The Devil and John Holmes

January 7, 2015 5:16 PM

John Holmes was a porn star. Eddie Nash was a drug lord. Their association ended in one of the most brutal mass murders in the history of Los Angeles. The Devil and John Holmes

I was moved to dig up this epic 1989 Rolling Stone article covering the Wonderland Murders after it was mentioned during Paul Thomas Anderson's recent WTF interview, in the context of it having provided a few key points of inspiration for the film Boogie Nights.

posted by anazgnos (17 comments total)

Val Kilmer as John Holmes? Carrie Fisher as the murder scene's owner? Eric Bogosian showing men how to rock bikini briefs? Wonderland (2003).
posted by mr. digits at 5:45 PM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

His drug of choice was freebase, home-cooked crack cocaine, and he was smoking it at the rate of two to three ounces a day.

wow
posted by stinkfoot at 5:58 PM on January 7, 2015

What a terrible, sad mess.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:05 PM on January 7, 2015

This is so over the top I can barely believe it. The story is there but the writing is terrible.
posted by nevercalm at 6:07 PM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

The writing was a bit thick with purple prose, to be sure. It was pretty fascinating nonetheless. Also, sad. Very, very sad.
posted by surazal at 6:08 PM on January 7, 2015

If you haven't read The Other Hollywood you simply must. I have never blown through a book so fast in my life and it's like 600+ pages. Absolute page turner.
It covers this, the era, talks to everybody and it even balances it all out by threading interviews with the cops trying to bring the porn industry down.
Essential reading.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 6:32 PM on January 7, 2015 [5 favorites]

Dawn Schiller, victim of many years of Holmes abuse, wrote a stunning and tragic account of her time with Holmes. She touches on the nights surrounding the murders: The Road Through Wonderland.
posted by haplesschild at 9:23 PM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Dawn Schiller = "Jeana Sellers" in the RS piece, right?
posted by anazgnos at 11:18 PM on January 7, 2015

a bit thick with purple

Well, given the subject...
posted by ShutterBun at 11:40 PM on January 7, 2015 [3 favorites]

Rolling Stone, eh? Guess some of it could be true.
posted by telstar at 12:13 AM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Eruption, a porn remake of Double Indemnity.

Now I'm thinking about Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck acting in a porno over my morning coffee. Great.
posted by dortmunder at 4:12 AM on January 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

I like my coffee black, personally
posted by thelonius at 5:04 AM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Val Kilmer as John Holmes? Carrie Fisher as the murder scene's owner?

Also, Lisa Kudrow as John Holmes' wife, that was kind of a mind blower (The fuck happened to Phoebe?)
posted by e1c at 5:31 AM on January 8, 2015

Just to slightly derail to say that the WTF with Paul Thomas Anderson was one of the best ones in a while. That was a very organic long chat, with a great vibe and some interesting takes, and Marc Maron was naturally on and informed rather than having to gin up more enthusiasm for the guest and their work than was there to begin with, which sometimes happens in guest podcasting.
posted by C.A.S. at 6:04 AM on January 8, 2015

Eddie Nash was a drug lord.

Alfred Molina's Rahad Jackson from Boogie Nights is basically a fictionalized version of Eddie Nash.
posted by jonp72 at 7:09 AM on January 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

I think this was obliquely referred to in Boogie Nights. I've never heard Night Ranger's Sister Christian the same way again.
posted by Renoroc at 7:10 AM on January 8, 2015

Not so obliquely, I'd say. :)
And, yeah, that scene changed the song forever for me.

I didn't know they'd made a movie about it - just added it to my dvd queue.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:24 AM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]