She also starred in Rabid by David Cronenberg. In a plate-of-shrimp coincidence, I was looking through his filmography and saw her name. "Hmmm," I thought, "that name is really familiar, I wonder where I know it from." I haven't seen any of her films, but her name, like Ron Jeremy or Peter North, has a resonance for males of a certain age.
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Also, don't forget her sleazy disco single, Benihana, on Roulette Records. (The climactic ending is possibly NSFW) posted by stachemaster at 2:38 PM on April 13
57 seems awfully young, assuming it was a natural death. Very sad that it was her daughter who found her.
The NYT seems kind of stuck on the fact she had interracial sex - as though that was what was so notable about Behind The Green Door! She was great in BTGD of course, but also Insatiable, Up 'N' Coming -- and, as levkar notes, David Cronenberg's Rabid. posted by stinkycheese at 2:51 PM on April 13
As stolen from an sfgate article comment, "Harry Kalas and Marilyn Chambers. Two golden throats gone in the same day..." posted by Mrmuhnrmuh at 2:53 PM on April 13 [2 favorites has favorites]
Nice, classic sarcasm in the title, there. ... Show some respect.
I assume the OP was punning on the fact that Chambers was previously the Ivory Soap girl, which was probably mentioned in at least one of the bios.
It's likely all lies, but if you ever get the chance to read it, Xaviera Meets Marilyn Chambers is a pretty good read. Chambers comes across as being extremely submissive in this, to say the very least. posted by stinkycheese at 3:04 PM on April 13
This is kind of interesting. Chambers starred (as Marilyn Briggs) in 1971 psuedo-sex-documentary Together, which was produced by none other than horror-meisters Wes Craven (who shot the original Nightmare On Elm Street) and Sean Cunningham (who shot the original Friday The 13th).
The success of Together allowed Craven & Cunningham to fund 1972's Last House On The Left, often considered one of the sleaziest and most disturbing films ever.
The film also got Marilyn herself noticed. From the IMDB:
After seeing her Marilyn Briggs in Together (1971), the Mitchell Brothers offered her a role in "Behind the Green Door," giving her the option of taking a role in which she wasn't required to have sex. Originally, Briggs chose a non-sex role, but allowed the Brothers to talk her into taking the lead. For her gig, she was paid $25,000 and 1% of earnings (which in 1974, brought her between $2,000 and $2,500 per month), the highest amount ever paid a porn performer. Now called Marilyn Chambers, "Green Door" made her a porno superstar, and one of the only porn actresses to cross over into mainstream features. posted by stinkycheese at 3:17 PM on April 13
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I saw "Behind the Green Door" last year at a theater I work at. I'd never seen anything like it, in a good way. Sad news. posted by bubukaba at 3:23 PM on April 13
I saw "Behind the Green Door" in a college class, which was awesome in a great many ways. There's emotion in that film commensurate with the experience of watching it - it's pretty edgy and hardcore to my way of thinking. posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:32 PM on April 13
The Other Hollywood is a pretty excellent book for anyone interested in Chambers and her co-workers.
She changed the way I look at trapezes, that's for sure. RIP, Ms. Chambers. posted by queensissy at 4:13 PM on April 13
Let's not forget Marilyn Chambers TV (M.C. TV). Nothing but porn delivered right to your home 24/7 via microwave. That was quite a concept back in the 80s when you still had to pay for your porn. posted by buggzzee23 at 4:15 PM on April 13
I mean, we know the producers of Beyond the Green Door riffed on her Ivory Soap gig in its promotion, they just did it a lot better than "...NOT!" posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:50 PM on April 13
This guy I used to babysit for had been friends with or dated her in his youth, I forget which. Either way, he had nothing but nice things to say about her, so
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Insatiable still rocks. posted by archaic at 6:10 PM on April 13
So strange, I just saw Behind the Green Door the other day. Shown on a scratchy, barely audible 16mm reel in a back alley underground cinema. It certainly was... insane. Those psychedelic cumshots alone were worth the price of admission. posted by yellowbinder at 6:25 PM on April 13
When I was young and silly I had my photo taken with her after her performance at a strip club.
Never knew what happened to that polaroid. posted by bwg at 6:27 PM on April 13
One of the first pornos I ever watched was Marilyn Chambers' Private Fantasies, one of which was apparently a George and Martha Washington doing it under a cherry tree. Sad that she died at such a young age. posted by premiumpolar at 6:40 PM on April 13
Wasn't there something where she lied about being coerced at gunpoint by mobsters into making the movie, and then she turned into some kind of crazy anti-porn crusader? Or am I thinking of someone else? posted by Afroblanco at 7:02 PM on April 13
Aaah. My bad. And it sounds like her husband was indeed a shithead. Don't know where I heard about the mob angle, though. posted by Afroblanco at 7:14 PM on April 13
Lame and unnecessary. Ivory joke or not. posted by jessamyn at 8:15 PM on April 13
99 and 44/00 Percent Pure NOT
Yeah, no need for that, have some manners. posted by Divine_Wino at 9:12 PM on April 13
Chambers later married Lovelace's scumbag husband......and always claimed that everything she did was consensual. posted by brujita at 9:44 PM on April 13
At the ripe old age of 19, a friend and I noticed that she was doing a personal appearance (on a weekday afternoon) in conjunction with a new film debuting at a porno theater in Santa Barbara. We weren't so much into going to the theater (really), but the meet-the-big-porn-star aspect had huge appeal.
My boss at the time had mentioned that he and the wife enjoyed the occasional XXX film so I asked to take the day off. He asked why so I told him. He approved.
Marilyn could not have been nicer, signed (topless) pictures with a smile and a little note. I related that I'd asked for the day off, told my boss what I wanted to do, asked if she could sign a picture for him.
She was happy to do it, wrote a sexy little note something like, "Nice guys finish first, hopefully not in bed."
yellowbinder, as soon as I read your comment I thought of trash cinema, and then remembered that Mr Case said he had a LOT of women calling up to ask about the movie. Now I am sad I didn't go to the show. Fifty six seems really young, at least she really lived life though. posted by saucysault at 2:41 AM on April 14
People still make "not" jokes? posted by CRM114 at 5:37 AM on April 14
Really quite a shameful post title, especially given that the subject seemed to go well out of her way to live without shame and simply be herself. Although I suppose if she were alive she'd just shrug it off or grin, having heard it, or a variation on it, roughly a thousand times before. So, yeah, unoriginal and unnecessary.
Saucysault, you really should have been there. It was a trip, made a little more poignant by Ms. Chambers death.
For anyone else in Toronto who appreciates forgotten and underground cinema, check out Trash Palace. It's not always porn, but I gather it's always a good time. I'll certainly be back. posted by yellowbinder at 7:42 AM on April 14 [1 favorite has favorites]
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posted by tyllwin at 2:31 PM on April 13