Marilyn Chambers

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For the soap opera character, see Marilyn Chambers (Home and Away).
Marilyn Chambers

At the 2005 FOXE Awards
Born Marilyn Ann Briggs
April 22, 1952(1952-04-22)[1]
Providence, Rhode Island
Died April 12, 2009(2009-04-12) (aged 56)
Santa Clarita, California
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight 140 lb (64 kg; 10 st)
No. of adult films 36 (per IAFD)

Marilyn Chambers (April 22, 1952 – April 12, 2009) was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress and vice-presidential candidate. She was best known for her 1972 hardcore film debut Behind the Green Door and her 1980 pornographic film Insatiable. She was voted #6 on the list of Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time by AVN.[2]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born Marilyn Ann Briggs [1] in Providence, Rhode Island,[3][4] and raised in Westport, Connecticut[5] in a middle-class household. It is often reported that she was born in Westport, however in a 2007 interview Chambers confirmed she was born in Providence but grew up in Westport.[1] Her father was in advertising and her mother was a nurse. She was the youngest of three children, including a brother, Martin Briggs (keyboardist for 1960s Boston Band, The Remains), and a sister, Jann Smith.[5] Chambers attended Burr Farms Elementary School, Hillspoint Elementary School, Long Lots Junior High School, and Staples High School.[5] Her father tried to discourage her from pursuing a modeling career, citing brutal competition. Chambers said in 2005, "When I was about 16 I learned how to write my mother’s name on notes to get out of school. And then I'd take the train into the city to go to auditions".[6] This initiative while in high school landed her some modeling assignments and a small role in the film The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), which starred Barbra Streisand[1] and in which Chambers was credited as Evelyn Lang.

[edit] Career

[edit] Behind the Green Door

She moved to Los Angeles, California for more work. She did not receive any roles except for a low-budget film, writer-director-producer Sean S. Cunningham's Together (1971), in which she appeared nude. She left Los Angeles for San Francisco, California, where she held several jobs that included topless model and a bottomless dancer. During her early career her most visible modeling job was as the "Ivory soap girl" on the Ivory Snow soap box, posing as a mother holding a baby under the tag line "99 & 44/100% pure".[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Marilyn Chambers on the box cover of Ivory Snow.

Chambers saw an advertisement in the San Francisco Chronicle[13] for a casting call and rushed to the audition, only to find it was for a pornographic film, Behind the Green Door. She was about to leave when producers Artie and Jim Mitchell noticed her resemblance to Cybill Shepherd. They invited her upstairs to their offices and told her the plot of the film. Chambers was highly dubious about accepting a role in a pornographic film fearing it might ruin her chances at breaking into the mainstream. But she was turned on by the fantasy of the story and decided to take a chance, under the condition that she receive a hefty salary and 10% of the film's gross. She also insisted that each actor get tested for venereal disease. The Mitchell Brothers balked at her request for a percentage of the film's profits, but finally agreed realizing a wholesome blond actress was needed for the film.[13]

After filming concluded, she informed them that she was "the Ivory Snow Girl"; the Mitchells capitalized on this by billing her as the "99 and 44/100% pure" girl.[7] Although she said at the time that the film would help "sell a lot more soap", Procter & Gamble quickly dropped her after discovering her double life as an adult-film actress,[1] and the advertising industry was scandalized.[12] The fact that Chambers image was so well known from Ivory Snow boosted the film's ticket sales, and led to several jokes on television talk shows.[10] Nearly every adult film she made following this incident featured a cameo of her Ivory Snow box.[13]

Unusually, Chambers does not have a single word of dialogue in the entire film.[1] After engaging in lesbian sex with a group of women, she has sex with the African-American boxer Johnny Keyes.[12] This possibly makes BTGD the first U.S. feature-length hardcore film to include an interracial sex scene.[14] The porn industry and viewing public were shocked by the then-taboo spectacle of a white woman having sex with a black man. Chambers was relatively unknown prior to BTGD; however, the film made her a star.[8][9] Green Door, along with Deep Throat, released the same year, and The Devil in Miss Jones, ushered in what is commonly known as the porno chic era. Critics have since debated whether she was really having orgasms in her scenes or just acting. She stated in one early interview that they were real, but denied it in an interview many years later.[8]

[edit] Resurrection of Eve and Inside Marilyn Chambers

Following Behind the Green Door, the Mitchell Brothers and Chambers teamed up for Resurrection of Eve which was released in September 1973. A documentary by the brothers called Inside Marilyn Chambers was released in 1976. Chambers reunited with the Mitchell Brothers in 1979 for two 30-minute features called Beyond de Sade and Never a Tender Moment which explored BDSM. The films, which were shot at the Mitchell Brothers Theatre, co-starred Erica Boyer.[15]

[edit] Mainstream Crossover

Chambers dreamed of having a career in mainstream films and believed her celebrity as the star of Behind the Green Door and the Ivory Snow girl would be a stepping stone to other endeavors. Throughout the 1970s she was up for roles in several Hollywood films. She claimed that Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel brought her in to talk about a role in the 1978 film Goin' South, then asked her for cocaine and grilled her about whether her orgasms in Behind the Green Door were real; she was angered to the point where she stormed out of the interview.[16] She was going to be cast in the film Hardcore, opposite George C. Scott, but the casting director took one look at her and said she was too wholesome to be cast as a porn queen. "The Hardcore people wanted a woman with orange hair who chews gum, swings a big purse, and wears stiletto heels. That's such a cliche," Chambers said years later.[13] Season Hubley was cast instead.

In 1974 she starred in the dinner theater production of "Mind With the Dirty Man" in Las Vegas. The play ran for 52 weeks which, at the time, was the longest-running play in Vegas history. Chambers was given the key to the city by the mayor.[13] She later starred in Neil Simon's "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" in Vegas. In 1976 she starred in a short-lived musical revue off-Broadway called "Le Bellybutton." The one-woman show "Sex Surrogate", in 1979, caused controversy in Vegas as it featured full-frontal nudity, which was banned from all casinos.[17] In 1983 the play was spun off into a 26-part syndicated soap opera called Love Ya Florence Nightingale. It was broadcast on cable television channels such as the Playboy Channel.[18][19]

Chambers won the starring role in film director David Cronenberg's low-budget Canadian movie Rabid, which was released in 1977.[1][20] She returned to hardcore pornographic films with Insatiable, which was the top-selling adult video in the U.S. from 1980-1982.[21] Subsequent porn films included Up 'n' Coming (1983) and Insatiable II (1984). She still hoped to launch a successful mainstream acting career, but was unable to do so.[1]

Chambers left the pornography business because of the increasing fear of AIDS.[22] In 1999, Chambers returned to San Francisco to perform at the Mitchell Brothers' O'Farrell Theater. Mayor Willie Brown proclaimed a "Marilyn Chambers Day" for her unique place in San Francisco history, and praising her for her "artistic presence," her "vision" and her "energy."[23] That same year Chambers returned to adult features with a trio of films made for VCA Pictures called Still Insatiable (1999), Dark Chambers (2000) and Edge Play (2000), each directed by Veronica Hart.

Near the end of her career, Chambers appeared primarily in independent films, including her last role in Solitaire. Chambers claimed that the more laid-back pace of these roles suited her as "there's a lot less pressure on you to perform [and] you don't have to be young and skinny."[24] Among these were Bikini Bistro, Angel of H.E.A.T. (with Mary Woronov), Party Incorporated, and Breakfast in Bed.

Chambers wrote an autobiography, My Story, in 1975, and co-authored Xaviera Meets Marilyn Chambers with Xaviera Hollander in 1977. Both were published by Warner Communications. She also wrote a sex advice column in the mid- to late-'70s for Genesis magazine called "Private Chambers," and one for Club magazine throughout the '80s called "State of the Nation."

In a 2004 interview, Chambers said "My advice to somebody who wants to go into adult films is: Absolutely not! It's heart-breaking. It leaves you kind of empty. So have a day job and don't quit it".[25]

[edit] Singing career

Chambers had some chart success with the disco single "Benihana" in 1976, produced by Michael Zager on the Roulette Records label.[26] Billboard magazine said "She...sings quite nicely in a sexy little voice in this catchy disco tribute to an oriental loverman."[27] The song is played in the background of one scene in the film Rabid in which Chambers stars. In the 1980 film Insatiable she sang the theme song, "Shame On You," which plays over the opening credits.[28] She did the same for the song "Still Insatiable" which was used in her comeback in the 1999 adult film of the same name. She also sang vocals in the 1983 X-rated film Up 'n' Coming, in which she plays a rising country music star. In the early 1980s she was the lead singer of a country & western band called Haywire.[13]

[edit] 1985 Arrests

On February 1, 1985, while performing her nude act at the "Cine-Stage" within the Mitchell Brothers' O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco, Chambers was arrested by a vice squad and charged with committing a lewd act in a public place and soliciting prostitution. It was alleged by plainclothes policemen who were in the audience that Chambers allowed audience members to touch her with their hands and mouths during her show called "Feel the Magic." She was released on $2,000 bail and the charges were later dropped. "I've never been arrested in my life for anything, ever, so this is kind of a big shock for me, not only as a performer but as a human being," Chambers said at the time.[29] "It's a heartbreaker. This is supposed to be a hip city. I really love -- make that LOVED -- this city. These people have been my fans for years, and it's a thrill for them to touch me up close. There's nothing illegal if I'm not taking money."[30]

Chambers' attorney claimed that Chambers was used "as a pawn in a struggle over control and adult businesses."[31] Chambers' arrest came three days before the Board of Supervisors were to vote on a proposed ordinance to eliminate police permits for adult bookstores and theaters. In the wake of her arrest, the Board stripped police of their power to license the city's adult theaters.[13] "The O'Farrell was packed the day after we were arrested," Chambers said later. "And they put the mayor's phone number up on the marquee -- 'Call Mayor Dianne Feinstein'...I'm in jail with my fur coat and nothing else on, and [the police officers] want to take pictures. I took a mug shot with every cop in the place, and they're going, 'I'm really sorry we had to do this.' And the next night they were all back enjoying the show."[32]

Later that year she was arrested during a performance at a strip club in Cleveland.[33] Police said she was nude except for her shoes and was having sexual contact with an audience member at the New Era Burlesk theater. She was charged with promoting prostitution and was held in jail until she was freed on a $1,000 bond. Chambers denied the charge saying, "I did the same show I've been doing for the last six years. Police just happened to be in the audience."[34]

[edit] Efforts in politics

In the 2004 United States presidential election, Chambers ran for Vice President on the Personal Choice Party ticket, a quasi-libertarian party. She received a total of 946 votes. In the 2008 United States presidential election, she was again Charles Jay's running mate, this time as an alternate write-in candidate to his primary national Boston Tea Party running mate Thomas L. Knapp in the states of Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.[35][36]

[edit] Death

On April 12, 2009, Chambers was found dead in her home near Santa Clarita, California.[1][37] Documents found with her body identified her as Marilyn Ann Taylor, presumably the name she assumed after a marriage.[1] She was discovered by her 17-year-old daughter, McKenna Marie Taylor.[38] The coroner's autopsy revealed that Chambers died of a cerebral hemorrhage and an aneurysm related to heart disease. Chambers was ten days away from her 57th birthday. Painkiller hydrocodone (Vicodin) and anti-depressant Citalopram were found in her bloodstream but not enough to cause death.[39] Upon her death the Associated Press reported that she was survived by her daughter, sister, and brother.[1]

[edit] Fictional portrayal

In 2000, Tracy Hutson played Chambers in the cable television biographical film Rated X, about the Mitchell brothers' film and strip-club career.

[edit] Partial Filmography

  • The Owl and the Pussycat (1970 - credited as Evelyn Lang)
  • Together (1971)
  • Behind the Green Door (1972)
  • Resurrection of Eve (1973)
  • Inside Marilyn Chambers (1976)
  • Rabid (1977)
  • Insatiable (1980)
  • Angel of H.E.A.T. (1983)
  • Up 'n' Coming (1983)
  • Insatiable II (1984)
  • Still Insatiable (1999)
  • Dark Chambers (2000)
  • Edge Play (2000)
  • Stash (2007)
  • Solitaire (2008)
  • Porndogs: The Adventures of Sadie (2009)

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bruce Weber, "http://movies.msn.com/wonderwall/in-memoriam-2009/photo-gallery/feature/?photoidx=32The New York Times, April 14, 2009, reports that at her death, Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County coroner's office, gave her name as Marilyn Ann Taylor, "evidently the name she assumed after a marriage," and that "he could not confirm that her birth name was, as often reported, Marilyn Ann Briggs".
  2. ^ Archived: AVN's Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time, January 2002.
  3. ^ Doubet, Phil (2006). My Pryor Year: A 333 Soul Anthology. iUniverse. pp. 120. ISBN 0-595-39157-5. 
  4. ^ Morgan, Thomas J. "Providence-born porn star Marilyn Chambers dies at 54," The Providence Journal, Tuesday, April 14, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c "Adult Film Star Marilyn Chambers, Ex-Westporter, Dies at 56". westportnow.com. 2009-04-13. http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/comments/23202/. Retrieved 2009-04-16. 
  6. ^ The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry, cited in WestportNow.com
  7. ^ a b Helene Goupil, Josh Krist (2005). San Francisco: The Unknown City. Arsenal Pulp Press. pp. 238–241. ISBN 1551521881. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pXAsU1sQG1AC&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 
  8. ^ a b c Falk, Pasi (1994). The consuming body. SAGE. p. 201. ISBN 0803989741. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Yo2Sz_9rjkQC. 
  9. ^ a b Robert J. Kelly, Ko-lin Chin, Rufus Schatzberg (1994). Handbook of organized crime in the United States. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 301–302. ISBN 0313283664. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CWg1Efv5C5UC. 
  10. ^ a b David Smith Allyn (2001). Make love, not war: the sexual revolution, an unfettered history. Taylor & Francis. p. 235. ISBN 0415929423. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NE9lfn0FBHUC&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 
  11. ^ Marilyn Chambers and Ivory Snow, snopes.com
  12. ^ a b c Williams, Linda (1999). Hard core: power, pleasure, and the "frenzy of the visible". University of California Press. pp. 156–158. ISBN 0520219430. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3wAe48_yfNUC. 
  13. ^ a b c d e f g John Hubner, Bottom Feeders, Dell (1994), pp. 166
  14. ^ Williams, Linda (2004). Porn studies. Duke University Press. p. 299. ISBN 0822333120. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rdWZ8JD5dkkC. 
  15. ^ AVN Porn Star Profile: Marilyn Chambers
  16. ^ Bruce Rushton, "Porn Again," The Riverfront Times, June 6, 2011
  17. ^ Las Vegas Review Journal, "Adult film star Marilyn Chambers dies at 56; Las Vegas ties numerous"
  18. ^ "Chambers doing TV series," Park City Daily News, May 6, 1983
  19. ^ "Heroes & Villains: a Postscript," People magazine, March 5, 1984
  20. ^ Rabid at the Internet Movie Database
  21. ^ Williams (1999), p.175
  22. ^ Dougan, Michael, "The return of Marilyn Chambers," San Francisco Examiner, July 25, 1999
  23. ^ Sam Whiting, "Porn star Marilyn Chambers dies at 56," San Francisco Chronicle, April 14, 2009
  24. ^ Foster, Rick (2007-07-23). "Ex-porn star Marilyn Chambers in local indie film". The Sun Chronicle. http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/07/24/news/news1.txt. Retrieved 2007-07-24. 
  25. ^ Kirkland, Bruce, "Inside Chambers", Jam! Showbiz, June 5, 2004
  26. ^ "Porn star Marilyn Chambers dies", Variety, Monday, April 13, 2009.
  27. ^ Billboard, "Top Single Picks," February 5, 1977
  28. ^ Insatiable at the Internet Movie Database
  29. ^ "Porn film queen free on bond," The Daily Sentinel, February 5, 1985
  30. ^ "X-Rated Film Star Arrested Over Show," The Press-Courier, February 4, 1985
  31. ^ "Adult film star arrested," The Milwaukee Sentinel, February 5, 1985
  32. ^ Legs McNeil & Jennifer Osborne, The Other Hollywood, Regan Books (2005), pp. 492
  33. ^ "Chambers arrest during nude performance," The Milwaukee Sentinel, December 16, 1985
  34. ^ "Chambers arrested in Ohio," Ocala Star-Banner, December 16, 1985
  35. ^ Boston Tea Party Voter Guide
  36. ^ Official vice-presidential campaign site
  37. ^ Duke, Alan (2009-04-19). "Porn star Marilyn Chambers dies at 56". edition.cnn.com. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/13/obit.chambers/index.html?iref=24hours. Retrieved 2009-04-16. 
  38. ^ McLellan, Dennis (2009-04-14). "Marilyn Chambers dies at 56; '70s porn star and Ivory Snow model". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-marilyn-chambers14-2009apr14,0,2571017.story. Retrieved 2009-04-14. 
  39. ^ "Porn star Marilyn Chambers died of heart disease". 2009-05-19. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090518/en_nm/us_chambers_1. Retrieved 2009-05-15. [dead link]
  40. ^ XRCO Hall of Fame
  41. ^ MayorDefacto. "Transcript of the video A Night of Legends: First Annual XRCO Adult Film Awards". http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dcpxgmgk_0hrghhdgp. Retrieved 2008-08-09. 
  42. ^ Sherri L. Shaulis (2008-02-08). "Web, Studio Winners Announced At XBiz Awards". AVN.com. http://business.avn.com/articles/29098.html. Retrieved 2009-08-30. 

[edit] External links

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