David Hill says his son was convicted on charges of firearms possession on campus and was sentenced to house arrest. During this time — he served eight months — Hill became obsessed with pornography, his father says. "Stephen ended up spending all his time viewing pornographic movies, which he had mail-ordered over the Internet. He ran his credit cards up to over $20,000."
After completing his sentence, Hill worked for a time in the mortgage-title industry, but, his father notes, "His police record and bad credit caused him to lose jobs."
Needing a fresh start, Hill asked his father for help. In December 2006, Hill moved to Los Angeles. "We set him up in an apartment in the San Fernando Valley," his father says. Hill tried working for another title company, but his father says he soon was laid off and decided to try his hand at acting.
Soon his father started to receive startling mail from his son. "He started sending us pictures of his 'girlfriends' in sexually explicit poses," says an incredulous David Hill.
Stephen Hill's sister-in-law later told the elder Hill, "Everyone knew Stephen had only moved to L.A. to become a porn star."
David Hill says he and his new wife met one of the women on a trip to L.A. in 2007. "She was a stripper and dressed the part. My wife and I were deeply embarrassed, as was the girl, when we took them to a fine restaurant. Stephen was oblivious, though, and acted quite proud of her."
Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, Stephen Hill met and befriended another mope when the two of them worked on a gangbang scene. His name was Herbert Wong, and he went by the porno-ridiculous name of Tom Dong.
Wong, 30, never really had a gimmick — unless it was being an Asian man, still something of a rarity in porn.
Wong was a mystery to his colleagues and employers. A Chinese immigrant, he was raised in the San Gabriel Valley and reportedly attended the University of California, Riverside. His skill with computers and cameras seemed to indicate a background in IT, but he kept his past to himself.
Raven, the single-named director and production manager for Glendale-based Kick-Ass Pictures, says Wong had held a regular job, "a computer tech, I think. I don't know where. He didn't talk about it much." At one point, Wong maintained a home in Canoga Park, Raven says. "He lived for a while in the Bella Vista Apartments on DeSoto off the 101 — the porno apartments."
Wong eventually got a shot at the brass ring; at least, it was a shot in the mind of a mope. The son of a well-known '80s action-film star produced a big-budget porn epic that featured Wong — as Tom Dong, of course. It was reportedly shot for $50,000, a spectacular budget in the increasingly stingy porn world, and Wong was humiliated, abused and constantly told by his director to "chink it up" for the camera.
Wong, hoping for his chance, did as he was told ... and the film has yet to be released. Its existence is still mainly just a whispered rumor.
As his friendship with Hill grew, Wong often relied on him for transportation, and Wong managed to secure gangbang screen work for Hill. It wasn't long before they were being regarded as something of a package deal. "They were the Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan of porn," Raven recalls.
But they never caught on. Hill and Wong remained mired in porn's lower depths, which is where they were stuck when they were taken in by Eric Jover, 31, owner of Ultima DVD, the studio where the attack occurred. Jover, who met Hill through Wong, hired them both in 2009, paying them with pocket money and room and board.
"Tom was a good performer and he recommended Steve, so I took him on," Jover says.
But over time, the working arrangement began to fray. Jover blamed it on Hill's "true self" becoming apparent.
"He was notorious for owing people a lot of money," Jover says. "He owed a buddy of mine quite a bit of money and he'd been dodging the guy for a while. There was one time when my friend — the guy he owed money to — visited the studio and Steve thought he was trying to sabotage him. Out of nowhere, Steve just ran into the room and punched the guy in the face. Tom and I had to hold Steve back. I had to try to talk to my friend to not call the cops."
Hill's apparent learning disability also may have presented a stumbling block. "I had him updating some of our Web pages, creating galleries for us," Jover says. "Everything he did had to be reworked."
Hill's greatest failing, and one that was absolutely detrimental in his line of work, was a lack of personal cleanliness.
Female porn actor Charley Chase recalls, "I only worked with him once. It was a boy-girl scene and it was terrible. Mainly from bad hygiene." Chase pauses for a moment before trying to put a chirpy spin on things: "But he was really polite."
Porn isn't unique, we all know people on the edge it's sad that society doesn't do much for those on the edge.
why did you even bother to read this, if you care about the fringe of society, a fringe society of three year olds could have convayed more deeper meaning to such a hot sexy story. sincerly, morgan gorman.ps. the profile picture is hot.
I find it entertaining, that a porn director would call another person a 'd-lister'. YOU AREN'T EVEN ON A LIST TO BEGIN WITH!
The first sign of a problem was that he racked up credit card debt buying porn over the internet. Seriously... who buys porn over the internet?
Good article Mike. I'd also mention that the mopes cast as extras on Hollywood sets don't get fed as well as their pornish counterparts.
It's sad but not at all surprising to read about "Porno Samurai Killer"; that, also, didn't get the backlash it deserved.
I SEE that now the losers out number everyone,( include me I'm drunk ) And I mean EVERYONE !! That includes dead people..!! the hell is going on to OUR society ?
Reading the story, Hill's biography reads practically like what we now know about Jared Loughner. The guy had obvious untreated mental issues and finally fell off the rails.
boring. if he smelled funky then he shouldve showered more. crazy. and dont pornstars put their tongues and faces in all kinds of places im kinda surprised they care for smells.
I've never read that New Yorker piece, and I don't live in LA, so this is all new to me. It may be insensitive, but I find the story fascinating.
This article is biased and condescending, plus it rambles and misses the point... Dislike. Thumbs down.
This is a really weird, strange journey into the mysterious world of porn. I just wanted to know about the murder.
This cookie-cutter L.A.-porn-noir piece is inappropriate:
This is one sad, difficult story of mental illness and meaningless loss that does not particularly need to be told, and certainly not in this way. We all read "The Money Shot" article by Susan Faludi in the New Yorker and have ever since suffered its progeny of L.A.-porn-noir reportage, so this article is hardly compelling or groundbreaking for its style or its "ironic" observations.
To the extent that it is news, it should be told directly and factually, out of respect for those involved - particularly the decent father of this troubled soul.
I'm disappointed in the L.A. Weekly for publishing it.
What's the point of covering up for the LAPD now? Everybody is dead. Hill didn't jump; he was tazed off of the cliff by the cops. The whole thing was taped and on the video you not only saw the tazer shots but you could see the wires coming out of his back as he fell to his death. By only mentioning the bean bags and characterizing the death as a suicide, the credibility of this whole article is undermined. The truth probably died with Dong and Driver. Who really knows what happened when all you have here are the comments of either people who weren't there or those with no objectivity. This is journalism?
This guy was on a downward spiral for a long time. Can you imagine another industry where he could fine people who would let him stay a year at their place of work while showing major character flaws and ultimately intense mental illness? As Hill neared his psychic cliff represented by getting kicked out of the studio and decided to kill some people before suicide by cops, its interested to note Mr. Wong might have died because he hesitated when Hill attacked due to their friendship. Crazy people live among us. Work in every industry. Hill meant to kill and would have killed more people if he had a better blade or more training. But consider why he didn't use a gun? Too expensive? Not the "warrior's" way according to his mind? And after the long standoff, he takes the longer plunge. What was he thinking? Hill was someone's son, someone's friend. Whatever else this story is about, the star is David Hill. And he is not unique. We are in an age where the mentally ill are left to roam the streets, treated in an emergency room if they are dying, then put back where they collapsed.
I found this on Google News, too, and it is indeed a good story. I've always known that pornography was run by and performed by human garbage. It's hard to believe that these losers do what they do for only $50 a scene. Not surprisingly, the porn industry supports the Democratic Party. Democrats and human garbage are inseparable.
Sitting at home on your computer and classing people as "human garbage" certainly does put you on higher moral ground. I'm sure you'll be getting off on your self-righteousness when you look at all that foot fetish porn tonight.
WOW - amazing how you turned this into a political jab at Democrats. Can you find a way to link cancer to Democrats too? You are so clever.
only the typical self righteous conservative would believe your crap...lol, nobody else possesses this level of self absorbed, elitist ,privileged, sense of jesus-ness.....a story about a bunch of losers in an trifling industry and you inject it with your toxic point of view and compare them to being liberal, fuck you you cunt!
Yes, and conservatives are the people who voted in an entire party who stated bluntly that they were going to fuck everyone in the ass by not doing anything to help anyone but their Corporationalist masters. Thanks for that, The-Cheese. Why do you hate America?
he must have missed the part where he has a narcissistic disorder and his father said he sounded like a "young conservative."funny thing is most conservative sex scandals are of homosexual nature and not just something like an affair but more like male prostitutes, airport bathrooms or fantasizing of orgies.oh the hypocrisy .
Hill was most probably demoniacally possessed. The Dark Lord's orders are summarized by the following: Deceive, Defile Destroy. Porn does that very efficiently..... even for the "stars".
shut the F-up, you sound like a real bitch! get your head out of your ass and stop trying to rationalize with your make believe "devil", what a joke...
You would be amusing if I didn't know what was in store for you. Sometimes a peculiar 'bad' smell is associated with the possessed. Quite rare, but unmistakable if you know what to sense. Its more like rotting meat than BO. No amount of showering or baths help and it gradually gets worse. The porn girl who got out of the car probably got just a psychic glimpse of what she was riding beside.
bad odor? maybe he didnt floss?" you would be amusing if i didnt know what was in store for you"? so now your special and have the details on the devil, and know whats in store for me!....put some of your special powers to work you genius, perhaps play the lottery "see the numbers" pick em and win enough money to pay someone to believe your bullshit....lol
I'm from Cleveland and saw this article posted on google news. I'm glad I clicked on it. This article is great. Very well written and I learned a lot, and its like a story.
Yet you probably spend your entire day beating off to them naked. Wonder what that says about you...
I had heard about this when it happened - and even saw a blurb of the crazy free fall video - but this is a genuinely good article, something I rarely r on the web anymore. Kudoz!
Is this a real story, because if so one might accuse the author of sensationalizing a tragic event...
Forcing low level drug prisoners into slave labor at 'for-profit' prisons is inhumane and trashy. Extending "payday loans" to poor people at usurious interest rates is inhumane and trashy. Foreclosing on people's homes at the drop of a hat is inhumane and trashy. Some porn is rather declasse', but the only thing (inhuman)e about porn is your opinion of a normal human activity that's been going on for time immemorial.Enjoy.
If you want to place blame, blame our Failed Mental health system, as long as they don't come in swinging the swords the hold em for 72 and send on their way!
Also Apple has had 17 suicides at it's I phone plant, do you feel the same about the Capitalist that drive people to suicide?
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