The Golden Age of Porn: Hail to the Queens of Smut Cinema

Before Enhancements, There Were Natural Beauties.

Linda Lovelace: Neither the most beautiful nor the most talented of the Golden Age actresses, Linda was nonetheless the first “real” porn star. Before she left the industry in 1976 due to a Born-Again religious conversion, the groundbreaking 1972 movie Deep Throat made her a household name. Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, and Robert Ebert discussed both Linda and Deep Throat on television, which helped make it the first example of “porno chic” despite its uneven reviews. Appearing on a double bill with The Devil in Miss Jones further increased its viewership during its second year of release, when it barely missed being in Variety’s Top 10.

The film spent time in the courts and the hands of police several times, being deemed obscene or not depending on the court. Adding to the film’s controversy was the evangelized anti-porn spokeswoman Linda’s claims in her third and fourth autobiographies of being forced into the starring role by her then-husband, Chuck Traynor. Her first two autobiographies were supportive of the adult industry, but during the 1980s she testified before the Meese Commission and toured as a speaker against porn.

Prior to Deep Throat, Linda had appeared in 8 mm silent loops, an X-rated film that featured her with non-humans, and a golden showers release. After leaving porn, attempts to establish an acting career were largely unsuccessful. In 1970, Linda had been seriously injured in an auto accident that saw her exposed to poorly screened blood. She developed hepatitis and, in 1987, required a liver transplant. She died in 2002 of injuries sustained during another massive car wreck that left her on life-support.

Georgina Spelvin: Know within the adult industry as the Grande Dame of Porn, Georgina started her career as a professional dancer and chorus girl in several big-name Broadway shows. Acting gigs were not always easy to come by, so she took whatever theater gigs she could land, including lighting tech, choreographer, and director. Born in 1936, she starred in underground director Radley Metzger’s softcore lesbian film The Twilight Girls in 1957, followed by an assortment of sexploitation features. After friend Marc Stevens introduced her to director Gerard Damiano, she soared to fame in the 1973 film Devil in Miss Jones.

When she entered porn, she took on the name Georgina as a hat tip to the tradition of stage actors to call themselves George Spelvin when they play two roles. She took her identity as an actress seriously even when her roles required nudity or intercourse, yet in 1974 she appeared in the Grindhouse film I Spit on Your Corpse. This was the same year she was arrested in Tennessee for carrying obscene materials across state lines. During her time as a performer, she appeared in 70 films including Desires Within Young Girls (1977), Honky Tonk Nights (1978), The Ecstasy Girls (1979), Ring of Desire (1981), and her final film, Center Spread Girls (1982).

After becoming clean and sober in 1981, she focused her energies on mainstream cameos in Police Academy (1984), Police Academy 3 (1986), as well as guest star appearances on TV shows Dream On and The Lost World. During the early 21^st century, she appeared in a non-sex role in Vivid Video’s The New Devil in Miss Jones, as well as being a guest on a variety of interview shows. Married in 2000 to actor John Welsh, Georgina quit her job at the Los Angeles Times in 2004 and released her autobiography, The Devil Made Me Do It in 2008.

Marilyn Chambers: Famously known as the Ivory Soap box cover girl because of an early mainstream modeling job, Marilyn’s plans did not initially include becoming one of the most famous porn stars of all time. Having appeared in a few mainstream films, she was shocked when she learned she had auditioned for a pornographic film named Behind the Green Door. Disinterested in entering adult, Artie and Jim Mitchell’s flattery convinced her to give it a shot. With its release in 1972, the young woman whose looks were compared to Cybill Shepherd’s began a meteoric career in porn that saw her in and out of the industry for 30 years.

Although Marilyn’s luck at modeling had been poor, the roles she was selected for in adult films were often exceptional. Likewise, her sense of business was keen. Her participation in Behind the Green Door was a turn-on for the wholesome-looking young woman, but she insisted on 10 percent of the film’s gross on top of a hearty salary. Once that was settled, she went on to participate in a six-woman orgy and the adult film industry’s first interracial scene, with Johnnie Keyes.

Other notable films starring Marilyn include Resurrection of Eve in 1973 and Insatiable in 1980. While they never reached the same blockbuster status, Eve was well-received and featured the compelling story of a woman recovering from a car wreck that left her beautiful. The film also saw her paired with Johnnie Keyes again. Insatiable showcased Marilyn during one of her return visits to X-rated films after she appeared in David Cronenberg’s Rabid, launched a minor singing career, performed some dinner theater, and wrote her autobiography, called My Story, in 1975. Marilyn joined Narcotics Anonymous during the mid-1980s and was found dead in her home at the age of 56 in 2009 by her teenage daughter. A mere 10 days before her birthday, a cerebral hemorrhage took out one of Playboy’s 1999 Top 100 Sex Stars of the Century and AVN’s Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time.

Gloria Leonard: Like most Golden Age performers, Gloria did not start with porn on her mind. Before entering the industry in the 1970s, she took jobs in music and mainstream film. As most creatives throughout history can tell you, finding good gigs is hard, so Gloria asked her agent, Dorothy Palmer, to get her some work. Little did she know the work Dorothy got for her in 1974 was pornographic. Feminist Gloria was surprised to learn that she loved the work, and between then and 1984 she starred in at least 40 projects.

Among her most famous roles is that of Barbara Layman in Radley Metzger’s film The Opening of Misty Beethoven in 1976. Shot with an unusually high budget and international locations, the modern pornification of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion earned praise from author Toni Bentley, who called it the “crown jewel” of the Golden Age. In addition to featuring a satirical script, the comic release was the first notable title to feature a man being pegged by a woman.

Other notable films showcasing her talents include The Trouble with Young Stuff, All About Gloria Leonard, Maraschino Cherry, and Taboo: American Style. Gloria became the publisher of High Society magazine in 1977 and remained in the position for 14 years. Additionally, she was one of the first people to use 900 numbers for phone sex. A supporter of both other sex workers and the industry in general, she helped form Club 90, the earliest support group for adult actresses.

Before her death from a massive stroke at the age of 73 in 2014, she appeared on mainstream television, talk shows, and her own TV shows. In 1998 she became the president of the Free Speech Coalition after having held the same position in its predecessor organization, Adult Film and Video Association of America, in 1986.