1. When was the turning point from film to video? 2. When did Ron Jeremy get fat? I saw one of his films recently from 1985 and he was getting there, but still proportionate. 3. How big was John Holmes. I've always heard the 13 or 14 inch claim, but I don't buy it. I'm guessing it was more like 11 or 12. Some of the guys in recent years seem to be bigger than he was. 4. Has the mob ever controlled porn? I've heard they have their hooks in Damiano. 5. Are there any porn films that have been lost for whatever reason? If so, I would guess it was from the film era.
I can only answer question Nr. 1 from my point of view. In Canada, movie theatres started to close in 1981 and 1982. Video was available in some stores at the end of 1982 and the beginning of 1983 and was widely avaiable one year after. At the very beginning, there were a few dosens films almost mixed with other films on the shelves. When it was made avilable to a wider audience, there were separate rooms in video stores. For a short time, there was a big battle between Beta and VHS fans and one could find a copy of the same title in both formats.
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David Cop-a-feel Deactivated User
Trust me, honey, it gets better 323 Posts 10/10
Posted - Feb 8 2011 : 9:14PM
The mob did control a fair bit of the New York trade and it's fairly well known that Debbie Does Dallas was a mob-production. As far as I know Ron Jeremy was a Playgirl centrefold in the 70's and I assume he was well-liked by most of the chicks at the time (though Carter Stevens says otherwise) cuz he got alot of work. He only seemed to really start to pile it on around '86, IIRC.
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - Feb 9 2011 : 5:19AM
From what I've read, the mob was involved, more so on the East Coast, but didn't 'control' porn. There's a good write up on this in Reefer Madness, which has a whole section on Reuben Sturman, his connections to the mob and the FBI. The excellent doc Inside Deep Throat also details the mob's control of Damiano, he was pretty open about it in his later interviews and even included it in his semi-autobiographical feature Skin Flicks. Shaun Costello also admits to basically working for a mob family for his early NY films.Loads of films have disappeared from that era, Toby Ross' Not Another Woman seems to be completely M.I.A. as is Manhole, a gay xxx film by David Durston that apparently stars an actor who went on to mainstream work. That's only scratching the surface. BTW this would be better over in the feature forum.
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - Feb 9 2011 : 5:25AM
Regarding Ron Jeremy, Jerry Butler and Shaun Costello both have less than kind things to say about him during the 'classic' era as well. Based on their comments, I'm not sure he was ever popular with many female performers, I think he was mostly valued by some directors for his comedic acting ability and woodsman skills.
If your interested , read "History Of X" , Luke Ford , covers the birth of porn to the eighties , interesting read . Also "The Other Hollywood" , Legs McNeill , "Skinflicks" by David Jennings and of course Ron Jeremy's book , Hardest Working Man In Showbiz , thats a great read.
I'm not sure where it is anymore but there is an article about Mitchell Brothers Film Group that goes into the problems they had with the mob when they were trying to distribute their films.
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Karloff Deactivated User
319 Posts 7/10
Posted - Feb 9 2011 : 1:50PM
I don't think people today fully comprehend what it was like to watch 70s porn in the 70s. In a public theatre filled with other dudes. And many of the other dudes were interested in watching you, not porn.
What was the problem with Ron Jeremy? He is one of my all-time favorites. I never saw him slap or spit on/at or choke or forcefully throat fuck or otherwise abuse a woman on screen. Many female performers did multiple scenes with him. What's the dirt on him?
Read the book, "The Five Families" by Selwynn Raab. Raab, was the long-time crime editor for the New York Times, and his book is fascinating and quite complete. Essentially it was the Gambino & Genovese families who had their hooks into the porn business, especially in NYC. In the very beginning, porn by it's very nature was illegal at every turn, so of course who was producing it? Organized crime. However as porn progressed from illegal to decriminalized to open & legal (Although Max might debate you about open & legal) the mob tended to make money from the business by offering protection to adult businesses, and there were a number of stores operated by mob associates as a way to launder cash. However, a lot of the old mafia Dons were rather straight laced about porn, and many of them thought it was beneath them to be involved in it. In "The Godfather" Don Vito declares his disgust for Don Tataglia, calling him a pimp. That tended to be the same opinion of many of the original real-life Dons about sex for sale. For many, they left the prostitution & porn to black criminals and took "tribute" from their operations for operating on their turf, and thus not getting their hands personally soiled by the sex business.
Interesting dichotomy within the Gambino family. Paul Castellano wanted the dirty money without the taint. OTOH JOhn Gotti was closely associated with a Mafia guy with direct porn connections back in the 70s (DiBenedetto?) When porn came out of the shadows beginning in the 80s the Mafia lost its power within the porn industry, although as The Milkman quite correctly notes they stayed involved indirectly, thereby proving once again that prohibition, whether of alcohol or porn, does not eliminate the target, but only drives it underground and into the arms of organized crime.
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mikesalami Deactivated User
1505 Posts 7/10
Posted - Feb 9 2011 : 9:30PM
John Holmes was definitely not 13 inches, and definitely not even 11. The amount porn exaggerates size is ridiculous. I bet there's only one legitimate 10 inches in porn, and that's Mandingo. When I say legitimate I mean measuring correctly... on the top of the cock where it meets the body til the end. Not from the side or the bottom. I think Castro from Monsters of Cock is claimed to be like 11 inches, but I saw a measurement and they started WAY up on his body. To give perspective, Brandi Belle measure Shane Diesel, who was like 8 inches, and Ramon from Monsters of Cock, who was 9 I think.
There is also the interesting story of Kenny Gallo who was involved with Pablo Escobar and was a made member of the Columbo family. Gallo (who is no relation to the infamous Joey Gallo) was linked with Peter North and was for a time an actual porn producer. His main claim to fame was being the "candy man" to the porn world. When things got tough for him, he turned into a government rat to minimize his own legal troubles.
Wicked Pictures,Vouyer Media, Axel Braun Productions, Marc Dorcel, JoyBear Pictures, abbywinters.com 1390 Posts 7/05
Posted - Feb 10 2011 : 6:26PM
Speaking only from my own experience on the film/video switchover. As I've written in other threads, I helped the Kiva Art Theater in Scottsdale Arizona remove their projectors and install a video projection unit on Easter Weekend, 1987. They couldn't get (film) rentals anymore. Roads To Moscow / Twitter: @roadstomoscow
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - Feb 11 2011 : 2:44AM
It's less for what he did on camera than what he did off (although from your statement I assume you've never seen any of the films he did for Phil Prince or Joe Davian), you can look up Costello's comments on AVManiacs, Butler's comments are in his book Raw Talent. There are also some unpleasant stories about him from Ginger Lynn and a few others. There are threads here about some of this already, or you can google it. I'm not going to rehash it all here and I don't feel like defending or attacking the guy, you can read about it and decide for yourself if you care to. Edited by - BlackSix on 2/11/2011 2:47:12 AM
The only problem with the Ginger Lynn allegations, is that she recently did a scene with him. How many rape victims willingly do a porn scene with their alleged rapist? I have checked around, but have not been able to find an explanation for this.
i have seen several different documentaries and read stories where women claim ron jeremy raped them off screen. they all said he was saying the same thing, acting like he was really horny and telling them over and over " just let me put the tip in" they kept saying no, but he would force himself on them till he was satisfied. not saying its true or a lie, but there many women claiming this from different time periods who have no connection to each other.
