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 Herb Pastor - A Wilde Styled Libertarian Innovator (and coincidental strip club proprietor) Mar 22, 2012
By David J. Paster
The Marquis de Sade defined narrative prurience with his tomes, Justine and Juliette. Harold S. Smith's seminal book, I Want to Quit Winners was Avant-garde due to the author's confessional candor provided within the confines of an industry that has consistently prized keeping personal matters proverbially close to the vest, and Xavier Hollander's contemporarily risqué de facto playbook for madams, The Happy Hooker paved the way for "vice" industry-centered exposé. The libertine philosophy espoused (and enacted) by Herb Pastor in his couplet of paperbacks, Strip Joint Millionaire and Strip Clubs Exposed, is a tantalizing, titillating, and occasionally uncomfortably tawdry mingling of the alluded genre.
Appropriately inspirational prologue quotes that capture the espirit de corps of Pastor's anecdotes might have been earnestly provided by Mae West's quip, "There are no good girls gone wrong - just bad girls found out" or her comedic contemporary and occasional co-star, W.C. Field's, ""I never saw anything funny that wasn't terrible. If it causes pain, it's funny; if it doesn't, it isn't."
Actualization of shame exists neither in Herb's hedonistic without (too much) apology lifestyle nor in a riveting text relaying a fascinating professional and personal odyssey. A contrarian journey that has forged Herb Pastor into the scion of success that he remains today.
As with other autobiographic of and traditional biographic endeavors about strip club owners such as the Mitchell Brothers, Alan Markowitz, Joe Redner and Michael J. Peter, Mr. Pastor and his ilk definitively debunk the Horatio Alger myth. Nothing Ragged Dick about these fiercely individualistic men whose satisfice could not be met with rising only to achieve simple class assimilation and rank recognition.
These noted "Good Doctor" Hunter S. Thompson (a one-time night manager of the fabled O'Farrell Theater, an adult entertainment emporium he described thusly, "...the Carnegie Hall of Public sex in America.") styled Gonzo Entrepreneurs' bodies are comprised of the typical Hippocratic humors, but also seemingly harbor the incorporeal compounds of moxie and gumption in more or less equal proportions.
The cited sensualists share characteristic commonalities with other status quo squelchers, both historic and contemporary, including but certainly not exclusive to: Ernest-Lucien Juin Armand, Benjamin Tucker, Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens, Hugh M. Hefner, and, in the words of Paul Simon's "Late Great Johnny Ace" acting the clown at the Rock & Roll Circus, "(Mick's) own soul brother" and still maintaining verticality in spite of (or possibly because of) conventional medical wisdom: Keith "Pure Merck" Richards.
The tales recalled about and by these purveyors of the flesh trade or prophets of the provision of female empowerment, depending on whom one asks, are partially resultant of these "pulled up by their bootstrap" figures membership in a cohort that apparently benefited from a lack of the contemporary youth generation's systematically endemic puerile delusion of expected Warholian fame and fortune that has ostensibly become de rigueur prospect amongst the post "Boomers", "X's" and "Y's".
The "Generation Me" constructs examined by Dr. Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D. and supported Dr. Arnett's theory of a prolonged period of adolescence known as "emerging adulthood" to some degree explains why this lazy legion's internalized lack of tolerance for risk in pursuit of reward will not produce the same caliber cadre of culturally interruptive libertarians as have been the indispensable derivative of former times. In most simple terms, Herb Pastor's recollections reflect an individual, who, like many of his successful contemporaries, never considered self-entitlement or success save sacrifice to be an option as he reached for the brass ring/pole.
Developmental era appropriate lesson must have at least been partially successfully vicariously learnt from (at least the Disney movie version) of Pinocchio, where, the realization is made literally and figurative graphic that if one stays too long in a "Candy Land," even the "good" boys and girls morph to Asses.
Pastor's occasionally brutally candid recounts recurrently convey the trait of self-efficacy at a professional level. Yet, on a personal level, Pastor repeatedly confesses to too often axiomatically "dipping the pen in the company ink well," or rephrased in a bit more modern vernacular of the 80s coke trade, "getting high on his own supply"; thus, devolving into Species Equidae.
Whether from owners and managers or entertainers/talent who tell the tales that maybe should not be told, a measure of longitudinal legitimacy is in place. That is, the longer the author was personally "in the business", the more authenticity attributed to the findings. Mr. Pastor's storied involvement over the long haul re-enforces the primary analysis validity of his first two literary forays.
There are far more overt and clandestine sinners than there are saints in the urban environs of Las Vegas and New Orleans, the municipal hosts of Herb Pastor's former holdings of not only strip clubs but also casinos; a topic worthy of its own volume. After being "edutained" via the compelling vignettes that comprise Strip Joint Millionaire and Strip Clubs Exposed, the reader will find him or herself in a state of pleasant agitation; hoping for another digest relaying transferable lessons learned from either or both endeavors to complete a verité trilogy.
Upon completion of Pastor's Wilde styled debut authorial efforts, the bibliophile and appreciator of the impish alike will benefit from viscerally comprehending why dens of iniquity do not feature means by which one may tell the passing of time such as clocks or windows. Rather, the environment is deliberately set perpetually in its best light, like the namesake character of The Picture of Dorian Gray; the arenas of righteous obliquity never reflecting moral wear.
The encompassing object lesson to garner is that each owner, manager, front-line and back of the house employee, talent/entertainers/performers/ exotic dancers/ fully incorporated independent contractors/ non-salaried employees (i.e., strippers go by many names) and even the infrequent to habitual patron residing in all manner and manifestation of pleasure seeker's palaces, over time, contributes to and becomes a piece of the secret and progressively decrepit canvas upon which Herb Pastor's life has been portrayed.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 A great read! Jul 17, 2011
By Keith
Just finished a wonderful expose on strip clubs. As a visitor or several clubs in many countries, both in the USA abroad, Pastor hit a home run with this book. He paints a vivid picture of the ins and outs of the business, as well as the colorful personalities of the dancers, staff, and owners. The book brought back fond memories of my visits as well as exposing the hidden often gritty side of the business. I recommend this book.
0 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Editing Honor Feb 04, 2010
By BJW
"Passionate Reader"
As one of two editors who had the pleasure of working with Herb on his two books - Strip Joint Millionaire and Strip Clubs Exposed - I had the honor of reading both in advance. Herb has a flair for storytelling that captivates while enlightening the reader about the shocking trade of stripping. Well done, Herb, and may your success be great!
Barbara Woster (fka: Bransfield)
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