With Karen Mason, Barry Mason, Rachel Mason, Josh Mason. In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Barry Mason, who was once a special effects engineer, saw a break in his career when a medical device he built didn’t get through certain insurance. Directed by Rachel Mason. What was expected to be a brief sideline led to their becoming fully immersed in the … Larry Flynt was seeking distributors for Hustler Magazine. Barry and Karen Mason are obviously no longer running the store, but they’re much more open to the idea of discussing it these days. Barry and Karen Mason, who ran the "center of the gay universe" in Los Angeles and became LGBTQ rights advocates, are the subjects of a new documentary. The two who were looking to find a substantial means of income ended buying and distributing gay porn that paid well. View the profiles of people named Karen Mason. Karen Mason Barry Karen Mason Barry, 55, passed away suddenly on Thursday, March 10, 2011. Directed by Rachel Mason. Funeral services will be held at 1P.M., Saturday at Snow's Memorial Chapel, Cherry Street with burial in Macon Memorial Park Cemetery. Mr. Kenan Hodges will officiate. Larry Flynt was seeking distributors for Hustler Magazine. You can hear the whole story straight from the Masons themselves in Circus of Books , which is available to stream on Netflix starting on Wednesday, April 22. In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. With Karen Mason, Barry Mason, Rachel Mason, Josh Mason. Circus of Books is a new Netflix documentary about Karen and Barry Mason, the straight, conservative couple who ran a gay porn empire. In “Circus of Books,” due out April 22 on Netflix, filmmaker Rachel Mason profiles her conservative Jewish parents, Barry and Karen. Karen and Barry Mason: The suburban mum and dad who ran Circus of Books hardcore porn empire. Karen and Barry Mason met at a Jewish singles night, had three children and began their careers in regular jobs. Here’s what happened to them after they shut shop. Join Facebook to connect with Karen Mason and others you may know. Karen and Barry were just another ordinary, conservative, mum … The Mason children were raised attending a "classical, regimented, very intensely patriarchal" Jewish synagogue, and parents Karen and Barry led something of a double life during the years in which they operated their three stores, which served as hubs for the gay community during the '80s in Los Angeles.