Jamie Gillis

Jamie Gillis (April 20, 1943 – February 19, 2010) was an American pornographic actor, director and member of the AVN Hall of Fame.

Jamie Gillis
Gillis at the CES in Las Vegas, 1999
Born
Jamey Ira Gurman

(1943-04-20)April 20, 1943
New York City, U.S.
DiedFebruary 19, 2010(2010-02-19) (aged 66)
New York City, U.S.
Other namesAl Cianelli, Jamier Kantor, Jaime Gillis, Jaimie Gillis, Jaimi Gillis, Jamey Gillis, Jamie Grill, Buster Hymen, Jamey, James Kleeman, Ronny Morgan, Barry Gillis, Sir Jamie Gillis, James Rugman (gay)
Partner(s)Zarela Martinez[1]

Early life

Gillis was born Jamey Ira Gurman[1] in New York City. He was named after the Tyrone Power character in the film The Black Swan (1942), and he took the name Gillis from the girlfriend he was living with when he made his first films.[2] Gillis later attended Columbia University and graduated magna cum laude.[1] While supporting himself driving a cab, he answered an ad in The Village Voice.[3]

Career

He appeared in more than 470 movies as an actor."[4] He also directed several adult movies. Openly bisexual, he appeared in many gay porn films, including a sex scene with Zebedy Colt in the 1975 Gerard Damiano BDSM-themed film The Story of Joanna. Gillis also appeared in the mainstream Hollywood film Nighthawks (1981) as the boss of Lindsay Wagner's character. He also made his name in two Radley Metzger films, The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976)[5] and Barbara Broadcast (1977); the former is considered, by award-winning author Toni Bentley, the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age of Porn.[6][7]

According to Al Goldstein, Gillis was always described as "sexually the wildest, most decadent, off-the-wall guy in the business."[8] He was a pioneer in the pornographic style known as Gonzo. In addition to starring in the first Buttman film, he also created the influential On the Prowl series. Featuring a porn star who rides in a limo looking for regular guys to have sex with, the video series was very popular and inspired a scene in the movie Boogie Nights.[9] He also co-produced the popular Dirty Debutante series with fellow director and performer Ed Powers,[10] as well as the Walking Toilet Bowl series of films that focused on golden showers and coprophilia.

Death

Gillis died on February 19, 2010 in New York City from melanoma, which was diagnosed four or five months earlier.[11] In an audio interview given to The Rialto Report shortly before his death, Gillis stated that in the 1970s he had wanted his ashes to be scattered in Times Square, but years later he changed his mind, stating that the "cleaned up" Times Square that emerged in the 1990s would contaminate his ashes.[2]

Filmography

As an actor, selected

As a director, selected

  • On the Prowl (1989)
  • Takeout Torture (1990)
  • Punished Sex Offenders (1990)
  • Back on the Prowl (1998)
  • Back on the Prowl 2 (1998)
  • Devious Old Gillis (1998)

Awards

See also

Sources
  • Nicolas Barbano: Verdens 25 hotteste pornostjerner (Rosinante, Denmark 1999) ISBN 87-7357-961-0: Features a chapter on him.
  • The Rialto Report: Jamie Gillis: New York Beginnings, audio interview with Jamie Gillis, November 17, 2013
  • Sloan, Will (November 21, 2013). "The Godfather of Gonzo Porn". Hazlitt. Random House of Canada. Retrieved March 9, 2014.

References
  1. "Porn Star Jamie Gillis Remembered by Non-Porn-Star Friends". New York Magazine. Retrieved December 8, 2013. His real name was Jamey Gurman; he was a native New Yorker and “renaissance Jew” who graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University and, in the spirit of countercultural exploration and open-mindedness, ended up in porn.
  2. Jamie Gillis: New York Beginnings, audio interview with Jamie Gillis, The Rialto Report, November 17, 2013"
  3. "SCREW Interview with Jamie Gillis: The Hamlet of Hard-Core," SCREW, May 17, 1976, pp. 4-9, https://41.media.tumblr.com/6344d69219434aa52838a3585497c038/tumblr_n3zx8xXbcv1sbtct0o2_1280.jpg, retrieved 1/15/2015.
  4. "The Underboss". Gay Erotic Video Index. Archived from the original on 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  5. West, Ashley (April 7, 2017). "'The Opening of Misty Beethoven' (1976): Jamie Gillis and Constance Money". The Rialto Report. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  6. Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris". Playboy. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  7. Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris" (PDF). ToniBentley.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  8. "SCREW Interview with Jamie Gillis: The Hamlet of Hard-Core," SCREW, May 17, 1976, pp. 4-9, https://41.media.tumblr.com/93510f3d02be61cbf5974dae36c11fde/tumblr_n3zx8xXbcv1sbtct0o1_1280.jpg, retrieved 1/15/2015.
  9. Sloan, Will. "The Godfather of Gonzo Porn". Random House. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  10. XBIZ (2007-09-25). "The Godfathers of Gonzo". XBIZ.com. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  11. Peter Warren (2010-02-19). "Jamie Gillis Passes Away". business.avn.com. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
  12. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211981/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_361
  13. "rame awards list". Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  14. MayorDefacto. "Transcript of the video A Night of Legends: First Annual XRCO Adult Film Awards". Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  15. "Winners of XRCO Awards 1986".
  16. "Academy Awards of XXX Convene in 'the Valley of Lust': Uptight Undercurrent Mars Atmosphere of Kinky Abandon in Era of Challenges From Law". 19 February 1988. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  17. "Winners of XRCO Awards 1988".
  18. "Past AVN Award Winners". Archived from the original on 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  19. "AVN Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  20. "XRCO Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
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