NYC- [Cindy Adams reports in the NY Post]: OK, so naughty or nice, it’s done. Over. Finished. On to the next. Although I must report on one unusual Christmas gift. Zarela Martinez, who owns Zarela’s Mexican restaurant, got what she asked Santa for. Not your everyday orlon sweater type present. And tough to wrap up. But what she wanted. Boyfriend Jamie Gillis gave up his porn job.
Known for his “woodsmanship,” Jamie starred in features like “Walking Toilet Bowl.” Also spanking movies. Also gay-bondage movies, which means Oscars he didn’t get. Maybe a John or Joe or Max but no Oscar. So the first question, how did he get into that business?
“I was a nice Jewish boy from Manhattan. I was going to Columbia to get a degree while kicking around as an actor, but I wasn’t making money. So I looked for part-time work and saw an ad for nude models. This graduated to X-rated films, which we did on some dirty mattress on 14th Street. But the girls were pretty, and for me it was fun, and it beat driving a cab at night, which I was doing to feed myself. This was the ’70s, and then came stuff like ‘Deep Throat’ and ‘Green Door,’ and porn became big business. As an actor who could walk and chew gum at the same time, they picked me right away.
“My first full-length feature I worried about what to wear to meet the pornographers. A hot pink suit? Something way out? But I walked in plain, and they were just a bunch of normal filmmakers. It was remarkably the same as any other movie set.”
Yeah, yeah. But how did he perform what they wanted on command? Like take after take?
“Oh, I was able to do that. Guys who get aroused easily tended to work a lot. I worked a lot. You don’t usually stay in this business if you’re shy. It’s just like having sex at home. You concentrate on the woman. On what you’re doing.”
Right. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “method acting.”
