Born April 30th, 1938. Died September 12th, 2019
Story by: Peter Fisk
October 2, 2019
I am very sad to report the passing of erotic artist, Bill Schmeling AKA “The Hun,” on September 12, 2019. His work will live on in his magnificent illustrations of men who were larger than life, with bulging muscles, big pecs, and huge cocks that inspire.Bill is best known for his work as “The Hun” but he started in the 1960s with Physique Pictorial magazine under the moniker Torro. By the late 1970s, his “Hun Comic” series found huge success in publications like Meatmen and, of course, Drummer, which is when he became known as “The Hun.” His various series became famous for featuring masculine archetypes like hot cops, cons, masters, slaves and the like, putting his cast of characters in impossibly sexual scenarios that made fans salivate.
In 1988, Jack Fritscher worked with The Hun on two feature-length films for Palm Drive Video that highlighted hundreds of his drawings: The Hun Video Gallery 1: Rainy Night in Georgia and The Hun Video Gallery 2: Chain Gang Bang. His sex-positive imagery was brought to a wider audience as a result, which was much needed during the more dire times of the AIDS epidemic.
The Hun was very generous with his art: in the 1980s he always said yes when asked to donate to AIDS charity auctions, and there were many of them, including the AIDS Emergency Fund in San Francisco, as well as others across the country.
One of my fondest memories of Bill is seeing him at leather events and markets with his art piled on the table all around him, and a crowd of men looking through his work. He’d be smiling and talking to them all.
I also remember him at sex clubs and play parties having fun.
Bill Schmeling died in Portland, Oregon, surrounded by his family. He is beloved as one of the best erotic artists who helped to create the leather, fetish, and kink scene that his work represented.
Photos: Courtesy of the Bill Schmeling Collection at the Leather Archives & Museum
