A Star is Porn

By Ben Baroncini
Daily Bruin Contributor

Ron Jeremy is not just famous, he’s infamous, he’s a
superstar, he’s a porn star.

He is known the world over for his starring rolls in over 1,600
films. Jeremy seems to be proud of his accomplishments in the
controversial industry.

“Alright,” said Jeremy in a phone interview,
“maybe I’m not doing Shakespearian soliloquies, but
I’m still a performer.”

Jeremy will be featured in a documentary about his life titled
“Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy.” This
award-winning film will premier at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles
tonight and Jeremy will make special appearances at 7:30 and 9:40
p.m.

Perhaps the most intriguing characteristic of Ron Jeremy is that
he is not a typical porn star.

“He represents the average American guy,” said
Sharon Mitchell, founder of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care
Foundation, and an adult actress who has worked with Jeremy before.
“He has the pot belly and the hair. He’s an average
Joe.”

First and foremost, Ron sees himself as a professional, an
artist, so to speak.

“I guess I just want to be an actor,” said Jeremy.
“That’s what I enjoy the most … I might be in porn
… but I’m the best known.”

Regardless of the type of work that a person may be involved in,
he or she should always do their best, advises Jeremy.

“There’s a girl … she’s one of Heidi’s
(Fleiss) best girls, and she always says “˜Drop dead
Ronnie,’ when I tell her she’s the best. “˜The
best hooker?,’ she asks, and I say, “˜Yes, you’re
the best, a lot of girls have tried, and you’re the
best!’ Now she’s a very successful student, I
don’t care what you do, if you’re a prostitute or a
student you should do your best,” Jeremy continued.

Advice that should be taken to heart?

Tim Goldberg, executive producer at Ocean Park Pictures, agrees
that Jeremy is a person of character.

“I’ve gotten to know Ron … and respect Ron,”
said Goldberg, “I respect that he’s very intelligent,
he’s charming, he’s quick-witted.”

Scott J. Gill, producer and director of a new documentary about
the porn icon, said that he admires Jeremy’s work ethic.

“It’s just drive, he’s just so driven to be
famous, but he uses porn to get there, and of course there’s
the Catch-22,” Gill said.

Jeremy never planned on being a sex star.

A girlfriend of Jeremy’s submitted a nude picture of him
to Playgirl magazine in 1978, in their “Boy Next Door”
feature. Soon after, Jeremy was approached to act in a porn film,
and the rest is porn history.

Originally, Jeremy planned on being an actor. He went to school
at Queen’s College in New York, and received his B.A. in
theater and in special education. Jeremy also received a
master’s degree in special education at Queen’s College
in order to assure his parents that he had something to fall back
on, in case acting didn’t work out.

Jeremy’s extroverted ways have kept him in the limelight
since he was a child.

“I was rowdy, always trying to crack jokes, always the
class clown,” Jeremy said. “I wanted to be an actor my
whole life.”

Jeremy’s mom was constantly called into school because of
his antics. “They were always saying, “˜Your son’s
a very bright boy, but will you make him shut up?'”
Jeremy said.

When Jeremy was growing up, he held many odd jobs. One such job
was as a waiter in Parksville, N.Y., when he was about 16.

He even got a chance to witness the heart of the sexual
revolution during the ’60s.

“I haven’t ever said this before in
interviews,” Jeremy said excitedly. “I was at the
original Woodstock … for 20 minutes.” One day while Jeremy
was working at the restaurant, he rode his dirt bike between the
breakfast and lunch shifts to the legendary event.

“People were full of mud, and I thought, “˜What a
bizarre thing this is,'” said Jeremy of his short visit
to the festival. “I went back to work, not realizing that I
missed the event of the century.”

Nowadays, Jeremy is sure not to pass up an opportunity to
participate in the music scene. Jeremy said that he has been in 15
videos on MTV, appeared on Beavis and Butthead twice, and has been
involved or mentioned in the songs of many artists, such as Kid
Rock, Motorhead, Poison, Buck Cherry, Tommy Lee and Zebra Head,
among others.

Jeremy has also done work with Sublime. “I produced their
first video, “˜Date Rape.’ I’m also in the video,
I’m the guy behind bars, and I’m also the judge who
sentences the date raper to jail.”

Jeremy is proud of the fact that he’s even mentioned in
the song. He recited the words to the song verbatim, “Mucho
gusto, me llamo Bradley, I’m hornier than Ron
Jeremy.”

“Kids know that,” said Jeremy of his recognition for
his appearances in various mainstream music projects.
“That’s why a lot of kids know me. Not from porn,
necessarily.”

Jeremy is conscious of his influence on mainstream culture, even
on the likes of college students. Ron Jeremy has some lessons in
morality to share with UCLA students.

“I know being rebellious is a big thing these days,”
the porn star said, “getting piercings, and tattoos, and
pissing off your family … but you’ve got to try and get
along because you’re so much better off for it if you can do
it.”

Jeremy also has interacted closely with UCLA students.
“I’m a big fan of UCLA,” said Jeremy. “I
lectured there once, on “˜Sex and the Law.’ It’s
about how the law was shaped by the porn industry and vise
versa.”

Ron Jeremy and Scott J. Gill, producer of “Porn
Star,” are currently touring the country, promoting the film.
Jeremy was even featured on the show “The View,” on
Tuesday.

“It was an honor because I’m in front of a lady,
Barbara Walters, who has interviewed presidents, and foreign
diplomats … it’s kind of exciting … to look her in the
eye and try to talk to her honestly,” Jeremy said.

Tim Goldberg sums up the unusual appeal of Ron Jeremy. “I
think the tagline: “˜The story of America’s most
unlikely sex star,’ is pretty right on,” Goldberg
said.