‘Gemmel and Tim’ Shares Lives Filled with Hope and Joy Snuffed Out by Serial Killer Ed Buck
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Gemmel & Tim explores the lives and untimely passings of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, two Black gay men who both died from meth overdoses at the home of West Hollywood politico Ed Buck.
The recent controversy raised by Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer series underscores the importance of this film. Like Dahmer, Buck preyed on primarily on Black gay men, already invisible, and for whom law enforcement did very little to investigate.
Above (left to right): Gemmel Moore, Ed Buck, and Timothy Dean.
Their deaths at the now-infamous apartment sent shockwaves through the LGBT community. The ensuing media circus cooked up a spicy concoction of sex, drugs, race and politics, but had no appetite for the in-depth human stories of who these individuals truly were.
Subject: Portrait drawings of Gemmel Moore, Tim Dean. Credit: XForCaleb (Drawing Artist) & Shivelight LLC
Gemmel Moore, 26, (seen below) was found dead of a crystal meth overdose in Democratic donor Ed Buck’s West Hollywood home on July 27, 2017.
His death was immediately classified as an accidental methamphetamine overdose by the coroner. 19 days later after Moore’s journal was publicly published by journalist Jasmyne Cannick and appeared in news reports, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s homicide bureau opened an investigation.
In his journal, Moore wrote, “I honestly don’t know what to do. I’ve become addicted to drugs and the worst one at that,” a December entry reads. “Ed Buck is the one to thank. He gave me my first injection of crystal meth it was very painful, but after all the troubles, I became addicted to the pain and fetish/fantasy.”
“My life is at an alltime [sic] high right now & I mean that from all ways. I ended up back at Buck [sic] house again and got munipulated [sic] into slamming again. I even went to the point where I was forced to doing 4 within a 2day [sic] period. This man is crazy and its [sic] sad. Will I ever get help?”
“Slamming” refers to gay men injecting drugs such as mephedrone, GHB, or crystal meth.
Moore’s last entry, dated December 3, 2016, reads, “If it didn’t hurt so bad, I’d kill myself, but I’ll let Ed Buck do it for now.”
According to the coroner’s report, paramedics found Moore naked on a mattress in the living room with “a male pornography movie playing on the television.”
According to the report, a coroner’s investigator found the following items in Buck’s two-bedroom apartment: 24 syringes with brown residue, five glass pipes with white residue and burn marks, a plastic straw with possible white residue, clear plastic bags with white powdery residue and a clear plastic bag with a “piece of crystal-like substance.”
Since Moore’s journal was published, other young Black gay men have come forward with photos, emails, and text messages recounting similar stories involving Buck and accusing him of being a sexual predator, kidnapping, forced drug use, injecting unconscious black gay men with crystal meth, filing false police reports to cover his crimes, coercion, pimping, and pandering.
On July 26, 2018, prosecutors declined to file charges against Ed Buck in connection with Gemmel Moore’s death, citing insufficient evidence.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said that the “admissible evidence is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that Buck gave Gemmel Moore drugs or is responsible for his death.
Approximately six months after failing to prosecute Ed Buck in Gemmel Moore’s death, 55-year-old Timothy Michael Dean of West Hollywood died in Ed Buck’s apartment of an overdose.
Timothy was a graduate of Tampa’s East Bay High School’s Class of 1982. He moved to California in 2002 and earned an AA Degree from Santa Monica College in 2015.
Timothy lived in West Hollywood and enjoyed playing basketball for the National Gay Basketball Association (NGBA) League in California. Timothy was a member of Lambda Basketball League since 1991, and was the co-captain of the LA Heat. Timothy was inducted in the Gay Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001. Timothy played his last game at the Paris Gay Games in August of 2018 taking home the Silver medal in the Mens 35+ division.
He became a fashion consultant for Bloomingdale’s and worked diligently at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills where he was one of their top salespersons.
Timothy was known for his fashionable style and appearance and for being a lover of food.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s report, says Timothy Dean died of methamphetamine and alcohol toxicity and the drugs appeared to have been injected, according to the report. Ed Buck waited for at least 15 minutes before calling 911 according to the autopsy report.
Other Victims of Ed Buck
Subject: Animation of Ed Buck putting a spell on his victims. Photo Credit: Remy M. Ndow (Animator) & Shivelight LLC
This documentary looks at Gemmel and Tim’s parallel walks of life through the eyes of their extended and chosen families – memories, correspondence, and things they did and didn’t share with each other. Through intimate recollections of their lost friends, each character exposes their own personal journey in dealing with grief.
Powerful and galvanizing, Gemmel & Tim simultaneously investigates the crimes and offers a cautionary tale to keep these events from repeating.
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Subject: Gemmel’s friend Jerome Kitchen fighting for justice. Photo Credit: Shivelight LLC
“I’m a member of the LA gay basketball league (LAMBDA), where Tim Dean used to play, so Tim’s death has affected my close social circle deeply. I hear their outcry for justice, and I want to play my part in ensuring Gemmel and Tim’s deaths weren’t in vain,” says director Michiel Thomas. He continues, “By shedding light on their lives, told by authentic voices who knew them best, I wanted to provide Gemmel and Tim’s extended family a platform to grieve, to show who their friend was, and to offer solutions to prevent these tragic events from happening in the future.”
Subject: Gemmel’s friend Samuel Lloyd addresses the media. Photo Credit: Shivelight
Gemmel & Tim was written, produced, directed, and filmed by Michiel Thomas.
Thomas’ auspicious debut, Game Face, was distributed by Netflix in 2016, and screened at more than 50 film festivals worldwide. Face won twelve awards, including the Audience Award at Frameline 2015.
His next feature doc, That’s Wild (2020) was sold to PBS and AMC Networks, after screening the festival circuit and garnering four awards of its own.
Gemmel & Tim was produced by Michael Franklin and Niq Lewis.
Animated sequences were created by Remy M. Ndow with an original score by composer Willard Hill.
Subject: Opening Animation Photo Credit: Remy M. Ndow (Animator) & Shivelight LLC
Gemmel & Tim world premiered at Outfest LA 2021.
The film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Chicago Reeling LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2021, Black Alphabet 2021, and finished runner-up for the Filmfestival Oostende Audience Award 2022 in Belgium. It also received the honors of Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Seattle Queer Film Festival 2021 and OUTSHINE Fort Lauderdale 2021.
At the Ouray International Film Festival 2022, the doc won the Student Jury Award and Best Director. At Out Film Connecticut 2022 Gemmel & Tim received Documentary Jury Special Mention. PrideIndex.com’s Esteem Awards honored the film with a National Special Recognition for their efforts in supporting the African-American and LGBT communities in the areas of entertainment, media, civil rights, business, and art.
Gemmel & Tim will be available on iTunes, Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube beginning October 18, 2022. You can pre-order now on AppleTV and iTunes.
Watch the trailer below.
For more information visit Gemmel and Tim.
