Top Ten Performers From The Refractory Period

March 1, 2012
BOBBI-STARR

Between porn's Golden Age in the '70s to the early '80s and the present Gonzo Age which began in the mid-'90s, adult video producers faced an existential crisis.

Some, because they either believed themselves auteurs or because they believed story lines (no matter how thin) would shield them from obscenity convictions, stuck to plot-driven movies. The movies, though they had a script, were shot quickly with ridiculous plots that involved pimps moving in with families, showers that made people horny and the trials and tribulations of public access channels.

Others believed that throwing the scripts, stages, and crews out was the way to the future. Proto-gonzo movies of the time included "Bus Stop Tales," "The Adventures of Buttman," and "Up and Cummers." Not much more needs to be said, as gonzo became the dominant genre of video and the internet.

For lack of a better description and until a more creative porn historian comes around, I dub this era the Refractory Period (as in the time that a dick is flaccid between sex).

But no matter what sort of movies producers and directors made, they needed women. Though the Golden Age had Marilyn Chambers and Seka, and the Gonzo Age had Jenna Jameson and Tera Patrick, that strange, Refractory Period of porn created its own share of superstars.

Savannah
Though her career spanned only four years, from 1990 to 1994, with about 100 titles to her credit Savannah was the to the early '90s porn scene what Jenna Jameson was at her peak in the early 2000s. Within a year of entering the business, she was a Vivid contract girl and in 1992 she won AVN's Best New Starlet Award. At the end of her career, she starred in the first volume of John T. Bone's gangbang series "Starbangers." It was rare for an A list performer like Savannah to appear in gangbang movies and she was one of the first of a trend with others appearing in more of the titles after her death. Her career came to an end on July 11, 1994 when she committed suicide.

Jeanette Littledove
While ethnic talent isn't exotic today, being anything other than Caucasian made you stand out in the mostly lily-white performer pool of the '80s. Jeanette Littledove marketed herself as one of the first and few Native American porn performers during her run from 1985 to 1991. (Granted, today she would have not only appeared in Native American-themed titles, but probably Latin, Asian and probably Indian — though not out of ignorance, but because producers just need bodies, any bodies for those titles. It's progress...I guess?) She was known as much for being a very loud and vocal performer when getting fucked, as she was for her very stiff-looking fake D cups.

Samantha Strong
?With her bedroom eyes, big blonde hair and curvy body, Samantha exemplified the '80s porn star when she entered the industry in 1986. The only thing that could have made her more '80s would be a Delorian and a kilo of cocaine. Though she was a fan favorite, she had a habit of leaving the industry, then returning, which she did on multiple occasions. By the early '90s, her appearances in videos petered out until she faded from the industry entirely.

Kaitlyn Ashley
With a fresh, smiling face and a ridiculous pair of fake D-cup tits, Kaitlyn Ashley looked like the girl next door who moved to Hollywood to do porn. I say that without meaning to be a wise ass — her face has a touch of innocence, but from 1993 to 1999 she has the credits of a bonafide anal queen. (Though being in titles like "Anal Inquisition," "Anal Rampage 2," and "Anally Yours," doesn't leave much to the imagination.) Her very large, bolt-on Ds she got while in the business doesn't really match with the girl next door thing (unless you live in Sherman Oaks), either. The husband she entered the business with, Jay Ashley, still pops up now and then but rumors abound that Kaitlyn is now a school teacher.

Debi Diamond
Now in the second act of her career, Debi Diamond came into the tail end of the Golden Age in 1983, but made her name in the mid-'80s. Unlike many performers during this period who were were lackluster in their scenes, Debi established herself as a voracious performer who, at 5'10" took what she wanted from whoever she was with. Watching Debi fuck was not unlike watching the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes, only instead of a mini-tornado, Debi was a whirlwind of boobs, cock and vagina. She would have been at home in any number of dirty, filthy scenes directed by myself, Rocco or John Stagliano. Luckily, she's returned to work in porn and now performs with that same energy.

Roxanne Blaze
Some girls come into the business for an instant and no one knows when they were here and no one misses them when they're gone. There's other girls who've been working in the business for years, but who've never won anything or attracted any attention for themselves. Then there's girls like Roxanne Blaze. In the span of less than a year in 1993, Blaze racked up more than 20 movie credits. She won the 1994 AVN Awards for Best Couples Sex Scene - Film ("Nothing to Hide 2: Justine"), Best Group Sex Scene - Video ("Blaze of Glory") and Best Actress - Film ("Nothing to Hide 2: Justine") — but she wasn't there to accept her awards. She retired and was pursuing a career in mainstream... and to be fair, hasn't been heard from since.

Tiffany Million
With all due respect to Chyna — who I'm pretty sure could snap me like a twig — she wasn't the first wrestler to crossover from rasslin'. The first woman to take that title, big gaudy belt and all, would be Tiffany Million. Formerly known as Tiffany Mellon from the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling in the '80s (ask your father about this, without your mother around, if you want to find out about GLOW or, you know, use the Internet), Tiffany went hardcore in 1992 and made a name for herself as a performer who excelled in anal and double penetration. She's also one of the few porn stars to find some success in the mainstream, featured on the short-lived reality show "Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter" in 2007. However, she's refused to discuss her involvement in the industry since her exit.

Madison
There's a couple things to remember about this time. The Internet was something few people knew about. Women rarely had tattoos, let alone piercings, in porn. Bands made up entirely of women were an oddity. In short, there's no way you would have gotten your Suicide Girls fix back then. However, there was Madison. Think of her as the person Joanna Angel would have been in the 1990s (besides being, you know, not old enough to do porn). And yes, she was in an all-girl band, and by all-girl band I mean not produced by Phil Spector. Madison was an alt girl a decade before anyone would have coined the term, turning in amazing scenes (much of them lesbian).

Victoria Paris
While putting together this list, one of the things that struck me was how much older the girls were when they started. While it's pretty much the norm nowadays for girls who aren't old enough to drink to enter the industry, most of the porn stars in the '90s started in their mid to late 20s. Victoria Paris is a perfect example. She started doing hardcore in 1989 at age 29, but only after she received a degree and worked as a secretary. She shot for about five years and appeared in about 200 movies. While she would have been pigeonholed as a MILF today, at the time she was weighed down with no such distinction. She gained fans and her well-earned reputation because of her natural ability for sex on camera.

Leena
Saying that Leena had sex is like saying Mario Andretti drove cars. Mario Andretti drove the fuck out of race cars and Leena fucked the fuck out of the male porn stars of her time. Entering the adult industry in 1991, Leena starred in a little more than 100 movies before fading out at the end of the decade. If you watch one of those movies, you'll see a woman who got into porn for all the right reason: she loves sex. Leena has those awesome eye-roll-in-the-back-of-her-head orgasms and fucks back as hard she's getting fucked — and that's with men and women. As intense a performer as Debi Diamond, we can only hope that Leena finds her way back to her true calling, like Debi has.