Actress as an Artist

When adult film’s preeminent living historian Bill Margold, alerted me that Serena, a legend in this industry, had finished her book, I recalled conversations I’d had with her a few years ago… The Actress as an Artist by Rich Moreland

In the days when 1970s Porno Chic yielded to the smut glut of the 1980s, the pantheon of porn’s most seductive and talented girls was a small sorority. Serena was a sultry goddess then and is a powerhouse of wisdom now; needless to say, her remembrances helped me establish a historical perspective on adult film’s creative women.

“While I didn’t give myself over to the case of feminism until retiring from porn in the 1980s, I never felt the least dilemma,” she told me. “When in porn, I was serving the highest in myself, the artist… I felt very strongly that my sex scenes were statements on film, the actress as an artist.”

At the time of our communications, I was in the neophytic stages of my work which eventually led to a popular history of pro-sex feminism. The book, Pornography Feminism: As Powerful as She Wants to be, is soon to be released by John Hunt Publishing. By necessity, I relied heavily on interviews because my youth, now lost like the ancient city of Atlantis, was barely familiar with filmed pornography. Georgina Spelvin on the big screen in “The Devil and Miss Jones” was my first “official” exposure to the industry and other than a bit of Marilyn Chambers, that was it. As a result, personal accounts from Serena, Georgina, and a bevy of other iconic women, became my literary lifeblood.

For her part, Serena spoke openly and delightfully about some of the feminists I was researching.

“As to the women you mentioned, I worked with Georgina and felt only love oozing from her. Later when I was involved with Jamie Gillis and living in NYC, we’d work for Gloria [Leonard]. She was sharp, she reminds me of a female Donald Trump. I also knew Marilyn [Chambers] who seemed very fit to me, her body and her mind were tense but elastic like an athlete’s.”

Serena’s love affair with the incomparable fetish-oriented Gillis is legendary; the accomplishments of Gloria Leonard I have touched upon in my book. Sadly, both are now deceased and with the passing of Marilyn in 2009 and John Leslie and Harry Reems of late, there are fewer pioneers left of the old days.

As Bill Margold said in his LA Xpress article celebrating Serena’s memoirs, the actress as artist “Is a collection of unexpurgated memories from an era when she, as a 1970s Porn Star Pioneer, started carving her name.” Hopefully Serena’s work will add value to mine with a complement in return because as the sun sets on Porno Chic as a film age recalled by those who lived it, putting its unique stamp on American culture is paramount.

Bright Lights Lonely Nights: The Memories of Serena is available at Amazon. Give it a look, I think you’ll like what you see.