Dennis Parker (actor, album "Like an Eagle")

Dennis Posa (October 28, 1946 – January 28, 1985), also known by the performing names of Wade Nichols and Dennis Parker, was an American actor and singer, who started his career in adult films. Posa was born in 1946 in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Freeport, New York. He attended the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, studying furniture design. During his stint at PMCA, he won a role in a touring company production of The Trojan Women. He later attended New York University and the Herbert Berghof Studio, where he studied acting. He supported himself by working as a carpenter for several years. Posa's first feature film role was in the gay adult film Boy 'Napped (1975). He subsequently appeared mostly in straight porn films shot in New York, such as Summer of Laura (1975), Jail Bait (1976), Barbara Broadcast (1977), Teenage Pajama Party (1977), Maraschino Cherry (1977), Punk Rock (1977), Take Off (1978) and Blonde Ambition (1981). He was credited as "Wade Nichols" in most of the adult films in which he appeared. In 1979, using the name "Dennis Parker", he recorded a disco album on Casablanca Records, titled Like an Eagle. The album was produced by Village People creator and record producer, Jacques Morali, of whom he was boyfriend at the time. He also toured Europe to promote the album. That same year, Parker appeared as a singer in a disco club in the French film Monique, with "Like an Eagle" being used as its theme song. The title track was released as a single and appears on the box set The Casablanca Records Story (1994). "New York By Night", another song recorded as Dennis Parker, peaked at No. 11 on the South African music charts in 1980. Parker joined the cast of the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1979 as Police Chief Derek Mallory. He continued in the role until 1984. Parker died on January 28, 1985. It was revealed later that he died of an unspecified AIDS-related illness. There was a prevalent rumor that circulated around that Parker had died by suicide after receiving his AIDS diagnosis rather than dying directly of the illness, but his older brother denied this was true in an oral history published on The Rialto Report. "Obituaries". Daily Variety. September 16, 1985. p. 11. Carter, Alan (June 17, 1989). "Timing determines 'scandal'". Asbury Park Press – via Newspapers.com. "Obituaries". Variety. February 6, 1985. p. 134. Durdan, Douglas (July 24, 1982). "Son's on soap, but not here". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) "Boy 'Napped (1975) – Part 1". Retromales. Retrieved April 28, 2025. "Boy 'Napped (1975)". TLA Video. Retrieved April 28, 2025. "Wade Nichols: 'A Galaxy of Pleasure and Pain' – His Untold Story". The Rialto Report. June 25, 2017. West, Ashley (August 3, 2025). "Wade Nichols: 'Like an Eagle' – His Untold Story Part 3: The Soap Opera King - Podcast 154". The Rialto Report. Retrieved August 31, 2025. musicstats (July 15, 2022). "Dennis Parker (US) - SA Singles Charts". SA Singles Charts - The Weekly South African Singles Chart History. Retrieved December 30, 2022. Mulcahy, Kevin Jr. (December 1, 2011). "World AIDS Day Tribute". We Love Soaps. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023. West, Ashley (11 August 2019). "RIP Henri Belolo - The Story of Wade Nichols and Dennis Parker". The Rialto Report. Retrieved 24 June 2024. Wade Nichols at IMDb Wade Nichols at the Internet Adult Film Database Wade Nichols at the Adult Film Database Portals: Biography Society Film United States