Big Bosoms and Square Jaws: Russ Meyer, King of the Sex Film

by Jimmy McDonough

“I have no . . . Russ Meyer,” Charles Pitt to Charlton, “Super Camp Meets Super Raunch in ‘Super Vixens.’ ”

  “Regardless of who . . . that ultimate power,” “The Abreasted Development of Russ Meyer,” Louis Black, Austin Chronicle, vol. 8, no. 10, 11/6–12/98.

  “The girls complained . . . I’d left out,” RM to Jean Dietrich, “Russ Meyer Approaches Moviemaking as Mostly a Question of ‘X-cellence,’ ” Louisville Courier-Journal, 6/11/75.

  “When Shari Eubank . . . theater crying,” Haji to Ronald L. Smith, “From Pussycat to Double-D Avenger,” Phantom of the Movies, no. 45, Winter 2003.

  “The townspeople . . . it had before,” RM to Ellen Goosenberg, “Supervixen Russ Meyer,” The Drummer, 7/29/75.

  “When it was over . . . something right,” ibid. (italic emphasis my own).

  Eubank’s father seeing Supervixens: RM to Craig Reid, “Interview/ Russ Meyer,” Adam, vol. 25, no. 5, 5/81.

  “I figured this was . . . released Supervixens,” Charles Napier to Roger Ebert, “This Is the Man ‘Rambo’ Fans Hate,” Chicago Sun Times, 6/30/85.

  “I went out . . . be indoors,” ibid.

  “Truly one of the most . . . visceral,” Kevin Thomas, “Violence Bared in ‘Supervixens,’ ” Los Angeles Times, 5/14/75.

  “Enjoy vicariously . . . abundantly earned,” Arthur Knight, “Russ Meyer’s ‘Supervixens,’ ” Hollywood Reporter, vol. 236, no. 27, 5/21/75.

  “Hitchcock’s sense . . . in violence,” ibid.

  “Meyer is the best . . . America today,” Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader, vol. 4, no. 5, 10/25/74.

  “Auditioning for role . . . pop attitudizing,” Andrew Sarris, “Reflections on the New Porn,” Village Voice, vol. 20, no. 35, 9/1/75.

  “Archetypal gay . . . blue jeans,” Ken Emerson, “Russ Meyer’s ‘Supervixens,’ ” The Boston Phoenix, vol. 4, no. 31, 8/5/75.

  “Supervixens is for . . . love each other,” ibid.

  “Russ apparently . . . just not possible,” Edy Williams to John Austin, “Uncensored Interview: Marriage Isn’t for Sex Symbols Says Edy Williams Who Would Rather Play the Field,” National Police Gazette, vol. 179, no. 2, 2/74.

  “Hit me and knocked me down,” ibid.

  “Russ gave me . . . it back” . . . “waiting for the sheriff in my bikini,” Edy Williams to James Bacon, “Bikinied Edy Waits for the Sheriff,” Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, 7/1/75 193.

  “from using a gun or any dangerous weapon” reported along with details of case in “Sexpot, Skinflick Director Break Up,” author unknown, Dayton Daily News, 11/6/75.

  “I don’t think my talent . . . a piece of meat,” Edy Williams at press conference, reported by Myrna Oliver, “Now She Wants to Shed Mate [Seeks New Role],” Los Angeles Times, 10/17/75.

  “If she has the talents . . . find employment,” Judge Breckenridge quoted in “Actress Denied Share of X-Rated Movie’s Profits,” Los Angeles Times, 11/6/75.

  “Planned the divorce like he was Hitler,” “Edy Williams’ Dirty Divorce,” author unknown, Modern People, 1/4/76.

  “My Sir Galahad,” Edy Williams to John Stark and Michael Alexander, “Famous for Her Nude Romps in the World’s Pools, Edy Williams Tries to Make One More Splash,” People, vol. 26, no. 26, 6/29/87.

  “Intercontinental starlet,” Roger Ebert quoted in ibid.

  “I got typecast . . . really furious,” ibid.

  “The scene reveals . . . liver spots,” Luke Ford, lukeford.com.

  “The rest of my life . . . about to change,” RM to Norman Dresser, “Things Mostly Big and Busty in Russ Meyer’s Standards,” The Blade, 7/19/79.

  “I love the roar . . . dig the iron,” Raven de la Croix to Lobo, Raven de la Croix profile, title unknown, Iron Horse, date unknown.

  “I don’t care for faggots,” RM to David Ansen, “Russ Meyer: Auteur of Sleaze,” 7/30/75.

  Martin Bormann quote: “Meyer Fakes Quote,” Variety, no. 285, 1/12/77.

  Another curious fact about Supervixens: Meyer claimed in a number of interviews that Roger Ebert had “a piece of the film” (“Proud of His Escapism,” Jack Garner, Democrat and Chronicle, 7/17/79). In an e-mail to the author, Ebert stated he received no profits from Supervixens.

  14. The Ultra-Vixen

  JM interviews: Kitten Natividad, Kevin Thomas, John Waters, Les Barnum, Ted Mahar, Haji, Charles Sumners, Floyce Sumners, Bruce Pasternack, Roger Ebert, Richard Heffner, Ivy Bethune, Fred Beiersdorf, Richard Brummer, Lavelle Robey, John Furlong, Renee Daalder, Steve Jones, Jim Ryan, Dave Prowse, Charles Napier.

  Background on Kitten Natividad: Steve Sullivan, “Kitten Natividad: Russ Meyer’s Most Bodacious Babe,” Glamour Girls Then and Now, no. 11, 4–5/86, 8/17/90.

  “I don’t need . . . lonely old man,” RM to Mike Henderson, “A Conversation with the King of Hard Core,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/21/77.

  “I have a metal cast . . . made it,” Kitten Natividad to Jessica Berens, “Return of the Ultravixens,” The Observer, 7/22/01.

  “Offering no resistance, the pneumatic Natividad went quietly with officers,” Sue Iggulden, “Porno Star ‘Kitten’ X-pelled from Campus,” Portland State University Vanguard, vol. 54, no. 56, 4/27/79.

  “Kitten gave out nude photos . . . as if he were Cecil B. DeMille,” John Waters, Shock Value.

  “As she squealed, ‘Ohhhhhhh, Russ!’ ” ibid.

  Background on Kitten Natividad: “Kitten Natividad: Russ Meyer’s Most Bodacious Babe,” Glamour Girls Then and Now, no. 11, 4–5/86.

  Kitten meets RM: ACB/RM.

  “He has a sexy face, sort of perverted,” Kitten Natividad to Leigh Weimers, “Meyer’s Living His Fantasy as King of Porn Producers,” San Jose Mercury-News, 3/10/77.

  “I have a father complex thing,” Kitten Natividad to Bob Hicks, “For King of the Soft Cores, It’s Lust and Profit,” Oregon Journal, 4/26/79.

  “Because I mother him,” Kitten Natividad to Maggie White, “The King of the Nudies,” Downtowner, no. 31, 4/30/79.

  “You can get them for $1,200 . . . droop,” Kitten Natividad to Bob Porter, “Russ Meyer: He’s the Father of Mainstream Movie Nudity,” Dallas Times Herald, 3/19/79.

  RM on censor problems involving Natividad’s pubic hair: Dan Scapperotti, “50s Legend Russ Meyer,” Femme Fatales, vol. 6, no. 10/11, 4/98.

  “Kitten Natividad was the champion, without a doubt,” RM to Michael Holden, “Russ Meyer,” Loaded, no. 4, 1994 (UK).

  “World of beautiful people, driving terrible cars and living in squalor . . . all oversexed,” RM to Kent Beyda, “Russ Meyer,” Search and Destroy, no. 10, 1978.

  You got your night . . . Ebert,” Charles Napier as quoted by RM, Jonathan Ross interview, “Russ Meyer at the NFT,” The Very Breast of Russ Meyer.

  “I wanted a symphony . . . crickets,” RM to William Kogut, “Hitting Them over the Head with a Sledgehammer: Russ Meyer Exposes Himself,” Oregon Daily Emerald, 10/4/79.

  “Russ Meyer’s films were funny . . . juvenile,” Gene Siskel, “Meyer’s ‘Ultra Vixens’ Goes Beyond the Valley of the Shadow of Boredom,” Chicago Tribune, 9/6/79.

  “It may be that Meyer . . . with Vixen,” Tony Rayns, “Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens,” Monthly Film Bulletin, vol. 47, no. 552, 1/80.

  “Strangely unsatisfying,” Dave Kehr, “Only the Style Survives,” Reader: Chicago’s Free Weekly, vol. 8, no. 48, 8/31/79.

  “with her big . . . Howdy Doody,” ibid.

  “It’s one thing to stylize . . . more to lose,” ibid.

  “Last few films frantically seek to top themselves,” Myron Meisel, “Over, Around, Through and Beyond the Valley of the Super-Meyers,” Reader: Los Angeles Weekly, vol. 1, no. 24, 4/13/79.

  “After a certain point . . . any more,” Kehr, “Only the Style Survives.”

  “I’m not a sensitive person,” RM to Kristi Turnquist, “Russ Meyer: Porno Potentate and Proud of It,” Willamette Valley Observer, 9/28/79.

  “If I wasn’t so into tits . . . great filmmaker,” R
M to Jeff Berry, “Bosom Buddies: Russ and Roger in a Trip Down Mammary Lane,” UCLA Daily Bruin, 10/5/78.

  “This is precisely Meyer’s limitation . . . just a goof,” David Ansen, “Russ Meyer: Auteur of Sleaze,” The Real Paper, vol. 4, no. 30, 7/30/75.

  “He’s a genius . . . in this business,” Kitten Natividad to unknown author, “The Ultra-Ultra Girls,” Oui, vol. 6, no. 12, 12/77.

  “The epitome of American fascism,” Malcom McLaren quoted by Gary Sperazza (quote originally appeared in Slash, date unknown), “Shooting the Sex Pistols: Who Killed the Movie?” Bomp! 10–11/78.

  “McLaren was sincere . . . in his eyes,” RM to Lowry and Black, “Russ Meyer Interviewed.”

  “A statement of anarchic revolt against the rock millionaires, and the whole British establishment,” Roger Ebert, “Anarchy in the U.K.: My Life with Sid Vicious,” Chicago Sun-Times, 11/2/86.

  “A combination of A Hard Day’s Night and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” RM to Raj Bahadur, “Russ Meyer Revisited, Scene Update, 10/23–29, 1980.

  “A little nonplussed . . . true to life,” Roger Ebert, “Russ Meyer: Ten Years After Beyond,” Film Comment, vol. 16, no. 4, 8/80.

  “After I met Russ Meyer . . . senile old git,” John Lydon with Keith and Kent Zimmerman, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

  “He was proud . . . run the other way,” RM to Scott Morrow, “Adventures in the Skin Trade,” Los Angeles Weekly, vol. 10, no. 3, 12/11–17/87.

  “Rotten definitely had charisma,” RM to Cameron Mackay, “The Pneumatic World of Russ Meyer,” Penthouse (UK edition), 2/81.

  “Still be alive,” RM to Rose Raidt, “I Couldn’t Survive on the Raincoat Brigade,” Up the Creek, vol. 1, no. 32, 8/17/79.

  “Two six-packs of beer and a big can of pork and beans,” Roger Ebert, “Anarchy in the U.K.: My Life with Sid Vicious.”

  Meyer on National Front threats: Harvey Fenton, “Thanks for the Mammaries: Russ Meyer,” Flesh & Blood Compendium.

  “The group broke up largely because of that film,” Julien Temple to Todd McCarthy, “ ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle’ Emerges as an Early Success at Filmex,” Variety, vol. 187, no. 2, 3/7/80.

  “Names like Wopping . . . that conjured up sexual connotations,” Malcolm McLaren in 1988 Jonathan Ross RM documentary (see Filmography).

  “Reams of contracts . . . changing his mind,” Sandy Lieberson to Craig Bromberg, The Wicked Ways of Malcolm McLaren, Harper & Row, 1989.

  “What a tragedy . . . a screamer!” RM to Anne Billson, “The mammary millionaire,” Sunday Times Magazine, 9/13/92 (UK).

  “Personally shot a deer with a pistol,” Todd McCarthy, “ ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle’ Emerges as an Early Success at Filmex,” Daily Variety, vol. 187, no. 2 3/7/80.

  Julien Temple apology: Screen International, no. 344, 5/22/82.

  “That experience . . . get away from it,” RM to Dale Ashmun, “Mondo Russo: Russ Meyer Interview,” Film Threat, no. 15, 1988.

  “The rating board is our censor board . . . won’t take advertising,” RM to Doug Balding, “Outside of Hollywood,” Arete, vol. 2, no. 1, 7–8/89.

  “To keep the studios . . . business,” RM to Jon Lewis, Hollywood v. Hard Core.

  “It had a bad connotation because of the hardcore people,” RM to Beth Accomando, “Russ Meyer: Hellcats for a Modern World,” Hypno, vol. 4, issue 5, 1995.

  “The exhibiting game . . . half a million dollars,” RM to Doug Balding, “Outside of Hollywood,” Arete, vol. 2, no. 1, 7–8/89.

  “The days of Vixen are gone,” RM to Steve Fugett, Pat Holmes, Douglas “DK” Holm, “Interview with Russ Meyer,” Cinemonkey, Spring 1979.

  “We fight . . . seems to work,” Kitten Natividad to Bill Jones, “King Leer of Movies Retains Softcore Throne,” Phoenix Gazette, 12/8/79.

  “I’m glad . . . head off,” Kitten Natividad to Bob Hicks, “For King of the Soft Cores, It’s Lust and Profit,” Oregon Journal, 4/26/79 989.

  15. Mondo Meyer

  JM interviews: Paul Fishbein, Roger Ebert, Garth Pillsbury, Jacqueline Mayo, David Friedman, Kitten Natividad, “Colonel” Rob Shaffner, Dave Ewing, Brent Bowman, Gary Adelman, Haji, Fred Beiersdorf, Jim Ryan, John Waters, David K. Frasier, John McCormick, Paula Parker, Bill Margold, Jane Hower.

  “They must be cantilevered . . . buckle at the knees,” RM to Nathan Rabin, 1995 interview, The Tenacity of the Cockroach.

  “Dozens and dozens . . . the California sun,” Louis Black, “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Staying Abreast With Russ Meyer,” Austin Chronicle, 6/9/95.

  “Like an old hot rod . . . American Classic,” Alan Platt, “Uncle Dirty” Soho Weekly News, 5/24/79.

  “I don’t care about . . . the urge,” RM to Mike Snider, “Good Morning and Goodbye to Russ Meyer,” Bang! 1988.

  “Going to swell my ego even more,” RM to Diana Loevy, “Son of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” Home Video, vol. 2, no. 6, 5/81.

  “Russ Meyer invented . . . twenty-five years ago,” Roger Ebert, “ ‘Wild at Heart’ Is Full of Woe,” Chicago Sun-Times, 5/27/90.

  “The film is unrelenting . . . you nightmares,” RM to Paul Sherman, “Some of My Breast Kept Secrets: An Interview with Russ Meyer,” Filmfax, no. 28, 8–9/91.

  “You’ve heard of Berlin Alexanderplatz? Well, this is Meyerplatz,” RM to Lee Server, “Russ Meyer,” Genesis, 1985, exact date/issue unknown.

  “In a very abstract . . . tough shit,” RM to Dale Ashmun, “Mondo Russo: Russ Meyer Interview,” Film Threat, no. 15, 1988.

  “It’s a tone poem,” RM to Sherman, “Some of My Breast Kept Secrets: An Interview with Russ Meyer.”

  “It will be my song,” RM to Ashmun, “Mondo Russo: Russ Meyer Interview.”

  “All the others obsolete,” RM to Jan Golab, “Return from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” Los Angeles, vol. 31, no. 12, 12/86.

  “We are going to be intimate . . . the deal,” RM to Ron Chepesiuk, RM to Ron Chepesiuk, “Hollywood or Bust,” Gallery, 3/91.

  “With all his makeup . . . the Catskills,” RM to Patrick Goldstein, “Into the Valley of the Video Vixens,” Los Angeles Times Calendar, 8/23/87.

  Waters Polaroid: Veronica Vera, “Veronica Vera’s New York,” Adam, vol. 31, no. 12, date unknown.

  “Libelous,” RM to Richard Von Busack, “The Breast of the Story,” Metro section, Santa Clara Valley Weekly, 3/22–28/90.

  “Fuck and tell book,” RM to Cynthia Littlejohn, “The Legendary Russ Meyer: Thanks for the Mammaries,” BAM, no. 479, 3/8/96.

  “The most important . . . purged myself,” RM to Jan Golab, “Return from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,’ Los Angeles, vol. 31, no. 12, 12/86.

  16. Janice and the Handyman

  JM interviews: David K. Frasier. Eleanor Bucci, MM sister, Jane Hower, Delores Fox, Richard Brummer, Charles Napier, Jim Ryan, Roger Ebert, John McCormick, George “King” Carll, Larry Christiani, Morgan “Tex” Hagen, Pandora Peaks, Letha Weapons, Charlie Sumners, Floyce Sumners, Kitten Natividad, Mike Thomas, Haji, Raven De La Croix, Michael Ziton, “Colonel” Rob Schaffner, George Costello, Paula Parker, Jean-Pierre Jackson, Erica Gavin, Tura Satana, Lori Williams, John Waters, Chris Schaffner. Janice Cowart and Julio Dottavio responded to my questions via e-mail on March 1, 2005. Cowart was compelled to note that she felt only three of Meyer’s actresses were accurate sources, as “many of the ‘girls’ make things up to gain attention and have a tendency to embellish the facts. I would have to say this is not true of Lori Williams, Uschi Digard, and Rena Horton [sic], who seem to actually be fair and honest when speaking about Russ.”

  “I am chauvinistic . . . the film game,” RM to David Frasier, DFA.

  Opening description of battered RM: Paul Fishburn testimony.

  “She was emitting an odor . . . slightly slurred,” Officer Eric Miller testimony, p. 155.

  “Wobble to her walk,” ibid.

  “She was frightened . . . arrest me,’ ” Donna Fishburn testimony, p. 105. />
  “She was greedy for penis, very greedy,” RM to Michael Holden, “Russ Meyer,” Loaded, no. 4, 1994.

  “You can dig . . . foreign substance,” Cory Turczyn, “T&A Q&A,” Pop Cult Internet interview, 2002 (interview done 1995).

  “To get some sort of heir . . . bless her soul,” RM to Arv Miller, “Russ Meyer: Between the Valleys of My Ultravixens,” Part Three, Fling, vol. 32, no. 2, issue 161, 9/90.

  “It was totally unmanageable . . . it,” RM to Richard von Busack, “The Breast of the Story,” Metro section, Santa Clara Valley Weekly, vol. 6, no. 3, 3/22–28/1990.

  “I turn to God . . . who need help.” RM to Philip Thomas, “Russ Meyer: How Much Is a Pint of Milk?” Empire, no. 70, 4/95.

  “I don’t care for it . . . shithouse,” RM, Playboy’s Voluptuous Vixens (see Filmography).

  “If you’re going to do . . . a limo,” RM to John McCormick, “Sex-Crazed Cinema: Five Hours with Russ Meyer,” Crave, 9/15/99.

  Much information for this chapter was gleaned from court testimony, specifically, The People of the State of California vs. Debra Angela Masson, # 9HL017715, 7/20–22/99.

  “A loaded gun by a cool drink,” lawyer Karine T. Philips during Debra Angela Masson testimony, vol II, p. 268.

  “One time I went to get my shoe from under the bed, I pulled a gun out. It went off this close to my head,” Debra Angela Masson testimony, vol II, p. 268.

  “Melissa shot this hole through the wall in a fit of rage,” lawyer Karine T. Philips quoting MM’s wall grafitti during Debra Angela Masson testimony, vol II, p. 268.

  “She [Mounds] was upset . . . with a rock,” Janice Cowart testimony, 7/22/99, pp. 18, 21.

  Cowart on length of time with Meyer: 7/20–21/99, p. 45: “I’ve worked for him ten years.”

  “Living in the office atmosphere all the time, nothing is private. We weren’t getting along,” Debra Angela Masson testimony, p. 200.

  “And when Janice came we discussed it with her. There were no problems,” ibid.

  “There was ongoing arguing pretty much the whole day,” Jesse Bryner testimony, p. 31, 7/22/99.

  “He seemed somewhat intimidated and fearful,” Janice Cowart testimony, 7/20–21/99, vol I, p. 51.