Wade Nichols

Wade Nichols
Nichols on The Edge of Night, January 1980
Born	Dennis Posa (1946-10-28)October 28, 1946 Freeport, New York, U.S.
Died	January 28, 1985(1985-01-28) (aged 38) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Dennis Parker
Occupations	Actor singer
Years active	1972–1985
Notable work	The Edge of Night

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.^[1][2]

Parker was born in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Freeport, New York.^[3] He attended the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, studying furniture design.^[3][4] 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.^[3] He supported himself by working as a carpenter for several years.^[4]

Parker'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).^[1] Parker 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.^[3][4] The album was produced by Village People creator and producer, known as Jacques Morali. He was Parker's boyfriend at the time.^[5] He also toured Europe to promote the album.^[3] 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 (1994). "New York By Night", another song recorded as Dennis Parker, peaked at No. 11 on the South African music charts in 1980.^[6]

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.^[2][3][4]

Parker died on January 28, 1985.^[3][7] It was revealed later that he died of an unspecified AIDS-related illness.^[2][7] 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.^[8]

• Wade Nichols at IMDb
• Wade Nichols at the Internet Adult Film Database
• Wade Nichols at the Adult Film Database
• Wade Nichols: 'A Galaxy of Pleasure and Pain' His Untold Story, profile of Wade Nichols, The Rialto Report, June 25, 2017