How do you measure up to Ron? Click the image to see the full size infographic. Courtesy of Porn Star Ron Jeremy
By Ben Baroncini
Daily Bruin Contributor
Ron Jeremy is not just famous, he’s infamous, he’s a superstar, he’s a porn star.
He is known the world over for his starring rolls in over 1,600 films. Jeremy seems to be proud of his accomplishments in the controversial industry.
“Alright,” said Jeremy in a phone interview, “maybe I’m not doing Shakespearian soliloquies, but I’m still a performer.”
Jeremy will be featured in a documentary about his life titled “Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy.” This award-winning film will premier at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles tonight and Jeremy will make special appearances at 7:30 and 9:40 p.m.
Perhaps the most intriguing characteristic of Ron Jeremy is that he is not a typical porn star.
“He represents the average American guy,” said Sharon Mitchell, founder of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, and an adult actress who has worked with Jeremy before. “He has the pot belly and the hair. He’s an average Joe.”
First and foremost, Ron sees himself as a professional, an artist, so to speak.
“I guess I just want to be an actor,” said Jeremy. “That’s what I enjoy the most ... I might be in porn ... but I’m the best known.”
Regardless of the type of work that a person may be involved in, he or she should always do their best, advises Jeremy.
“There’s a girl ... she’s one of Heidi’s (Fleiss) best girls, and she always says ‘Drop dead Ronnie,’ when I tell her she’s the best. ‘The best hooker?,’ she asks, and I say, ‘Yes, you’re the best, a lot of girls have tried, and you’re the best!’ Now she’s a very successful student, I don’t care what you do, if you’re a prostitute or a student you should do your best,” Jeremy continued.
Advice that should be taken to heart?
Tim Goldberg, executive producer at Ocean Park Pictures, agrees that Jeremy is a person of character.
“I’ve gotten to know Ron ... and respect Ron,” said Goldberg, “I respect that he’s very intelligent, he’s charming, he’s quick-witted.”
Scott J. Gill, producer and director of a new documentary about the porn icon, said that he admires Jeremy’s work ethic.
“It’s just drive, he’s just so driven to be famous, but he uses porn to get there, and of course there’s the Catch-22,” Gill said.
Jeremy never planned on being a sex star.
A girlfriend of Jeremy’s submitted a nude picture of him to Playgirl magazine in 1978, in their “Boy Next Door” feature. Soon after, Jeremy was approached to act in a porn film, and the rest is porn history.
Originally, Jeremy planned on being an actor. He went to school at Queen’s College in New York, and received his B.A. in theater and in special education. Jeremy also received a master’s degree in special education at Queen’s College in order to assure his parents that he had something to fall back on, in case acting didn’t work out.
Jeremy’s extroverted ways have kept him in the limelight since he was a child.
“I was rowdy, always trying to crack jokes, always the class clown,” Jeremy said. “I wanted to be an actor my whole life.”
Jeremy’s mom was constantly called into school because of his antics. “They were always saying, ‘Your son’s a very bright boy, but will you make him shut up?’” Jeremy said.
When Jeremy was growing up, he held many odd jobs. One such job was as a waiter in Parksville, N.Y., when he was about 16.
He even got a chance to witness the heart of the sexual revolution during the ’60s.
“I haven’t ever said this before in interviews,” Jeremy said excitedly. “I was at the original Woodstock ... for 20 minutes.” One day while Jeremy was working at the restaurant, he rode his dirt bike between the breakfast and lunch shifts to the legendary event.
“People were full of mud, and I thought, ‘What a bizarre thing this is,’” said Jeremy of his short visit to the festival. “I went back to work, not realizing that I missed the event of the century.”
Nowadays, Jeremy is sure not to pass up an opportunity to participate in the music scene. Jeremy said that he has been in 15 videos on MTV, appeared on Beavis and Butthead twice, and has been involved or mentioned in the songs of many artists, such as Kid Rock, Motorhead, Poison, Buck Cherry, Tommy Lee and Zebra Head, among others.
Jeremy has also done work with Sublime. “I produced their first video, ‘Date Rape.’ I’m also in the video, I’m the guy behind bars, and I’m also the judge who sentences the date raper to jail.”
Jeremy is proud of the fact that he’s even mentioned in the song. He recited the words to the song verbatim, “Mucho gusto, me llamo Bradley, I’m hornier than Ron Jeremy.”
“Kids know that,” said Jeremy of his recognition for his appearances in various mainstream music projects. “That’s why a lot of kids know me. Not from porn, necessarily.”
Jeremy is conscious of his influence on mainstream culture, even on the likes of college students. Ron Jeremy has some lessons in morality to share with UCLA students.
“I know being rebellious is a big thing these days,” the porn star said, “getting piercings, and tattoos, and pissing off your family ... but you’ve got to try and get along because you’re so much better off for it if you can do it.”
Jeremy also has interacted closely with UCLA students. “I’m a big fan of UCLA,” said Jeremy. “I lectured there once, on ‘Sex and the Law.’ It’s about how the law was shaped by the porn industry and vise versa.”
Ron Jeremy and Scott J. Gill, producer of “Porn Star,” are currently touring the country, promoting the film. Jeremy was even featured on the show “The View,” on Tuesday.
“It was an honor because I’m in front of a lady, Barbara Walters, who has interviewed presidents, and foreign diplomats ... it’s kind of exciting ... to look her in the eye and try to talk to her honestly,” Jeremy said.
Tim Goldberg sums up the unusual appeal of Ron Jeremy. “I think the tagline: ‘The story of America’s most unlikely sex star,’ is pretty right on,” Goldberg said.
FILM: Ron Jeremy will appear at the Nuart tonight at 7 and 9:40 p.m. Go to www.ronjeremy-themovie.com for more information.