Jimmy McDonough - Big Bosoms and Square Jaws: The Biography of Russ Meyer, King of the Sex Film

Acknowledgments

First things first: Had it not been for an extremely fortuitous, spur-of-the-moment call to author David K. Frasier a few years back, this book might never have been attempted. Mr. Frasier not only encouraged me to go forward with the project, he opened his archives, shared unpublished interviews, and donated his formidable research expertise as well. I highly recommend all his books. During the recent John Waters picture, A Dirty Shame, no less than David Hasselhoff can been seen perusing the pages of Frasiers most recent masterwork, Suicide in the Entertainment Industry.

Gordon Lish to my Raymond Carver (apologies to RC), Charlie Beesley once again had a hand in many drafts of the manuscript. Hopefully the final results dont smell too bad, Charlie.

Having David McCormick as a literary agent is like having Cus DAmato in your corner of the ring. Youre ready to start punching, even if its only on a keyboard. The guy is incredible. Thanks also to Leslie Falk, who expedited every detail.

An ace editor, Carrie Thornton, challenged me to do better at every turn. What a dame. She did a tremendous job on this book. I expect to make a return visit to the Island of Dr. Moreau, Thornton. Thanks also to Doug Pepper, my original editor at Crown and the source of a great deal of enthusiasm. And one must not forget Orly The Unicorn Treiber.

Amelia Zalcman entered the picture at the last minute, aiding me in making Big Bosoms a much more complete work. Glad were on the same side of the chessboard, Amelia. Thanks to Mark McCauslin for his eagle-eye diligence.

Thanks to Carol O Connor for the legal research. Many others offered research assistance, among them Eric Caidin, Mike Trombetta, Mike Mariano, Jeffrey South, Dean Harris, Nathaniel Thompson, David Kalat, Robert Bentley, Ann Sumners, Mike Carroll, Patrick McGilligan, and Marty Supervixens Traynor. Thanks to J. Scott Wynn for the great photograph. For helping with interviews, thanks to Souixzan Perry, Teri Thomerson, and Kristen Fischer. Last-minute legal research: Jeffrey C. Graf and Sarah Heldman. German translations: Bettina Briggs. Always a partner in crime, Johnny Legend has a very funny story concerning himself, Leslie Nielsen, and Russ Meyer. Ask him to tell it. The Great Rudolph Grey did much to assist this project. My eternal gratitude to Leo Trombetta, who not only put me at his house on research trips and bailed me out upon occasion, but provided me with a gangbusters ending as well.

Thanks to John Waters, a swell guy. Dolores Fox did everything she could to assist me in my journey. Roger Ebert was a very good sport. Jim Ryan and Tom McGowan were always ready to help. Both Colonel Rob and Chris Schaffner were invaluable resources, and a lot of laughs. Thanks to all the rest of the interviewees who are listed in the Source Notes. As always, a tip of the Jimmy top hat to Lux Interior and Ivy Rorschach.

One cannot write about the women of Russ Meyer without acknowledging the work of author Steve Sullivan. He interviewed many of them in-depth for the first time, creating a body of impeccable research to draw upon. So many writers covered the Meyer beat, and this book has benefited greatly from their legwork: Kenneth Turan, Stephen Zito, Arv Miller, Paul Sherman, Burton H. Wolfe, Dan Scapperotti, Dale Ashmun, Kent Beyda, Tony Crawley, Stan Berkowitz, David Lees, Jonathan Ross, Ethan Prochnik, David Schiff, Ellen Goosenberg, Tony Rayns, Richard Corliss, Harvey Fenton, R. Allen Leider, Roger Turrell, Sergei Hasenecz, Charles Schneider, Kris Gilpin, John Donnelly, Phyliss Braden-Lowe, Nathan Rabin, Gene Ross, Jim Morton, Lewis Black, Kristi Turnquist, Nathaniel Thompson, and hundreds of others Ive left out. Special thanks to John McCormick for his two excellent Meyer pieces.

Thanks as well to Brian OHara, Eliza Paley, Bruce Kitzmeyer, Neva Friedenn, Craig Leibner, Kim Morgan, Brooke Viviano, Richard Meltzer, Isaako Siuleo, Poncho Sampedro, Liz Main, Sarah Heldman, Bill Bentley, and Eliza Wimberly, wherever you are. Bulletin to Graeme Bowen: Mr. Depp is awaiting your book, G.B. Special thanks to John McDonough, George Hedges, and the future king of the honky-tonks, John Kopf. Inspiration: the fabulous Demolition Doll RodsDanny, Margaret, and Christine, aka Thumper. Too bad Meyer never saw these three in actionhe mightve stuck em in a movie or two.

Hair by Jerry Ripley, Portland Tonsorial Parlor.

A very special thank you to Lucy Fur, Anna Hinterkopf, Kat Heldman, Jessica Wainman, Mara Stevenson, Sarah Heldman, Jessica Winn, and Andrea Viviano. They know why.

Russ Meyer had Eve. For me its Natalia Wisdom, and Ill never let her go.

Epilogue: Smell of Female

The point is of no returnand youve reached it!

VARLA, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

The Friend drove the long, winding road up to the Meyer manse. He tried to see RM every time he was in town. He wasnt aware that he was one of the few allowed in. Meyer and The Friend went way, way back. Lets just say theyd fought a war together.

He pulled up to the house, which had long since been painted normal colorsas opposed to the neighbor-provoking orange and green. Parked under an awning was a familiar GMC Suburban, the one Meyer called the Kampfwagen, the one with Pattons Photographers166 Signal Corps on the tailgate. The Kampfwagen had a flat and looked like it hadnt been driven in a long, long time.

Theyd had a lot of fun in this place. Movies. Food. Women. Laughs. In addition to everything else, RM was the only guy hed known whod built an entire museum to himself and his love of the female breast. But now all the walls were bare. Muzak played, and a closed-circuit TV system made sure that Meyer took his pills. Apparently he didnt always want to take his medicine.

A nurse ushered Meyer into the room. He looked greatbetter than ever, in fact. Strong as an ox, and tan as hell, too. Somebody had even cut his hair. Yes, RM looked fit as a fiddle. The only problem was, he didnt recognize his visitor. Or himself.

The Friend sat for a few minutes to reassure himself hed made the effort. Truth was, he didnt know if hed be making the journey again. He held his emotions in check, knowing it would do no good to express them.

The nurse came in to give Russ his bottle of water. He had to have his bottle. Three times a day. Meyer slurped it down like a child, then the nurse retrieved the empty container and left.

As The Friend got up to go, he noticed RM gazing in the direction of the nurses exit. Russ paused a moment, then, looking The Friend directly in the eye, slowly patted his chest, quietly mouthing two unmistakable words.

No tits.

Filmography

Many thanks to Dave Frasiers astute research. Running times are approximations as I havent checked them against the films.

The central way to obtain DVD/VHS Russ Meyer product is from RM Films, International at http://www.rmfilms.com. Or write to RM Films, PO Box 3748, Hollywood, CA, 90078. Buying from RM Films is not cheap: DVDs run $39.95, VHS $59.95. They dont accept credit cards. Some discount DVD houses (easy to search out via the Internet) offer RM product at better prices.

Nearly all of Meyer femme fatales have websites that can be easily searched out: Kitten Natividad, Haji, Tura Satana, Erica Gavin, Raven De La Croix, Pandora Peaks among them. Tell em Jimmy sent you.

166th Training Films

Bivouac in the Ozarks, 1944. Meyer shot this 16 mm training film; there may be others.

Industrial Films

During the late forties and early to mid-fifties, Meyer worked for the industrial film outfit Gene Walker Films. Two titles he contributed to were Southern Pacifics