Video: Gene Ross Interview Gene Ross II Gene Ross III
Gene “I have a phenomenal memory. Don’t f— with me. I remember stuff that happened 21 years ago.””My weak point [as a businessman], I am really loathed to chase money. I’d rather stick needles in my eyeballs than bring up monetary subjects with people.”
“Weak points [as a writer], I don’t have the time to sit down anymore and tailor a piece. We’re writing volume now…like s— through a goose. I can pump out incredible amounts of volume.”
“What were some of my dumbest hires [at AVN]? It’d have to be the last three or four.”
I assume Gene means Rebecca Gray, Bryn Pryor, etc…
“I ultimately looked at it as ‘I’ve created a nest of vipers and I have to get out of here.'”
“Bryn and I butted heads.”
Luke: “Do you think there’s much difference between being a porn star and being a prostitute?”
Gene: “It’s basically the same thing.”
“[Porn] provides a good living for girls who would have a hard time in the real world.”
Luke: “Did you ever find yourself wanting to be a Captain Save-A-Ho?”
Gene: “I did all that before I got into the industry and got burnt accordingly. You just can’t be a nice guy and you just can’t hand a woman a dollar bill. It comes back to haunt you.”
“As you get older, you have less desire for it. I had a good run with hookers. Some of the best women I’ve met in my life. It only got worse. That’s why I stopped getting escort girls. The quality went down.”
“All the girls I used to see, they all disappeared. No [contact]. I met some wonderful women who have all disengaged.”
“When I came back from my father’s funeral [in 1994], I got a father’s funeral freebie.”
“Both my parents were good friends.”
“My father knew [Gene’s occupation] and my mother didn’t. I know he wanted to ask questions but he never got around to it. I always suspected my mother knew but she never brought the subject up. One time out of the blue she says, ‘Do you know a Bill Margold?’ Apparently she saw him interviewed on TV.”
Luke: “What are the biggest misconceptions people have about you?”
Gene: “That I’m a rotten son of a bitch… I have a remarkably tender side.”
“I love the library environment. If you walked into my place, that’s what you would see. It’s a combination smoking room and library. That’s my life — reading and collecting movies. I have over 4,000 movies in the collection. Books, way more than that.”
Gene’s lived in the same apartment for the past 17 years.
Luke: “If you died, how long till somebody discovered your body?”
Gene: “About two weeks. They’ll find my dessicated body after the aroma hit Ventura Blvd.”
Luke: “I’m always struck by a defecation theme in your work.”
Gene laughs.
Luke: “You’re always talking about people taking a crap.”
Gene: “That’s an East Coast thing… There’s no sinister thing to be read between those lines.”
“I read a book a week if I’m slow and maybe two a week if I make an effort.”
“Back in Philly, I lost most of my friendships when I got in the Adult business. They turned their nose up at it.”
“It didn’t really matter once I moved out of the old neighborhood.”
Luke: “Did you notice a change in the way people treated you after you left AVN?”
Gene: “Most people would come up to me and say, ‘I agree with everything you did but I can’t say it on the record because I’m afraid of Paul.'”
Luke: “How are your relationships with Vivid?”
Gene: “I don’t deal with them. I don’t deal with any companies. If the story is there, I write it.”
