Jamie Gillis

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, Jamie Kantor, Jamier Kantor, Jaime Gillis, Jaimie Gillis, Jaimi Gillis, Jamey Gillis, Jamie Grill, Buster Hymen, Jamey, James Kleeman, Cotton Mathers, Ronny Morgan, Barry Gillis, Sir Jamie Gillis, James Rugman (gay)
Partner(s)Serena, Zarela Martinez, Juliet Graham

Jamie Gillis (born Jamey Ira Gurman; April 20, 1943 – February 19, 2010) was an American pornographic actor, director and member of the AVN Hall of Fame. He was married to the porn actress Serena.

Early life

Gillis was born Jamey Ira Gurman 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. Gillis later attended Columbia University and graduated magna cum laude. While supporting himself driving a cab, he answered an ad in The Village Voice.

Career

He appeared in more than 470 movies as an actor. He also directed several adult movies. While appearing mostly in heterosexual pornography, Gillis was bisexual and occasionally performed in gay porn, including a sex scene with Zebedy Colt in the 1975 Gerard Damiano BDSM-themed film The Story of Joanna. Gillis appeared in the mainstream Hollywood film Nighthawks (1981) as the boss of Lindsay Wagner's character (he's credited as 'Designer'). He also made his name in two Radley Metzger films, The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976) and Barbara Broadcast (1977); the former is considered by author Toni Bentley to be the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age of Porn.

According to Al Goldstein, Gillis was always described as "sexually the wildest, most decadent, off-the-wall guy in the business." 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. He also co-produced the popular Dirty Debutante series with fellow director and performer Ed Powers. In the early 1990s, he directed a series of low-budget videos called Jamie Gillis: The Private Tapes, meant for a niche market and sometimes for private customers, which focused on fetish themes such as BDSM but also on some occasions golden showers and coprophilia.

Death

Gillis died on February 19, 2010, in New York City from melanoma, which was diagnosed four to five months earlier. 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.

Partial filmography

As an actor

  • Die You Zombie Bastards! (2005)
  • Potty Mouth (2004)
  • Luv Generation (2004)
  • Sunset Stripped (2002)
  • New Wave Hookers 5 (1997)
  • Bobby Sox (1996)
  • Taboo XI (1993)
  • Taboo IX (1991)
  • Play My Flute (1991)
  • Uncle Jamie's Double Trouble (1991)
  • Playin' Dirty (1990)
  • Jamie Gillis and Africa (1990)
  • Taboo VII (1989)
  • Alien Space Avenger (1989)
  • Adventures of Buttman (1989)
  • Pretty Peaches (1989)
  • Head Lock (1989)
  • Pretty Peaches 2 (1987)
  • Babyface 2 (1986)
  • Taboo V (1986)
  • Taboo IV (1985)
  • Ten Little Maidens (1985)
  • Love Mexican Style (1985)
  • Too Naughty to Say No (1985)
  • New Wave Hookers (1984)
  • Trinity Brown (1984)
  • A Little Bit of Hanky Panky (1984)
  • Corruption (1983)
  • Night of the Zombies (1981)
  • Roommates (1981)
  • Neon Nights (1981)
  • Amanda by Night (1981)
  • Wanda Whips Wall Street (1981)
  • Nighthawks (1981)
  • Blonde Ambition (1981)
  • Dracula Exotica (1980)
  • The Seduction of Cindy (1980)
  • 800 Fantasy Lane (1979)
  • The Ecstasy Girls (1979)
  • Sensual Fire (1979)
  • Heavenly Desire (1979)
  • Hot Honey (1978)
  • Dracula Sucks (aka Lust At First Bite) (1978)
  • A Coming of Angels (1977)
  • Barbara Broadcast (1977)
  • Lustful Feelings (1977)
  • Obsessed (1977)
  • Captain Lust and the Pirate Women (1977)
  • Through the Looking Glass (1976)
  • Winter Heat (1976)
  • Water Power (1976)
  • The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976)
  • Oriental Blue (1976)
  • Saturday Night Special (1976)
  • Boy 'Napped (1975)
  • Sometime Sweet Susan (1975)
  • Abigail Lesley is Back in Town(1975)
  • The Seduction of Lyn Carter (1974)
  • Fantasy Girls (1974)
  • Deep Throat Part II (1974)

As a director

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

Awards

See also

Sources

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Porn Star Jamie Gillis Remembered by Non-Porn-Star Friends". New York. March 15, 2010. 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. ↑ "Whatever Happened to Juliet Graham? (And 'The Ganja Express' (1978)?)". August 27, 2017. A statuesque blonde, she appeared in notable films like 'The Story of Joanna' (1975), 'Alice in Wonderland' (1976), and the elusive 'The Ganja Express' (1978) – and dated two early industry regulars, Jamie Gillis and Ashley Moore. For a time she also was a regular in pictorials in the pages of New York-based men's magazines.
  3. 1 2 Jamie Gillis: New York Beginnings, audio interview with Jamie Gillis, The Rialto Report, November 17, 2013"
  4. 1 2 "SCREW Interview with Jamie Gillis: The Hamlet of Hard-Core," SCREW, May 17, 1976, pp. 4-9, 41.media, retrieved January 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Underboss". Gay Erotic Video Index. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
  6. 1 2 3 West, Ashley (April 7, 2017). "'The Opening of Misty Beethoven' (1976): Jamie Gillis and Constance Money". The Rialto Report. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  7. ↑ Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris". Playboy. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  8. ↑ Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris" (PDF). ToniBentley.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  9. ↑ Sloan, Will (November 21, 2013). "The Godfather of Gonzo Porn". Random House. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  10. ↑ XBIZ (September 25, 2007). "The Godfathers of Gonzo". XBIZ.com. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Jamie Gillis' Lost Weekend: The Story Behind his Private Tapes". The Rialto Report. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  12. ↑ Peter Warren (February 19, 2010). "Jamie Gillis Passes Away". business.avn.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "rame awards list". Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  14. ↑ MayorDefacto. "Transcript of the video A Night of Legends: First Annual XRCO Adult Film Awards". Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  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". Los Angeles Times. February 19, 1988. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Winners of XRCO Awards 1988".
  18. 1 2 3 "Past AVN Award Winners". Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  19. ↑ "AVN Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  20. ↑ "XRCO Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on October 7, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2007.