Hank Hightower, Gay Adult Film Star, Dead at 57

Gay adult film star Hank Hightower, also known as Henry Robert Hightower, died earlier this week. He was 57.

Hightower’s friend, Jeff Yarbrough, announced his death in a Facebook post.

“I was jolted awake by a text early this morning. One of the (few) special guys in my life lost a health battle today. Hank Hightower called me last Sunday to say so long. Hank and I lived large, hard, and fast at an appropriate time for all that – late 1990s – after a shit ton of our friends had died of AIDS," Yarbrough wrote. "If you knew Hank, then you knew of his love for canines. If his passing moves you, please send a donation this season to an animal rescue of your choosing. He did a lot of volunteering, and those nonjudgmental licks and hugs meant the world to him. One year he sold Christmas trees for a pug rescue. Imagine having Hank Hightower tie a fir tree to the roof of your car.”

He added: “Here is part of the text I got before sunrise: ‘I must inform you that Henry Robert Hightower passed away today, Nov. 1, 2023, at 3:30am. As per his wishes, he died at home surrounded by his two pups. He passed peacefully. Memorial details will be sent in a few weeks. I will always hold you close, HH, and happy trails…”

Hightower was known for films made in the 1990s and 2000s. He appeared in dozens of adult films.