Wednesday, August 4th, 1999
New Book on Porno
I found this at www.amazon.com where my book has rocketed to #4125 in the sales rankings: Babylon Blue: An Illustrated History of Adult Cinema From 1960 - 1998 by David Flint. It attracted this positive review in the mens magazine Loaded: "Book of the Month: Here, in intricate and quite literally anal detail, is the history and background to all the major hardcore films of the last four decades. Every key porn star and director gets a lengthy entry, so to speak: John Holmes, Mary Millington, Traci Lords, Jenna Jameson, Ben Dover, the woman from the Oxo ads and Leslie Philips. Flint avoids mere titillation in favour of hard details. A moist 9/10."
From the book description: "Babylon Blue examines the '60s roots of global modern-day erotic cinema - from naturist films to the "nudie-cuties" of Russ Meyer - through to various incarnations of Europorn and hardcore, charting the rise, decline and resurrection of the genre since the early '70s. Finally, author David Flint, expertly chronicles the so-called New Porn Generation - the New Wave of adult movies, as epitomised by the stylist and sophisticated films of Andrew Blake, Michael Ninn and the Dark Brothers.
"Visually loaded with profuse and daring illustrations, Babylon Blue is the last word on sex cinema, featuring profiles of key directors, producers and performers, and detailed critiques of the finest adult movies of all time. The book contains interviews with sexploitation producer David Friedman, screenwriter Antonio Passolini, director Lindsay Honey and porn acress/producer Jane Hamilton, and includes a stunning eight-page full-colour section."
From a customer review on www.amazon.com: "The cover of this book is perhaps the best part. The text itself makes a very interesting reading for all those interested in the subject; and it's the only book I could find that has substantive materials. It covers American as well as foreign adult film industries. But I don't like the writing that much. I can't say exactly why. I wish the writing had been clearer and the presentation a little more compact."
Paul Cambria vs. Luke F-rd
Legal representative for Vivid Video and leading First Amendment attorney Paul Cambria wants to debate Luke F-rd about the smear campaign the Aussie tabloid journalist has launched against Vivid. On June 24, Cambria sent Luke this legal threat. Radio stations interested in hosting this debate should Email Luke.
Mean Gene Ross Blows Kendra Jade's Facts
Luke talked to his ex-girlfriend Tuesday morning to wish her well before her departure to the Moonlight Bunny Ranch (1-888-286-6972) in Nevada where she'll be on her back and knees for a week servicing dozens of her fans.
Luke can testify that Kendra is the best.
Luke to Kendra: "When you're sucking on all that schlong, just think of me darling. When you're on your back taking it up the crack, just imagine it's me sweetie... And then rush home and give me a kiss, honey."
Yesterday, Mean Gene had run this email from Mr. Heaven Leigh: "Hey Gene... Heaven and Candy Hill are the featured porn girls for the next two weeks not Kendra Jade. Here is the hole run down on it. One if not for Heaven, Kendra would know nothing about the Ranch. At the night of the stars Heaven introduced Kendra to Dennis Hof. Kendra then said" Hey I can get all of us on the Stern show". So, Dennis flew Heaven from LAX to NY on Sat and Kendra flew out of SF to NY on Sun. Well, as you reported only Kendra appeared on the show and self promoted herself. Everything Kendra said was coached to her by Heaven and Dennis because she knows nothing about the ranch that is why Heaven was to go on and talk about the ranch. It is Heaven who stress's that couples come and single girls to come to the ranch not Kendra. As for her dark hair that she was talking about wig!!! Heaven liked Kendra and she stabbed her in the back and Kendra wants to know why no one likes her in the business. So, I am here to tell all the readers that Heaven Leigh and Candy Hill will be the featured porn stars at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch Aug. 3rd-15th.(1-888-286-6972) Kendra Jade is just another house girl at the Ranch when she is there."
Kendra: "Gene Ross is always bitching that you don't call and check facts... Then he f---ing prints something and he don't call and check no f---ing facts."
Luke: "But I wrote you because I wanted to check the facts. And because I care about you. AVN just wants to gossip about you."
Kendra: "Call the Bunny Ranch and see who the feature is."
Luke: "So you're the feature?"
Rob Spallone gets on the phone: "Luke, not only is she the feature there and they're throwing the other one out, they flew the whole Howard Stern crew down there and put them up in the hotel, just for Kendra Jade."
Kendra: "Heaven's problem is this... I called the Howard Stern show ahead of time and asked, can I bring Heaven on with me? And they said, no we don't want her. We want you. But Dennis [Hof, Bunny Ranch owner] thought, maybe if we bring her, they'll see her in the green room and bring her in. But they didn't want her. So she got a bit of an attitude about it."
Luke: "Did Dennis Hof go on the show?"
Kendra: "No."
Luke: "How are your relations with Dennis?"
Kendra: "Fine. Can you read me the www.geneross.com article?"
Luke: "I would be happy to."
Kendra giggles: "It looks like Gene Ross is following in your footsteps, not checking facts..."
Luke: "I'm a bad influence."
Kendra: "Give it to me a little bit at a time."
Luke: "Are you sitting comfortably?"
I start reading.
Kendra: "Ron Jeremy is the one who put me on the phone with Dennis to begin with... Heaven did introduce me to him in person at the Night of the Stars, but I had already talked to him on the phone. Dennis asked me to get us on Stern and I said I would try. And they told me flat out that they did not want Heaven. They did not know who she is and they did not care... There was nothing controversial for Heaven to be there while they have been following me for over a year...
"After Dennis was told flat out that they did not want Heaven, he still decided to fly her there and put her in the green room..."
Luke: "Was everything you said on the Stern show coached to you by Heaven and Dennis?"
Kendra: "I've been going on the Stern for a year... This was my tenth appearance this year. I don't think I need any coaching. I can handle myself just fine, like I've always done. It is true that I know nothing about the Ranch. And when Howard asked me questions I didn't know, I said I don't know."
Luke: "Is your hair a wig?"
Kendra: "Luke, you've seen my hair."
A few weeks ago, Luke crawled into bed with a naked Kendra and felt her hair. It was not a wig.
Kendra: "Remember my hair was up in a pony tail when I was getting up out of bed?"
Luke: "And I was pulling on it as I was bringing your mouth over my massive member. Kendra, do you want to know why no one likes you in the business?"
Kendra: "I could give a f--- who likes me in this business. I don't f---ing care. That's where they misunderstand. Do I give a f--- about Heaven Leigh and if Heaven Leigh likes me? No. She's a cunt. She's got a f---ing attitude about the f---ing Stern show when I told her ahead of time. It's all such childish f---ing bulls---. Same as Jasmin St. Claire. People in this business don't know when to shut their f---ing mouth. These people all have to run into me eventually.
"Now, I want you to call the Bunny Ranch and ask them who the featured porn star is, and I want you to mention that Gene seems to be following in your footsteps."
Kendra's boyfriend when she entered porn was Brett Michaels, of the rock group Poison. Brett is partners with Charlie Sheen in a movie production company."
Kendra at 9 AM: "I was supposed to leave about an hour ago but I called them up and said, look, if I go there, there's going to be a fight, no f---ing doubt about it. And so she told me, well, if we can't resolve it, Heaven Leigh will be gone."
Luke: "You're the star baby."
Kendra: "So much for featured porn star Heaven Leigh."
Luke called the Bunny Ranch and asked who the featured porn stars are for this week. The receptionist answered: "Kathy Willets, Ruby, Kendra Jade, Candy Hill and Heaven Leigh."
Luke: "Great, and how long will Heaven Leigh be there?"
Bunny Ranch: "Until the 15th."
Luke talked to Rob Spallone.
Luke: "I bought a gun. A .38 special."
Rob: "Great, let's go to the shooting range next week."
Gene writes on his site www.geneross.com: "It's really amazing. People either can't, or don't read. It seems that a bunch of folk couldn't wait to call Kendra Jade and tell her that Heaven Leigh's husband had made some unflattering remarks about her on this site, that she was merely going to be a "house girl" at the Bunny Ranch. Then Luke F-rd adds fuel to the fire by proclaiming that I "blew the story" about Kendra at the Bunny Ranch. Really? So happens, while Luke was contriving more inane Melvillian satire last week, I posted the Jade interview from Howard Stern where she made it quite clear what she was going to be doing at the Bunny Ranch. Kendra, in a phone call to me this morning, admitted that no one bothered to inform her of the Stern interview posting. So, for the benefit of blindman Luke, and all of the other little snitches who tried their damned best to irritate Kendra, let us run the Stern piece again."
Gene proceeded to run the interview. Then he ran a transcript of a conversation he had today with Kendra.
Jade: "Luke called me up this morning. He said did you know that Gene wrote this [Heaven Leigh's husband wrote an e-mail.] Heaven Leigh's husband cut you up, and Gene printed everything, the whole thing in every detail. I said, 'I can't believe Gene would do that.' I said, 'Gene's the one who says you don't check your facts.' "I said this is all ridiculous and bulls---. About a month ago I wrote him [Ford] a letter. I said, 'Luke, you're out to hurt people. I said that's not my intention in this business.'
"In the beginning I felt that I could relate to him. A lot of people don't like him, and I lot of people in this business don't like me. It's no big secret. I felt we had something in common. But he has come to a point where he's not only self-destructive but trying to destroy everyone around him. I don't want to be a part of that. The fact that I even talk to him has cost me a lot of work. I just won't do it anymore."
Jason Grigsby writes: "Hi Gene, Just have to drop you a note to let you know how much enjoyment I'm getting from your site and your pissant little feud with Luke F-rd...especially today.
"Mike Albo really needs to grow up!
"It's pretty clear that you guys really don't get it. You made Luke. Luke is merely a reflection of your reactions to his ramblings.
"Luke is a thorn in your side. That's exactly what he wants to be, and you're not only letting him get to you, you're helping his cause.
"Take a moment to read the National Enquirer or the Star...look at what they get away with. In your own words you admit that what Luke writes is outrageous, and ridiculous...that's his defense right there. He doesn't care if it's true or not...he's just throwing it out there and seeing what sticks.
"The way you react to his writings is what fuels his continued writings. "And, Mike...c'mon, grow up a little. Threatening to punch Luke in the nose the next time you see him isn't making you look all that good." (www.geneross.com)
Luke has an appointment to go to lunch Tuesday at noon with Hustler Erotic Video Guide editor Michael Louis Albo and Larry Flynt Jr. If I don't update my site by 2:30 PM, that day, please call the cops.
Luke has added this warning to the front page of his site:
You must be over 18 years of age to enter this site. By entering our site, you are stating that viewing adult images is legal in your state/province. You also state that you realize that Luke likes to wreak havoc with people's minds and that he gives no consideration to truth when he needs to update his "news."
Wednesday evening I had drinks with journalist Gerrie Lym.
"I can't believe what is going on with Vivid," said Gerrie. "Why would they send all their contract girls to the Bunny Ranch just to compete with Sin City execs?"
Luke: "Where did you get this?"
Gerrie: "I read it on your site."
Luke: "I just made that up. Slow news day. There's no truth to it. But Vivid is pretty upset and they're threatening to sue. I guess some people really believed what I wrote."
Fred writes: 1. Ms. Leigh offers to provide the "hole run down on it?" Is this a typo or a pun?
Answer: Typo.
2. Regarding Gene, what the hell is a Melvillian satire? Is this a reference to Herman Melville? I admit I never read Moby Dick cover to cover, but I flipped through it, and it didn't look like a satire to me. Please educate a poor, uneducated observer of these correspondences, especially question 2 above.
Modemac: It's a real hoot to remember that Miramax Films was producing (or at least financing) softcore porn back in the late 1970s/early 1980s, before they scored big on their art films and were bought out by DISNEY. :) I remember seeing a few "Emmanuel" and "Happy Hooker" sequels on late-night cable, and my eyebrows were raised when they began with "Miramax Films."
Porn star Katya writes: "I hope you are well and not giving any
special damn about the smear campaign against you. I read today on your
your site something about your Mom, allegedly she was Jewish. What kind
of distorted information is it, I mean if your is Yehudit how come you
are a "ger', a convert. Not that it matters, since you made your choice
you are as Jewish as the Chief Rabbi of Israel, but the inaccurate information
just misleads and helps your fiends."
Two Porn Stars Sue Charlie Sheen
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Charlie Sheen is being sued over allegations that his bodyguard beat up two female visitors at the celebrity's Malibu home, it was disclosed Tuesday. Erin Sieman [Charlisse L'Amour] and Christina Stramaglia [Teri Starr], who described themselves as [porn] actresses, filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging they were assaulted when they tried to visit the 33-year old star of ``Wall Street'' and ``Platoon'' in July. The lawsuit was filed on Friday, according to court papers made available on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Sheen, who has a history of drug abuse and was convicted of attacking his girlfriend Brittany Ashland (porn star Tanya Rivers/Hillary Winters) two years ago, could not be reached for comment on the allegations.
Brandy Alexandre told Luke: "Sheen needs to take a dip in a new dating pool. These porn stars only seem to get him into trouble."
Sieman, who claims she is an ``intimate friend'' of Sheen, alleges that his bodyguard, who goes by the name Zippy, punched her in the face, breaking her nose and cheekbone when he opened the door of the actor's home and saw her there. When Stramaglia [Teri Star] ran to her friend's aid, Zippy lifted her off the ground by her hair, threw her down and kicked her, the court complaint alleged. The women said Sheen was at home at the time of the assault, although the actor is not specifically accused of taking part in violence. But Sieman contended that the following day Zippy called her, at Sheen's instructions, and told her that if she said anything about the attack he would kill her.
The two women are suing both Sheen and the bodyguard for battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. They are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Sheen is currently on probation until June 2000 after pleading no contest in 1997 to a charge of battery in an attack on his former girlfriend. His father, actor Martin Sheen, signed an arrest warrant last year to force his son to undergo court-ordered drug rehabilitation. Charlie Sheen said that his father's action ''saved my life and I love him for that.''
Hampshire Back From Vacation
VCA owner Russ Hampshire has returned from vacation. He's got a big stack of back issues of l-keford.com updates on his desk and he is none too happy with me. I've been a very naughty boy while he's been gone.
Russ don't talk to Luke no more because Lukey ran "The Animal in Hollywood" story about him that I was not supposed to.
Hey Russ, I know you're reading this. I just wanted to say hi. I miss our little talks, especially since I quit therapy a month ago. I'm all better now, don't you think?
I guess I'll have to phone Stevie Hirsch instead for emotional support. Well, strike that. How about Paul Fishbein. No, lost that relationship too. How about David Sturman? No, he won't talk to me either. Maybe Reb Sawitz. No. John Bone? No.
Hampshire plans to make Tina Brown's Monday night party for Talk magazine look like child's play when he throws his huge bash for the new VCA feature "The Sopornos" by James DiGiorgio and Rob Spallone. I haven't received my invite yet, Russ.
Paul Fishbein writes: "Do you guys ever enjoy watching porn in the company of another guy? Sometimes it's nice to watch alone, but it is also nice to watch with another guy, both jerking off. I do it with Gene Ross all the time. Do you agree?"
DSL writes: "I would prefer not to jack off with any guy present, thanks anyhow. Porn is fun to watch with guy friends to make Mystery Science Theatre 3000 comments. Occasionally, when a incredible perormer is on screen [Tiffany Mynx, Francesca Le] or a knockout is featured [Nikki Dial, Kelly Havel] the room goes silent with awe. But no one dares make any move towards their zipper in front of the other guys. Yeech."
Stripping 101
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (AP) - Students at one of the nation's oldest women's colleges can learn to take it off, all off - from a Russian literature lecturer. Susan Scotto, who stripped in clubs while getting her doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley, said exotic dancing is an art form that pleases the dancer and the viewer. Her noncredit how-to class in striptease at Mount Holyoke College was so popular last year that she plans to offer it again this September.
Romance Hits US
A rare mainstream film to show explicit sex, the French film Romance starring Rocco Siffredi opens in New York September 17.
Trimark pictures says: With cool precision and stunning intimacy, Catherine Breillat's ROMANCE paints a provocative portrait of a young French woman, Marie, and her journey to gain control of her life.
Claiming he loves her, but that he has lost his desire for her, Marie's boyfriend, Paul, refuses to engage in sexual relations, catapulting Marie into a desperate search for intimacy and erotic connection. Humiliated by Paul's cruel power play, Marie embarks on an escalating sexual journey that tests her own physical and emotional limits, and which, through an ironic twist-of-fate, eventually leads her to fulfillment.
The 1999 Rotterdam Film Festival honored Breillat with a retrospective of her six previous films in conjunction with the world premiere of ROMANCE, a highly controversial work due to its explicit sexuality. The film has cinematic echoes of Oshima's IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES and Bertolucci's LAST TANGO IN PARIS (in which Breillat acted) with literary references to the Marquis de Sade, Pauline Reage (THE STORY OF O) and George Bataille.
Director-screenwriter-actress-novelist Catherine Breillat's 36 FILLETTE was the only French film selected for the 1989 New York Film Festival. Her other features include UNE VRAIE JEUNE FILLE, TAPAGE NOCTURNE (NIGHT NOISES), SALE COMME UN ANGE (DIRTY LIKE AN ANGEL) and PARFAIT AMOUR! (PERFECT LOVE!). As a screenwriter, she collaborated with several directors, including Liliana Cavani (LA PELLE), Maurice Pialat (POLICE) and Federico Fellini (AND THE SHIP SAILS ON).
ROMANCE
Release Date: September 17, 1999 - New York
October 1,1999 - Los Angeles
October 1999 - Expansion
Genre: Erotic Drama
Distributor: Trimark Pictures
Writer/Director: Catherine Breillat
Producer: Jean-François Lepetit
Cast: Caroline Ducey, Sagamore Stévenin, François Berléand, Rocco Siffredi
Michael Kathe writes from Europe: "Since you've posted something about Romance (yesterday): I didn't see the penetration in it, it was just Rocco with a hard-on and a condom, mainly masturbating. And there are several blink and you'll miss it BJs Catherine Troussaud performs on another man (no hard ons, because the main male character refuses to sleep with the female protagonist), and some bondage. But there are about 5 to 10 seconds of penetration (a group sex scene) in another (much better) movie by the (at least in Europe) very famous Danish director Lars von Trier, "Idiotne" ("The Idiots"). (Look him up on www.imdb.com - you might even know some of his other movies such as "Breaking the waves" or "Europe").
Letters From Fans
Alan Miles writes www.geneross.com: "Oh darn, Gene. Ever since I said Luke F-rd was a fool and supported your position and that of Paul's and AVN's.....Luke took my site's link off of his. Of course, I still have a link to his site because I want as many people as possible to see what a phony he really is. Hell, our offices are just a few miles from Area 51 -- are we responsible for him even being here? Tell me it aint so! I'm gonna go grab my Luke, take a Ford and grab another cold beer and laugh about this imposter! Alan Miles, Sin City News, www.sin-city.net."
Luke: Your link has not been changed. Check Swingers on the Links.
On July 14, Alan Miles wrote Luke: We understand you are not really into porn.....you have discovered a "niche" that allows you to live on your writing and we applaud you for that. We, however, are involved in the alternative lifestyle of swinging and we love every minute of it. While the adult video industry is involved at any given time with a few hundred people --- our lifestyle is gaining strength and has surpassed over 10 million people in the world who are actively promoting non-mognonomous sex with others. Is this a new trend? No. Wife swapping has been going on for many, many years --- and now mainstream Americans are participating. You probably hate us too -- but that's OK. We are called "swingers." That's OK too. But we are much more than that. We are very happy couples that want more out of life than monogomous sex. It requires a strong relationship to deal with, and participate in our lifestyle, but we have done that -- as have millions of other couples. We have, as our most trusted source of information on the lifestyle, www.sin-city.net. I suggest that you visit it and see what we're all about. It may surprise you that so many couples are involved in a lifestyle that indeed is very sexually oriented, but has little to do with the people you continually bash on your site. We not only love ourselves -- we love others and have made many life-long friendships from the swinging lifestyle. Have a great Hump-Day today and let us know if you want more information on the lifestyle.
Mr. Fnord writes: Being a long term reader (supporter?) of you and you site, I love watching the infighting and "blame" they are now putting on you. In a business that promotes fantasy, you are the slight jolt of reality that they can not deal with. I remember the good "old" days when porn was funny, and fun to watch. The stylish films of today are good, but more of an art film. The "other" mainstream films of the day are harsh, degrading and really REALLY pushing the line. I subscribe the the big 3 mags (Playboy, Hustler, Penthouse) and have watched the latter go both "arty" and XXX. I soon will be sending you my $30.00 for an autographed copy of your book. It will be good reading while sitting in the summer sun and drinking a beer (or Gin and Tonic of you prefer). I may not want to see the reality of the porn business, but with you normal flair, it should be fun. Keep up the good work. Don't get smacked around again or at least keep close to friends and people you can trust. I still like the old down and dirty web site you had. This is almost too slick for you and your writings. If you can add something it's more of behind the scenes pix of you (nude?) and the girls, guys and those who make what we hold so dear...
Snuff Film Proves Sid Vicious Innocent of Murder
By Krash
Punk rocker Sid Vicious’s girlfriend Nancy Spungeon was killed in a snuff video, claims actor Rockets Redglare, whose numerous movie credits include Oliver Stone’s Talk Radio, Martin Scorses’s After Hours, Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise and Down by Law--plus a porno with Sharon Mitchell.
Gotham cultural chronicler Gene Gregorits a/k/a Gene Suicide interviewed Rockets Redglare in the actor’s East Village pied-a-terre this week--an experience notable for what he described as a “brilliantly excessive cringe factor.”
Here’s why: “I know that Sid did not kill Nancy,” stated Redglare, a habitue of yesteryear’s Chelsea Hotel punk-and-junk scene. “I was there the night she died.”
“She was killed by a drug dealer who worked at Max's Kansas City.
“Nancy's murder was videotaped --while Sid sits there on the couch, completely out of it.. practically in a coma. This was the tableau I had left them in.
“The big problem for Sid was--it took him so long to report the crime. When he did report it, he had the blood all over him and everything.
“The reason Sid didn't report the murder in the morning right away was that Nancy was dead, and he knew that he was gonna at least be detained [by police] , and he was on the methadone program. He wanted to get his methadone.”
These and other remembrances of Gotham’s downtown demimonde--including heretofore unknown factoids about the late punker Johnny Thunders--will appear in Gene Suicide’s book “Dead On Camera.”
Nice Jewish Girl says: "I have always felt in my heart that Sid did not kill jewish girl Nancy Spungen. I just couldn't imagine it. Everybody in punk rock had that relationship, including Kurt and Courtney. And I just know he didn't kill her. F. Lee Bailey was going to defend him in court, and use the "poor working class boy" defense for him. Sid loved Nancy and would have died for her and was most likely a virgin when he met her. Nancy Spungen is certain type of jewish girl, like Courtney Love, the abandoned messed up working class jewish girl. Had Nancy lived her and Sid would most certainly not be together today. But they were definitely the punk version of Romeo and Juliet and it was completely romantic at the time, to die for the person you love, because you have no hope, no dreams. To die for punk rock . They were the first international martyrs for punk. They killed themselves for love and it is a great and real love story. The movie "Sid & Nancy" is worth seeing, it is great, and everything really happened that way. They were role models for disaffected youth everywhere. Every boy punk wanted to be Sid and every girl wanted to be Nancy for years, till Kurt and Courtney, of course. Sid and Nancy, frozen in time as luckless romantic heroes to this day."
Blast From the Past - Photographer Ed Leja
On 6/15/98, Luke F-rd interviewed porn talent Reb Sawitz.
Luke: Who was Ed Leja?
Reb: A nudist and a nudist photographer. [Ed made lush books of nude photography. He was eventually arrested for taking pictures of naked children.]
Reb pauses. He does not like talking about this subject.
"Ed told everybody one thing, and was arrested [for taking photos of nude children]…running around in their own homes, in their own backyards. On the weekends, he often shot at the nudist camp. [Veteran porn photographer Ron Vogel and his family are also veteran nudists.] I don't know what the final outcome of Leja's case. It seemed like everyone involved in it was sooner or later cut loose [released from the charges]. Ed and his much younger wife (30 years) later divorced.
Luke: You got talent for Ed?
Reb: I got families, mothers and kids. These were not sexual involvement. This was nudism. Ed Leja was a nudist. But because it involved people who were not 18… You've [Luke] been here several times. You see how I always ask people for ID.
Luke: Leja used to shoot kids nude.
Reb: He shots hundreds of them. He put out a book called Moppets. I don't even like talking about it.
Luke: You helped set him up with families, families of some of the models… Their children.
Reb: It wasn't sex. It was legal. It was nudism. If they go to San Bernadino to a nudist colony on the weekend, what is wrong with shooting them at their own home? Nothing.
Luke: I hear that he also shot your daughter, naked, when she was a kid?
Reb: Just naked. Running around the house playing with her toys.
Luke: That doesn't bother you?
Reb: The only people this would bother are people with sick minds, because this did not involve sex. Anybody who knew me, knew that the kids liked to run around nude… They were nudists. Nothing against the law. It was what [LAPD officer] Lloyd Martin perceived in his own sick mind. He had a job to do. He had so many hours in which he had to do something. If he didn't bust me, they had to bust someone else. I don't know if they [Lloyd Martin] got a conviction on anything.
On RAME, Hart Williams responds: I find that Mr. Ford has managed to shove his agenda right up his own ass. If he doesn't know anything about the (rather extensive) nudist movement on the West Coast (say, '50s through '70s) that's HIS failure as a clueless, dirty-minded imbecile. For Ford to try and "set up" Reb with this crap seems to me beyond the bounds of "journalism" and more akin to Pat Robertson's "CBN News," which is nothing more than a phony front for propaganda.
For Luke's edification, the nudist movement was a fairly well known phenomenon, known for its highfalutin' rhetoric and ideals, and for its very careful taboos regarding sexuality -- which they correctly perceived would open them up to witch hunts, et al, from those sad puritans who can't seem to disentangle "nudity" from "sexuality." If he were truly interested in "truth" and not pushing his increasingly ugly "Godfather meets Bambi" agenda, he'd interview the folks at Elysium in Topanga Canyon, and find out what the nudist movement was all about.
I am reminded of the vicious slander that pursued Lewis Carroll from the 'Sixties on, when it was decided that since Carroll liked to take idyllic photos of naked children, he MUST be a pedophile. Therefore, the dirty minded "scholars" dutifully speculated, Carroll was a pedophile, and the "Alice" books were thinly-veiled "child-love" books. Recently it was reported that the reason for certain missing pages in Carroll's journals and obscure references to "sin" were NOT because of any perversion on Carroll's part, but because Carroll had been having an affair with Alice's MOTHER (the Bishop's, and therefore his boss' wife -- Carroll was a Reverend). Big whoop to us: major moral crisis for the Good Victorian professor.
The only "perversion" involved existed in the dirty minds of the "hip" scholars, not in the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson's(Carroll was a nom de plume) mind. While I have generally supported Mr. Ford's efforts in the past, I have a real problem with his trying to "get" Reb and Gerri, who are personal friends, and whom I have *never* known to be other than honorable. Sad that a little notoriety has managed to do what a heaping helping of scorn could not: Turn Ford into a tabloid-style vendor of sleaze and innuendo.
Tuesday afternoon, August 3rd, 1999, Luke talked by phone to Ed Leja, who now lives in Las Vegas. He did not want to talk about his many court cases. His nemesis, retired LAPD officer Lloyd Martin, is now, I hear, a long-haired hippie who operates a video store in Southern California.
Leja, who speaks with an East European accent, says he is three-quarters retired, but does some computer design for porn boxcovers. Leja does product photography but does not bother with models anymore (since about 1985). "The world has changed so much," says Ed. "The market has changed. And the girls here are not like the girls in California. We don't have an agency here to market them... I don't think they let you shoot hardcore in Las Vegas."
Leja says he was never interested in porno, preferring to shoot "pretty girl" style and nudism. "But all the magazines that I liked to shoot for are nonexistent... When I was photographing girls, they were nice, clean-cut, wholesome girls... Then they started living with bums and the guys are peddling the girls' asses... I'm not going to take a girl too stupid to look after herself and try to make her look pretty and beautiful..."
Luke: "I heard you were in some controversial court cases?"
Leja: "I don't want to discuss stuff that happened a generation ago. What's the point? The writers that I ran across at that time were fed s--- by the cops, and then they embellished it... Three-quarters of what was published at that time was bulls---... Most writers were exploiters... So I've taken my attorneys advice, don't talk to the press. Everything gets distorted.
"Most people in the reporting profession are so goddam lazy... They don't bother researching in the proper way... They just copy each other and rewrite each other's stories."
Luke cracks up: "That's true."
Leja: "It's gotten to the point where I don't believe a thing I read in the paper anymore.
"Take that present administration in Washington. They are always saving everybody. Lying and cheating is now acceptable in college. When I was in college, they'd throw your ass out.
"The point is, the press sucks."
Luke: "Do you remember a guy in the LAPD called Lloyd Martin?"
Leja: "I will never forget that sonofabitch. He got kicked out of the LAPD. He was sick in the head... It cost me a fortune. Wrecked my life. I hope he fries in hell on both sides. The whole thing was moralistic on his part, he was right.
"Some cops in Texas found a ring that had sex with boys. Movie star Loretta Young's son was caught up in... The upshot was, why pick on boys? You've got to get girls too. And the only thing available at that time [early 1970s] were my nudist magazines. So they turned my nudist magazines into child porn. And there was no sex going on... And the laws at that time said that nudity was not obscene. Two Supreme Court decisions. And these guys perverted everything their way and created hysteria.
"And the people who are doing child porn are still doing it. All they did was throw the nudist magazines off the market."
Luke: "I didn't know there was child porn."
Leja: "I didn't either until later on... A couple of guys called me after my case... This is all bulls---. We've been doing child porn for years in New York... And all underground. A whole big industry. And nobody bothered them. But they picked on nudist publishers because we were the only ones above ground.
"Now even Calvin Klein is child porn. You see how far they're stretching it... I used to photograph for my friends who ran ballet school. Photographing all their kids in tights and tutus and whatnot... I guess that now would be considered child porn.
"I talked to some federal people... I told them that they created an industry to fill the void when we quit fighting communism... We had all these nuts who have no jobs, so somehow we had to create a new industry. A new bureaucracy to fight nonexistent crime.
"Every time Clinton utters these words I want to throw up. 'We have to do it for the children.' All the new laws and spending programs he's proposing... But what about his daughter? Did he look out for her feelings with his escapades? He's protecting everyone else's children but his own kid, he doesn't give a s--- about.
"I sat in a court room for so many weeks looking at that guy [Lloyd Martin] and watching him. He was always in counsel with the District Attorney. I figured this guy is nuttier than a fruitcake. I paid Reb's legal fees in my case, it didn't cost Reb a dime.
"In Los Angeles, everybody in the adult business gets hit. Everyone gets a turn. The police are like predators. LA doesn't need a vice squad because they create more havoc than good. They're always busting people... Most of the time they don't get convictions but they don't give a s---.
"I published nudist magazines for years and every publisher I worked for got busted... But none of them were convicted. They bust you not so much to bust you but so that you will tell on your friends so that they can make more busts.
"Milt [Luros] was a real type of gentleman for that type of business. I really respected him. He treated me right. I worked for him for several years. He was above board. He let me have complete autonomy to let me do it my way. But his successors, I could not get along with...
"The world's changed. It used to be, when I worked for publishers, you sold them your photos, and if they used them, they gave you a 50% residual. Now, you sell them photos, they take the photos, use them and sell them to other publishers as if it is their property. That's the reason I quit shooting. The law says that they only buy reproduction rights unless it is so specified. The only publisher I sold outright to was Playboy because that was in the contract.
"When the old farts were still around, most of them honorable. Most of them were Jewish guys. We never worked by contract, we worked by handshake. And they would not screw you. But when their sons and son-in-laws came into the business, then came the f----you-over attitude."
NiceJewishGirl writes about photographer Jock Sturges: "Luke, I have seen the photos from Jock Sturges, it was a while back at an art gallery. I did not know till I read your site that he had been involved with a 14 yr. old girl when I saw the photos. Nor did I know that the film "Art For Teachers Of Children" was based on a relationship he had with a 14 yr. old girl. This is what I remember I thought when I saw the photos, because there had been such a big hoopla about them. Jock had stated that these were Northern California families most of whom "didn't even own a bathing suit". I remember being disturbed by them, thinking they were beautiful, and not necessarily lascivious. Young girls playing on the beach and feeling very free, yet there was a quality there that was disturbing to me. I remember after seeing the pictures that I felt slightly shocked, I guess because Sturges was worshipping the innocent sexuality of young girls and he was an old guy. The photos are all in black and white. Also Jock had the mothers naked in some of these photos and the juxtaposition of such, you can see what Jock considers more alluring, it isn't the mom's bodies."
Bianca Trump Buys www.brandyalexandre.com
From pornstartrading:
MissTrump> good morning
Brandy replies: "If she wants to give me so much control over her life and let me dwell rent-free in her brain, that's her own psychosis."
A&E Biography
Jimmymac writes on RAME: I am quite sure that most of you have seen this show, so I was wondering what porno star would you like to see profiled? Me I would love to see a bio on Elle Rio
Peter Graves: Elle was born in a slum in downtown Brazil, where her father and mother encouraged her to be a entertainer.
PG: Later in 1972 Elle winds up in Los Angeles without a pot to piss in, but she sees an ad in the paper and says this is for me
Jim South: No comment!!!
Her sister: Elle was always popular with the boys. She really had that special something. Many nights she just never came home...
PG: Today we don't know what happened to Elle, but we do know she gave a lot happiness to a lot of people, especially me, but that's another story. On tomorrow's Biography.......
Well maybe some day HUH!
Poker narrates forthcoming A&E bio of Rocco Siffredi: "Rocco was 9 when he realized the death of his grandfather in intercourse, and his own nine year old 11 inch penis, meant destiny for a career spitting in peroxide blonde anuses and occasionally dipping their faces in toilets as one would dip a piece of bread in a fondue pot, bubbling with cheese and kirsch."
Hal writes on RAME: My choices for interesting biographies:
Loni Sanders (a key performer during the true Golden Age of 1980-1983; then was in on Vivid at the very beginning and married to Steve Hirsch for over a decade)
Dave Cummings (c'mon guys, admit it....every man's hero, much more so than Ron Jeremy! A very interesting life story, too.)
Zebedy Colt (I'm not into gayporn, mind you, but Zebedy's directorial straight efforts in the 1970's are sure to have interesting background stories, to say the least)
Annette Haven (very few star in XXX for as long as she did; she was in on several interesting classics of the 1970's such as "Femmes de Sade" and "Barbara Broadcast"; into the video boom of the mid-1980's; plus despite her icy manner, she was every bit as articulate as Nina Hartley when interviewed)
Center For Inquiry Seeks Asia Carrera
Tuesday evening Luke got this email from Matt Cherry, Executive Director for Center of Inquiry West:
Dear Luke,
We met at the Thirtieth Anniversary of Prometheus Books, at the Center for Inquiry-West on May 1. You expressed an interest in speaking at the Center.
We are now scheduling events for October, November, December. We would love to have you speak at the Center on The History of X, or a related theme. A good date for us would be the morning of Sunday, December 19, at 10.30am. We would of course get copies of your book for sale. If the date is inconvenient, please suggest another time.
We would also love to get Asia Carrera to speak at the Center (although not I think at the same time as you). A significant proportion of our supporters are unbelievers, and according to your reports, Asia is an intelligent atheist. Do you have an address, fax, phone of email that would reach her directly rather than going through an agent? Any help you can give on this would be much appreciated.
Cookie Writes Luke
I stand corrected men and women are vunerable.Women are more so vunerable for various different reasons. They say that women have an extra portion to their brain than a man does, maybe that makes up the difference in nature. I would have to say you like Howard Stern have the natural ability to throw off what you would consider baggage. I guess that is fine but because nice jewish girl is a girl I have known since she was in her early teens, I don't want to see her hurt.
Because my son is in the movie industry I find out a lot about famous people. When I said you like Howard Stern can throw off baggage, it is because of the work you picked. You have to be a certtain type of person to do what you do. I don't mean that in a bad way. There is nothing wrong with porn. It is the people in the USA that make a big deal out of it. Hey some of you people out there who go to Lukes' site get the word out and lets get this guy on TV. You need a trip to Europe Luke, it may be worthwhile for you.
In this country as you well know we look at Porn as dirty, in Europe it is a way of life. I saw things in Holland that would never go here. Sweden also. The kind of person who does what you do in my opinion is not easily insulted, has a hard shell, is extraverted, is intelligent enough to know that sex is lucrative. You just have not had the opportunity to cash in on it. I don't know your age but I assume you are 40 or younger. I sense you didn't have the easiest of lives, I may be wrong. I am probably biased because I am Jewish. But I have to think that anyone who chooses the Jewish faith is a person who can take what he dishes out. It is not always easy to be a jew. I realize that you are jewish because your mother was [my mom was not Jewish, neither was my father, I converted to Judaism], makes you jewish. Anyway keep plugging, something good is bound to happen. Luke fans promote this man.
Luke's been posting about Metro's Mafia links on the Yahoo message board for the publicly traded company (MGMA). I received this response from Staggr: How do you expect to be taken seriously, when you are the most blatant example of a hypocrite that I have ever seen? How do you rationalize all of this in your head? Unless someone discovers that Mother Theresa profited from people starving to death, you win the Hypocrite of the Century Award, Luke. Sorry to take such a public shot at you, but it's obviously well deserved. Good luck to you, man. Your message is purely lip service, and that is very sad.
Butthead writes: I was in the adult room at the video store and 2 black kids walk in around 12 years old. They look at some of the boxes and comment on what they see. Then they go over to the gay section and I hear "look at that, ugh". "Look at that, ugh". "Look at that, ugh". "Look at that, ugh". Then they go back to the heterosexual section and look some more and one of them says "What if we find one and it's yo mamma on the box?."