Riley Polanski: From Xanadu to Silverlake, with n*de photos and a bonus Michael J. Fox

Link to the n*de dudes

Riley Polanski was born in Pomona, California in 2000, and started acting when he was 10 years old: the Western 6- Guns (2010),  starring 1980s staples Barry Van Dyke and Greg Evigan; Airline Disaster (2011), starring former Family Ties cast members Meredith Baxter-Birney and Scott Valentine; Baseball, Dennis, & the French (2011). 

The first celebrity I met when I moved to Los Angeles was Michael J. Fox, who played Alex on "Family Ties."  We just had lunch, but I told my friends that it was a date. 

When he was a teenager, Riley had to put his career on hold due to "family illness." 

He still performed, in Mulan at the Claremont United Methodist Church (2015) and Xanadu at Claremont High School (2017), and he won second place at the California State Thesbian Festival.

He graduated from Claremont High in 2018 and enrolled in Pasadena City College.  During the next two years, Riley worked as a production assistant on You're the Worst, with Stephen Schneider, and did a lot of acting, primarily in student films:

Worthless Words (USC): "A world where your words are controlled."

The Cup (St. Mary's University MFA): Two aspiring actors encounter a 1920s flapper.

Paz (Chapman University MFA): A troubled girl finds strength in a spiritual connection.

Alice In/Somnia (2020): a girl in a surreal waiting room has to deal with bureacracy.

We also see a selfie, taken with a camera rather than a cell phone.

 After receiving his A.A. from Pasadena City College in 2020, Riley enrolled in Arizona State University, but after a year he dropped out and returned to Los Angeles. 

He moved to the Silverlake, a gay neighborhood for older guys (as opposed to the twinks of West Hollywood), edited a magazine about the neighborhood, and worked at the Little Pine Restaurant and Starbucks.

His last film credit is in Ashes (2022): "an unlikely human connection complicates a soldier's understanding of freedom." Riley offers Levi Bernhart (left) a cigarette.

In 2024 Riley starts a musical group which specializes in Shadow Pop. He has nine songs available on Spotify, some with 22,000 streams.  I watched two of his music videos.

The full profile, with n*de photos, is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

See also: My Date with Michael J. Fox. Plus Marcus and the Scary Bulgarian Bodybuilder.

13 Diverse Hunks on Eastsiders (aka Silverlake Light)

I only got through 10 minutes and a few fast-forwards of Eastsiders, a Netflix drama about the self-involved, petty disputes of a group of post-twinks living in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

First, one of the worst names in tv history, easily confused with the British Eastenders.  Plus one ever calls Silverlakers Eastsiders.  East Los Angeles is a whole other neighborhood.

Second, Silverlake is for aging leathermen, not post-twinks.  These people belong in West Hollywood.

Third, this is not 1995. A tv program is not "must see" just because it has some gay guys in it.  Especially gay guys who are overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly middle class-artist-writer, self-absorbed, shrill, and obsessed with petty problems like cheating.  For God's sake, just share him!  Why the drama? But maybe it can be redeemed with beefcake.

The Friends are:

1. Post-twink Thom (Van Hansis, a name that is impossible to write down without hearing "Van Halen."   Try it!).

Thom is an aspiring writer who cheats on his boyfriend Cal with Jeremy, then breaks up with Cal and starts dating Jeremy, but decides that he prefers Cal, and....

2. Post-twink Cal (Kit William , top right photo), an aspiring photographer  who dates Jeremy after they break up.

3. Twink Jeremy (Matthew McKelligon, left ), the third member of the triangle.

4. Their wisecrack-spewing friend Kathy (Constance Wu), the token woman, and her boyfriend Ian (John Holback, top left photo), the token straight man.

5. Quincy (Stephen Quarino), who works as a party planner (well, we did have a lot of parties in West Hollywood), who ends up dating Gomorrah Ray (William Belli), the drag-queen-next-door.

That's it for the main cast, but going down the list of 6-episode or fewer guest cast members, maybe I can find some more hunks.  And maybe one person -- just one -- who is black?

6. Trevor (Adam Bucci), whom Thom and Cal have a three-way with. 6 episodes.  Must be a long three-way.

7. Satya Bhabha as Jared, a drag queen competing with Gomorrah Ray.  6 episodes.  A non-white person, anyway, but I'm still holding out for black.

8. David (David Blue), who dates Quincey after he is dumped by Gomorrah Ray.  4 episodes.  White.

9. Paul (Sean Maher), Cal's boss at the art gallery, married to a woman but on the downlow.  White

10. Matthew Wilkas (left, with boyfriend) as Kevin, a hunk du jour.

11.  Queer Eye host Jai Rodriguez as Door Guy Jimmy. 2 episodes.

12. Veteran gay actor Wilson Cruz as Jerry.  1 episode.

We're getting some Hispanic actors way,way down the list.

13. Derrick (Leith M. Burke), whom Jeremy dates in the wilds of Season 3.  Found one!

One black guy out of over 100 in the cast.  Talk about diversity!