The first time I saw the model Cherokee was in the 1988 Old Reliable video Uncut 6 -- a tape dedicated to uncut models. David Hurles spoke highly of this carpenter from Virginia, calling him a true gentleman. Hurles also stated Cherokee first appeared in an issue of In Touch magazine seven years prior to his first session at OR.
While I was perusing the Internet yesterday, I found the first photo in this post. That's Cherokee in the bottom left corner of the page when he was roughly 21 years old. The photo is from Kurt Deitrick who called him Randy Dixon. I hadn't thought of Cherokee in quite a while, but I recognized him right away.
During his OR video session, we learned another photographer had Cherokee shave his torso, so it sounds like he had recently posed for someone else. He returned to OR several times over the next three years or so and, for me, he was always a pleasure to watch.
On a sad note, in 1991 Cherokee decided to leave California and hitchhike his way back to Virginia. Hurles gave him a ride to the interstate and it was there they said their goodbyes. A few months later, Hurles received an anonymous letter with a clipped newspaper article enclosed. The article told the details of Cherokee's death. He was murdered by a serial killer in Virginia who focused his evil on gay men. I was never able to find any additional information.
So if Cherokee posed for Deitrick, there must be other photos of him out there -- and possibly more from the photographer who made him shave his chest. I plan to start a new search.
Horrible tragedy.
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