Jill C. Nelson's Blog, page 2

Kay Parker: Goddess of Light

 
Kay Parker - Photo by KenjiI've often said that one of the nicest things to have come from co-writing and authoring a book are the new friends I have met throughout the process. When developing a writing project, it's not something you purposely set out to do, but when you connect with someone on a deep level, it's a gift. I am fortunate and blessed to consider Kay Parker a dear friend. Since Kay and I first spoke in late fall of 2009, we have remained in touch via email, and we have also had a few opportunities to meet up in person in Los Angeles. As many of her friends and fans can attest, during her time as an actress and since officially leaving the erotic film industry several years ago, Kay has been immersed in a personal spiritual journey that has enabled her to achieve a greater understanding of the universe, enhanced her intuitive spirit, and bestowed her with even greater wisdom. It is no surprise that Kay has incorporated her metaphysical knowledge within her ongoing work as a counselor and mentor using her special tools to help guide, transform, and uplift those seeking insight, depth and understanding. Using intelligence and grace, Kay instructs seekers yearning to understand how our past influences our present. Kay is a firm believer that love has the power to heal all emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual maladies once people are willing to open themselves to new possibilities.  
     Recently, Kay shared a greeting of hope, light and love which can be viewed at her website: Kay Taylor Parker. Her remarkable book, Taboo, Sacred, Don't Touch can also be purchased there as a digital download. Today, Rialto Report features Kay Parker in a brand new interview podcast you won't want to miss: Kay Parker - Rialto Report
     2014 promises to be another exciting and fruitful year for Kay Parker as she continues to embrace new opportunties while integrating ongoing, enriching experiences into her unique life. Soon, Kay hopes to share some very exciting news about an innovative project currently in the works, so please stay tuned.
     I am grateful to have had the opportunity to feature Kay in Golden Goddeses. As a treat for fans and possibly others who are new to Kay and her extraordinary work, today, I am re-publishing excerpts from her chapter titled "The Conduit" which I posted on this blog a few years ago. Enjoy.

Born and raised in Britain during post World War 11, Kay Parker’s memories of her formative years in Birmingham are at times grim. As an asthmatic sufferer, Parker welcomed the occasional reprieve when her father, a Navy man, brought his family to the lush islands of Malta (meaning “honey sweet” because of its diverse bee population), where he was periodically stationed during her school days. At age twenty-one, Parker transplanted to New Mexico, “The Land of Enchantment,” where she was hired to work in an upscale boutique at the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe. Although Kay had excelled during her previous work experience as an au pair in Germany, and was fluent in the German language, she was ready to broaden her horizons. After remaining in New Mexico for a couple of years, Parker eventually found herself living in San Francisco at the height of the sixties revolution, and continued to expand her employment options which included managing a small rock band. In 1976, at age thirty two, the curvaceous natural beauty appeared in her first film depicting sex, and later gained notoriety for portraying a woman who embarked upon a sexual relationship with her adult son (played by Mike Ranger) in Taboo (1980). Kay believes that her sensitive approach to the subject of incest, in a highly acclaimed performance, was an empowering experience that has helped to facilitate immense personal spiritual growth and development. She does not subscribe to coincidence or accidents.

Kay Parker: "Taboo is the one film I am best known for which makes it ironic that it was an incestuous role. Again, obviously, I pondered deeply and looked at the prospect of playing that character from many different facets, and I had to deeply reckon within myself when I took the role because I had known women who had experienced incest. I knew how prevalent it was and that it is a very sensitive issue. First of all, we should make the statement, and this is the feedback that I have received from many individuals, is that people don’t take the storylines of these films seriously. However, for me it was a serious issue, and I looked inside and I talked to my guides and I said, ‘Why would I even consider this?’ And then I realized that somebody was going to do it so why not me? I could at least bring some consciousness and sensitivity to it. Now, a lot of individuals who have an issue, and who have the scars would say, ‘That’s a fine excuse'. All I would say is that I was guided to do it, and because of that I have an even bigger platform today to do my spiritual work and healing, so that was just a path that my destiny took me down. I’m totally responsible for it, and yet, that movie was a very defining point in time for a lot of reasons. I wrote about it in a chapter of my own book, Taboo, Don't Touch: An Autobiographical Journey Spanning Six-Thousand Years.       My guidance for anyone considering entering the adult entertainment business has always been, ‘Think very carefully.’ It’s like with children; they’re going to do what they’re going to do. The more you tell them not to do something it’s more than likely their impetus to do it. It’s not an easy industry. Filmmaking is filmmaking. It’s grueling and it’s long and it’s tedious. If you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it, but women need to thing doubly or triply about it because it takes its toll on the emotional body. This is where a lot of people have that idea about women being objectified and abused. That’s where it comes from because if you take a young lady, a little babe, who has been scarred in some way, and put her in front of a camera, and you pump her full of ideas of success and stardom, it can be extremely damaging, in addition to the damage that’s already there. We have seen that and I think we still see it, but I think it is part of any industry. It happens in Hollywood.
     The career was a piece of my past that brought me to this point with wisdom and understanding. In terms of sharing it with neighbors that don’t know about that – it’s not necessary. Sometimes it comes up, but it’s like with my family in a sense. At that time, they would not have understood, and it wasn’t necessary to expose them to that. It was my path to go down and for me to deal with, not for them to deal with. I didn’t want to impose that upon them and would not impose it upon certain people. Then there are other people – a lot of individuals that I’ve counseled, and I’m speaking in terms of the male populous -- have known about the past. For some reason it has been a plus and I’m absolutely clear with people that my work is strictly spiritual counseling. If they have an issue and they want to heal and they’re willing to do the inner work, then certainly, I’ll do the work with them. If they’re coming to me thinking that we’re going to do some kind of hands on work, sorry. That’s not what I do. But there are times when just because of my past and because they know I’ve gone down that road, it somehow gives me an opening, that other therapists wouldn’t be able to attain.       What I’m doing today is assisting in the uplifting of consciousness on the planet. That’s it, in a nutshell; anything that I can do and anyway that I can do it. God’s already using me to do this. I’m here to join the ranks of the other amazing souls on the planet who are working towards this end. I interact with some very profound individuals who are involved in global consciousness. I don’t believe that this planet, third dimensionally, will ever attain peace because the collective ego is still too involved. But, we’re moving toward a time of planetary ascension, meaning a dimensional shift, and, at that point, those who are spiritually ready and equipped will move forward and they will experience peace. It’s a good time to be alive – it’s not an easy time but it’s what we came to do."

Golden Goddesses: 25 Legendary Women of Classic Erotic Cinema,1968-1985 © 2012 Jill C. Nelson
 

Remembering Barbara Mills

In memory of Barbara Caron Mills, who would have been sixty-three today, I have reposted this excerpt from our interview in June 2010 which appeared in Barbara's chapter (2) of the book titled 'Eat, Read, Live.'
A well respected sexploitation actress, in 2010 Barbara Mills reflected on her history in adult pictures with an air of indifference and bemusement. She is best known for her exceptional thespian work in The Love Garden (1971), Blue Money (1972) and Gabriella, Gabriella first released in 1972. Shortly after turning seventeen in 1968, Barbara left her home in Massachusetts and ventured to Venice Beach, California. Eventually, she established permanent roots there, along with her husband of more than forty years, Frank Mills. Drawn to its bohemian vibe and idiosyncratic lifestyle, Mills flourished in the relaxed beach community and continued to develop her artistic skills while accepting occasional work doing nude modeling and acting. Augmented by her long brunette mane and classic appeal, beautiful Barbara considered her employment in adult films a stepping stone that enabled her to pay the bills so she could focus on her primary love, painting. At fifty-nine years old on December 15, 2010, Barbara Caron Mills passed away peacefully at her 'spa' home in Koh Samui surrounded by Frank and her loved ones. I interviewed Barbara in the summer of 2010 while she and Frank were visiting their daughter Carly in Venice, CA. With beguiling charm, Barbara fondly reminisced about her life and years in adult entertainment and valued the charm of the era in which she worked. The following is a short excerpt from our interview.       “Venice Beach has really always been an artistic community ever since its conception. Being that most of the streets were canals when they first built the city and then it was the Gay nineties and the Roaring twenties, and bathing beauties and muscle beaches started. It was crazy. There were a lot of poets: Ginsberg and Laura Lee Zanghetti lived down here and it evolved, but it has always stayed bohemian. So it’s a very comfortable place to live. It’s cold sometimes with the wind coming in off of the Pacific, but other than that, it’s a good place to be.”       “In the beginning, I worked at Woolworth’s behind the soda fountain. It was horrible. I was just a messed up kid and I knew I had to go back to Massachusetts. I told my mother I wanted to come back. She was worried about me even though she let me go and we decided I was going to go to hairdressing school, so that’s what I did.” I was back at home until my mother died in March. At that point, things got crazy. My grandparents were too old to take care of us. We were very close to my grandparents [my mother’s parents]. My father’s parents died young, when I was a baby, so I never really got to know them. My aunt and uncle were almost at the point of being too old to take care of us at the time, so they hired a housekeeper.       “I met my husband Frank in 1969. Shortly after my mother died, I came out here and met him. He tried to meet me in Massachusetts; he was from Massachusetts too. He came back to Massachusetts to his brother’s high school reunion. Our mutual friend thought we’d be perfect together so Frank called me on the phone, and he sounded so pompous, you know. He did imbue me for a few years with ideas and some lofty intentions, but now he was in California trying to get into the film business. I didn’t want him to come to my dinky little town just to meet me. I ended up moving in next door to him three months later. I looked at him and I said, ‘God damn, he looks like John Lennon.’       “Frank got me work and he got me an agent. One of his neighbors, I forget her name, got me into modeling. I did quite well strictly modeling – and then came the Sexploitation films. It all started when the United States was allowed to show X-rated films, which was around 1968; right when I started. Hal Guthu was my agent’s name. He was a sweetheart. The last time I actually saw Hal was in 1972.”       “I thought Chain Gang Women (1971) was really funny because it’s not my voice. They dubbed it. It was Christmas time and we had plans to go back to Massachusetts to visit our families so it has someone else’s voice and it’s really funny.”       “Actually, sometimes I can remember things from back then and sometimes I can’t. I didn’t willingly hold onto any memories. There are some things in my past where I say, ‘I’ve got to remember this and I do.’ It was a job, after all. It wasn’t a career move; it wasn’t an art form per se. It was a job and it paid well and it left time for living. I enjoyed the people. And it wasn’t sexual. I wasn’t crazy – I was completely nude in my film appearances but no penetration, no genitalia and no oral sex. That would have been stupid. If you’re going to sell it, you might as well keep your anonymity. They never tried to get me to do more.”       “When I remember my former work in films, I believe we left behind a really free spirit. We weren’t condemned for what we did. We were sometimes greatly appreciated for our work. It was interesting. It was an innocent time, it wasn’t considered real.”
Golden Goddesses: 25 Legendary Women of Classic Erotic Cinema,1968-1985 © 2012 Jill C. Nelson

Golden Goddesses coverage by What Up Hollywood

The following is an article posted at What Up Hollywood which includes one hour of video footage from our Golden Goddesses reunion event at Larry Edmunds bookshop last October. The evening featured appearances by Ginger Lynn, Kay Parker, Rhonda Jo Petty, Georgina Spelvin, Kitten Natividad, writer Raven Touchstone and adult film historian William Margold. Huge, heartfelt thanks to What Up Hollywood for covering and taping this event, and posting it on your website and youtube. :)  Sex Sirens of the Swinging Seventies Sign in at Famous Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood Remember all those great adult movies of the 1970s, like “The Devil in Miss Jones”? If you didn’t ever watch movies “like that“, better skip this posting. But if you ever wondered whatever happened to those stunning ladies of yesteryear that you spent so much time watching in your miss-spent youth, then you should have been at Larry Edmunds Bookshop when a bevy of stars from adult film history came in to talk about their careers and their lives. Ginger LynnA long discussion, led by author Jill Nelson, introduced 5 of what Jill calls “The Golden Goddesses”, the super stars of sex. Also on hand was Raven Touchstone who wrote screenplays for over 400 adult films. They all had actual stories, she insisted, although I have personally never met a guy who ever remembered much of the story line. The girls, yeah, they remember every luscious inch of them. Star Ginger Lynn remembers the hours she spent with Raven, creating the sex fantasies that made her films so appealing. Face it, you gotta have a script, a story that will tease, build tension, and then deliver the goods, just like any other movie. Raven Touchstone is the Queen of adult screenplay writers, with a boundless imagination. Kitten NatividadThe ladies signing Jill Nelson’s book “Golden Goddesses“, included Rhonda Jo Petty, Kay Parker, Ginger Lynn, Kitten Natividad, and the legendary Georgina Spelvin. Also on hand to speak was Bill Margold who writes the great back page “Cinema Seen” for LA X…Press. Margold’s reviews of adult films are a hoot, he has covered the sex industry for decades, and he is one of the most entertaining chaps in Hollywood. He knows everyone, writers, producers, directors, all the girls, the guys, and most of all, the stories. As Nelson points out, behind the camera, when the filming is done, these guys and gals are mostly regular folks, with all the same drama, happiness, and challenges that we all face in life. Well, maybe a tad more drama.A lively crowd listened to Nelson read some excerpts from her book, stories about each of the ladies who were present. Questions came from the audience, and memories and laughter from the film stars. Also on hand was Jim Dawson, local author, and national film reviewer for Velvet Magazine. He is also a spokesman for XRCO, the X-Rated Critics Organization. His great book on Bunker Hill is a must read for anyone who is interested in Los Angeles film history.So you missed the event on October 16th? Couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse to slip away from the significant other for a couple hours? No problem, just strap yourself into the What Up Hollywood time machine, and watch the entire event. Larry Edmunds still has copies of “Golden Goddesses”, so get your copy before you go blind. At least you’ll have your memories….Click Here to watch the event directly on youtube.Click Here to go to Larry Edmunds website and blog.

William Margold Remembers Gloria Leonard in Cinema Seen

The following tribute is written by William Margold, adult film historian and long time friend, comrade and admirer of Gloria Leonard. The Cinema Seen piece will appear in the Feb 13, 2014 edition of L.A. Xpress. Bill sent his reflections along this morning and granted permission for this article to be posted here.

02-13-14
CINEMA SEEN  By William Margold  Death takes the life out of us.
I offer up this sobering thought because my own life has just lost an irreplaceable element of vitality by the name of GLORIA LEONARD. She passed away from the ravaging effects of a massive stroke a few weeks ago, unforgivably alone in the relatively unpopulated paradise that is the west side of Hilo, Hawaii.
    The wondrous woman who was worthy of an audience 25 hours a day, didn’t even have a cat or a dog to lick her face when her body gave out, and she unceremoniously collapsed in her tiny house, and was left unnoticed for over 24 hours to dwindle away in the eerie experience of watching her life flash before her eyes.
    I suggest this concept only because I had a searing slice of something similar when the Pacific Ocean slammed me onto a shore in Malibu, and then its riptide took me for an unnerving yet illuminating ride way under its waves in the summer of 1965.
    But while I only glimpsed a short subject, and then was spit back onto the shore, I suspect that Gloria got to see a double feature, the news, and even a couple of cartoons!      
    If anyone ever fulfilled the sentiment “Bigger Than Life”---it was the force of nature that reigned supreme as an Adult Entertainment Industry Icon for well over three decades.
She essentially brought her own stage with her wherever she went, and she could spellbind an audience into a state of awe when she spoke.
   The luminous lady, whose laugh conjured up the image of a percolating volcano, was without a doubt the single most impressive human being that I’ve ever known.
And with that being said, it is going to take the rest of my existence---and most likely beyond, if there is such a place--- for me to even remotely try and qualify my feelings for---and about---her.
    Historically, from her sex screen debut presence in 1976’s “The Opening of Misty Beethoven” the most lauded adult film of all-time, to her various marketing endeavors as the publisher of High Society, to her incomparable leadership on the Boards of The Adult Video Association and The Free Speech Coalition, Gloria was a dynamo of dedication to the cause of Free Speech…and to speaking freely.
    And for all those reasons, but in particular for her choosing to champion “speaking freely”…she was justifiably  honored (in January 2002) by Larry Flynt with a block of cement that now sits in front of his Hustler store in West Hollywood.
    And as the frivolity of fate would have it, I was chosen to “be cemented” as well that chilly evening, in what ranks as the proudest moment of my carnal cinema career because of having the opportunity to escort Gloria Leonard into the edifice of/for eternity. Gloria Leonard & Bill Margold Hustler Hall of Fame Inductions
     I’ve been agonizing over a way to reluctantly end this page, and then it dawned on me that the very best I could do was dedicate (donate) my own extremely controversial/unique business card (God Created Man…William Margold Created Himself) to her, so that she can hand it out (God Created Woman…Gloria Leonard Created Herself) wherever she winds up holding court.
end

Tribute: Gloria Leonard was not just a Porn Star ~ (1940-2014)

Photo by Kenneth BrewsterIn March 2010, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gloria Leonard for Golden Goddesses. I had admired and respected Leonard since I first became aware of her while co-researching and writing "A Life Measured in Inches," and knew that once I began work on "Goddesses," I wanted to profile Gloria in her own chapter. Delighted when she accepted my request for an interview (I have to thank Seka again for being instrumental in this process as she alerted the "Club 90" girls about my intentions for the book), we set a date to talk on the phone while Gloria was still living in Florida. In June 2012, I, along with two friends, had the opportunity to spend time with Gloria in New York during a private gathering with friends on a boat. It was a wonderful, memorable afternoon. Gloria was lively, hilariously funny, and full of great stories. She looked beautiful. After the book was published, Gloria sent me a touching note in January 2013. She wrote:  'So far, I haven't been able to put it down - have just hit my chapter (love the name you gave it). Just wanted you to know how grateful I personally am to have been included but more than that, am blown away by the amount of work you invested in the project. Over the years, I have granted interviews to dozens of so-called writers only to never see a single thing in print so am particularly thrilled to have "Golden Goddesses" in my hot little hands.  I am grateful for your insights and hard work.  Love Gloria' Last evening, I learned the sad news that Gloria Leonard passed away in her 74th year. In her memory and honour, I have updated her profile on this blog, with added excerpts from her chapter (see below). Adult film historian and friend, Bill Margold, is credited for her chapter's title appropriately named: Gloria Leonard: The Grand Damndest of them All.  May you rest in peace, Ms. Leonard. You will be forever missed.  ♥  ***Excerpted from Chapter 8: Gloria Leonard: The Grand Damdnest of them All 'Gloria Leonard is considered by her contemporaries as the highly esteemed “Grand Dame” of the Golden Era of pornographic movies. Now in her 71st year, Gloria still possesses razor sharp wit, intimidating intelligence, beauty and savvy. As a fiercely independent woman who entered adult films at the ripe age of 35, Leonard's verbal dissertation about her life, career, and the world around her, is delivered with delicious deprecating humor that would make her teenage mentor, Lenny Bruce, smile in his grave...'
Gloria Leonard: Contrary to the stereotypical perceptions out there, nobody was every drugged and dragged off of the streets. The only person whom I ever hated was Linda Lovelace because, even in her book [Ordeal] and when she spoke publicly, she would always bring up the fact that a gun was held to her head when they were making Deep Throat (1972). But what she would neglect to include was that the gun was not held by anybody involved with the actual production, rather than by her boyfriend [Chuck Traynor], a lousy choice in men that she made. That always pissed me off that she wasn’t totally forthcoming about the circumstances. Marilyn Chambers was a very honest gal, whereas Linda adopted this kind of ‘I’m a victim’ and ‘poor me’ attitude and wound up having all of these hardcore, humorless feminists supporting her.
I earned quite a good living, by the way, specifically in the ‘80s, literally speaking at dozens of colleges and universities, very often debating the so-called, "feminists.'  My thinking was, if the bottom line of the feminist movement is for women to be able to choose whatever they want to do without any repercussions, well, shit, that’s what I’m doing. You should be cheering me on, not wagging your fingers at me.
I am somebody who was at the forefront of what was considered as a rebellious and radical industry, that is now quite commonplace. I feel we championed free speech and freedom for people to do what they want and to watch what they want.

Working in the adult industry has given me an opportunity to meet people that I would otherwise never have met. It's given me an opportunity to travel to places that otherwise I might never have had the opportunity to visit. It has given me a platform from which to espouse my political views. Bearing in mind that here I was raising a child single-handedly without the benefit of child support or anything else -- working my tail off to put a roof over our heads and food on the table -- this was before the term 'Women's Lib' ever existed, I was doing this.

I actually discussed my decision to work in adult films with my daughter prior to doing it. I explained that just the way there are movies with comedy, and with action, and horror movies, there are also movies with sex. I told her that I was contemplating performing in one and she was very supportive and encouraging. Occasionally, a few years down the line there would be somebody at school who would make some sort of an unpleasant comment to her, but she was tough, she let it roll.

Jamie [Gillis] inducted me into the Las Vegas "Legends Hall of Fame." He stood behind my chair, and of course, predictably, extolled my virtues, but the thing that he said which actually brought me to sobbing tears is this: "Babe Ruth was not just a baseball player, Frank Sinatra was not just a singer, and Gloria Leonard is not just a porn star." That, for me, is my Kodak moment. It was very, very touching.

***
Golden Goddesses: 25 Legendary Women of Classic Erotic Cinema,1968-1985 © 2012 Jill C. Nelson

"Goddesses" in Hardcover - New!

Since returning home from California, I've been preoccupied with some personal business, and when time allows, I've been working on my new book project:1976: Tapes from California. This morning, I have great news to share. Just in time for the holidays, Golden Goddesses is now available in hardcover at Amazon.com. Presently, all copies are temporarily sold out, but orders may be placed and the books will be shipped as soon as they are back in stock. Please visit the following link to take a "look inside" and/or to view the book in softcover and kindle formats: Golden Goddesses Hardcover. (Please also view coverout.com to view the hardcover version of my other co-authored book with Jennifer Sugar: John Holmes: A Life Measured in Inches.)

I'd like to take this opportunity to announce that I am planning on a second edition of Goddesses, likely for sometime in 2015. The book will include some bonus interviews and photos. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, all the best to everyone this Holiday Season. Have a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2014! 

The Devil in Miss Jones: "Devil's Night" at The Projection Booth


Georgina Spelvin - October 16, 2013












     Forty years ago, Gerard Damiano's landmark film, The Devil in Miss Jones, starring Georgina Spelvin and Harry Reems, broke invisible boundaries separating mainstream and adult pictures which elevated the rudimentary sex film to a new "porno chic" era of exciting new frontiers. The indelible partnership between Damiano's hard hitting yet sensitive dramatic tale, combined with Spelvin's extraordinary lead performance as Justine Jones, far surpassed box office expectations as the film went on to break records and inevitably brought street cred to the erotic film genre inspiring couples and women to accept and experience films showcasing sexual sitautions. Tonight, the all knowing Mike and Rob at The Projection Booth present a fresh look at The Devil in Miss Jones which features new and enigmatic interviews with Georgina Spelvin (who hasn't lost her edge), Gerard Damiano Jr., in an in depth discussion about this groundbreaking feature film.
     Check out the link to the podcast here: The Devil in Miss Jones

Photos from the Goddess Reunion at Larry Edmunds

There were many photographers present during our reunion event at Larry Edmunds Bookshop on Wednesday October 16 but I am proud to share some of the candid shots taken by Matthew W. Thanks for being an integral part of the event, Matthew, and for your great eye. :)

"Favorite Stars and Star Favorites"

L-R Kay Parker, Rhonda Jo Petty, Kitten Natividad, Jill Nelson,
Jeff, Ginger Lynn, Georgina Spelvin and Raven TouchstoneLast Wednesday, October 16, the Goddesses made their triumphant return to Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood to wow fans and share serious and funny anecdotal accounts of their former lives as Golden ladies of erotic cinema. The six women regaled the crowd with personal reflections, beliefs, thoughts and philosophies, and when each one was asked to name her favourite mainstream movie and describe why, the audience was surprised and delighted. The querie was posed by Peter C., a film enthusiast and writer. Afterwards, Peter penned an essay, a wonderful summation of the evening and book titled "Favorite Stars and Star Favorites" which I have copied and pasted below with Peter's permission. Thank you, Peter, for coming out and for being so gracious.
     Once again, I'd also like to officially thank Ginger Lynn, Kay Parker, Rhonda Jo Petty, Kitten Natividad, Georgina Spelvin (who was unable to join in the festivities last year) and Raven Touchstone for helping to make our intimate reunion evening one of the most memorable and sparkling events since the book's release. I'd also like to thank Emcee Bill Margold, veteran film director Bob Chinn, photographer Kenji, Ashley and April from the New York based Rialto Report, Tom from Cake and Art for designing another spectacular cake, Jeff at Larry Edmunds Bookshop, and all of our friends and fans who came out to support and partake of this celebration. Please follow this link for more photos: Emmnetwork
     Without further adieu, here is "Favorite Stars and Star Favorites" by Peter C.
     
     'Though I met her only briefly at a recent book signing of Golden Goddesses, it was no surprise to learn that Jill C. Nelson, the tender-hearted author of an extraordinarily well written tome and somehow lyrical ode to 25 Legendary Women of Classic Erotic Cinema lists The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter as her all-time favorite “main stream movie.” Nelson, as it turns out, is a lot like Carson McCullers, the novelist who penned the 1940 novel that the film was ultimately based upon. Hunter was the first in a string of books by McCullers to give voice to the rejected, the forgotten, the maligned and the oppressed. Nelson’s 25 (six of whom were at the book signing with her at Larry Edmunds Bookshop) would easily fall into those categories – though those classifications, like most labels, are ill-deserved. John Singer, the Alan Arkin character in the film, is not what he is perceived to be – deaf – and no more – and therefore somehow unworthy of love. In Nelson’s stories about her stars of erotic cinema – there is more there - a whole lot more - to each of her stars. More nuance, more dignity, and more intelligence  – than meets the wide eyed observer. 
     Asking, “What’s your favorite movie?” goes a long way as a kind of shorthand to learn what values resonate with individuals. Rhonda Joe Petty, a one-time look-alike for Farah Fawcett, and still gorgeous at 58, claimed Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto as her favorite – which, if one spends fifteen minutes in her presence, one understands why. “The movie,” Petty said, “is about facing your fears.” Petty is a woman I would not want to cross. She is almost stoic, extremely self-possessed, and when she shared with the audience that, “People who are not OK with my past, are simply not invited into my house,” her tone made it clear that her life has thus far been lived without apology. She is one strong lady, who has obviously faced her fears.
     Also in attendance was Ginger Lynn, who at 50 was the youngest star there. Ginger is a terrific raconteur, and one of her stories was about not being able to find a man who had all the qualities that she required in a male– so - along with a favorite screenwriter, she dreamed up a fantasy – in the form of nine men, and then lived out her fantasies with each before the camera. Her life, at the time, “was about fun. And that was fun!” Ginger is cheerful, exuberant, and decidedly funny – as is her favorite film Arsenic and Old Lace. If one were to look at the poster of the screwball comedy, there is Priscilla Lane bellowing from over the shoulder of Cary Grant – and she might well have been yelling, “This is fun!” For my money, Ginger Lynn would have slipped perfectly into the Lane part.
     The Grand Dame of erotic cinema, Georgina Spelvin, who made the film The Devil in Miss Jones, a remarkable four decades ago, explained that Fantasia is her favorite movie, “Because it has everything in it. It is sheer energy. I could do without Mickey Mouse, but everything else about it rises above animation and it lives in a fantasy of movement. It was totally cutting edge. Nothing else like it had been done before.” Take out the Mickey Mouse reference, and one has a pretty accurate review for The Devil in Miss Jones.Georgina’s favorite film fits.
     Raven Touchstone is an accomplished photographer. When she reflected on her career in the adult film industry, and told of watching Ginger Lynn and Barbara Dare running lines in rehearsal, whilst sipping wine in a hot-tub, she found the actresses in repose to be so incredibly beautiful that Touchstone decided that monumental beauty was beyond words – and in that silent moment of innocent insight, realized that the photographic image was the only way for her to do justice to beauty. The heroine of her favorite movie A Tree Grows in Brooklyn relies on her imagination to capture beauty in much the same way.
     Kitten Natividad recounted her bland experiences as a girl in a sort of unremarkable early life. Then came a time when she “fell down the rabbit hole” and due to excesses that seemed like a good idea at the time, she struggled with drugs and alcohol, but eventually rebounded. Today, she is clean and sober – owns apartment buildings and has made a success in all things considered. Is seems like the ups and downs of Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass – Kitten’s favorite movie – would make sense in a “been there, done that” kind of way.
     The last actress in attendance was Kay Parker. Kay Parker is an exquisitely sensual, wildly articulate and mesmerizingly sincere individual who marveled at the full circle nature of screen celebrity in recounting her love, as a girl, for movie actor Troy Donohue which, as it turned out, was not unrequited.  When she finally met the aging star and told him how much she loved his movies - much to her delight - he told her how much he loved hers. Kay Parker has put her film past into a unique perspective –one that asserts “It is all about love, because the opposite of that is shame. And shame is the condition of being unlovable. And I reject that.” The chapter in Nelson’s book devoted to Kay Parker is called The Conduit – and it describes Parker’s contemporary career as spiritual mentor and transcendence counselor – as one that only a “faith in love” stalwart could embrace. Field of Dreams is Kay’s favorite film, which seems to underscore perfectly her ethereal - part fantasy figure – part earth mother – all woman - essence.
     Willliam Margold acted as unofficial Emcee for the evening. Margold, a raucous individual who is known to industry insiders as “Papa Bear,” and is famous as an archivist and adult film historian (and perhaps less famous, alas, for his extensive and honorable charitable work for adult entertainment veterans who have not fared well) told great stories of on and off set mishaps, legal kerfuffles,  and courage – particularly of the women on the panel, and others like them who disdained “the hypocritical morality,” of those “who dreamed of these ladies, but who would not admit that in public.” Margold, a bear of a man, was a kind of sheriff that night, and apparently has been for his last forty years in and around the adult film industry.  He comes across as a “come and get me, I ain’t going anywhere” character, who, in fact, stood toe to toe against would be agents of the law, when adult films were illegal, and the badge boys were looking to lock up men and women who dared to turn cameras on and take clothes off. It’s no wonder that Papa Bear loves High Noon. He’s the Gary Cooper of “X.”
     At the end of the day, Jill C. Nelson has written a lovely and fascinating book about beautiful women, erotic adventurism, social mores, adult entertainment, the movie business, sex and sexuality. And it has nothing at all to do with “Porn.”'

Peter C.

October 16 in Hollywood: The Goddess Reunion!

Larry Edmunds Bookshop 2012One week from tonight, several of the Goddesses and I will return to Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood to meet and greet local golden age fans. The stellar lineup will include Ginger Lynn, Georgina Spelvin (her first appearance at a Goddess event), Kay Parker, Rhonda Jo Petty, Kitten Natividad and screenwriter Raven Touchstone. For those who would like guaranteed seating, please contact Jeff at the store in advance at  (323) 463-3273 to pre-order a copy of the book. The ladies will be happy to personally autograph and inscribe as other legendary luminaries will also be appearing. More details are available here: Intimate Evening with the Golden Goddesses We look forward to seeing you there!

* Also, on October 15th, I will be live in studio in Los Angeles with Goddesses Christy Canyon and Ginger Lynn on SPICE RADIO SIRIUS XM 102 YOU PORN/My Dirty Hobbies to talk about the book and the upcoming event between noon and 1:00pm. The call in number is: 1 800 774-2388. We eagerly anticipate your calls, so give us a shout!