Wade Nichols


Dennis Posa, aka Dennis Parker,, better known by his performance name of Wade Nichols, was an actor and singer who started his career in adult films.

Early life

Nichols was born 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.

Career

Nichols' first feature film role was probably in the gay adult film Boynapped!. He subsequently appeared mostly in straight porn films shot in New York, such as Barbara Broadcast, Blonde Ambition, Jail Bait, Maraschino Cherry, Punk Rock, Summer of Laura, Take Off, and Teenage Pajama Party. Posa 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 producer Jacques Morali, who was Nichols' boyfriend at the time. He also toured Europe to promote the album. He later appeared in the French film Monique that same year, 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.
Posa 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.
Seriously ill by October 1984, Posa was unable to continue working on The Edge of Night and his character was written out of the show. The show was cancelled two months later.

Death

Parker died on January 28, 1985. In a tribute to Parker in a 1985 issue of Soap Opera Digest, fellow Edge of Night actor Ernie Townsend wrote "He died in early January after a long and painful illness that took away a talent in its prime." An obituary released in Virginia stated that he died after a "brief illness, survived by his mother, brother, and partner." It was revealed later that he died of an unspecified AIDS-related illness.

Partial filmography

Movie TitleDistributorYear
Bang Bang You Got ItVideo-X-Pix1976
Barbara BroadcastVCA1977
BoynappedHand-In-Hand1975
Call Me AngelVideo Home Library1975
Captain LustInternational Home Video Corporation1977
Come to MeAir Video1976
Honeymoon HavenVideo-X-Pix1977
Hot PursuitVCA1983
Jail BaitCommand Video1976
JawbreakersVentura1985
Love YouEssex Video1979
Magic GirlsHorizon1980
Maraschino CherryVideo-X-Pix1978
OdysseyVCX1977
Punk RockAtom1978
Secret Dreams of Mona QArrow Productions1976
Summer Of LauraVCA1975
SweetheartVideo-X-Pix1977
Take OffVideo-X-Pix1978
Teenage Pajama PartyVEP1977
Virgin DreamsVCX1976
VisionsQuality-X-Video1978
Beach HouseCaballero Home Video1980
Blonde AmbitionVideo-X-Pix1980
Bizarre ThunderRibu Video1984