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John Seeman (his real name) directed five pornos in the early '80s including Blondes Have More Fun, Virginia and Ten Little Maidens. During the 1970s, he starred in Pizza Girls, Hard Soap, That's Porno, Desires Within Young Girls and over a hundred other films.

Seeman served as production manager and all-around glue on countless other productions. You have seen his erect penis more times than you know says porn historian Jim Holliday. John was the most reliable "stunt cock" (providing the cum shots) in the business. For example, he not only starred in The Health Spa, he provided every spurt of semen. (Only The Best by Jim Holliday)

Born 1/13/43 and raised by secular Jewish parents (participants in the Ethical Culture Society) in New Rochelle, outside New York City, John was the eldest of three boys. Popular in high school, though scholastically mediocre, he served as student body president in his senior year. "I was always trying to please people."

He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before flunking out in his third year. "I didn't even have a C average. I wasn't ready for college. I didn't belong there. I didn't go to class. I didn't get much out of it. I went back for a year after the military and still wasn't ready for it."

Drafted into the armed forces in 1965, he lost his virginity to a New York City prostitute on 14th Street in Manhattan. "I didn't feel much but I considered it an accomplishment. On my second time, I found somebody who smoked a cigarette on her back while I was f---ing her. Her boyfriend waited outside in the car for us to finish."

John served in the army from 1965-67, then eventually made his way to San Francisco.

"I had never seen a porno until I got to San Francisco in 1970. Then I saw a couple and was extremely excited. I couldn't believe what they were doing. I thought, 'I've got to try to get into this. The girls are good looking, and maybe I can find a girlfriend. Anyone in porno must enjoy sex, and be a together person emotionally to put up with the stigma, camera, lights, etc…"

Seeman read in the papers how the Mitchell Brothers were on trial. He found the address for their studio on Tennessee Street and applied for work.

"They had one of these big corrugated warehouses where they filmed. They told me that I looked too straight. Then one day, someone didn't show up. So they allowed me to do a scene with two other guys and a woman in Walnut Creek. I don't remember their names.

"I could barely function. They kept shooting around me. They gave me $50. I thought they would never use me again, though I kept pestering them. They gave me another chance.

"It was better. I got on the back of a motorcycle and they took me to an apartment in San Francisco. The woman was attractive. They said, 'Just go in the bedroom and take your clothes off. Lie on your back. She'll take care of it.' Perfect instructions for someone who was nervous.

"She came in. I closed my eyes. I got an erection. She got on top of me. They came in quietly and started filming. She sat [on John's dick] facing me. She sat opposite of me. Then they asked, 'Are you ready to come?' I said, 'What do you mean?' They said, 'When she gets off, we want you to come on her.'

"As we talked, I lost my erection. They left and she came back in. I got an erection again. They came back in and I lost it. Never could get off until my sixth scene. They paid me $100 that second time.

"I did lots of work for still photographer Paul Johnson. He made high quality, well laid out books. If I lost an erection, I could masturbate quickly and they could shoot me erect…

"I remember my sixth film. Candy Jones moaned a couple of times. I got excited and was able to come. That broke that barrier [a year after John's debut]. Before that, I was jerking off for the cum shot.

"Tyler Horne was an interesting, talented performer. I never crossed paths with George McDonald. The Mitchells shot a feature a week when I began. George eventually lost interest. I saw him in a bar in Sausalito a few years later.

"I didn't know the Mitchells brothers that well. I got along better with Jim. Artie was difficult to talk to. He seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. They were into drugs and another lifestyle.

"I never worked with Marilyn Chambers but I flew to Las Vegas to talk to her [around 1980] about making a movie for me. She seemed sweet. Chuck Traynor was a military man. Straight forward, focused. Likeable. He owned a weapons store.

"I never met Linda Lovelace though I once talked to Mike McGrady who wrote her two books. I thought Ordeal was very well done. I felt sad for her.

"Hardgore [1973] was a fascinating film made by a bunch of Hollywood guys who believed they could make a better porno than anybody else. They brought up firstrate equipment, a topnotch photographer, and good props, to combine horror and sex. But horror and sex don't go together well. And they were light on the hardcore. They didn't understand how much they needed. They had a heckuva time releasing the film. Yet it looked magnificent.

"Desires Within Young Girls [1977], directed by (Richard…) Ramsey Carson and produced by Harold Lime, was one of my first big films. "Emily Smith directed Health Spa. It cast women in a better light. Interesting story.

"Summer and Eddie Brown made The Joy of Letting Go. Good film.

"In the early '70s, we were shooting on 16mm. By 1975, we shot on 35mm.

"Untamed [1978]. Four separate stories tied together. We brought in a woman who looked too good to be true. She had braces on her teeth. She had perfect ID with a picture and everything. Afterwards they found out it was her sister's ID. She was barely 16. So they had to reshoot her scenes.

John believes that the most money he ever made on one production was $2100 from Anne Perry for Sweet Savage [1978]. "I performed in it and also worked as a production manager. We shot in an old western town near Phoenix with a stagecoach and horses. We were so excited. We thought we were breaking into the big time."

Seeman says that $20,000 was the most money he ever earned in one year from porn. To supplement his income, he did a variety of odd jobs, such as distributing papers through vending machines. "I worked in a pawn shop. I sold cable TV subscriptions. I did a cable TV public access show where I interviewed people such as Carol Doda and Dr. Hip.

"I inherited some money when my father died and I didn't spend much money. I never did drugs. I didn't drink. I didn't smoke."

John did two movies for director Anthony Spinelli. "In the first one, I did my first anal scene [giving it to Ginger Hunt]. I became very interested in anal sex after that."

Luke: "It's great, isn't it? I really enjoy going that way. It's devious."

John: "I never did gay porn. Though I did a simulation scene, stills, for a magazine. But I wasn't into men. I was open to that possibility but I wasn't turned on. I kept imagining that I was with a woman. So I gave up on that. Maybe that's my loss."

Robert McCallum aka Gary Graver. "He was quick, experienced, pleasant, knew what he wanted. A professional like Ted Paramore. Ted was willing to pay whatever it took to make a great film."

Seeman keeps up with no one from the industry. His last porno friend was Dick Miller, out of New York. "He made a lot of smaller things, though he did do Constance Money's return to X, A Taste of Money.

"Dick shot a lot in Europe. He brought people here from Europe. He had a great loft in New York where he created many different sets. He organized well and shot quickly."

Bob Wolfe aka Lawrence T. Cole. "He shot slowly. You'd be waiting for hours to do your scene. Eventually he'd come in and send you home. He allowed me to improvise. He had a house in Sonoma.

"I served as production manager on a Seka movie for Caballero directed by Richard Pacheco. Alex deRenzy did the camerawork. Alex has been doing it for so long that he knows exactly how to shoot a sex scene. A good cinematographer.

"I liked Lowell Pickett and Arlene Elster. They owned a theater on Sutter Street. He allowed me to improvise. Everything was informal. The early days.

"I didn't like Vinnie Rossi. There was a Hollywood production manager that I didn't like, who shot a few pornos. Paul aka Bernard Morris. He shot Mary Mary with John Leslie and Constance Money.

"Connie Peterson was a beautiful woman. Joey Silvera loved her.

"Jamie Gillis was great. A creative guy. I loved his deep voice. I remember a scene in Ten Little Maidens. He was trying to hide his dick with a duck…"

Luke: "He's bisexual."

John: "Yes, everyone knew that. He'd do anything.

"Paul Thomas was a legend, a matinee idol type. A good athlete. I enjoyed fooling around with him, shooting baskets. He was much better than I. We shared a house for about six months in Tiburon, Marin County. He was involved with a great girl named Kathy. Then he bought a house."

Luke: "Paul spent a year in jail [1982-83] for smuggling cocaine."

John: "I brought him some porno magazines like Hustler when he was there.

"Richard Pacheco and Vince, a photographer, were my closest friends. Richard was a great guy, married with two daughters and a son. He was interested in acting and many other things."

Luke: "Did you have any contact with the Mafia?"

John: "There was a guy out from Chicago who had no hair, named Mario. I met him on a John Holmes film. We shot at night. Mario's girlfriend was cold so I lent her a sweatshirt. He asked me if I wanted to make a film for him, but I was scared. Was he possibly Mafia? Perhaps I would not do a good enough job?

"From what I heard and read, the mob weren't that interested in features. Deep Throat made a phenomenal amount of money, but no other film made anything like that. So they got discouraged. The mob made most of their money off loops…

"The business was much milder in San Francisco. We really enjoyed what we were doing. The police were not a problem."

Seeman was arrested once, during the filming of Desires Within Young Girls for Ted Paramore. "I suggested that we shoot in this wooded area that overlooked the whole bay. We took the Rolls Royce up there which belonged to a well known attorney. Annette Haven and I were doing a scene. In the woods nearby, a woman was hiking with her son. She saw us, and called the police. One cop came charging out of the woods. There were 20 of us. He took the film. Annette and I were arrested. I was released as soon as I produced my CA Drivers License. Annette didn't have her license so she had to go to jail, where she spent most of her time signing autographs. Ted got us an attorney. We were convicted for nudity in public. We got off with a year or two of probation.

"Once, I thought the police were following me. So I phoned them, and asked if it was illegal to make pornography. They said no. It was a different atmosphere up there [San Francisco]. So long as you behaved yourself and did not flash people, you were all right. Occasionally people were careless and that got them into trouble."

John directed half a dozen films in the early '80s. "I put up some of the money and Joe Steinem at Essex put up half."

Seeman met Harry Mohney several times and his mistress Gail Palmer.

"Some of the girls turned tricks on the side. Pre-AIDS, in San Francisco, during the mid'70s, that was more accepted. I met some prostitutes who did not want to do porno, and some actresses who did not want to do prostitution. Some people drew a line and others crossed back and forth.

"My dad died young. It bothered my mother when I worked in front of the camera. She and her second husband came to see Blondes Have More Fun, which I directed. I didn't tell her that I was a stunt cock in the film. Afterwards they gave me a one word reaction, 'repetitious.'

"Doing the stunt work was easy. It was the type of work I liked. I was fresh, anonymous. I liked getting into a girl quickly and coming quickly. If they dragged it out too long, getting 99 different angles, it was more difficult."

John remembers Annette Haven as "beautiful and bright. She was her own boss and couldn't be pushed around. Would never take a cum shot in the face. She had a certain glamor about her and she deserved her popularity."

Luke: "How come you were so prodigious with your cum shots?"

John smiles: Part of my Jewish heritage. I dunno… I didn't have a special diet. I've always been health conscious. I worked out regularly and was careful with what I ate. I abstained from sex for a couple of days before shoots.

"I've always had a good fantasy life. I've always enjoyed jerking off. If the scene didn't turn me on that much, if we were in a bathtub or someplace uncomfortable, I could go into my mind and find the extra stimulation.

"I used to get off fantasizing about an attractive woman who didn't want to have sex with me because she's not supposed to. But she wants the money. And eventually she gets turned on and wants to have sex with me. And at that point, when she starts to get turned on, that makes me cum. I can just play that tape in my head… Still gets me hot today.

"I remember doing Lisa DeLeeuw anally in a rainy night scene outside of a bus for Jack Mathews' Pro Ball Cheerleaders. They created the rain by hooking a garden hose to a kitchen faucet. They ran out of hot water. So, they're pouring cold water over us in the middle of the night. That's when I needed the tapes in my head.

"Candida Royalle was nice. If she were around today, we'd be friends. I've always felt a kinship with her.

"Jessie St. James was a beautiful blonde. Like the girl next door. Sweet. She liked to sew. She did a great bump-and-grind dance for me in Blondes Have More Fun."

Harold Adler booked much of the porno talent in the San Francisco Bay Area. "A funny guy, talented in many ways including musically. He used to get on your nerves. I told producer William Dancer, 'he has a way of getting to you.' William said, 'oh no, he won't get to me.' But before the shoot was over, Harold got to him.

"Harold was a nice guy who was good at getting new talent."

Desiree Cousteau. "Beautiful, big bosoms. I had trouble getting in a rhythm with her [during sex]. I did a few scenes with her but never could feel comfortable. She didn't like being in the business."

Melba Bruce. "Easygoing, sweet, maybe dyslexic. She put a shotgun in her mouth [committed suicide]… That was a shocker. We didn't think she did drugs."

Shauna Grant starred in John's 1983 35mm film Virginia along with Janey Robbins, Paul Thomas and Jamie Gillis. Shauna plays the daughter of photographer Thomas. They do a long sensuous final sex scene. Writes Bob Rimmer, "…the cinematography is warm and romantic, the dialogue is better than average, and the cutting and editing is good. The film won six of the 1984 Erotic Film Awards, but the ending is for the birds."

After making Ten Little Maidens in 1985, John left the business. "It became more technical and routine over the years. That interfered with enjoying the sex.

"I don't regret my time in the industry. I'm proud of it, particularly when I'm around people who are comfortable with it [porn]. I had many high moments. The movies I produced and directed. I helped put together a lot of films for other people. Found the locations, booked the talent. Made sure everybody was happy. I covered all the bases, had backups for crew and talent.

"I burned out by the time I left. AIDS. There was more [legal] harassment during the Reagen years. I felt like getting away and moving on."

Seeman says the mainstream movie Boogie Nights impressed him but it did not reflect the ways of the business in Northern California. "Too many deaths and drugs in it. There was a lot more cocaine and stuff in Los Angeles, I think…"

Though he worked at times in Los Angeles and New York, Seeman lived in San Francisco through 1985 when he left porn. "I never watched much porn. I know there was some great stuff out of New York, like Damiano's work."

In 1987, John returned to U.N.C, and after one school year graduated with his B.A. in English. "I saw at least one professor I had before… In fact, when I left in 1968, I stored a box of stuff with him… Old sweaters and books. He still had it."

During 1991-92, John taught English As A Second Language in Chile. "My father died at age 59, and so I inherited some more money. I invested it. I've never spent much money.

"I spend my time reading, writing, swimming, running, travel, taking classes… I haven't tried to publish anything yet though I'm now ready to try."

A lifelong bachelor, Seeman says he rarely has sex. "I met a lot of nice women in porno. It was me. I brought my fears, my background to the set… I've known plenty of guys who met girlfriends in the biz. I always thought that sex was the answer. Then it slowly hit me that sex was not getting me anywhere, as far as closeness and intimacy. And I slowly stopped [sleeping around]. And the fear of AIDS. I let it [sex] go for a while. Now I'm thinking that there is another way of looking at sex and intimacy. I seek something meaningful. I seek a woman in her 40s."

John says he only owns one or two of the movies he worked on.

I talked to John 6/22/98 at the Dolores restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd, just west of the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. At age 55, he looked tanned, athletic and alert. Balding and 5'6" tall, he wore gold-rimmed glasses. He hasn't watched a porno in three years. For the first time, he participates in Jewish life, favoring singles events at non-Orthodox synagogues like Stephen S. Wise, a home to other persons in the porn biz like Patty Please and Luke F-rd.

Luke: "What would you like on your tomb stone?"

John: "He never gave up."

Luke: "Would you like to perform sex on camera today?"

John: "If I could be completely anonymous and completely protected from disease, yes.

"Why the anonymity? It is too much of a stigma with too many people. I don't want to shove it in people's face, 'look what I did last week.'

"I miss the camraderie [of porn], relating to the talent, crew, directors, producers. It was like a large family. We did many things together. Several times John Leslie had all of us over for dinner on his deck. It was a nice, close-knit, feeling. I've never found that degree of community since. In many ways, those years were the highlight of my life. Creative, exciting, fulfilling."