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Carlos Tobalina (filmmaker)

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Carlos Tobalina
Born
Efrain Tobalina

1925
Peru
Died(1989-03-31)March 31, 1989
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, actor
Years active1969–1987
Spouse
Maria Pia Palfrader
​
(m. 1964)​
Children1

Efrain "Carlos" Tobalina (1925 – March 31, 1989),[1][2] also known as Carlos Tobalina and often credited as Troy Benny,[3][4] was a Peruvian-born filmmaker and actor known for his work on pornographic films. He directed such films as Infrasexum (1969), Jungle Blue (1978), Three Ripening Cherries (1979), Sensual Fire (1980), and Flesh and Bullets (1985). He became the owner of several adult theaters, and was involved in court cases related to obscenity laws. In 1989, he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head at one of his houses in Los Angeles.

Early life

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Tobalina was born in 1925 in Peru, and immigrated to Brazil and then to the United States in the early 1950s.[1] He arrived in California in 1956, and over the next few years, he worked as both a car salesman at a number of car dealerships and a Spanish-language announcer.[1]

Career

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In 1964, Tobalina founded C. Tobalina Productions, Inc., his film company.[1] He made his debut as a film director and actor with the 1969 film Infrasexum. By the autumn of 1971, Tobalina had become the owner of the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, California after purchasing it for around $300,000.[1][2] Throughout the decade, Tobalina and his wife Maria Pia Palfrader took ownership of a few adult theaters, including the X Theater on Hollywood Boulevard and the Star Theater in La Puente.[1]

Obscenity cases

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As early as 1969, Tobalina hired lawyers to defend himself and his films from obscenity laws of the time.[1] Infrasexum was brought to court in the state of Colorado on the charge of being "obscene material", but the court ultimately sided with Tobalina. After the case, Tobalina filed a counterclaim against the prosecution, which included the mayor, state attorney general, and governor of Denver.[1] In 1970, a screening of Infrasexum in Birmingham, Alabama resulted in the arrest of a theater manager and a projectionist on account of allegedly violating city ordinances regarding obscene material.[5]

In September 1971, the Los Angeles County Superior Court declared Tobalina guilty of violating a California Penal Code regarding the exhibition of obscene material for screening the 1971 film Januarius.[1] Tobalina then hired lawyer Stanley Fleishman to appeal the ruling; appeals were made to the Los Angeles County appellate court, which upheld the ruling, and the California Supreme Court, which declined to review the case.[1] Fleishman then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court. By 1973, after an increase in pornography-related court cases similar to those Tobalina was involved in, the U.S. Supreme Court redefined its definition of “obscenity” with the decision Miller v. California, from “utterly without socially redeeming value” to that which lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”.[1][6]

Personal life

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Tobalina married a bookkeeper named Maria Pia Palfrader in 1964, becoming a stepfather to her young daughter Gloria.[1] Two years later, in 1966, he and Maria had a daughter named Linda.[1]

Death

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On March 31, 1989, Tobalina's wife Maria found him lying unresponsive in the enclosed back patio of one of his houses in the neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.[1] He was discovered with a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver in his right hand, and was declared dead from a gunshot wound to the head.[1] He had written a suicide note which explained that he was suffering from terminal liver cancer.[1]

Partial filmography

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Year Film Director Writer Producer Actor Notes Ref(s)
1969 Infrasexum Yes Yes Yes Yes [7]
1970 Double Initiation Yes Yes Yes Yes
1975 Marilyn and the Senator Yes Yes Yes
1975 Carnal Haven Yes Yes Yes credited as Troy Benny
1976 Her Last Fling Yes Yes Executive as Bruce Van Buren and Troy Benny
1977 The Ultimate Pleasure Yes Yes Executive as Bruce Van Buren and Troy Benny
1977 Fantastic Orgy Yes as Troy Benny
1978 Jungle Blue Yes as Troy Benny
1978 Champagne Orgy Yes Yes as Troy Benny
1979 Three Ripening Cherries Yes as Troy Benny [3]
1980 Sensual Fire Yes Yes as Troy Benny [3]
1981 Undulations Yes as Troy Benny
1981 Sexual Heights Yes as Troy Benny
1981 Anticipation Yes as Troy Benny [8]
1982 Lust Inferno Yes as Troy Benny [4][9]
1982 Marathon Yes Yes as Troy Benny [4][9]
1983 My Sinful Life Yes Yes Uncredited as Troy Benny [10]
1983 Las Vegas Girls Yes Uncredited as Troy Benny [10]
1983 Lady Dynamite Yes Yes as Troy Benny
1983 Flesh Pond Yes Yes as Troy Benny [8]
1985 Flesh and Bullets Yes Yes Yes as Efrain Tobalina [11][12]
1986 Super Sex Yes Yes as Troy Benny [13]
1986 Pulsating Flesh Yes Uncredited as Troy Benny [13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Berg, Nate (May 12, 2016). "Sex, Cash & Suicide: Carlos Tobalina - Carlos Tobalina and His Palisades 'House of Ill Fame'". Palisadian-Post. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Horak, Jan-Christopher; Jarvinen, Lisa; Gunckel, Colin, eds. (2019). Cinema between Latin America and Los Angeles: Origins to 1960. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-1978801257.
  3. ^ a b c Pfeiffer, Lee (January 30, 2015). "Review: "Three Ripening Cherries" (1979) and "Sensual Fire" (1980), Retro Erotica Double Feature from Vinegar Syndrome". Cinema Retro. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Pfeiffer, Lee (May 14, 2016). "Review: "Lust Inferno" (1982) and "Marathon" (1982), Retro Erotica Double Feature from Vinegar Syndrome". Cinema Retro. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Asa Lloyd Peoples v. The City of Birmingham, 440 F.2d 1352 (5th Cir. 1971).
  6. ^ Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 23 (1973). Public domain This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
  7. ^ Pfeiffer, Lee (April 2, 2016). "Review: "Infrasexum" (1969), Retro Erotica from Vinegar Syndrome". Cinema Retro. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Anticipation / Flesh Pond – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Lust Inferno / Marathon – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "My Sinful Life / Las Vegas Girls – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Flesh and Bullets – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  12. ^ Pfeiffer, Lee (September 26, 2016). "Review: "Flesh and Bullets" (1985) Starring Glenn McKay and Mick Morrow; DVD Special Edition from Vinegar Syndrome". Cinema Retro. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Pulsating Flesh / Super Sex – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
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