One and Not Done
Let's talk about my porn career.
It began and ended at the foot of a set of stairs on Decatur St. in New Orleans where Extremely Blonde Susan (not her real name) and I were supposed to go up and meet with some people in the porn business.
It was an honor to be nominated.
Passing on it was a result of my shyness, I guess, and honestly, a couple of mainstream movies of the time that dealt with snuff films. That wasn't a real concern, and I knew that, but still... For the record, the FBI has said snuff films absolutely do not exist. Who would film a murder? Well, look around in this crazy world and ask yourself why some people wouldn't do it for the money. Life is cheap. Always has been, but now everything gets monetized. I read that Hugh Hefner used to have weekly snuff film nights at the Playboy Mansion back in the day (early 80's) when Susan and I were thinking of turning pro.
Again, I didn't really think that was going to happen to us. This was to be magazine material as I recall, those $20-dollar fu*k books that truck drivers like. That creeped me out too, performing on camera so that guys could jerk off, to her most likely, but I'd be there too. On the walk over from Cafe Du Monde to meet with those people, I opted to chicken out. She was disappointed. I felt it was an honor to be nominated.
I read once that the average girl that does porn is usually one and done. She does it to make rent that month, pay some bills and never again. Same article showed that female performers get paid more than the males. They are the main attraction in most porn. I got the impression that the guys were in it mostly to get laid. Whatever money they got was lagniappe.
Porn strikes me as a ridiculous way to make a living. It's not normal. I think you have to have issues of some kind- be it daddy or low self-esteem- to screw on camera. I don't know, but I don't think anyone gets into porn thinking it will lead to a real acting career anymore. You wouldn't put it on your resume, and it would be all over TMZ if you did get a sitcom gig and someone recognized your face. In fact, young people now get into porn to be porn stars, with no delusions of Hollywood fame. Go and figure that. There's money in it and they don't seem to care that the internet is forever.
Now that I'm old, there is a part of me that has thought it'd be nice to have video of myself, back in the day when I was as young and pretty as I used to like to think I was. Something to show the grandchildren. I'm kidding! I don't have any grandchildren.
So, no regrets. I left New Orleans shortly after that and never saw Extremely Blonde Susan again. I asked a friend about her and was told she was managing a pizza restaurant. Not that I thought she was murdered or anything like that. I was glad to hear she was doing alright. Maybe she was one and done or chickened out like me.
I have no idea how the porn business is doing these days. Everyone has a camera now. Being a porn star in most cases isn't going to let you crossover into mainstream movies although I saw a movie with Tracy Lord( I think that's the one) in a regular tv show (Monk?) and she was actually a good actress, with her clothes on. I doubt the majority of women who do it don't like it.
ReplyDeleteI think Lords' crossed over because of her past. IIRC, she was underage when she started and that made her kinda extra-famous. I think porn's in big trouble. Project 2025 is against it as is the closet case House Speaker. I think Pornhub (the largest mainstream outlet) is already banned in a buncha states. It's also a Canadian company, so that doesn't bode well!
ReplyDeleteUgh. I went and read her bio. She was fourteen when she started. That's crazy. I'm going to assume many of these women were victims of sexual abuse. Well, how are the repugs going to get their porn?
DeleteOH. I didn't know 14. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteI would think so too about sexual abuse, but it has become so mainstream that many young people may just think it's a fun gig and a way to make money. Even couples.