Kristin Battista-Frazee - The Pornographers Daughter: Growing Up in the Shadow of Deep Throat

About the Author

K ristin Battista-Frazee, in addition to her roles as an author and writer for The Daily Beast, is a marketing professional and social worker who has spent more than sixteen years working for non-profit organizations raising awareness about mental health issues and online learning start-up companies.

Kristin was born in Philadelphia but hails from Florida and currently lives with her family in McLean, Virginia. She graduated from Florida State University with a bachelors degree in psychology and Columbia University with a masters of science in social work.

Follow the author on Twitter @porndaughter and visit her website at www.kristinbattistafrazee.com. Request an in-person or virtual visit for your book club.

Acknowledgments

T his book would not be without the kindness of strangers, the help of my friends, and the support of my family. First, and most importantly, a debt of gratitude goes to my parents, Anthony Battista and Frances Battista, for having lived and survived a life that gave me something incredible to write about. They honestly shared their story with me and provided their unwavering love and support. Simply, without them this book would not have been possible.

To my husband, Brian Frazee, and my daughter, Grace Frazee, for their love and forgiveness for the hundreds of hours they let me steal away from their lives to write. I love you both and I dont think there are enough words to say thank you. I hope this endeavor makes you both proud. To Grace, thanks for thinking its cool Mom wrote a book but remember, this a story about your family heritagelearn all you can from it.

Thanks to everyone at Skyhorse Publishing and my editor, Holly Rubino. Holly, your funny and light-hearted approach to our work made every second of the editing process enjoyable. Thank you for taking on this project and for just being you.

To Craig Kayser, my literary agent, thank you for lighting my path to becoming a storyteller and writer. You always told me the truth, even when I didnt want to hear it, which improved our work. Im grateful for your insight, intelligence, and devotion to this project.

Jeremy Hawkins, The Distillery Editing Services, thanks for lending your skills to fine-tune this book. I learned so much from you, and Im grateful for your efforts to make the words on these pages sing. Your book, The Last Days of Video, is going to be excellent and I cant wait to buy it.

To my writing group: Six Great Books, Molly Mahoney Matthews, Janet Hall Warner, Kelly Hand, Donna Drew Sawyer, and David Bonck, you all provided the best guidance, sounding board, and collective wisdom to help me keep this project going. You erased any self-doubt that crept in from time to time and you are each gifted writers. I am so fortunate to have you in my life.

Im indebted to the Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for the wonderful teachers and other aspiring writers I met there. Rick Walter, thank you for being the first to tell me this story had the qualities of becoming a book and that I could accomplish this task. Your early encouragement and mentoring set me on the right path to making this book a reality. Barbara Esstman, thank you for impressing upon me the importance of improving my writing craft. You were so right.

Ive been fortunate to have Steve Barnett and David Koechner as champions in our effort to create this story into something great for television. I could not have found better guardians for this project. Both of you have both artfully conceived the rich potential of this story and have true vision. To Steve Barnett, your enduring excitement and dedication has made all the difference in the world and for this I am forever grateful.

To my family for their love and excitement about this book; Jerry Parrotto, Sandra Parrotto, Connie Parrotto Hudson, Chris Battista, Stephen Battista, Alexis Battista, Rose Martini, Angie Battista, Carol Frazee, George Frazee, and Leanne Frazee Tellam. Your words of encouragement always inspired me.

To my aunt, Dolores Parrotto Giesman, thank you for being the first true writer in the family and for the many hours you spent editing my graduate school papers. You helped me become a writer by your example and your insistence on excellence was never forgotten.

To my grandmother, Maria Parrotto, thank you for being so unforgettable and ballsy, and although you will never read this, I hope you know how much you inspired the women in our family. In these pages, youll inspire women everywhere to be as loyal, brash, outspoken, and loving as you are. Without you, this story wouldnt have been nearly as interesting. Youre truly unforgettable.

Many thanks to Tara Fort, Eric Danville, Chris Conrad, Danny Miller, Theresa Flynt, Belisa Vranich, Kelley Wyatt Mautz, Brian Scott Gross, Jeannie Campbell, Gabe Doppelt, and the many friends and work colleagues who stood in my corner and taught me so many things that will lend to the success of this book.

1
Stockbroker to Pornbroker

G rosses this week at the Premier are up, and Deep Throat is still bringing in the crowds, said Tony Arnone, my fathers business partner and old college friend.

Dad held the phone closer to his ear lest one of the other salesmen working at the twenty identical desks lined up in the cavernous trading room at W. E. Hutton would hear the man my family called Uncle Tony on the other end of the line.

Look, I dont want to keep you, Tony continued, but a business opportunity has come up. You remember me mentioning Lou Perry? Dad whispered into the phone. Your Deep Throat contact? The producers are moving the movie nationwide, and pronto, said Tony. They need distributors in the Northeast. I think youd be perfect. All youd have to do is call up some theaters and pitch them the movie. You get 5 percent of the distributors cut of the gross from whatever theaters you sign.

My father peered left and right at the large office space. What would his co-workers think if they knew he was having this conversation while on the clock at W. E. Hutton? Doesnt sound too hard, he said after a moment. Thanks for the offer. Ill think about it.

Man, dont think too much. These people are ready to go.

My father knew making a few phone calls and booking sales was basically what he did as a broker, so in that regard, he was incredibly well suited for this opportunity. And he knew Deep Throat would basically sell itself. The film had premiered in Times Square at the World Theater in June 1972 and had been showing in theaters for more than a year. By then, August 1973, it was still hugely popular. In fact, its popularity accelerated. In January of that year, the New York Times Magazine had published an article titled Porno Chic that described Deep Throat as a cultural phenomenon, and the articles author, Ralph Blumenthal, had even hypothesized that, based on Deep Throats huge crossover success, hardcore pornography would one day merge with traditional movies.

The reasons for the movies success are myriad. For one, the film defied convention in that it incorporated a complete plot (albeit a flimsy one). It also boasted a keen sense of humor. The notion of a woman having a clitoris in the back of her throatperhaps the weirdest and most notorious aspect of Deep Throatwas not seen by most as obscene, but rather hilarious. The film was a household name, even before its bizarre and rather arbitrary connection to the Watergate scandal, with which the term Deep Throat is now more popularly associated.