I don’t know if you want to call it anal-retentive or OCD, but I take notes and write and write, and I can tell you everything about every single day from the time that I did it and who I did it with — not by memory, but by notes. I still have my journals, my diaries, and daily planners from day one. Those three months I worked on average twenty-six to twenty-eight out of thirty days.
Ginger was paid well for the Penthouse shoots and did her first girl-girl photo layout with the beautiful adult performer, Hyapatia Lee. Comparatively speaking, Penthouse paid far more than wages Lynn received at her regular day job. A few months after she started photography work, Jim South approached Ginger to consider additional opportunities. When South suggested she might want to consider doing films, Lynn was initially appalled by the notion of branching out.
I was paid one hundred and fifty dollars to do the layout and I saw Hyapatia get paid two hundred and wondered, “Why is she getting paid two hundred dollars when I only got paid one hundred and fifty?” It was between a hundred and fifty and a thousand dollars per day, but a thousand dollars was huge and few and far between. I think I made twelve thousand dollars per year working seventy hours a week for Musicland, and I made five thousand dollars for one day for Penthouse.
Jim had actually started to ask me to do commercial work for a while and I soon found out what “commercial” meant. I had been thinking that “commercial” meant television commercials. In the adult world, “commercial” means sex. If you do a commercial scene, it’s a sex scene. When Jim told me what it meant, I was — I wouldn’t say I was disgusted, but I thought, “Wait a minute. How can you think of me in that way? I’m not that kind of a girl.” At that point, even though there was Shauna Grant and the wall girls, I still thought that a certain type of woman or a certain type of girl did those films and that I wasn’t that type of a girl.
In school, I’d had sex for the first time at thirteen. I lost my virginity to my puppy love. He was fifteen and I’d had a crush on him at the park since I was probably five. We were together throughout my entire high school years. He walked me to every single class, every single day. We were going to get married. You know, I’d been with other men after we broke up, so I was by no means a virgin. I don’t know if it goes back to my great grandmother in that I thought that porn was similar to hookers. At that point, I did feel that way. I think that a lot of people did. Porn was not popular. It was very taboo and not part of the norm. It was underground and you didn’t watch it. If you did, you didn’t talk about it. When my agent asked me to do this, I guess “mortified,” would be the best word to describe how I felt. Not because of the act, but because he thought that I was “that kind of a girl”. I said, “No”. I wouldn’t even think of it.
One day there was a beautiful woman with red, shoulder length hair in his office wearing a long, white gown and a cigarette holder and a script. She was articulate and intelligent and I asked her, “You’re not a porn star, are you?” I had my own stereotypes and my own preconceived notions of what “that kind of a girl” was, yet looking at this woman helped me to make my decision. I’d seen photographs of other women but I’d never had the opportunity to meet one of them. When I decided to make films after speaking to this woman, I walked back into Jim’s office and I said, “Okay, I’ll do it, but I want a thousand dollars per scene. I want script approval and I want cast approval.” Jim was on the floor rolling around laughing and said, “You’ve got to be kidding me?” It wasn’t that I was full of myself or had a big ego. It was just that this is how I had wanted to do it. When I believe in something, I stick to my guns and I stand my ground. I believed in myself and that’s what I thought I was worth. I didn’t know this girl from Adam, but at the same time, if I was going to do it, I was going to be a different caliber.
Surrender in Paradise
In the early-mid 1980s, adult pictures were not produced at the rapid fire pace they are today. According to Ginger, approximately ten films were made a month so there was ample opportunity for performers, directors, producers, and photographers to become acclimatized to one another’s personalities and preferences. More often than not, Ginger recalled that the west coast arm of the industry would often congregate in South’s office.
Ginger’s first two films were shot back to back and directed by Svetlana who began co-directing adult movies during the latter part of the 1970s until 1986, often in conjunction with her partner David J. Frazer. As a test drive, Lynn first appeared in an eight-millimeter loop with Ron Jeremy.
Svetlana and her husband David were casting a film. They wanted someone who had never been in a film before who had the girl-next-door look and a spunky attitude. I guess I fit that bill. They agreed to all my terms. They were doing two films simultaneously. They did Surrender in Paradise (1984) and Little Bit of Hanky Panky (1984). I agreed to do the films. I had three sex scenes in each movie and we were shooting on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii. I hadn’t been out of the United States up until this point. I signed the contracts and I agreed to my leading man. Everything was fabulous and wonderful, and I got home after signing the contract and I went, “Fuck! I don’t know if I can do this and I just agreed to be the lead in two movies! I have all of these people depending on me and relying on me and what if I can’t do it?” I went back to my agent’s office the next day and I said, “Jim, I don’t know if I can do this.”
He said, “Well, we’ll do a trial run.” The trial run turned out to be two eight minute, eight millimeter films — no audio, to be shot the same day. When I walked in, there was a big, hairy guy, and when I got closer, it turned out to be a man by the name of Ron Jeremy. We were doing the scene and the cameras were on me. I was on all fours in doggie style with the camera in front of me, and Ron Jeremy behind me. I was wearing bright red lipstick, and I turned toward the director and he said, “Would you lick your lips?” I licked them, but not sexily. I went from my nose to my chin and then around in a circle. I didn’t know what “lick your lips,” meant. Ron was behind me and I thought, “Okay, he does feel good as long as I hold my breath and don’t look at him. If I can get through this, I must just enjoy myself!”
During our interview Ginger was emphatic she is not a fan of Ron Jeremy and once alleged to the adult press she was raped by him more than twenty years ago. No charges were laid. In the excerpt below from a 1999 AVN piece discussing the incident, Ginger’s friend and mediator between the two parties, Veronica Hart/Jane Hamilton, commented.
“Ginger has always felt that Jeremy raped her. That’s been her story from the beginning, that’s how she remembers it,” Hart said. “She came home, he was at her place; he split a screen to come in. Ron does not remember it as a rape. They both believe their own story. Ron, in his mind does not believe he raped her and she in her heart knows that he did. And never will the two meet.”
I got through that and the second scene was shot in the same day. It was either two hundred dollars total or two hundred for each scene. The second [loop] was with Tommy Byron. I love Tommy. He’s just always been like my big brother. We had a fabulous scene and I found that there was not a problem with me on camera. That’s how I made my first two films.
It’s hard to imagine Ginger was new to adult films while observing her in Surrender in Paradise — a fantasy about several women shipwrecked on an island with an escaped con (Jerry Butler). Equipped with a fair amount of poise and passable acting ability, Ginger displays a shy demeanor and genuine sweetness as she reciprocates easily with Jerry Butler, in conjunction with a sexual abandon highlighted by her vocal emanations. Her fresh face and tiny frame might give one the sense she is naïve and fragile, but Ginger clearly appeared to be a cut above her fellow actors in this initial outing.
In the second film shot on the island of Kauai, Hawaii A Little Bit of Hanky Panky (aka Hanky Panky), Ginger easily handled her share of dialogue and sex scenes. Playing husband and wife, Lynn and Ron Jeremy converge on the beach during the first half of the movie to enjoy some back door sexu
al fun. Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis, Bunny Bleu, and Stacey Donovan form the balance of the cast in this appealing movie about a couples’ Hawaiian getaway which becomes a retreat for breaking down sexual barriers. Taking into consideration Ginger wasn’t particularly enamored by her cast mate, her scene with Jeremy is seamless and sexy.
In 1984, Ginger and Ron Jeremy were paired together again in Supergirls Do General Hospital directed by Henri Pachard (Ron Sullivan). More than twenty-five years since their first on screen encounter, in 2010 the two AVN (Adult Video News) Hall of Famers were cast together in a send-up of the SAW horror franchise in the movie Drill a Porn Saw Parody. Jeremy was quoted at Lukeisback.com in June 2010 stating the two stars got along famously and that their sex scene together was “exceptional.” Evidently, it would seem that Lynn and Jeremy were able to put their personal differences aside in order to synthesize their individual brands for the financial benefit of the studio, consumers, and one another.
I started back in the day where movies were still shot on film and we actually had premieres. I did a film called Kinky Business (1984) and there was a scene in the shower, I vividly remember with Tom Byron. I was on my knees in the shower with my hair stuck to my face and matted down. I was sitting in the movie theatre at the premiere for the film and all I could think of was how silly I looked. My cheeks were sunken in and I looked like a fish. I got up and left the theatre and I cried. I thought, “I’m a cock sucking fish.” You know, I’ve always been a passionate person and I’ve enjoyed sex from the first time I had it, so that was the first time I watched how I looked doing it and I didn’t care for that look. Ironically, I won Best Sex Scene for that particular scene that year.
Leading Men
My favorite men from that day — the ones who always tripped my trigger and made me smile were Jerry Butler, Tom Byron, and Peter North. I worked a lot with Harry Reems and we had a good connection, and of course John Holmes. I was cast in Girls on Fire (1985). I believe that was my first film with John. I’d seen him in photographs but I wasn’t familiar with his work. I knew only that he had a giant dick — that’s all I knew. There were rumors flying around at that time that he’d been involved in murder, in one way or another. My first memory of John is when we were at the airport going to San Francisco to shoot the film Girls on Fire. I used to smoke pot a lot back then, and I had been on a plane a couple of times and I had my pipe in my pocket. John and I were going through security together, and I pulled my pipe out and I said to him, “Do I put this in the tray with my keys?” I was very naïve at the time, and I remember John grabbed my pipe, pushed me through the metal detector, and he put my pipe in with his things in a little bowl and walked straight behind me. He then ripped into me, you know, “What’s wrong with you? What were you thinking? You could go to jail! We could all go to jail!” We were rebels at the time. We were making films undercover, behind-the-scenes. It was illegal to do it so during my first interaction with John he kind of rescued me and took care of me.
Girls on Fire, loosely based on Some like it Hot (starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, 1959) starred Jamie Gillis and Bobby Bullock as Danny and Greg: two insurance hustlers trying to keep out of sight of a mobster’s side kick Rocco (John Holmes) at a lingerie show. Dressed in drag, Holmes sneaks into Ginger’s hotel room to keep out of sight and is accosted by her at gunpoint. Lynn demands he lift his dress to make certain he doesn’t have a gun concealed somewhere and they proceed to have sex. Lynn and Holmes exhibited great sexual heat and always made for an exciting porn couple. According to Laurie Holmes, John and Ginger Lynn also indulged in a brief affair.
Dressed in a white, satin evening gown and diamond earrings, Lynn accompanied Holmes to the lavish premiere for Girls on Fire in February 1985. The event was hosted by Ron Jeremy at the Pussycat theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard.
I liked John. He made me smile; he made me laugh. He was a gentleman, and he had a huge cock. We had an incredible amount of passion and great chemistry together. We made several films together and all of them are wonderful, and all of them were fun. You know, he was just fabulous, and according to Laurie [Holmes] and a couple of other people, I guess I’m one of the few women ever able to help John get a full erection. It was a big ole wiener. It was huge! No one will ever compare to John. John was bigger than life in all respects.
One of my all time favorite films is The Grafenberg Spot (1985). Another one of my other favorites is The Pleasure Hunt (1984). There was something magical about filming in San Francisco. The producers, the directors, the stars — there was a different attitude up there. As free-spirited and open-minded as Los Angeles is, San Francisco is even much more so. The films I did for the Mitchell Brothers, the films I did for Bill Amerson and Bob Wolfe, and everybody in San Francisco, it was just like going on vacation and fucking, and getting paid for it.
The Grafenberg Spot is a seductive, good-looking Mitchell Brothers film about a contemporary couple, Leslie and Michael (Ginger and Harry Reems) compatible in every way except that when aroused during cunnilingus Leslie orgasms a stream of clear liquid onto her lover’s face. Michael is deeply disturbed by Leslie’s eruptions, and the two have a falling out. Leslie seeks comfort from a sexual disorder specialist (beautiful Annette Haven) and begins to fantasize about other male lovers (John Holmes and Thor Southern in a stimulating three-way) during a visit to a welding shop. In turn, Michael hits the nightclub scene and through his encounters with many women (including Amber Lynn and Nina Hartley), he discovers that they too are hip to the mysteries of the “G” spot and comes away with a new perspective on Leslie’s quirky habit. Eventually, the couple reunites with a newfound respect for one another, and immediately become engaged in exceptional make-up sex. Ginger and Reems are both terrific in their scenes together, and individually, within this prestigious “A” list cast. Traci Lords was part of the original cast, but her scenes were later deleted due to her being underage at the time of filming.
Not Vivid
Ginger was the first porn star to introduce her own exclusive line of videos through Vivid Entertainment directed mostly by the late, former Hollywood effects specialist Bruce Seven. However, Lynn does not acknowledge she was a Vivid girl, and instead prides herself on her individuality. While associated primarily with Vivid, Ginger was featured in some of her most popular films: Ginger (1984), Ginger Effect (1985), Gentlemen Prefer Ginger (1985), Ginger and Spice (1986), Ginger Snaps (1987), and Ginger Rides Again (1988) — a sampling of the entire Ginger Lynn/Vivid collection of movies.
I’ve never been a Vivid Girl. I’ve always been “Ginger Lynn”. There would be no Vivid without Ginger Lynn. A Vivid Girl, in my opinion, is a generic flavor of the day, video of the month, video box cover with legs. No personality — the same tit job, the same nose job, and the same implants in their asses. They are cookie-cutter women with nothing. Very few Vivid Girls are anything more than a Vivid Girl, just like Stepford Wives (1975). They have no name and they have no face. They are generic so I find it completely and totally offensive to be put into that category.
I started Vivid. I helped Hirsch. I went from distributor to distributor signing autographs. I’m Ginger Lynn who helped to start Vivid. They used my face, my personality and my name. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I’m the first contract girl ever in the adult film industry, and I’m the only one left who hasn’t sold out, or let them buy back the original deal that they made. I still have eighteen films that I own a piece of that I will not sell ever. I’ve had the longest shelf life in history of adult film actresses.
Traci Lords & Federal Prison
When underage Traci Lords stepped into the limelight to compete directly with Ginger for a share of the market, things began to heat up quickly. Unbeknownst to Lynn or to anybody else at the time including agents, directors, and producers, Lords made her debut as an adult performer allegedly at age sixteen (and possibly earlier, at least with photo layouts). The controversy that transpired regarding Lords�
�� underage film work after she was found out hung like an albatross around the neck of the (then) illegal industry, but not before Lords and Lynn collaborated in several film projects apart from the aforementioned The Grafenberg Spot in 1985, and Kinky Business in 1984.
Traci Lords and I did several films together. The day I met her was in the parking lot. I don’t know if it’s still called Gelson’s [Market] now, but it was Gelson’s then on Van Nuys Boulevard across from Jim’s office. Prior to Traci coming into the industry if there was a big film being made, I was in it. When Traci came along, there was definitely some competition. I won’t deny that and maybe some animosity there. The day I met her she had her hair in curlers, she was wearing Lycra shorts with the slits up the sides in the parking lot of the grocery store and we’re going to do porn. You know, you want to be as subtle as possible and she had her tits hanging out. I swear like a truck driver, but she made me look like a nun. She was just the most foul-mouthed little bitch I’ve ever met in my entire life which made for great chemistry on-camera. We hated each other from day one. There’s no doubt about it.
Those Young Girls (1984), a script written by Lynn paired Traci Lords with Harry Reems, and Ginger Lynn with John Holmes. The film also featured Lynn and Lords in a girl-girl exchange and Lynn, Reems and Lords together. As the result of Lords having been underage at the time of production of the Paradise Visuals feature, allegedly, all prints and copies of the original picture were destroyed excluding the intact Lynn/Holmes scenes implemented under a new Paradise Visuals title Ginger Lynn: The Movie (1988) in addition to the inclusion of several other stars and multiple pairings.
GOLDEN GODDESSES: 25 LEGENDARY WOMEN OF CLASSIC EROTIC CINEMA, 1968-1985 Page 71