If Linda Lovelace was America's first porn queen—and she was—then Harry Reems was America's first porn king. While perhaps not as recognizable a name of late as John Holmes or Ron Jeremy or even James Deen, Harry Reems's contribution to the adult entertainment industry is far more important than any of those men.
In 1972, Reems gained fame (and infamy) along with Linda for their roles in the film Deep Throat. In 1975 he was tried (and convicted) of conspiracy to distribute pornography across state lines; his 1976 conviction was overturned and charges were dropped during his second trial in 1977.
While Linda left the porn biz shortly after Deep Throat, Reems went on to star in 140 adult films before his retirement in 1989. After falling into a period of cocaine abuse and alcoholism, Harry regained his sobriety and found religion in the late ’80s and went on to run a successful real estate business in Park City, Utah. He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Jeannie. Our heartfelt condolences go to his family and friends.
For more on the life of Harry Reems, read reports from:
Adult Video News
Gawker
More will be posted as they appear.
AdultFYI
Adult FYI again
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: Gonzo, but Not Forgotten
Eight years ago today, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson put a gun in his mouth, pulled the trigger and broke my heart.
It should surprise no one that Hunter's a huge influence on my writing. I'm not alone in showing love for the author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, the Great Shark Hunt collection, the Fear and Loathing Letters series, the criminally unappreciated Hey Rube, the hilarious Better Than Sex and hopefully, one day, his memoir of having managed the Mitchell Brothers' O'Farrell Theater, The Night Manager.
A lot of fans I know read their first HST book during their wild days in college or maybe while they were rebellious high school kids. Me? I read my first Hunter S. Thompson book—the utterly genius Hell's Angels—when I was in third grade. I was eight years old.
I think that says a lot. . . .
I checked it out of my local library (I had a library card very early) because the title intrigued me. Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. How could you not love that? I know I sure did, and it lived up to its promise with tales of gut-rumbling Harleys and Angels on runs and brothers named Terry the Tramp who did what they wanted, when they wanted, the way they wanted and Thompson getting stomped trying to break up a fight between an Angel and his old lady. . .
My brother was less in love with the idea of me reading the book and promptly ratted me out to my parents, which led to my having to get written parental permission to take out library books from then on.
Even at the age of eight, the sexual imagery in HA struck me. The Harley as a power between an Angel's legs, an Angel named Charger Charlie the Child Molester, the quote from one brother who said, "Hell yes, I'll take a blow-job any day for ten bucks. . . Man, I'd go underwater and fuck fish for that kind of money, you just tell me who's payin'." But throughout the years, the more I got into Thompson's writing, what really struck me was that it was so conspicuously sexless.
I flashed back to that years later when, while working at Screw magazine, Al Goldstein told me about meeting Hunter when he managed the O'Farrell. Aside from a vague part of the tale I forget where someone's wearing a gorilla suit, Al said Hunter attracted some of the best pussy he (Goldstein) ever saw, women who would come up to Hunter and quote his books to him and fall all over him, just touch him to try and get as close to his genius as they could.
Unfortunately I don't think The Night Manager will ever see the light of day beyond the brief excerpt included in Kingdom of Fear. When I was working my first job in publishing, a brief stint in the publicity department of New American Library, I took a call from a man named Gary Muck. I remembered him from his days at a literary talent agency that booked speakers for college lectures (my clique of English major friends and I had tried, unsuccessfully, to book Thompson at Pace University).
I mentioned this to Gary and we spoke about Thompson, with whom he was working in a more managerial capacity whose specifics I don't quite remember. I asked what was coming next from Hunter and he told me about The Night Manager, saying he had read a draft and it was "the funniest thing Hunter has ever written," adding he was just "pulling the final thread through it."
That was 1987.
I have plenty of other memories of Hunter S. Thompson I'll recall to myself tonight as I raise a glass (or two. . . heh) of Flying Dog Brewery's Gonzo Imperial Porter to the Good Doctor for having inspired and influenced my literary trajectory—Thompson basically ruined fiction for me and led to my desire to be a journalist—and for having given me so many good times over the years. At one point or another I'll throw the old man a hearty "Fuck You" for taking it all away from me, but then I'll just remember that, like Hemingway and the Hells Angels and Ralph Steadman and Al Goldstein and the Mitchell Brothers and countless others, Hunter S. Thompson did what he wanted, when he wanted, the way he wanted, and gave me the courage to do the same.
And for that I'll say, "Thanks, Hunter. Rest in Peace."
It should surprise no one that Hunter's a huge influence on my writing. I'm not alone in showing love for the author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, the Great Shark Hunt collection, the Fear and Loathing Letters series, the criminally unappreciated Hey Rube, the hilarious Better Than Sex and hopefully, one day, his memoir of having managed the Mitchell Brothers' O'Farrell Theater, The Night Manager.
A lot of fans I know read their first HST book during their wild days in college or maybe while they were rebellious high school kids. Me? I read my first Hunter S. Thompson book—the utterly genius Hell's Angels—when I was in third grade. I was eight years old.
I think that says a lot. . . .
I checked it out of my local library (I had a library card very early) because the title intrigued me. Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. How could you not love that? I know I sure did, and it lived up to its promise with tales of gut-rumbling Harleys and Angels on runs and brothers named Terry the Tramp who did what they wanted, when they wanted, the way they wanted and Thompson getting stomped trying to break up a fight between an Angel and his old lady. . .
My brother was less in love with the idea of me reading the book and promptly ratted me out to my parents, which led to my having to get written parental permission to take out library books from then on.
Even at the age of eight, the sexual imagery in HA struck me. The Harley as a power between an Angel's legs, an Angel named Charger Charlie the Child Molester, the quote from one brother who said, "Hell yes, I'll take a blow-job any day for ten bucks. . . Man, I'd go underwater and fuck fish for that kind of money, you just tell me who's payin'." But throughout the years, the more I got into Thompson's writing, what really struck me was that it was so conspicuously sexless.
I flashed back to that years later when, while working at Screw magazine, Al Goldstein told me about meeting Hunter when he managed the O'Farrell. Aside from a vague part of the tale I forget where someone's wearing a gorilla suit, Al said Hunter attracted some of the best pussy he (Goldstein) ever saw, women who would come up to Hunter and quote his books to him and fall all over him, just touch him to try and get as close to his genius as they could.
Unfortunately I don't think The Night Manager will ever see the light of day beyond the brief excerpt included in Kingdom of Fear. When I was working my first job in publishing, a brief stint in the publicity department of New American Library, I took a call from a man named Gary Muck. I remembered him from his days at a literary talent agency that booked speakers for college lectures (my clique of English major friends and I had tried, unsuccessfully, to book Thompson at Pace University).
I mentioned this to Gary and we spoke about Thompson, with whom he was working in a more managerial capacity whose specifics I don't quite remember. I asked what was coming next from Hunter and he told me about The Night Manager, saying he had read a draft and it was "the funniest thing Hunter has ever written," adding he was just "pulling the final thread through it."
That was 1987.
I have plenty of other memories of Hunter S. Thompson I'll recall to myself tonight as I raise a glass (or two. . . heh) of Flying Dog Brewery's Gonzo Imperial Porter to the Good Doctor for having inspired and influenced my literary trajectory—Thompson basically ruined fiction for me and led to my desire to be a journalist—and for having given me so many good times over the years. At one point or another I'll throw the old man a hearty "Fuck You" for taking it all away from me, but then I'll just remember that, like Hemingway and the Hells Angels and Ralph Steadman and Al Goldstein and the Mitchell Brothers and countless others, Hunter S. Thompson did what he wanted, when he wanted, the way he wanted, and gave me the courage to do the same.
And for that I'll say, "Thanks, Hunter. Rest in Peace."
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
LA Magazine Review: The Deep Throat Sex Scandal Sucks
From LA Magazine online:
MSQ Review: The Deep Throat Sex Scandal
I saw TDTSS during its very limited run in NYC a while back. It closed in less than a week, I believe, not because of the quality of the show (although the reviews weren't very good) but because the theater owed the building's landlord back rent, which the production itself knew nothing about.
I was actually pretty disappointed with the show as well. I wasn't quite expecting The Caine Mutiny or anything, or maybe I was. . . . Having worked in porn publishing my entire career I have a very deep respect for the First Amendment, so it was quite off-putting to see the Memphis Deep Throat Trial (as it relates to Harry Reems) portrayed as a comedy. Obscenity trials are no laughing matter, which it seems The Deep Throat Sex Scandal has proven once again.
MSQ Review: The Deep Throat Sex Scandal
I saw TDTSS during its very limited run in NYC a while back. It closed in less than a week, I believe, not because of the quality of the show (although the reviews weren't very good) but because the theater owed the building's landlord back rent, which the production itself knew nothing about.
I was actually pretty disappointed with the show as well. I wasn't quite expecting The Caine Mutiny or anything, or maybe I was. . . . Having worked in porn publishing my entire career I have a very deep respect for the First Amendment, so it was quite off-putting to see the Memphis Deep Throat Trial (as it relates to Harry Reems) portrayed as a comedy. Obscenity trials are no laughing matter, which it seems The Deep Throat Sex Scandal has proven once again.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Linda Lovelace A to Z
-->
Linda
Lovelace wrote four Autobiographies
in 13 years.
Linda wore a
Blonde wig in her first 8MM stag
film.
Inside Linda Lovelace was the first paperback with a Centerfold.
She first
mentioned domestic abuse in The Intimate Diary of Linda Lovelace in 1974.
Linda’s
first national magazine cover was Esquire,
May 1973.
After Linda posed
in Leg Show magazine, Larry Flynt christened her Asshole of the
Month in Hustler.
Linda and Al
Goldstein share the same birthday.
The
character Linda Loveman, based on Linda Lovelace, was played by Robyn Hilton in the comedy The Last Porno Flick.
The lie
detector test Linda underwent to get Ordeal
published was nicknamed the Inquisition
and lasted over 11 hours.
Linda loved
to do Jigsaw puzzles!
She was
driving a Kia during her fatal
accident.
Singer/actress
Katrina Lenk, star of Lovelace: A Rock Opera, is currently on
Broadway as Arachne in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
Linda was on
a panel with Henry Miller at the
American Bookseller Association convention in 1973.
Ordeal
debuted at number Nine on the New
York Times Best-Sellers List.
When
originally promoting Ordeal,
Linda would not use the last name “Lovelace” in her autograph.
Linda was
arrested for cocaine Possession in
Las Vegas in 1974.
In 1989, Lovelace
directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman directed
Future Dream
Team lawyer Robert Shapiro got the
Vegas cocaine possession charges against Linda dismissed.
Linda’s 1980
interview with New York TV host Stanley Seigel
was unaired because it was too sensational.
Linda was
banned from a Highway Safety Telethon, despite Sammy Davis Jr.’s enthusiasm that she appear.
Some scenes
in Linda Lovelace for President were
filmed at the University of Kansas.
Linda’s
favorite rock group was Vanilla
Fudge!
Linda’s
boyfriend/manager David Winters played
Action in the movie West Side Story.
Linda was contracted to make money off memberships sold for joining the Channel X Film Club, which was renting the first
home-viewing videotape version of Deep Throat
. . . in 1973!
Photographer
Bunny Yeager filmed Linda briefly in a nudie-cutie before she appeared in Deep Throat.
Led Zeppelin played their longest-ever
version of “Dazed and Confused” the night Linda
Lovelace introduced them at the LA Forum in 1975.
Take a look at the reissue of The Complete Linda Lovelace by clicking here!
Take a look at the reissue of The Complete Linda Lovelace by clicking here!
Amanda Seyfried Collider Interview
A so-so interview with Amanda Seyfried from Collider.com (the most interesting part is when the author calls this Q&A "exclusive," since she'll never talk to anyone else about the movie!):
Amanda Seyfried Talks Lovelace. . . .
Amanda Seyfried Talks Lovelace. . . .
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Don't Row a Boat, Don't Get Your Goat, That's All He Wrote
Heh. A little dramatic, but interesting and worthy of congratulations nonetheless.
From Observer.com, by Andy Bellin, screenwriter of Lovelace (Mach2):
Selling Lovelace at Sundance
From Observer.com, by Andy Bellin, screenwriter of Lovelace (Mach2):
Selling Lovelace at Sundance
Monday, January 28, 2013
The Next Big Thing
No, it's not a song by the Dictators (well, it is, but not here), it's basically authors answering questions that someone somewhere came up with about their current writing project then tagging other author friends in the hopes they'll answer the 10 questions themselves and continue this self-promotion-chain-letter-clusterfuck by tagging five other author friends so we all become rich and famous (or at least avoid doing real work for half an hour). Here goes:
1) What is the working title of your book?
I'll call The Complete Linda Lovelace my work in progress as I'm finishing up a revision meant to ride the coattails of the forthcoming flick Lovelace. (TCLL was the original basis for the film.) The whole title is: The Complete Linda Lovelace: A Deeper-Than-Deep Look at America's First Porn Queen. Because it is.
2) Where did the idea for the book come from?
Being a half-German Taurus writer with a Linda Lovelace fetish.
3) What genre does it fall under?
I thought I was inventing a new and exciting genre of journalism when I wrote it, but it's actually what's called a "biobibliography," or a telling of someone's life filtered through a critical examination of media coverage about them (from a journalist's standpoint, it enables you to add context and perspective). There are actually loads of book like this, on figures from pop culture, politics, history, etc. I expanded the concept to include additional references in books, music and film as well, then discussed Linda's anti-porn activism to accurately represent her whole story. That's what helped me bag an interview with her.
4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
The pic's been made, but if I could have had who I wanted at the oh-so-special time when I had a little bit of juice in the project, here's who I would have cast:
Linda Lovelace: Maggie Gyllenhaal (or Jennifer Morrison)
Chuck Traynor: Johnny Depp (before he went all Tim Burton Disney Tonto crazy and shit)
Lou Peraino: George "The Animal" Steele
Gerard Damiano: Andy Dick (seriously, he would have killed it)
Harry Reems: Jason Biggs
Al Goldstein: Drew Carey (before the weight loss and The Price Is Right)
Hugh Hefner: Hugh Laurie
David Winters: Jack Black
Larry Marchiano: Eddie Izzard
Andrea True: Laura Prepon
Sammy Davis Jr.: Mos Def
and just for a laugh,
Eric Danville: James Spader
5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
TCLL examines Linda Lovelace from her beginnings as America's first porn queen to being its most outspoken and high profile critic, then chronicles her return to adult magazines as she comes to terms with her life and legacy.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I never wanted an agency or an agent. The reissue, like the original, will be self-published. Print-on-Demand, PDF eBook (no DRM), downloadable 45-minute audiobook/ live reading of selected parts, and a three-disc box set with PDF eBook (with extra content); CD audiobook/ live reading (with extra content); and DVD with seven of Linda's nine stag films. All done by me, me, me (professionally manufactured though). I control everything. As Robert Plant once said, "Give me all your lovely money."
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Three years.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Within the genre, plenty (Google "biobibliography"); about an adult star, none.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My best friend in college, an old girlfriend from the same time and two friends in the adult business who all knew I had a book in me.
10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It's the only book that examines the Linda Lovelace story from the pornography, feminist and pop culture angles, and is audacious enough to point out that Linda became disenchanted with her feminist benefactors from the ’80s and was in the process of making peace with the "Linda Lovelace" character towards the end of her life (the film does not). It's also the only biography that was authorized and actively promoted by Linda Lovelace.
And here are the five authors I’m tagging:
I don't like posting other people's info in public so I'll DM them and let 'em know they're on the hook.
1) What is the working title of your book?
I'll call The Complete Linda Lovelace my work in progress as I'm finishing up a revision meant to ride the coattails of the forthcoming flick Lovelace. (TCLL was the original basis for the film.) The whole title is: The Complete Linda Lovelace: A Deeper-Than-Deep Look at America's First Porn Queen. Because it is.
2) Where did the idea for the book come from?
Being a half-German Taurus writer with a Linda Lovelace fetish.
3) What genre does it fall under?
I thought I was inventing a new and exciting genre of journalism when I wrote it, but it's actually what's called a "biobibliography," or a telling of someone's life filtered through a critical examination of media coverage about them (from a journalist's standpoint, it enables you to add context and perspective). There are actually loads of book like this, on figures from pop culture, politics, history, etc. I expanded the concept to include additional references in books, music and film as well, then discussed Linda's anti-porn activism to accurately represent her whole story. That's what helped me bag an interview with her.
4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
The pic's been made, but if I could have had who I wanted at the oh-so-special time when I had a little bit of juice in the project, here's who I would have cast:
Linda Lovelace: Maggie Gyllenhaal (or Jennifer Morrison)
Chuck Traynor: Johnny Depp (before he went all Tim Burton Disney Tonto crazy and shit)
Lou Peraino: George "The Animal" Steele
Gerard Damiano: Andy Dick (seriously, he would have killed it)
Harry Reems: Jason Biggs
Al Goldstein: Drew Carey (before the weight loss and The Price Is Right)
Hugh Hefner: Hugh Laurie
David Winters: Jack Black
Larry Marchiano: Eddie Izzard
Andrea True: Laura Prepon
Sammy Davis Jr.: Mos Def
and just for a laugh,
Eric Danville: James Spader
5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
TCLL examines Linda Lovelace from her beginnings as America's first porn queen to being its most outspoken and high profile critic, then chronicles her return to adult magazines as she comes to terms with her life and legacy.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I never wanted an agency or an agent. The reissue, like the original, will be self-published. Print-on-Demand, PDF eBook (no DRM), downloadable 45-minute audiobook/ live reading of selected parts, and a three-disc box set with PDF eBook (with extra content); CD audiobook/ live reading (with extra content); and DVD with seven of Linda's nine stag films. All done by me, me, me (professionally manufactured though). I control everything. As Robert Plant once said, "Give me all your lovely money."
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Three years.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Within the genre, plenty (Google "biobibliography"); about an adult star, none.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My best friend in college, an old girlfriend from the same time and two friends in the adult business who all knew I had a book in me.
10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It's the only book that examines the Linda Lovelace story from the pornography, feminist and pop culture angles, and is audacious enough to point out that Linda became disenchanted with her feminist benefactors from the ’80s and was in the process of making peace with the "Linda Lovelace" character towards the end of her life (the film does not). It's also the only biography that was authorized and actively promoted by Linda Lovelace.
And here are the five authors I’m tagging:
I don't like posting other people's info in public so I'll DM them and let 'em know they're on the hook.
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