The Complete Disappearance of Cheri Champagne, Part 1: Podcast 167

Kathy Harcourt was an English XXX star in America in the early 1980s. She appeared with Lisa DeLeeuw, Seka, Billy Dee, and Ron Jeremy in adult films and 8mm loops. She featured in magazines, stripped at the Melody Burlesk, turned up at all the industry parties. And then she was found dead in Manhattan’s East River amidst rumors of a mob hit. Over the years, her life and death has been a mystery. Until today. After 40 years, the truth about Kathy Harcourt is finally revealed. This podcast is 96 minutes long. The music playlist for this episode can be found on Spotify. ___________________________________________________ Kathy Harcourt One of the great features of the golden age of adult film is the diversity of the performers. You had all shapes and sizes, ages and ethnicities. It seemed that everyone was welcome – as long as they were willing to have sex on film. The only thing was that they were nearly all American citizens. Sure, you’d expect that – as the X-rated industry in its early days sourced its talent locally. But even so you never really saw anyone with a genuine foreign accent. Which made an actress like Kathy Harcourt stand out. You see, Kathy was English, and spoke with an accent so English that it was almost comical to hear her talk on screen with performers like Billy Dee or Ron Jeremy. Kathy was a beautiful, voluptuous actress who appeared in ten or so pornographic feature films around 1980, and a bunch of 8mm loops too. She featured in magazines, stripped in the best clubs, and for a short time turned up at all the industry events and parties. She seemed bubbly and happy and sweet, and everybody spoke highly of her. And then she was reportedly found dead in mysterious circumstances. Kathy in Bahrain before she came to America and entered the adult industry   Kathy gets her adult start modeling for men’s magazines     Kathy posing with her friend and short-time boyfriend Ron Jeremy   Kathy with Marilyn Gee   Kathy is schooled by PT in Lips (1981)       Kathy unwinds at the infamous Bernards bar and restaurant in New York   Kathy goes blonde in Australia   * The post The Murder of Kathy Harcourt: England’s First American Adult Film Star – Podcast 102 (reprise) appeared first on The Rialto Report.

In the previous episode of The Complete Disappearance of Cheri Champagne: After years of hearing mysterious stories about the 1980s adult film actor, Cheri Champagne, I was keen to see if she was still around and interested in talking about her life. The trouble was that no one seemed to have heard from her for almost forty years. There were many reasons why she intrigued me: from the strange beginnings dancing in a cage in a Maine sex club, the bizarre adult films she’d appeared in, the aggressive persona she adopted in magazine interviews, and her dominatrix-themed stage show that toured the sex clubs of New York in the early 1980s. Hers was a typically wild life journey from another era – but there also seemed be something different about Cheri, something that nagged at me, suggesting I wasn’t seeing the whole picture. No one had managed to get close to her back in the day, perhaps not surprising given that she claimed she kept a torture chamber in her house and that her main pleasure was inflicting pain on her partners – hardly the sexy, feminine image that so many other stars of the time cultivated. But there was perhaps more to her than that: there were rumors from those who’d known that her hinted at a secret, something hidden in her background, something that might explain her distant attitude and seemingly hostile behavior. And then, after years of looking, I found Cheri. I called her, excited to learn the truth from her perspective. Her reaction was hostile and angry. She obliquely referred to trauma in her past as being the reason for not wanting to talk – and, after a short conversation, she hung up. This is what happened next. This is the concluding part of Cheri Champagne’s story. You can listen to the first part here. This podcast is 30 minutes long. —————————————————————————————————————— Cheri Champagne * The post The Complete Disappearance of Cheri Champagne, Part 2: Podcast 168 appeared first on The Rialto Report.

Cheri Champagne was active in adult films in New York in the early 1980s - a pretty, dark-haired performer, an unusually cool, devil-may-care manner, and a reputation for being enigmatic. What happened to her has remained a mystery. Until now.

In this era where everyone seems to be chasing follows, likes, shares, and clicks I have to admit I try not to look at which Rialto Report interviews have had the biggest audience. The reason is simple: I’ve wanted to cover all people from the golden age of adult film, regardless of their notoriety, because all stories are interesting and informative, big or small, famous or unknown. But if you really want to know which Rialto Report podcast has been downloaded the most, there’s only one winner. I interviewed Christy Canyon back in 2019, and that podcast has been downloaded, streamed, and listened to tens of thousands of times since then. For anyone who knows her, that won’t be a surprise: Christy was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s, she’s always entertaining, and she’s still involved in the business today. Christy turns 60 this week, and I wanted to pay tribute to her. A few years ago, the former adult film star Rick Savage gave me an audio tape of a conversation he’d had with Christy back in 1992. Christy was touring the country with her dance act at the time, and Rick was writing porn star profiles for a Japanese men’s magazine. Their chat was more of a casual conversation, not meant to be an interview, but Rick taped it so he could mine it for information for his next article. After their meeting, Rick stored the tape – and forgot about in for the next 30 years. When he came across it again it was unlistenable, a mass of hiss and static, but with the help of AI, I managed to clean it up. It was recorded in a noisy New York diner so it has variable sound quality – but I wanted to share it with you because it’s an interesting time capsule. Despite the fact that this conversation took place 34 years ago, it has a surprisingly nostalgic feel: Christy had started in the X-rated film industry in 1984 as a teenager with a carefree attitude in the free-for-all, wild west days of the video explosion. She retired a few months later before returning in the late 1980s – this time as a contract girl, a little older, wiser, and now thinking about a career and a future. Rick had done two scenes with Christy – the first was in the early days when she was a newcomer, and the second when she was a seasoned professional, almost a veteran – and he was struck by the change he noticed in her – which he wanted to ask her about. Rick also took photographs of Christy which have never been seen before – and we’re sharing these below. Today, Christy is still going strong – connecting with her fans and providing regular content via her social media accounts and through Only Fans. Welcome to the Christy Canyon birthday party. With thanks to Rick Savage and Cathy Gigante-Brown. This podcast is 41 minutes long. ——————————————————————————————————————– Christy Canyon – Previously Unpublished Photographs * The post Christy Canyon – New York, 1992: Podcast 166 appeared first on The Rialto Report.

The 1980s and 90s adult film A-lister Jeanna Fine passed away 6 months ago way too young. A few weeks after that, we shared an interview I started with Jeanne but never got to finish. It was mostly about what led Jeanna to get into the adult industry – and the discussion was rounded out by a recording Patrick Kindlon of the band the Self Defense Family shared with us. If you haven’t heard that interview I recommend listening to that too. Absent from that podcast were Jeanna’s thoughts about her time in the adult industry itself – how she felt about films she made like Cafe Flesh 2, Skin Hunger, and Flesh & Blood; the people she worked with including Bionca Seven, Sharon Kane, F.M. Bradley, and Mike Horner; and the life her participation in the business provided including relationships with Savannah and Sikki Nixx. In fact, there was a second part to Jeanna’s discussion with Patrick. We’ve held onto it for a while because, like the first podcast we put out about Jeanna, it isn’t always an easy listen. Jeanna doesn’t pull any punches as she shares her memories of the adult business and she comes across quite raw at times.  But in the past months I kept remembering how Jeanna urged me more than once to listen to the recordings she made with Patrick. Even when things were uncomfortable, it was clear she wanted to be heard and understood. So here’s part two of Patrick’s recording where Jeanna is brave enough to be candid and messy and vulnerable. With special thanks once again to Patrick Kindlon and Self Defense Family. This podcast is 31 minutes long. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– Sharon Kane, Gloria Leonard, Jeanna Fine Eric Edwards, Sharon Kane, Jeanna Fine, Gloria Leonard   Jeanna with Al Goldstein on Midnight Blue Jeanne in ‘Babylon’ (1998) Porsche Lynn, Jeanna Fine, & Angel Kelly The Pink Ladies: Porsche Lynn, Angel Kelly, Nina Hartley, Jeanna Fine Jeanna with Angel Kelly The cast of Sorority Pink: Angel Kelly, Porsche Lynn, Sharon Kane, Barbara Dare, Nina Hartley * The post Jeanna Fine: Flesh & Blood – Podcast 165 appeared first on The Rialto Report.

In the first part of my interview with Tanqueray, we heard the striking story of Tanqueray’s early life – long before she became such as viral sensation on social media as a result of her appearances on Humans of New York. She was called Stephanie and she’d had a tough upbringing, raised by a strict single mother in an all-white upstate New York area, and then a teenage pregnancy, an unfortunate relationship, and a desire to start a new life had somehow conspired to land her in jail as a teenager. When she was released, she moved to Manhattan – and worked in a clothing factory, this was back in the days when the city had a garment district, attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, and ended up appearing as a much in-demand go-go dancer in clubs such as the Peppermint Lounge. It was the 1960s, and she enjoyed a varied and exciting existence: she had a short career as an escort, became a seller of stolen goods, mixed with pimps, mobsters and The Temptations – and fell in love with an Italian called Carmine, who she married before discovering his drug addiction. But as the 1970s dawned, the go-go bars in New York suddenly seemed rather old-fashioned, quaint, and in terms of sexual excitement, tame and unexciting. If you could now see newly-explicit sex films in theaters, well… customers were keen to see something different and more daring in a live environment too. That left Stephanie at a crossroads: there were two options – she could either accept the brave, new world and became more sexual – which she referred to as ‘working dirty’ – or she could revert to being a more old-fashioned burlesque performer, and rely on tease, with a less racy act and props. Stephanie decided to follow the burlesque route and become Tanqueray. Stephanie and I recorded many of our conversations, and this is the second and concluding part of her story. This podcast is 40 minutes long. You can listen to the first part of the Tanqueray story here. —————————————————————————————————————————————– Ronnie Bell   * The post Tanqueray – I’ve Always Been Different, Part 2: Podcast 164 appeared first on The Rialto Report.

Back in 2014, a woman called Stephanie contacted me at The Rialto Report. She described herself as ‘a designer of erotic costumes’ and shared some memories of the old days when she said she’d made garments for many people in the early adult film business. Vanessa del Rio, Gloria Leonard, Bambi Woods, and others, she said. I must admit I didn’t follow up very quickly – after all, I reasoned, isn’t the point of erotic films just to take your clothes off? A dumb reaction, I know, but a little while later, I did pick up the phone and called her, and the conversation we had was as surprising as it was entertaining. Yes, she had made extravagant costumes for porn stars and sex films, and strippers, sex-club members, cross-dressers, hookers, and drag queens – but that was just the tip of the iceberg. She told me how she’d emerged from a difficult childhood to become a successful, Black burlesque dancer in the seedy Times Square bars and theaters of 1960s and 1970s New York. In fact, she’d used the stage name, Tanqueray. She’d been part of numerous illicit schemes to sell stolen goods. She’d had a regular column called ‘Tattle Tales’ in the men’s magazine, High Society that detailed her outrageous sexploits. It was a fascinating life story populated by mobsters, pimps, thieves, and dancers, and even Donald Trump’s coke dealer (allegedly) made an appearance. “It was a time when 10,000 men in New York City knew my name,” she said. When I spoke to her she was in her 70s, long retired, and suffering from ill-health, money issues, and the feeling that she’d been long forgotten. I liked her: she was always smart, often filthy, invariably rude, and usually hilarious. She called me ‘White Boy’ and told me I needed to be fashionable. And after many years of being taken advantage of, she was also suspicious and short-tempered – which she readily admitted. After our first call, we kept in touch, exchanging greetings cards and sometimes meeting up in Madison Square Park. She was lonely she said, but not enough to make any new friends. Very few people were worth the effort. And then in 2019, something unexpected happened. A hugely popular social media account called Humans of New York, which features interviews with everyday New Yorkers, ran into Stephanie in the street in her Chelsea neighborhood and featured her in a post. Brandon Stanton, the creator of Humans of New York, was initially struck by her style but was drawn in by the same crazy stories that she’d told me. “My stripper name was Tanqueray,” Stephanie told Brandon. “Back in the seventies, I was the only Black girl making white girl money and I danced in so many mob clubs that I learned Italian.” That first post went viral, with millions following her life story over the next weeks as it unfolded on Facebook and Instagram posts. And so began the third act in Stephanie’s life: suddenly she was an overnight sensation – after over 70 years of waiting. People from all over the world wanted to get in touch with her. In truth, the least surprised person was Stephanie herself. She took her newfound fame in her stride, remaining as unfiltered, coarse, and caustic as she’d always been. Stephanie and I recorded many of our conversations, and this is her story. This podcast is 39 minutes long. Photos courtesy of Humans of New York. ——————————————————————————————————————————————– Stephanie and Carmine   * The post Tanqueray – I’ve Always Been Different, Part 1: Podcast 163 appeared first on The Rialto Report.

The former adult film star Tiffany Clark passed away this week. Some might say this comes with the territory when you cover an industry that began almost 60 years ago. But while Tiffany started in the business in 1979, she was only 18 at the time and just 65 when she died of cancer. Others might ask why I would be sad about somebody I interviewed once almost 10 years ago. But I lucked out with Tiffany. I got to know her for quite a while before we ever did the interview, and we’ve stayed friends ever since. Over the years there have been many dinners out and time spent with her family, both birth and chosen. Her home was full of people and animals and love. And Tiffany was always at the heart of that home. She didn’t have it easy over the years. She grew up in an abusive household that she ran away from when she was young. She struggled with drugs and went to prison. Performing in adult films and briefly running Plato’s retreat with her then husband Fred Lincoln was about the least transgressive thing she did in her early years. Then she met Barry who would go on to become her beloved husband until this day. They moved to Florida with Tiffany’s child from another father and started a new life, going on to have children of their own. And something remarkable happened – Tiffany, whose life had been the definition of instability, became a pillar of reliability. She was an anchor of love for her family and friends. She was a steadfast employee for companies that relied upon her. When her kids faced difficulties, she took in their children and raised them as her own. Tiffany and Barry renewed their vows in 2015 – a joyful event I was fortunate enough to be part of. This is a reprise of my interview with Tiffany, in honor of my special friend who I loved dearly and will miss deeply.  For more pictures from Tiffany’s life, see here. This episode’s running time is 124 minutes. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Tiffany Clark     Tiffany Clark in Centerfold Fever       Tiffany Clark & April Hall * The post Tiffany Clark (1961-2026), R.I.P. appeared first on The Rialto Report.

Memory is a tricky thing. Small details can burn brighter than some of life’s defining events. The act of recall and the power of suggestion can fundamentally alter the content of our recollections. Experiences that seem like they should be tattooed onto our psyches can be lost to time.  And memory can be selective. Whether that’s by conscious choice, subconscious bias, or pure forgetfulness varies based on a lot of potential factors. But memory’s selective nature is undeniable. Take the adult film star Beth Anna. A striking beauty, she started out go-go dancing out on Long Island in the mid 1970s before being named one of the best strippers in New York. She wasn’t in the adult film industry long, making just a handful of films in the late 1970s. But in that short period Beth Anna made an impact. She was the lead in the first adult film she ever made, Chuck Vincent’s Dirty Lily (1978). She starred in Ann Perry’s Sweet Savage (1979) as Shy Dove, a Native American who falls in love with a cowboy. And she dated fellow adult actor Pepe Valentine, the pair briefly becoming the ‘it’ couple of porn. So what does Beth Anna remember about her time in the industry? Well…it’s selective. Some of it’s on the tip of her tongue, as if it’s been waiting to be asked. Other experiences are more elusive – and whether they’re hiding or just neglected isn’t obvious. In this episode of the Rialto Report, Beth Anna shares what she remembers about her time in the adult industry. And what she doesn’t is just as much a part of her story. When music critics laud Eric Clapton as one of the best rock guitarists of all time, he always says the same thing: listen for the space between the notes. This podcast episode is 60 minutes long.——————————————————————————————————————————— * The post Beth Anna – Sweet & Savage: Podcast 162 appeared first on The Rialto Report.

Zebedy Colt is one of least likely characters we expected to feature in a podcast interview when The Rialto Report first began. For a start, Zebedy passed away in 2004 at the age of 74, after a wildly varied and peripatetic acting career that had started with small parts as a child actor in Hollywood in the 1930s and continued on to regional theater and summer stock across the country, including several Broadway productions. Along the way, he also had a parallel music career, recording an LP with the London Philharmonic Orchestra entitled, ‘I’ll Sing For You,’ which consisted of torch standards about men, originally intended to be sung by women but sung by Zebedy from a gay perspective. And then, in 1974, he lost his job when the theater he was working for folded due to financial problems, so he answered an ad in a New York newspaper that had been placed by Leonard Kirtman, perhaps the most prolific producer of low budget hardcore adult films in New York. Far from being put off by the nature of the films that Leonard was making, Zebedy did the unexpected: he entered an industry that was known for being sleazy and taboo, and made it a lot more transgressive. Over the following decade, he moved effortlessly between well-regarded mainstream theatrical productions and making his own unique brand of violent and twisted pornographic films, such as Sex Wish (1975) (where he plays a crazed serial killer terrorizing the city), The Devil Inside Her (1977) (in which a woman sells her soul to the devil to get to the man she loves), and Unwilling Lovers (1977) (in which Zebedy is a killer with the mind of a child who lives in the backwoods with his domineering mother and a penchant for playing with corpses) to name but a few. All very weird, and all very Zebedy. So who was this man who brought such a bizarre vision to the New York sex film scene? As part of the research for the oral history of The Freaky Gang, Leonard Kirtman’s gang of misfits who made films for his studio in the mid 1970s, we discovered a collection of audio interviews with Zebedy that give us the chance to listen to man himself instead of one of the crazy characters that he played on film. Sadly, many of these conversations have such poor sound quality that they’re unfit to be presented as a podcast, but due to their rarity, we wanted to present one here. It’s a conversation with Barbara Nitke, who worked as a still photographer on adult films sets. Unlike other Rialto Report podcasts, this isn’t a career retrospective – instead it’s a free-ranging, casual conversation that took place in a bar in 1986. It finds Zebedy in a world-weary state of mind. He’s at a crossroads, the mainstream acting roles are drying up, his music career hadn’t taken off, and the adult film business had recently turned to video thus taking away the opportunity to make more of his strange psychodramas on 16mm. This is Zebedy Colt. Shooting the Breeze. This podcast is 32 minutes long. Many thanks to Barbara Nitke for sharing the interview with us. You can find more details about her work at Barbara’s website and hear our podcast interview with her here. Copies of her book, ‘American Ecstasy’, can be purchased here. —————————————————————————————————————————- Zebedy Colt *   The post Zebedy Colt – Shooting the Breeze with the Eccentric Thespian of XXX: Podcast 161 appeared first on The Rialto Report.