Ron Jeremy
Ron Jeremy (born Ron Jeremy Hyatt on March 12, 1953) is an American pornographic actor currently residing in Long Island, New York.[1] Nicknamed the Hedgehog[2] for his "spherical hirsuteness"[3], he was ranked by AVN Magazine at #1 in their "50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list.[4] Ron has also made appearances in non-pornographic flims with studios such as Troma Entertainment.[5]
He gained some notoriety for being capable of autofellatio (with his first on-screen demonstration being Inside Seka[6]) but he has since stated in a 2003 interview that all he can do these days is kiss the tip of his penis due to his weight gain.[7]
Biography
Jeremy was born to an upper-middle class Jewish family[8]; his father Arnold was a physicist and his mother a book editor[9] who served in the O.S.S. during World War 2 as she spoke fluent German and French[10]
Jeremy has self-described himself growing up as the "the middle child craving universal acceptance and approval"[9]
Ron Jeremy attended Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens; former CIA director George Tenet was a classmate.[11] He earned bachelor's degrees in Education and Theater and a Master's degree in Special Education from Queens College, City University of New York.[12] He taught Special Education classes in the New York City area and was a substitute teacher for regular classes.[5]
Pornographic Film Career
He left teaching (his self-described "ace in the hole") to work as an actor in New York City, and says he found out what it was like to make no money as an actor as he "starved Off-Broadway".[12] Jeremy posed for Playgirl after his then-girlfriend submitted his photo to the magazine,[11] and subsequently moved into the adult film industry as a means to support himself.[12] His first appearance in a porn film was in a film by Chuck Vincent called Snap (though later renamed COD).[13] He started using his first and middle name professionally in the adult industry, after his grandmother Rose was pestered by people calling her thinking they were contacting Ron.[9]
Jeremy had his nickname of "The Hedgehog" bestowed upon him by Bill Margold after an incident on the set of Olympic Fever, shot in 1979[14]. Jeremy had flown in from New York to shoot the movie and had dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, expecting warm weather. During his motorcycle ride to the set, located in near Lake Arrowhead in the Calfornia mountains, the weather had deteriorated to blizzard conditions which chilled him to the point of hypothermia. Upon arriving at the set, Jeremy was immediately whisked away to warm up in a hot shower. and when he had finished, his skin had taken on a pink hue from the temperature extremes and the hairs on his body were standing on end. Margold's comments on seeing Jeremy after the shower were "You are a hedgehog, my friend. A walking, talking hedgehog."[15]
Jeremy is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for "Most Appearances in Adult Films";[16] his entry on the Internet Adult Film Database (IAFD) lists more than 1900 films in which he has acted and a further 264 films of which he was the director.[17] By way of comparison, John Holmes—the next highest-ranked male star on the AVN Top 50 porn stars[4]—has only 384 acting credits listed on the IAFD.[18]
For a time, he was semi-blacklisted within the porn industry. One joke that made the rounds within the industry at that time was "the kinkier acts some actresses would not perform were bestiality, sado-masochism and sex with Jeremy[2] He has since been recognized for his contributions to the adult industry by being inducted into the both the AVN and XRCO Hall of Fame. As well, Jeremy's work earned him a spot on the Adult Star Path of Fame located in Edison, New Jersey.
Mainstream Appearances
Outside the adult film industry, Jeremy worked as a "special consultant" for the 1985 film 9½ Weeks[19] and also appeared in the second season of the reality television series, The Surreal Life alongside Vanilla Ice, Tammy Faye, and Erik Estrada.[20]
As a further indication of his crossover celebrity status, Jeremy has posed in an advertisement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to raise awareness of the overpopulation of domesticated animals. In the poster Ron lies partially nude on a bed, a pair of handcuffs around his wrist. Poking fun at his prolific notoriety, the title of the advertisement exclaims, "Too much sex can be a bad thing. Spay and neuter your cats and dogs."[21]
In 2005, Jeremy made headlines when he was invited to address the Oxford Union. According to the Union’s librarian, Vladimir Bermant, "Ron is the biggest and apparently the best in the business, so I'm sure he'll have some fascinating stories to tell." His speech defending pornography was well-received.[22][23]
In 2006, Jeremy began a series of debates on pornography opposing Pastor Craig Gross, founder of the anti-pornography website [xxxchurch], visiting various college and university campuses as part of the "Porn Debate Tour."[24]
Jeremy has announced that he has written his memoirs with the aid of a ghost-writer. The book, entitled "Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz", will be published by Harper Collins in February 2007.[3][25]
References
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Allison Mooney. "Ron Jeremy Bio a Lesson in Self Love". Radar Online. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ a b "AVN: The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time". Adult Video News. Action-DVD.com. January 2002. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Nardwuar (1996-12-27). "Nardwuar vs Ron Jeremy". Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Inc. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help) - ^ Glenn Emerstone (April 2003). "Interview with Ron Jeremy". NY Rock. NY Rock. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help) - ^ Fred Beldin. "All Movie Guide biography of Ron Jeremy, as found on VH1.com". Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ a b c Naomi Pfefferman (2001-11-30). "A Nice Jewish Porn Star". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ "Insane" Wayne Chinsang. "Ron Jeremy interview". tastes like chicken. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ a b "Meet Ron Jeremy". Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy. Maelstrom Entertainment. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
- ^ a b c Cory Stulce (1998-07-08). "13 Inane Questions with the reigning king of adult cinema: Ron Jeremy". The Alestle. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help) - ^ "Ron Jeremy: penetrating society since '78". AskMen.com. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ Olympic Fever at IMDb
- ^ Jeremy, Ron (2007). Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 67–71. ISBN 978-0-06-084082-2.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Product Description". Being Ron Jeremy. Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
- ^ Ron Jeremy at the Internet Adult Film Database
- ^ John Holmes at the Internet Adult Film Database
- ^ 9 ½ Weeks at IMDb
- ^ Andy Dehnart (2003-10-20). "The Surreal Life 2: Vanilla Ice, Tammy Faye, Ron Jeremy, Erik Estrada cast in Surreal Life 2". reality blurred. reality blurred. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help) - ^ Peter Warren (2005-08-19). "Ron Jeremy to Appear in PETA Ad". News. AVN Publications, Inc. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help) - ^ "Banging on at Oxford". World News. The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help) - ^ Matt Trueman (2005-05-05). "At It Like 'The Hedgehog'". The Oxford Student. Oxford Student Services Limited. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help) - ^ Jacob Watta (2006-11-07). "Jeremy, Gross to grapple with issue of pornography". Accent. The Penn. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help) - ^ Thomas J. Stanton (2006-11-19). "Harper Collins to Publish Ron Jeremy Memoir". News. AVN Publications, Inc. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
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(help)
- 1953 births
- People from Queens
- People from Long Island
- American porn stars
- Jewish American actors
- Living people
- Male porn stars
- The Surreal Life
- Participants in American reality television series
- XRCO Hall of Fame
- Celebrity Deathmatch cast members
- Queens College, City University of New York alumni
- City University of New York people