Denny Recob, the man who authored more than 25,000 meticulous reviews of adult movies and internet scenes in 15 years, died June 16 in Dayton. He was 67.
Known to fans and increasingly awestruck colleagues as Den, Recob founded CAVR, Cyberspace Adult Video Reviews, in 1996. The website was a labor of love and a gift to fans who wanted and needed well-ordered and regimented documentation of the ins and outs of a porn movie. He was a collector’s reviewer.
Here is a portion of Den’s review of the 1998 movie “Odd Little Bash.” It is representative of his other reviews and porn fans loved him for it (the decimal scale is from 6.00 to 10).
1> Elena & John Strong. No hands BJ. Ball sucking. Eats her. Safe
screwing in many positions. Anal. Cums on her ass. 8.70
2> Rayne. Solo. Using dildo. Guy screws her using the dildo. No hands
BJ. 69 with Tony Tedeschi on top. BJ/handjob. Safe screwing in many
positions. Cums on her tits. 8.80
3> Wynona & Eva. Les food fun. Chocolate syrup. Kissing. Titty sucking.
Eating. Fingering. Eating & fingering. Kissing. Ladies switch. Titty
sucking. Eating. Strap-on dildo screwing. 8.70
4> Jessica & black guy. He is wrapped in green foil as she works him
over. Ball sucking. BJ/handjob. Sits on his face. Titty sucking. Safe
screwing on her back, doggie position. Cums on her tits. 8.60
5> Fiero & Dave Hardman & Steve Hatcher. Dual titty sucking. BJ/handjob
& eating her. Fingers her. Safe screwing & BJ. Fingering her. More
safe screwing & no hands BJ. Anal & solo. Ball sucking. Cums on her
tits and cums on her shaved box. 8.90
Den would create a listing for every movie he received, including cast list, studio, and videographer. But he wouldn’t review something if the movie was choky, an act he disagreed with. After dutifully listing the cast and crew of Ernest Greene’s BDSM-heavy “O: The Power of Submission,” for example, Den wrote, “Sorry, but I don’t follow this genre. I am not qualified to review this DVD.”
According to longtime friend, fellow Ohio resident, and X-Rated Critics Organization founder “Dirty Bob” Krotts in his AVN obituary, Recob kept his illness secret from all but a few close friends, and stopped updating his site in April of this year. Den ceded CAVR’s extensive database to the Internet Adult Film Database (IAFD) in 2006.
Krotts also details Den’s other contributions to the adult industry and his friends in it:
In the mid 1980s, he was the first to shoot and sell high-end S-VHS adult video. He operated his own small mail-order amateur video company from Ohio called Den Video. He was forced to close after a few years when postal inspectors had him arrested on a trumped-up charge to scare him into shutting down. I had helped him to get his company running and will always remember that to keep my name out of it, Den pled guilty and served a short jail term. Den went to jail to protect his friends; he was a true hero and a loyal friend.
The old school elegance of Den’s creation, CAVR, and its reflection in a site like IAFD, which itself grew out of adult messageboard RAME, might be partially the result of Recob’s analog tech career. Recob’s early employment was at Data Pathing Incorporated, a pioneer in systems automation and data collection, a decidedly pre-Web 2.0 field involving punch cards, magnetic tape, and simple wire data transfers on heavy terminals. I can’t help but think that CAVR had that same industrial-strength ease of navigability built in.
I respected Den and was amazed both by his dedication to his work as well as the comprehensiveness of it. In a business that so easily forgets, wants to forget, or simply rewrites its own history, Den’s work is a simple testament to the fact that America loves porn and is intensely interested in it.
I’m not a porn fan the way Den was. He was a true believer and a statistician the way an avid baseball fan is. His work is carried on by reviewers such as Roger Pipe and Don Houston and by data-rich sites like IAFD.
Previously on Porn Valley Observed: Porn Valley Observed Obituary archive
See also: Cyberspace Adult Video Reviews
I’d like to think Mr. Recob would have appreciated the workman-like way I utilized CAVR.
Den and I emailed each other a great many times over the years, the man confiding in me about his illness in general terms long ago. We spoke recently, the conversation emotional at times when I reminded him of our many similarities of opinion versus our few disagreements. I hoped he would get a chance to pen an autobiography detailing some of the many experiences he had over the years but it was clear that this would not happen (even if he wanted it; he suggested he did not have the writing ability or time left but suggested it was all about the girls and not him).
He will be missed…
My Dear Sweet Friend, Denny, you are and will be missed, not only for your business savy but for the true, sincere, honest, generous and loving man that you were. You held a special place in my heart as a friend. You were always generous and willing to do what ever you could to make us all successful, no matter what our dreams. My customer/order data base still works as smooth as it did when you first installed it for me many years ago. Though distance and illness kept us from seeing your face, the connection we had never failed. I am so fortunate to have known you and even in your time of illness and last days, you thought of me and made a point to wish me a “Happy Birthday” even though your days were fading. Another testiment to the Wonderful person I knew as Denny and made an everlasting impact on my life.
Loving & Missing You,
Jan B.