GOLDEN GODDESSES: 25 LEGENDARY WOMEN OF CLASSIC EROTIC CINEMA, 1968-1985

by Nelson, Jill C.

  This was in 1974. You know, I wouldn’t even have considered his offer but I just happened to read in Playboy the month before, an article called “King of Porn”. It was a great article on Damiano and about how excellent he was and he was the best in the field and a man of class. That influenced me tremendously. If I had not read that story I probably wouldn’t have been interested. At the time, I knew zero about porn. I had grown up in Kansas City and I had not seen it. I had no idea what the films had in them — I only knew what people had told me. I had seen I Am Curious Yellow (1967) and that’s about it. It was an erotic film.

  I had a legitimate screen test, and then I went home and talked to my dad again, and made a decision after giving him a copy of the contract. After that, I went to New York to film the movie.

  I was college president of the Young Republicans at that time, and I was Vice-Chairman of the Jackson County Young Republicans. I also sat on the Board of Directors of the Missouri Young Republicans, and was still in office when I made Portrait (1974). Damiano, who was not enthralled with Republicans, used to say I was “unique” in the world of porn. The people in erotica were very tolerant of my background, although not one of them ever agreed with the Republicans. At the time, it was understandable.

  Damiano called me one day while I was at school and asked me to call him back right away, that he needed my professional name NOW! He said he had an interview with The New York Times and he was going to tout his new star, so he needed my name. I had made him promise not to use any name without my permission. Anyway, I didn’t get home until that evening. I called him immediately, but no answer. I called him again at the crack of dawn the next day, but I was too late. He had done the interview. I asked him what name he used for me, and he replied that he used my real name, as he had no other choice since he made a promise to me. I groaned, I’m sure, and asked if I couldn’t give him a name then. I remember his reply to this day, “Jody, once The New York Times publishes your name you’re stuck with it forever!” He said it was too late and I was going to be using the All-American, girl-next-door type of name after all. Anyway, that’s how I ended up using my married name, which I kept after our divorce for a couple of reasons, one being that we had a daughter together. My father tried to talk me into taking my name back, but I didn’t.

  Jim Maxwell and I had split up by the time I did my first film for Damiano. My ex was not too happy I’d used my married name as he was now out of law school and had started practicing law. His parents — as opposite as night and day from mine — were kind of freaking out. Eventually, he got used to the idea and found out he got more gals himself because of who I was. It has actually enhanced his love life! Jim and I have been mostly on good terms over the years.

  Playing the Flute

  Gerard Damiano hired Jody Maxwell specifically for his 1974 production Portrait wherein Jody played a young woman in distress at her psychiatrist’s office. Her character suffers from a multiple personality disorder although it is not certain what the origins of her emotional difficulties are or whether she, in fact, suffers from any malady at all. Jamie Gillis, Rita Davis, Alan Marlow and Maxwell all appeared in uncredited roles.

  Film critic, Roger Ebert spoke briefly with director Gerard Damiano and Jody Maxwell about Portrait in July 1974, just a few months prior to its release. Ebert described Maxwell as a “pneumatic beauty,” and was told by Damiano that although Jody was the only “whole woman” in the story, her various personalities included a young woman, a teenager, and a hooker. For unknown reasons, Portrait is not available through conventional means and it is doubtful many original copies are in existence today. Based upon the little information known about the film, Portrait would be a great candidate for restoration and revitalization.

  I could never forget Portrait. I’m the only female in the film, except for one segment that was added later. One other gal is in the film. It had Jamie Gillis, Alan Logan, David Christopher and Rita Davis who died of a drug overdose in the late 1980s, I think. I heard about it second hand.

  Jamie Gillis took my film virginity. In my particular case, Damiano paid Jamie to be on set and to be around me for about three days. Not to have sex, not to act, not to do anything but get comfortable. I didn’t ask for that, but he offered me that. I had a world premiere for Portrait in Philadelphia. We had a red carpet ceremony and everything. It was quite the big deal. I did interviews for television, radio, and newspapers with top columnists. It was really quite exciting.

  Larry Flynt interviewed me [in the May 1975 issue of Hustler magazine titled “Jody Maxwell: Conversation with the Queen of Fellatio” by Larry Flynt] personally after the film’s release. I’m the only interview he has ever done. I’d done some things on film that had never been done before and he was amazed. They were things that I’d done in my private life before I’d met Damiano. I wasn’t having oral sex before I was with the guy I married. It was a couple of months before my eighteenth birthday before I had oral sex. Then, when I met this other fellow that I got involved with after Jim Maxwell and I broke up, I started swinging. We got swinging together and I sort of created a unique talent. I could sing and suck at the same time so they called me the “singing cocksucker”. I always said I was a frustrated singer, that was my whole problem, but that was kind of a joke. It was Christmas time and a guy that I’d been going with; we’d had too much champagne. I always believed that sex should be fun and if you have a romance going on, you should have fun. It doesn’t have to be serious all of the time. I don’t know why, too much champagne I guess, but I just burst into Jingle Bells while blowing him. His reaction was so phenomenal! Here’s a man I’d been going with for quite a while and he was quite used to my tongue and mouth, and suddenly, he was losing control, but he was laughing at the same time. Well, that just encouraged me to do more.

  Remember, speech was one of my majors. I do open my mouth when I talk. I don’t like to talk with lips half closed. I discovered it was quite fun, and the reaction, as I said, was phenomenal. We used to swing with this other married couple, so I demonstrated it for them and they just totally freaked out. All of these people were just amazed. The other guy’s wife said, “Could you please teach me how to do that?” I started teaching her how to do this. She wasn’t doing it as well as I was, but she was having fun trying. Her husband responded the very same way. He said, “My god, that feels so incredibly good.” Talk about a contradiction. It amazed me as much as it amazed them, trust me.

  Actually, I sung in two of my movies, Portrait and SOS (aka Screw on the Screen, 1975). SOS is now digitized. I play myself, “Jody, the singing cocksucker from Missouri”. Because I was able to do it, I was the first person who was able to suck two guys at the same time. I figured out how to do it when Chuck [my boyfriend] and I were swinging. This was not something I developed for porn; this was my private love life. It just happened to end up in porn. Damiano was surprised and thrilled to know that I had a special talent and wasn’t aware of this before he’d hired me for Portrait. I wasn’t trying to put Linda Lovelace to shame. I was just doing my own thing. I did do double penetration as well. I was actually one of the very first actresses to do a double penetration scene. I also changed songs in the Damiano film. It was one of my first sex scenes and I got a little bit nervous. I was afraid I’d forget the words of the song so I changed it on him. It was okay. It worked beautifully. I had a repertoire of songs.

  When I’d had oral sex with two men, literally, at the same time in Portrait, Damiano told me it had never been done successfully by anyone in mainstream erotica before. I told him I could do it, so he allowed me to direct the scene. To make it work though, the men must not have any hang-ups about their penises touching! They definitely do touch in this scenario. Damiano had me in every single scene in the movie. That was another first for a feature in the world of erotica.

  I was kind of amazed when I saw myself on the screen. I’d actually made a straight film that a lot of people don’t know about, preceding Portrait.
I’d made two. I had a small role in a 1970 movie called The Other Side of Madness [aka The Helter Skelter Murders]. It was a docudrama of Sharon Tate’s killing. Then I made a science fiction film so I’d seen myself on screen before, but of course, seeing yourself naked on screen was a lot different. It was kind of shocking to me not in a bad way, but obviously, somewhere along the way, I figured out I must be something of an exhibitionist. I’d have to be comfortable even doing this. There are those who are not exhibitionists who are not comfortable doing this like the late Terri Hall who I’d worked with in Gums (1976), The Devil Inside Her (1977), and Unwilling Lovers (1977). I don’t think Terri was an exhibitionist and I think she was very uncomfortable. Even in theatre, you’d have to have that capability. Some film people can be total introverts and not be exhibitionists.

  The term “exhibitionist” is broadly used throughout this book to describe a specific personality type drawn towards the expression of what many consider extreme sexual or uninhibited behavior. One of several clinical psychiatric definitions for “exhibitionism” is as follows: “sexual gratification, above and beyond the sexual act itself that is achieved by risky public sexual activity and/or bodily exposure.”

  Jody contended that she contorted her body in a most unusual way in order to accomplish a rare performance concluding with a triple penetration scene for the satanic themed film The Devil inside Her (1977) opposite Rod Dumont and two other male performers. Set in the 1800s, as a mid-west farm girl, Maxwell’s character, Hope Hammond, conjures up Satan incarnate in a fit of jealousy over her sister’s (Terri Hall) suitor when their devoutly religious father forbids the girls (he cruelly beats Hall) from participating in physical contact with males. As a result, all hell breaks loose (pun intended) as Satan possesses various family members and forces them to have sex with one another — and with him. Despite the insidious nature of certain portions of the film (that also featured Annie Sprinkle), Jody’s distinct personal style as an actor is most effective, and she is clearly an attractive and inspiring performer.

  I did a triple penetration, which was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It was a little bit painful. Rod Dumont, who played the devil, got me warmed up to make me able to do it. They told me I didn’t have to do it. The producer asked the director if I would consider doing it. I thought about it and I said, “Well, I’ll try it.” I’ve always been known for being tight. That turns people on too. Rod showed me how good his tongue was and that helped. It was twice as difficult to do because I was on a picnic table outside in the middle of the Poconos. It was very, very difficult. It had to be slow and easy. I had to be really well lubricated because it was challenging. I think what’s important about a scene like that one is that if I enjoy it, people are going to enjoy it and that helped me a lot. My biggest problem in my own mind, and I told the director [Zebedy Colt] this was how to justify a [cum] shot. In real life, men aren’t usually spurting all over here and there. I wondered why men would want to see that, and then I talked to a lot of men and they said they got off on it. I don’t know why they do. I thought it would be more interesting if I agreed to do a scene like that. If I had a choice, I let the directors direct.

  Prior to filming The Devil Inside Her, Maxwell portrayed an artist in the engrossing Video-X-Pix noir adult picture Expose Me Lovely (1976), the story of a hard-boiled New York City detective Harry “Frosty” Night (Ras Kean). Night finds himself in a hospital with his face in bandages and virtually no recollection of how he ended up there. Slowly, he retraces the last few days of his life and recalls that a woman (Catharine Burgess) had hired him to find her missing brother Keith Spencer. While following shreds of clues as to the brother’s whereabouts, Frosty interviews the last people to have seen him and pays a surprise visit to Terry Lawford (Maxwell) who recently painted a naked portrait of Spencer. With distinguishing red hair and impeccable diction, Jody seems right at home as the eccentric artist with a penchant for painting nudes. When Lawford suggests that Night remove his clothes, the scene flashes forward to the two enjoying quite a furious work out in bed as Maxwell literally blows on and inhales Kean’s penis. The scene is memorable and surpasses much of the other sexual action in the picture. As Frosty’s ex-wife, actor Jennifer Welles is eloquent and beautiful in her manner, and radiant in her sex scene with Kean. She imparts key information leading to the eventual surprise ending involving the transsexual performer Eve Adams. (Adams appeared earlier in the film, along with the wonderful character actor Bobby Astyr in a segment foreshadowing the story’s conclusion.) Annie Sprinkle (as Annie Sprinkles) pops up in an orgy scenario prefaced by an exotic, erotic dance ritual performed by two female cast members. Overall, Expose Me Lovely (inspired by the 1928 foreign film Lady of the Lake) contains a grimy and subdued undercurrent with a score that perfectly complements the material. This is a noble achievement in its genre on the part of the film’s director and writer Armand Weston.

  In addition to Expose Me Lovely, Maxwell is proud of her involvement in three superb Video-X-Pix releases: Satisfiers of Alpha Blue (1980), A Girl’s Best Friend (1981), and Outlaw Ladies (1981). According to Jody, the Damiano production Satisfiers of Alpha Blue is one of her most significant pictures containing exceptionally hot scenes: double insertion, anal, and a not to be missed sucking interlude with Lysa Thatcher and Hillary Summers. A Girls Best Friend is the first time Maxwell worked with Ron Jeremy.

  In A Girls Best Friend (1981), I had a sex scene with Ron Jeremy and I was on my hands and knees. I had on this beautiful lingerie and a silk dress that they bought for me. [Director] Ron Sullivan never spared any expense. Anyway, I had on a designer garter belt, and bra and panties, and I got on my hands and knees and he pulled my panties down to my knees. He was eating me and he fucked me, and at the point where he was supposed to cum, Ron pulled out and came on my ass. Instead of leaving it like that, he pulled my panties up over [the cum], and started rubbing it into the silk panties. That was erotic and it felt erotic. It was a real turn on because it was different, and it was interesting. Instead of “Wham, bam, you’re done.” I think that Ron Sullivan made cum shots interesting. Many of the films from that era were erotic. I get turned on watching John Leslie. He was just a very sexy person.

  In Outlaw Ladies (1981), there’s a scene with me, and Samantha Fox, and Joey Silvera that has been rated one of the top twenty-five sex scenes of all time by [late adult historian and critic] Jim Holliday and other places. Samantha takes my hair and she tells me to stick out my tongue and not move. Joey comes on my tongue without me flinching, and I’ll tell you that it was hard to do. Again, it was extremely erotic but very hard to do.

  Outlaw Ladies is an exposé of the private sex lives and cravings of six women, defined by distinctive imagery as one vignette links to another. The film opens with Jody Maxwell in the primary role as Barbara. Married to Victor (R. Bolla), the sexually unfulfilled socialite learns how to seek and utilize her tendencies toward dominance and submission through guidance provided by her girlfriends, Evelyn and Abbey (Samantha Fox and Juliet Anderson). When Abbey visits for afternoon tea, Barbara introduces her to a young boy toy (Ron Hudd) for Abbey to play with while Barbara quietly observes and eventually assists by inserting a dildo into Abbey’s behind upon request. We are also introduced to model and actor Cassie (Marlene Willoughby) who presents herself to the public as the model of femininity yet she engages in some sensual exploration of her own with Abbey’s husband Harland (Bobby Astyr). Cassie carries herself with decorum and poise as she sweetly describes what they are doing in bed.

  A young novice attorney Deidre (Veronica Hart) employed by Barbara’s husband Victor, enjoys some kinky fun on the side when an artist Eddie (John Leslie) playfully teaches her how to take his member up her rectum for the first time. Merle Michaels plays the role of Felicia, an insecure friend of Victor’s who works diligently to perform fellatio to his liking, in hope for expert cunnilingus in exchange — with success.

  In the aforementioned scene, Maxw
ell and Samantha Fox (Evelyn) are in perfect sync while taking charge over the masculine looking Joey Silvera, as the women assume control, and alternately defer to one another through the erotic passage. Barbara achieves ultimate sexual satisfaction when Silvera unloads upon her stationary tongue. The rather complex storyline directed by Henry Pachard (Ron Sullivan), is a vehicle for some of the best talent in the industry. All of the characters aid and abet one another in this sophisticated sexual pilgrimage that becomes a metaphor for a deeper understanding of self. Maxwell brings a rich quality to the role resulting in texture and depth of character. Undoubtedly, this is one of her premium outings.

  Also released in 1981, which boasts Jody Maxwell amongst other stellar cast members is reputable director Cecil Howard’s Neon Nights — one of the last true classics of the vintage era.

  I feel I was very fussy in my choices of movies that all are significant works for various reasons. However, although some of my movies certainly were superior in quality and story line and I really love, I think my first movie Portrait was the most significant. I made history of sorts in the world of erotica with that movie. I sang a song, lyrics and all, while having oral sex. That certainly had never been done. As I’d said, it was not a gimmick either. Going beyond Deep Throat where the situational humor is with the audience, I introduced true erotica with humor actually included in it. I honestly believe in sex, and lovemaking can be hot, and passionate, and totally sexy, and have humor in it too. This was and is my personal belief. I showed that a person can make love, and it can be fun and funny, and wonderfully hot all at the same time. My great love — and people can tell — is that I loved to get off on camera. I did and I would. I never faked an orgasm ever in my life. Most of them fake it, trust me.