SANTA BARBARA — Industry photographer and filmmaker Jay Allan has passed away, according to industry friends. He was 53 and was hospitalized with cancer.
Allan was known for timeless glamour photography and videography. His craft ensured a busy schedule shooting projects for companies and performers, especially in the solo and girl-girl genres.
His last notable project was 2021’s “Solo Sirens,” a characteristically lush title for Adam & Eve, the studio for which he worked the most since 2013.
Allan’s classic pinup style made him, over the years, a reliable contributor to Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler. He started at the studio of J. Stephen Hicks, where he built DigitalDesire.com before striking out on his own. Allan was one of the leading lensmen to successfully make the transition between magazines and online content, becoming a notable contributor to Babes.com, Twistys, HollyRandall.com and many other sites.
In 2020, Allan launched AgentErotica.com with Elevated X, offering thousands of never-before-seen images from his archives, along with a selection of videos featuring some of his signature model collaborators such as Charlotte Stokely, Bailey Rayne, Lacy Lennon, Skin Diamond, Casey Calvert, Joanna Angel and Jenny Blighe.
Allan intended the site to be the archive for over 300,000 slides from his decades shooting for magazines like Club, High Society, Gallery and Finally Legal.
Industry Remembrances
“I’m deeply going to miss Jay being a part of this industry,” Lacy Lennon told XBIZ. “Natural talent is hard to come by in this industry. Being humble is hard to come by in this industry. This one hits deep as his work meant something in this community. Jay was good to his girls, good to his crews and brought quality to porn. His vision for lesbian films and photography portfolios constantly inspires me.”
Lennon said she was grateful to Allan for seeing something in her early on in her career.
“Without that type of support and encouragement, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said.
“Jay was always kind and knowledgeable,” Allan’s colleague Holly Randall told XBIZ. “He was an extremely accomplished technical photographer and a perfectionist. He really knew the art of cinematography and he executed everything that he did with unrivaled attention to detail and love of his craft.”
Charlotte Stokely, who knew Allan for 18 years, described him in a statement as “consistently an amazing and ethical human being.”
“We cultivated a closer and dear friendship in the last five years,” Stokely recalled. “He taught me how to work camera settings and taught me about lighting. He loved to freely share his knowledge. We’d talk on the phone for long lengths of time about ‘Star Trek’ or the current new show he was watching, vintage cars, and his favorite places to watch the sunset or some cool new photography gadget he’d acquired. That man never missed a sunset. He would send me pictures saying ‘Where I am now,’ showing me how beautiful it was.”
Stokely also shared that she enjoyed visiting Allan in Santa Barbara.
“We’d head to the beach where he’d smoke one of his favorite cigars, Partagas, and sip a scotch,” she reminisced. “In my career we worked together a few or more times, mostly for Adam & Eve features, him as the director and myself as a performer. He always had great catering!
“We started to work for Playboy as a team. He was directing and I was executive producer. He was so excited for our first Playboy shoot together because we filmed at a location Star Trek had filmed. The last photo he sent me was of a sunset and the last text I sent to him said ‘I’m going to break you out of that hospital and we’ll escape to the rooftop. I’ll bring you a cigar and scotch and we’ll watch the sunset.’
“That was three weeks ago. I never did make it to see him after that last text because of my ankle injury. I felt this urgent desire to text or call him the day he passed. For whatever reason, I didn’t, thinking ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’ He died later that evening.
“There was just something special about him as a human and my heart is so sad he’s gone. His legacy will live on.”