Damn Shame: the sexiest memoir you'll read this year

28 Dec 2021.

David Pevsner wears many hats. Though primarily a man of the theatre, he was also a male escort, and now, an author. His book Damn Shame: A Memoir of Desire, Defiance and Show Tunes brings us into his world. It is about how he, a nerdy insecure gay kid, grew into an actor, the whole time refining his body until it was just delicious. There are a lot of good photos in the book. 

I speak to David on Zoom a few weeks before the book is to be released by Random House. He and I have a lot in common. We’re the same age, so his recollections of AIDS and of being closeted were all familiar to me. And we are both obsessed with Brian Kelly, the actor who played the father of the two young sons on the TV series Flipper. Yes, the dolphin was adorable, but the dad was to die for.  

Gay men might recognize David from the popular revues When Pigs Fly and Naked Men Singing, or his one-man show Musical Comedy Whore! (which is available on Breaking Glass Films, and well worth watching. It features many of the same stories, but with songs!). David also did big Broadway shows like the revival of Fiddler On the Roof that starred Chaim Topol. “He was a nightmare,” quips David. Topol upstaged other actors, ad libbed constantly, and even figured out a way to rob David of a golden moment. “Don’t ever try to get a bigger laugh than the star,” he cautions. 

But most of the book is about body shaming, and coming to grips with how we feel as gay men. “Some of those shaved buff guys didn’t feel good enough either,” he reminds me. “Confidence is everything, no matter where you are at.” His escort work taught him a lot about gay male behaviour, how to handle difficult situations, and how to really deliver pleasure. “Being an escort was like the best job I ever had that wasn’t showbiz.”

Perhaps the most poignant section was when he fell in love with a guy who could not accept the fact that David did escort work. “I mean, it was kind of doomed from the beginning but I had to see it through because I really loved him, you know.” The relationship did not work out, but Damn Shame is not a sad tale. It’s the story of a survivor, someone who overcame obstacles and landed on his feet. It’s also one of the sexier memoirs you’ll likely read this year.