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

by Nelson, Jill C.

  After undergoing a complete hysterectomy at age fifty, Anderson discovered due to of a lack of essential hormones she could no longer climax during vaginal intercourse. There is medical evidence to support the fact that the cervix plays a major role in orgasm as it dilates during intercourse to prepare for conception and is highly sensitive to touch. If a women’s cervix is removed during a hysterectomy, the sensitivity to the cervix area is lost during penetration by the penis because the nerve endings that respond to stimulation no longer function. Anderson turned to perfecting masturbation techniques in order to relieve her sexual tension and manage her pain.

  I do body work. I am a massage therapist. With Tender Loving Touch technique, I use my entire body very slowly and very gently all over the recipient’s entire body. I have a real gift of touch. My clients can completely relax and go into an altered state. I do this and get them very relaxed, and then I give them a real nice massage. I also do some relationship counseling to help couples to learn to talk with each other, before they are yelling at each other.

  As founder and expert practitioner of the Tender Loving Touch application and in accordance with her own body, Juliet effectively expanded upon the fundamentals of her program to serve as a basis for a distinctive film venture in 1998.

  Amazingly, at sixty years of age after appearing in a few 1990s movies, Juliet’s film and directing career(s) were officially semi-revived when she, her partner, and three real-life couples over the age of fifty performed in Ageless Desire (1998). Drawing from a cornucopia of sexual techniques spanning more than four decades, Anderson explicitly demonstrates the finer points of lovemaking for seniors in this notable project where she is still every bit a Goddess.

  Ageless Desire was actually my production. They let me on the set and said, “Why don’t you take over, Juliet? You have a better idea of what’s going on. We’ll take a smoke break, you go ahead.” In most of my films, I was actually directing while acting anyway. I was just creating what was going on. I’d whisper to people, “Let’s move over here,” and that kind of thing. Yes, I’m a born director in and among other things in my mind. Other people would just say, “Yeah, you’re just bossy.” I see things in a larger context and how they’re going to fit together, that is sort of instinctive. I didn’t mean to be irritable, it’s just that I have a vision and can see things and other people don’t. It’s a talent and it has been recognized by many. There were often jokes on the set. Director Anthony Spinelli said to me, “Oh, I’m so glad to see you Juliet, now I can pretty much just take the day off.” I would be on-camera very aware of what was going on to the extent that he didn’t have to pay attention or follow my every single move. I multi-tasked and I also satisfied something in me. I really enjoyed doing it. No one was forcing me.

  Like many former porn personalities, members of Juliet’s family don’t necessarily share the same enthusiasm or reverence for Anderson’s legacy and superstardom, as did Juliet, and especially, her fan base. Anderson’s achievements in the adult entertainment field are plentiful and range from her induction into the Legends Hall of Fame in 1996, to her XRCO Hall of Fame award in 1999, to her Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 followed by an honorary doctorate from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in 2007.

  My family does have regrets, of course. Even my conservative sister and her daughter and husband; they know and they are not happy about it because they are conservative and we don’t talk about it. I don’t hide it. When I’ve gotten awards, I have certainly written to them and told them, “I’d just like you to know that I’ve gotten a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Adult Entertainment Industry for the years of work that I did and it’s a real honor”. You know, that kind of thing. I got every award that was out there. The only thing I haven’t gotten yet is director. That would be for Ageless Desire made over ten years ago.

  Out like a Lioness

  It is reported Juliet Anderson passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 11, 2010. Juliet’s quiet passing is a fitting end to the life of a classy woman who still manages to turn-on fans of her exceptional work in vintage adult films years after she gracefully closed the door on her central role as one of the first Cougars in the adult industry. When she died, Anderson left behind a close group of chosen friends, four cherished cats (all of whom have found homes thanks to Annie Sprinkle), and a timeless legacy epitomizing the true meaning of “ageless desire.”

  The women of my era definitely have left a legacy, and if for no other reason people will always enjoy things about sex whether they want to admit it or not. We gave people an outlet for their suppressed sexual desires. The legacy is that the women who really made their mark which I introduced, is that a woman can be intelligent, funny and sexy, and sometimes older like Kay Parker and me. Women don’t have to be real young for these sex scenes. Having a bit of experience is definitely appealing.

  After I stopped doing films, everybody went their own way. I ran into Nina Hartley quite by accident when she was giving a talk right down the block from me. I was completely surprised to find out that she was there. I introduced her to the industry. It was nice to see her, but I’m not going to see her again. She has her own life and I have my own life. Everybody, when they quit, they went their own ways so that was it. That’s fine. I always wish them well and hope that they’re happy and enjoying whatever they are doing.

  I tell very few people what I used to do. I still get recognized though. If somebody really followed that genre and look at me they will often say, “Oh, my god, it is you.” For me it’s a little touchy when we’re on the public transportation and somebody says loudly, “Oh, my god, it’s you! I loved you in films, you were so sexy!” Then everybody turns and looks at me. People are so thrilled when they run into one of their idols.

  I go to a lot of concerts, especially classical music, but I like many different genres. I love theatre and some of the performances that I get to see are because I usher in several venues. I like foreign films and I’ll often go to movie theaters to see the films because I chose not to have a television. I like to read and I am a very good, creative cook. I love to have people over and entertain. I take walks. Actually, I have very few friends. I’m somewhat reclusive, but I have a few and I cherish their friendship. I also get a massage on a regular basis. It’s very therapeutic. I’m very good about how I spend my time. I like it quiet, and I’m not interested in going to places that are very noisy and crowded. I’m the cat lady. I’ve got four, or four have got me.

  I feel very fortunate and blessed, and I have had and continue to have a really full and enjoyable life. I would prefer not to be as sick as I am with the Crohn’s disease, but that could happen to anybody. I have chosen not to have any children whether legitimate or illegitimate. I have no children, grandchildren or great grandchildren. I am happy in spite of this very unpleasant ailment that I have which can cause me severe pain, but I make the most of the good days. As for the other days, I lay low. One of the reasons I’m happy is because I was not expected to live beyond twenty, so every year is a gift. I feel good and all of my body is natural. I’ve chosen not to have any face-lifts or augmentation. I feel very fortunate. I feel very lucky that I am alive and I live in a nice place. I live simply, but there’s lots going on, so I count my blessings.

  I especially love nature. I live in the foothills by the Bay. I walk all over — it’s not necessarily to get from point A to point B. I like to walk up in the hills. It’s so beautiful overlooking the San Francisco Bay. I’m near John Muir Woods and everything is right here. I just need to go with somebody because I don’t have a car anymore. I crashed mine and didn’t replace it because I can get around almost anywhere with the public transportation. I don’t have a car or a television. Boy, do I save a lot of money so I am a throwback to some past generation. Yet, here I was having all this wild sex! I had an amazing life!

  Juliet Anderson, Burbank High School, 1956.

  PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL JOHNSON

 
COURTESY OF WORTH MENTIONING PUBLIC RELATIONS

  Juliet Anderson and Johnny Keyes, in Aunt Peg. VCX

  PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL JOHNSON

  PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL JOHNSON

  Juliet poses in mauve for friend and photographer, Paul Johnson. This was one of her personal favorite pictures. PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL JOHNSON.

  PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL JOHNSON

  16.

  Seka

  “The Platinum Princess of Porn”

  COURTESY OF SEKA.COM

  “Take control of your life. Don’t let somebody else control your life. If you’re thinking about getting into the business, get an education first. Go to school. Go to college and think about what you’re going to do after this is all over.”

  — Seka

  Dorothiea Patton hails from the state of Virginia where she is the daughter of industrious blue-collar parents and one of a multitude of relatives. As a child, “Dottie” was a rough and tumble tomboy who reveled in wide-open spaces examining bugs or pulling mischievous pranks with siblings and various cousins. A plain-looking girl in her adolescent years, by the time she was sixteen, Dottie had transformed into a beautiful young woman and won her first Beauty Pageant while still in high school.

  Marriage at eighteen provided a means to independence and freedom, but Dottie quickly discovered she was not destined for a life of bare feet and a succession of pregnancies. After she and her first husband parted company, Dottie began dating a man who owned several adult bookstores showing eight-millimeter loops. Appalled by how unkempt some of the early female performers appeared, she decided she could present a more aesthetically appealing package for consumers and set about to prove it.

  Shortly after arriving in Las Vegas where she did her first nude photo layout, dyed her hair platinum and adopted the stage name “Seka,” (borrowed from a Vegas blackjack dealer meaning “kind girl” or “little darling” in Serbo Croatian) the tomboy from Southwest Virginia had arrived. Poised and glamorous, with white blonde hair Seka resembled Marilyn Monroe and possessed obvious star power that has since left a lasting impression amongst devotees of the Hollywood counterculture.

  Seka’s introduction to hardcore film audiences was in Dracula Sucks (1978) sporting an all-star cast of veteran performers. Suddenly, she found herself the object of her male co-stars’ sexual desires. Once the sultry blonde bombshell came into view for the first time before legends Jamie Gillis, John Holmes, John Leslie and Paul Thomas, she swiftly established the pecking order by refusing to participate in a scenario where she felt her boundaries would be compromised. Taking control of her career has been Seka’s mantra as is evidenced in her becoming the first female star to become a contract girl for Swedish Erotica. In 1981, Seka’s fame was at its peak when she personified her namesake in Inside Seka. Five years later, Seka was the first adult film star to appear on Saturday Night Live with boyfriend and comedic genius, the late Sam Kinison.

  For enthusiasts of the vintage adult genre, Seka is an institution. She is one of a few golden age legends who continues to make public appearances and has astutely honed her innate business sense to ensure she remains a marketable commodity. Since her arrival as an adult entertainer, the unified feeling shared by fans and contemporaries alike is one of respect and reverence. Seka is credited for redefining the female face and vision of erotic cinema.

  Mountain Mama

  I was born in 1954, and I grew up in the southwest part of Virginia — down in the tip of Virginia next to North Carolina and West Virginia in the mountains. I’m a hillbilly. I have a tremendous amount of family. We didn’t have babies. Please, we had litters. I have one brother and one sister, but my mother’s family is quite large and we had lots of children. Today, I have about four to five hundred living relatives that are close relatives on my mother’s side, and about the same on my dad’s side.

  Life in the mountains was good. Even though I didn’t have a lot of brothers and sisters, I had lots of first cousins and second cousins and everybody just grew up together. You’re never alone. It’s not like being an only child or whatever. If one parent couldn’t take care of the kids that day then everybody just got together and they went to somebody else’s house or all played together, so it was like having lots of brothers and sisters. Both my parents were employed doing factory work. When you come from a big family, if your parents are at work then you go to your grandma’s house, or your aunt’s house, or your uncle’s house, or your cousin’s or whatever, so there was always someone around.

  I didn’t have a lot of friends when I was in school — in grade school. I was just like a little ugly duckling child. They used to call me a “little Biafra War Orphan” because I was skinny, and I didn’t have any front teeth. I was a tomboy and I didn’t like wearing dresses. I didn’t want to be a girl. Girls didn’t have any fun. They couldn’t go and play with worms and dig in the dirt — I wanted to be a boy. I don’t know that things have ever changed. I still like to dig in the dirt and play with worms! You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.

  As a youngster, Seka emulated iconic cinema idols such as Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, and Sophia Loren. When she started to grow into a striking young woman, the spunky teen mustered up the nerve to enter a couple of prestigious beauty pageants in her vicinity and did quite well before broadening her horizons.

  I won the high school beauty pageant [Miss Hopewell High School] and Miss Southside Virginia. The high school one was a moderately big pageant and Miss Southside Virginia wasn’t as big. That one scared me to death because I had to do a bathing suit competition. I did not want to do that.

  I graduated from high school, but during the time I grew up it was more about getting married and having a couple of babies and that sort of thing. It was what everybody did. I was never interested in having children. I never wanted to have children. I liked them well enough, but I never wanted to have any. It’s not that I’m not maternal. I love other people’s children, but I figured it was hard enough to take care of myself. How could I take care of something else, you know, or anyone else for that matter so I was never interested in having children.

  I met my first husband while I had a job selling shoes. He played pool across the street all the time and he was eleven or twelve years older than I was. He was 6’6” or 6’7”, and I was like, “Wow, that’s a really tall guy and he goes in and drinks beer and plays pool! He’s a bad boy! I think I’m interested in that!” The person I was dating at the time was from the same church that I went to and he was shorter than I am. Everyone always wants the taboo. Anything that you can’t have, you want, because if you can have it, then there’s no challenge to it.

  After I got married, my husband wanted kids and I said, “No, I’m not having kids, at least not now.” It was about, “Well, we need to start having children,” and I’m like, “No, no, no.” That was probably what broke the marriage apart. He was sort of demanding that I have children and his parents wanted children and I said, “I’m not going to do that.” That’s the worst thing you can say to me is, “You have to do that,” because I’m going to do everything in my power not to do it. I’m very defiant! I was still a baby. I was only eighteen. Really, the reason I got married was to get out of the house because I knew there was more out there than just the various minute parts that I had already experienced. That’s another reason why I probably got divorced too. I had started to listen to rock and roll music — you know, the devil’s workshop — bad girl — and I’d had sex for the first time. It wasn’t until the day after I got married that I had sex the first time. I didn’t even have sex on my wedding night because I was scared to death and I locked myself in the bathroom. Suddenly, it was sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I was like, “Wow! This could be fun! I think I need to be single!”

  Sex wasn’t what I expected, but I don’t know what I was expecting. Still, I thought, “this is pretty nice”. It has stayed that way all these years. I know a lot of women
who don’t enjoy it after a certain period. It’s like after they get married and have children they don’t want to have sex anymore. I think, “What is wrong with you? It’s fun and it feels good!” I suppose some women feel tugged on. I know a lot of women who don’t have children that don’t want to have sex. It’s like there’s something missing there that got left out when the recipe was being put together. I was in first grade in 1960, so obviously, I didn’t ever think about sex until around 1970. I’ve always been known for my timing though so it was perfect timing, I suppose.

  I think most people know that I owned six or seven adult bookstores at one time after separating from my first husband. That was eight-millimeter films. You had the peep shows at the back that were the quarter machines. The way that I had my store set up, I could see all the way down the back so I could see all the projectors running. I’d never really watched adult films before. I wasn’t offended by it — just didn’t know that much about it.

  Blonde Fire & Dracula Sucks

  Seka’s decision to embark upon a career as a sex performer was predicated upon the simple belief she could present a more appealing image in front of the camera rather than some of the plain girls she observed from her vantage point as the proprietor of adult themed stores. As an eager, self-assured woman, one could argue her motivations were purely business oriented. In the early stages of her career, Seka had a partner.

  Ken Yontz, a fellow that I was dating — I was never married to that man, thank the Lord — had the adult stores, and then we eventually got more and more stores in Virginia. When the film would break, you’d have to take the movie projector out and splice the film back together and re-open the booth so that people could watch it. I started seeing a lot of the movies, and I saw what women looked like in the movies and I thought, “This is just a travesty”. It wasn’t that they weren’t pretty women. They could have been pretty women, but the bottoms of their feet were dirty and they had pimples on their butts; no make-up, stringy dirty hair, and I thought, “This is horrible!” No wonder women were perceived at that time as if they were a piece of meat. It was no wonder they weren’t admired, and they weren’t put up on a pedestal and they weren’t treated like the Goddesses that we are. I said, “You know, I think I can do this and do it better” and I think I did. That was part of my intention. That’s how I started.