Bisexual Adult Film Star Billy Herrington Dead at 48

Billy Herrington has died at the age of 48 as a result of injuries suffered in a car accident on March 2. Also known as Aniki, Herrington was an American model and adult film actor. In the late 2000s, his appearances in various gay films led him to became a popular Internet meme among online communities in Japan. 

Herrington was born in North Babylon, New York. Herrington grew up in Long Island learning karate from his father, a sensei. He had interests in boxing, wrestling and martial arts, but did not start bodybuilding until he was 24 years old, after moving to New York City.

Herrington began his erotic career when his then girlfriend surreptitiously submitted his nude pictures to Playgirl magazine. The photographs won him a "Real Men of the Month" contest and a $500 prize. His appearance in the magazine caught the eye of famed photographer Jim French, but, it was two years before Herrington posed for his first Colt calendars for French. Soon after, Herrington was filming hardcore same-sex adult films for All Worlds Video. Herrington became one of the best known same-sex adult film stars of the late 1990s, appearing on mainstream TV programs such as Love Connection and the Ricki Lake talk show. Herrington says the adult film industry helped him to understand his bisexuality.

Among his starring roles is the Roman emperor in the Danish feature film HotMen CoolBoyz (2000). Herrington's scene in Conquered with Nino Bacci, Colton Ford, Blake Harper, and Jay Ross won the "Best Group Sex Scene" at the 2001 Adult Erotic Gay Video Awards ("Grabbys"). Occasionally, Herrington also performed striptease acts at gay clubs in the United States.

Herrington became an Internet meme among online communities after a clip from one of his videos, Workout, was posted on Niconico, a Japanese video sharing website. Thousands of mash-up parody videos of him have been made, many of which utilize deliberate mishearings (soramimi) of lines from his films. He is affectionately called "Big Brother" (兄貴 aniki) among the Nico Nico Douga community, and most of his videos are deliberately mistagged with "Wrestling Series" (レスリングシリーズ resuringu shirīzu), "Forest Fairy" (森の妖精 mori no yōsei), "Philosophy" (哲学 tetsugaku), or all three.

Herrington visited Japan in February 2009 to attend in a live online event hosted by Niconico and garage kit maker Good Smile Company. Herrington said that he is flattered and humbled by his fans' creativity. A limited-edition Herrington figure was announced for a July 2009 release. Two other limited-editions Herrington action figures were announced for the Halloween and Christmas holiday. The Halloween figure was released in October 2009 and the Christmas one was released in December 2009; both are Nico Nico Chyokuhan exclusives.