Wade Nichols

Career

Born Dennis Posa, Nichols trained in acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio and worked in hardcore film from 1972 to 1984 under the name Wade Nichols, largely in New York-shot productions, while simultaneously building two entirely separate mainstream careers: as a recurring cast member playing Police Chief Derek Mallory on the daytime soap The Edge of Night from 1979 to 1984, and as a recording artist, Dennis Parker, whose 1979 disco album Like an Eagle was produced by Jacques Morali for Casablanca Records and reached the South African charts. He died of an AIDS-related illness in January 1985, aged 38, weeks after the Golden Age’s conventional end date; a rumour that he died by suicide was denied by his older brother.

Signature: Ran a soap-opera role and a Casablanca Records recording contract at the same time as his adult-film career — the most complete simultaneous mainstream double life on this list, rather than a crossover that came after retiring.

Index score — The Pornstar Ranked Performer Index v3.0

Best known for

Mainstream credits

• The Edge of Night (1979–1984) — recurring role as Police Chief Derek Mallory
• Like an Eagle (1979), disco album released as Dennis Parker on Casablanca Records, charted in South Africa

Official links

No official accounts confirmed. We only list handles we have verified on an authoritative page — a guessed handle in this industry usually belongs to an impersonator.

Ranked alongside

• Bobby Astyr
• Johnnie Keyes
• Marc Stevens
• Sharon Kane
• Carol Connors
• C.J. Laing

Sources and verification1 source

Last audited 27 August 2026 · Wikipedia — Wade Nichols

Not yet confirmed:

• No adult-industry award or Hall of Fame induction is documented for him