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"Most of the male porno stars I see on the screen are not the kind I can relate to," writes Archie Rothman for AFW. "They're too perfect in form, figure, face and sexual prowess. But there is an exception and his name is Herschel Savage. What a nice homey Jewish name for a sex star. But it fits him perfectly. Darkly Sephardic. Not too handsome. With the curly black hair and large nose so indicative of the race. "It was the way he "behaved" on screen. I don't mean "acted" - because no matter what part he played, the person behind the part always came through. And that person was a streetwise yet sensitive kid with the upbringing of a strict Jewish family dictating his every mannerism and behavior." From Russian Jewish ancestry, Herschel believes he lasted because - "I'm relaxed. I get along with everybody. I am professional. I am sensitive towards women. I have few enemies. "You have to generate your own self-respect in this business. If you don't have the right attitude you're going to be disappointed when they say, "OK, it's time for you to get your dick hard.' All of a sudden you go from being a person to being a thing. And all your aspirations of being an actor and giving a good performance, go out the window. "I'm in touch with my emotions and I express them by affecting the person I'm performing with. If I'm supposed to be angry, I want to make them feel bad." (AFW) Hesrchel entered the industry in March of 1976. "I was a real actor in New York, tired of always chasing work. It was tough making rounds, finding agents, consistently working… My girlfriend was a friend of R. Bolla. She told me the name of this agent who booked straight and porn work. Dorothy Palmer. She's in her '80s now. She was a trip. She'd ask you to your clothes off, because she got turned on by looking at guys' dicks. I did my first loop for Sal Sodano's partner Ted Snyder [gunned down around 1990] and Bobby Genova. The industry was nothing like it is now. I was lucky to make $6-7,000 a year. I did live sex shows at Show World, which was managed by Joey Silvera. Sharon Mitchell, George Payne…later Jane Hamilton worked there." Savage remembers bringing a girl with him to an interview with a porn director. "This guy looked at the girl and said, 'Take your top off.' She did. He then puts up his hands and says, 'Your tits are too small. I can't use you.' "I got so angry. I said, 'That's not the way you talk to a person. If you don't like the way she looks, just say you can't use her right now.' "We're in his basement and he's standing behind the bar. All of a sudden he puts his hand behind the bar as if he's going to get a gun. I keep talking, telling him how to behave with people. I know I lost the job, but I couldn't let him get away with that. The girl was crushed. "If the producer had said my cock was too small, I could've joked about that. I know my worth. The guy couldn't hurt me. But that girl couldn't defend herself." Savage left porn in 1988 but returned nine years later. Tall, dark and handsome with a muscular body and strong acting ability, he once again ranks at the top of his profession. " I was looking for an outlet," he told me 6/11/98. "My marriage fell apart [from '83 - '95]. David Christopher encouraged me [to return to porn]. For the most part, it's been good. I've done over 100 videos over the past year. I work about 15 days a month." Savage brings his own makeup kit with him on porn shoots. In the Spring of 2001, he married a former Private contract girl from Eastern Europe (Wanda Curtis). Herschel tells people he's 38.
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