiet, frugal life.”
“Unfortunately, Jim was unable to set aside monies to cover his funeral expenses and wind up his affairs,” it continued.
Donations to the GoFundMe can be made here.
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