An article in the N.Y. Times this past weekend about rap’s emerging presence in the porn industry, particularly about Snoop D, allegedly, being the first to make the crossover, prompted a chat with porn star Ron Jeremy.

Jeremy’s currently working on the Barnacle Bill the Sailor project which is for the Internet, according to him.”Snoop wasn’t the first,” said Jeremy who directed a couple of John Wayne Bobbit projects for Leisuretime, one of them including Ice T.

“Frankenpenis [directed by Jeremy] was a pretty big movie,” Jeremy continues. “It was a John Wayne Bobbit sequel. We even hired some guy from the E! Channel to shoot the actual operation where he gets his penis made bigger. The original film was Uncut and that made Mark [Carriere] a million dollars. In that one he had a regular sewn-on penis.

In Frankenpenis it was enlarged. In the film I played Dr. Frankenpenis and we actually show the penis. And Ice T does a very funny scene at the end where he comes up to me saying, doc, you gotta help me, I’ve got a bad cool. I said I’m not that kind of doctor. There was some really funny dialogue. That movie also sold a lot. And we also used rock stars years before that but that’s not what the article was about. But Ice T was the first rapper to work in a porn film that I know of.

And I used Ice T again in my music video Freak of the Week which was also made into a girl-girl movie for Stan Loeb at Lipstik. That pre-dates Snoop about three or four years, also.”

Jeremy was asked about the Barnacle Bill project. “It’s kind of goofy,” said Jeremy. “Steve [Banan] has been pretty much directing and producing it. I’m helping to direct it. It was his concept, his idea. We get all these 15 or so maidens. We re-enact the famous nursery rhyme, whatever, or the tale. It was Steve’s idea. He approached me with it and it sounded kind of goofy. I thought- what the heck- it’s fun. It’s not a violation of my contract with Metro. I asked them for permission. They said, no, the website is fine. Because it’s for content. They may eventually buy it. If they do, the girls get extra money.

“But the one who has my website is Mark Carriere,” Jeremy continued. “He has www.RonJeremy.com for which I get a car and a salary. And Mark said, go ahead, you can do it, we may want to buy it. It’s strictly content and it’s fun. It’s getting me out there and some of the new folks. Steve books the people and I just go along for the ride. He booked his wife. Brooke Hunter did a scene…Vickey Vette. We’ve done about 7 or 8 already. It’s real easy. The girls have all said it’s real simple. We can’t pay the big bucks like the companies but the scene lasts about 25 minutes and it’s done. No one’s complained yet. Other companies pay more but they keep people on the set all day.”

Jeremy’s also getting a title of executive producer, according to him. “Because me and Steve will figure out someday how to divide up the money that comes in from the web. But it’s pretty much his show.”

Jeremy was asked about the series of college debates that he’s been conducting with feminist Susan Cole. Jeremy said he’s got another debate scheduled Tuesday. “We’ll be debating again at Arkansas State,” he says. “A week later it will be in Alabama, then Fulton, Missouri. They’ve been turn away crowds. We get between one and two thousand kids coming out for this. Every time we do a show it’s sold out and they have to turn away kids. And it pays very well, too, besides making so much better press.”

Jeremy also talked about the show he did with Devon a couple of weeks ago in Dayton, Ohio. At that time Devon appeared on a local radio show and issued a couple of profanities on air that got a radio deejay fired.

Jeremy: “Devon and I were doing a show in Ohio [at Apollo’s Palace Gentlemen’s] Supper Club]. I did a Wednesday night, then I had to fly out of here Thursday and Friday to do a thing with Metro in San Francisco. Then I had to fly back for a Saturday night to do the last night with her. The joke was, when I got back, they said, Ron, you got to go on radio, please go on radio, please, Devon really screwed up, man. She said fuck twice. There was no seconds delay. Now they have these new policies because of Janet Jackson and every radio station in America has been affected by it.

“Devon said fuck twice and the guy got fired. So I made a joke, I’m going to go on the show and say alright, hi folks, who’s the cocksucker. They said don’t do that. So I went on the show and I was very clean. Then, when I saw Devon that night at the club, I said, hey, it’s the fuck-fuck girl. She was, Ron, come on. How’s it going there Miss Fuck-Fuck? Ron, c’mon. I was calling her that for he rest of the day. We also signed autographs together at two video stores including Hustler. They had us go to the Hustler store in Cincinnati and we did a radio remote from there where I managed to keep it nice and clean.”

Jeremy was also asked about his appearance on Howard Stern’s 1,000th E! Show. Stern touted that as the one and only time he was allowing Jeremy on the air.

Jeremy: This is the absolute truth. I’ve been on his show many, many times. He just says that. Well, I was on the John Bobbit show; I was on there with Devine Brown, then Paulie Shore, Sam Kinnison. I’ve been on his show many times. Right there in the actual studio. There were two times when he kept me in the green room and would not let me on the show. But I had already been on his show.

He interviewed me once for half an hour when there was that 87 year-old lady in that movie 87 and Still Bangin’. That was for Heatwave- www.heatwavevideo.com and Gabor. Howard had me on for half an hour talking about that show. It was the funniest show. It was this lady Rosie. The funniest line in the movie that Rosie says to me is when I asked her how she got in the business. She was, like, I advertised. I couldn’t find men my age to keep an erection.

All told, I’ve probably been on that show, 8 times on, twice kept in the green room; twice on E! Channel. And once was very recent with Sunset Thomas when they had me as a coach in a hotel room for this virgin who was going to have sex with Sunset for the first time. Stern makes this big joke about me not going on the show. I told him I don’t care if I go on the show. They have great catering in the green room. They have all these Snapples in the refrigerator. I’m happy. But I have been on his show and he’s even called me to go on his show.

Then, again, in Las Vegas when I had to give away the bride. She passed away [Holly Landers], by the way. It was for Who Wants to Marry a Porn Star. Tabitha Stevens was there, Jenna Jameson was there. It was the time before last when Howard was in Las Vegas. Joe Rogan was there and I was there to give away the bride. Holly was a friend of mine. She died in a car accident. Holly asked Howard if I could give her away. Howard said yes, then he had Dennis Hof and the Bunny Ranch girls as the bridesmaids. Joey Buttafuoco was the ring man. It was a bizarre event. Holly married some black guy then they got it annulled. She died about five months later.

Every time I’m on Howard’s show he says we’re finally letting Ron on. Like it hadn’t happened before.”

Gene: You think this is finally it for him?

Jeremy: No. But I’ll tell you one thing. Me and Dennis Hof are very close to Mancow who could possibly be the next big name if Howard really did retire. If Howard leaves it will be of his own choosing. People want to hear him every morning. He’s not going anywhere. He’s lost six affiliates. He hasn’t lost New York, Chicago, Los Angeles. Losing the affiliates hurt him but didn’t end him. Unless you know more than I know.

Gene: He’s been making it sound like that when the FCC fines come down this time, Viacom’s not going to have a choice.

Jeremy: He always says he wants that to happen but he’s not going to go down like that. I’m not going to buy it. He’s saying that because he wants to have a cliffhanger. He’s a genius at cliffhangers. But if he ever did, and I hope he doesn’t, the new guy- and you can take this to the bank- would be Mancow who’s bigger than Howard in Chicago. Or Bob & Tom who are huge in the Midwest and bigger than Howard in many cities in the Midwest including Indianapolis. But I think Mancow would be the new Howard.