John C. Holmes, ‘King’ of 1,000 Porno Films, Dies at 43
This bio/death announcement article ran in the L.A. Times on March 14, 1988.
John C. Holmes, ‘King’ of 1,000 Porno Films, Dies at 43
March 14, 1988| RONALD L. SOBLE | Times Staff Writer
John C. Holmes, the pornographic film star who became a central figure in the unsolved 1981 Laurel Canyon murders, died Saturday night at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Sepulveda, associates said Sunday. He was 43.
A hospital administrator refused to comment on the cause of death. Reports had been circulating that Holmes was suffering from AIDS and that he had been hospitalized for an extended period.
Last June, pornographic film producer and distributor William Amerson, who had a long-term business relationship with Holmes, said Holmes was suffering from colon cancer, not AIDS, and that the actor underwent surgery in October, 1986, for removal of a malignant tumor.
Confirming that Holmes had died, Amerson declined further comment, declaring “I can’t talk. It’s kind of an emotional time.”
Called “the King” of X-rated films, Holmes appeared in more than 1,000 sexually explicit movies and peep show loops between the late 1960s and the early 1980s, said his longtime associate, Bill Margold of West Hollywood, who appeared in several Holmes films.
“He was the pioneer in X-rated films,” Margold said. “There’s only one king.”
On the screen, Holmes appeared as an inexhaustible virility symbol who claimed to have had sex with thousands of women. An early 1980s sex film, “Exhausted,” was supposed to be a biography of his life. Holmes’ last film, “Hollywood Confidential,” was made two years ago.
Holmes, said Los Angeles writer and film critic Kenneth Turan, “was very much proud of his work. He liked what he was doing.”
In Turan’s 1974 book, “Cinema,” Holmes told the writer that well-produced pornography had a more lasting impact than most films produced for the general public. “No emotion is stronger,” he said. “It’s a lasting thing.”
Off the screen, said his former wife, Sharon Holmes of Glendale, Holmes kept to himself about his film exploits.
The couple was divorced in 1984, after almost 20 years of marriage. During that time, Sharon Holmes said, she never saw any of his films. “He knew it was not something I was particularly happy about,” she said. “But he said the money was good.”
Holmes commanded $2,000 a day at the height of his career.
In the late 1970s, Sharon Holmes said, her husband “got into drugs heavily. He lost control of what he’d been doing–lost control over his films, his life.”
Holmes was born in Ashville, Ohio, and joined the Army before his high school graduation, serving three years in West Germany. After he left the service, he held several jobs in Southern California, including ambulance driver, warehouseman and door-to-door salesman.
His start in pornographic films probably occurred when, to make ends meet, he was posing for nude photographs which caught the attention of a producer of sex films. By the 1970s, he had become an established X-rated star, making films here and in Europe.
Although he worked with most of films’ top sex stars during his career, Holmes apparently had few friends in the industry and, associates said, did not socialize with the women with whom he had sex.
“He was virtually friendless by his own decision,” said Margold.
A few weeks ago, Los Angeles police reinterviewed Holmes in his hospital bed about the 1981 murders of four people on Wonderland Drive in Laurel Canyon. Although police have declined to discuss the interview, it was believed to have been triggered by the emergence of a new witness in the case.
Holmes, after several months in hiding, was arrested in Florida and charged in December, 1981, with the killings. Although the prosecutor argued that Holmes actually committed one of the slayings, a jury acquitted him. Holmes then spent 111 days in jail on contempt charges for refusing to identify the killers, saying he feared for his life.
The murders, believes Sharon Holmes, “will remain unsolved. He told me he could have told (police) everything. But he wanted to stay alive.”
Holmes, she said, is survived by his mother, Mary, who lives in Ohio; two brothers, Edward and Dale; a sister, Anna, and a stepbrother, David.
criticextraordinaire, 
localarts, and 1 other are discussing. 
John 11:46 am on February 28, 2014 Permalink |
Porn addiction, but of course. Very prolific statement.
In Turan’s 1974 book, “Cinema,” Holmes told the writer that well-produced pornography had a more lasting impact than most films produced for the general public. “No emotion is stronger,” he said. “It’s a lasting thing.”
Jill C. Nelson 5:34 pm on February 28, 2014 Permalink |
This statement sort of ties in with John’s statement to Julia St. Vincent at the end of “Exhausted” when she asked him where he envisioned himself in twenty years. John replied, “On the late – late show.” Porn isn’t on cable but it’s certainly available on pay tv.
criticextraordinaire 12:50 pm on February 28, 2014 Permalink |
A buddy of mine lived in the Baltimore area when Mr. Holmes passed away. Apparently the newslady read out the story about John’s death. Then she paused for a few seconds, sighed, and said “What a waste”. I always wondered exactly what she meant by that.
John 1:39 pm on February 28, 2014 Permalink |
Interesting. Porn was still very taboo to be discussed in public, even in the late 80s. But, by the early 90s, if John’s trial had occurred then, it would have been a worldwide media circus!
Jill C. Nelson 5:29 pm on February 28, 2014 Permalink |
“Although he worked with most of films’ top sex stars during his career, Holmes apparently had few friends in the industry and, associates said, did not socialize with the women with whom he had sex.”
This statement is a good one, though, to be fair, John would have kept his liasons with women in the adult industry private. He had brief and longterm affairs with several women within the industry such as Ginger Lynn, Laurien Dominique, Lesllie Bovee, Sandy Dempsey, Gilda Grant — not to mention, he married “Misty Dawn.” There were several others. Sandy Dempsey (who introduced John to nudist films in ’65 — the two worked for Kirdy Stevens) and Gilda Grant were both long term relationships.
criticextraordinaire 7:49 pm on March 1, 2014 Permalink |
Jill, did Sharon know about all these women John had on the side?
Jill C. Nelson 8:15 am on March 2, 2014 Permalink
It seems that Sharon would have to have known about John having women on the side. Wives generally do. He might have told her that the women he worked with had meant nothing to him and possibly, she accepted that to be the truth in order to maintain or uphold their unique relationship and marriage. Sharon was an old fashioned girl and she loved John.
In “Inches,” there is a passage/quote in which Sharon mentions how John had been away in Hawaii for approximately six months during the early ’70s. She doesn’t elaborate but she does say that John had told her he was working in Hawaii as a dancer. We asked Bob Chinn about that (Bob writes the specifics of this story in his own forthcoming autobio) and he said that John was invited by friends of Bob’s to headline/dance at their club after they’d wrapped a film shoot. It’s the same club that is shown in a scene in ‘Tropic of Passion,’ the Johnny Wadd movie filmed in Hawaii. John danced there for six months with Cassandra (the stripper shown in the club scene in the movie). He lived with Cassandra for the period of time he was in Hawaii and had a relationship with her. Sharon must have wondered why John was away for such a long time. It might seem strange to many people, but despite his philandering, I believe John had loved Sharon. It’s just that John had loved a lot of women.
criticextraordinaire 10:32 am on March 2, 2014 Permalink
Man, John sure did see lots of action. I wonder what they all saw in him. Certainly does not square with the “John was a monster” image that some would like to portray.
localarts 10:05 am on March 1, 2014 Permalink |
You know, had John Holmes been convicted back in 82 and received the death penalty, he would have actually lived longer LOL. Probably two decades worth of appeals before he would face the gas chamber.