(Lady Lily Gardner & Mike)
Known to fetishists throughout the world for his Fetish Realm magazine, the Fetish-Realm.com website, and for the prolific body of erotic fetish artwork he illustrated under his nom de plume, E.N. Cuire, both Teri and DJ regret to report the recent passing of a dear friend, Michael Frankovich Jr.
Mike died on Tuesday evening, December 11th while in hospital. He was 65 years of age. We here at Bootlovers.Com are particularly struck by this sad news. Mike and DJ were close friends for nearly two decades. As many Bootlovers.Com readers might know, Boot Lady Teri also worked with Mike to produce the monthly photo galleries and updates for his website, Fetish-Realm.com. What fetish aficionados do not know, however, is the fascinating past of this man who brought pleasure to so many through his fetish fashion conscious photos and drawings.
Mike was the son of Mike Frankovich Sr., a successful and powerful Columbia Studios film producer in Hollywood in the 1950’s, ‘60s & ‘70s, and English actress Binnie Barnes. Mike recalled Christmas memories as a boy playing trains under the Christmas tree with actors Cary Grant, who had come over to visit with his parents at the holiday. On other occasions it was not uncommon for Mike Jr. to find Gary Cooper sitting with mom and dad in the family living room, or Spencer Tracy pouring coffee for himself while he chatted with dad in the kitchen.
Mike Jr. had his own film career, working as production manager for many of the episodes of the popular 1970’s TV police drama, Kojak, on the Prince film Purple Rain, and a variety of other projects.
Mike’s passion for fetish-dressed women, particularly ladies in tight fitting leather, high boots, long gloves and shiny raincoats came as a result of spending much of his early adult life in England. Like all of us who are old enough to remember, The Avengers and Emma Peel had a profound impact on his sexuality. Mike was also a fan and friend of John Sutcliffe, the famous fetish fashion pioneer who founded Atomage Couture in London. Having moved back to the U.S. by the early ‘70s, Mike worked in television and film for many years. Mike was also a fairly gifted, self-taught artist. He loved comic books and helped pen many products for AC Comics. He was also a very close friend of famous fetish artist, Eric Stanton, and helped Eric in his later career with his Blunder Broads series, among others. His own body of work is gigantic, some of which is available for view on Fetish-Realm.com. Mikes pen name, E.N. Cuire, was a bit of contrived French. In Mike’s tongue-in-cheek way it meant, “In Leather,” which is how he was nearly always dressed when he attended fetish events throughout Southern California, England and Germany for the past 15 years. He was a welcome regular at the Dressed To Thrill Ball in Los Angeles, BoundCon in Munich, the MacII Balls in England.
Something many of his acquaintances in the fetish scene did not know is that Mike was an avid and very savvy classic car collector, with two vast garages packed with vintage English and American autos from the 1940’s, ‘50’s and ‘60s. Often he would go to car shows and rallies in one of his beautiful automobiles wearing his leather trousers tucked into English riding boots and a leather jacket no matter the weather. Even in the dead of summer he was so attired. He was seldom without an attractive, fetish-dressed lady on his arm as well, which is the way we shall always remember him.
It is never to late to say thank you, even when the person to whom you wish to show appreciation has suddenly passed away. In the case of Mike Frankovich Jr. we say thanks indeed. Thank you for letting Teri and DJ shoot Bootlovers.Com photos amongst your amazing car collection so often. Thank you for allowing Teri to work with you on your site. Thank you for all the imaginative and colorful fetish art that sprang from your fertile imagination, and which you so freely shared with others. But most of all, thank you for being a good and dear friend.
DJ & Teri
