Ron Jeremy: The Mr. Skin Interview

What made you decide that now was the time to write your memoir?

I wrote The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz long after Harper Collins approached me. Jenna Jameson (Picture: 1) wrote her book and it came and went, and I still didn't feel like doing my own. My dad said, "Listen to me Ron, I'm not getting any younger. I'd like to see the book before I'm gone; why don't you do it now? I could contribute to your childhood if you want." And I said all right, and my dad's the one who convinced me to do it.

The New York Times reviewed it, and that's a difficult thing to pull off. And now it's on the Times extended bestseller list at number 32. So it's certainly doing well, and they say it will be in the top ten in the next few weeks.

Of the book's many amazing anecdotes, is there one that stands out above the others?

My greatest story is when I was discussing belief in God with [deceased preacher-turned-comedian] Sam Kinison. He was a believer, and I was expressing some doubts. We were driving, and really debating it, and the car flipped over. After we all came crawling out, I said, "Sam, you really went to great lengths to prove a point!" Bill Kinison, Sam's brother, said: "Sam wasn't the one that was proving the point!" It still gives me goose bumps.

Does the book get anything wrong?

I had an uncle who was a gangster. One night while watching The Godfather, (Picture: 1) my dad goes to the back room and comes out with a couple of maracas and shakes them. Uncle Ben gave them to him 'cause he was at that famous Cuban meeting, so they said in the book that my dad came out with Caracas flags. No maracas. The book has a few errors like that, but nothing too big.

Humor has been a mainstay of your career. Was that important to convey in your life story?

My life has been kind of entertaining. It should really reflect my life, and I've really enjoyed my life. Would I have done anything differently? Well, yeah. If I could have gotten mainstream acting work in the beginning, I wouldn't have done porn at all.

But the job market was horrible for actors. You just can't get work because there are always hundreds and hundreds of kids all chasing one single job. The casting call was a jungle, and I had some luck. I got some parts in plays.

I got so fed up with that job situation. You had to be the best actor in the world to get in the door. So I was approached to do porn after posing for Playgirl magazine, and I agreed. The next thing you know I did porn-Tigresses and Other Maneaters.

You claim to have had relations with 4,000 women. How did you come up with this number?

Gene Simmons and I are side-by-side in terms of sheer numbers.

The historians of the porn business keep a very good check on how many scenes and films you are in. Therefore I know I've been on camera in 1,800 movies, which means at least one girl per movie. Sometimes you have two. So that's at least 1,800 to 2,000 right there.

Between stills and off camera and traveling on the road, it's easily another couple thousand over a term of 29 years. I think 4,000 is pretty accurate. It may be more.

Now, John Holmes and Wilt Chamberlain both claimed 20,000. Later they both regretted that claim and said it was an impossible number. Gene Simmons and I told the truth.

Do you like the way porn has evolved?

These days, it's good and it's bad. The good is the women are a lot prettier. We've got dancers from all over the world, from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, everywhere. The moviemakers get more selection. But all these gorgeous girls will only fuck their boyfriends. They might do a threesome with two girls. Each one gets to do whatever she wants.

Fill us in on the incident that happened with New York radio personality Crazy Cabbie in Howard Stern's studio.

Well, Crazy Cabbie and a guy named Brett approached me to do a movie when I was a guest in the studio with Howard Stern.

And you filmed something in Howard's studio. You discussed this on the air with Howard recently. The issue was whether or not Cabbie participated and to what degree. You sort of left it inconclusive.

Cabbie was a bit upset. Cabbie has to realize that I protected him. I said that he was not, at any point, in the Howard Stern studio when we were shooting hardcore. I also said that he's not the one who let us in. A couple of workers let us in, and Cabbie wouldn't tell Howard who they were.

We even edited one film into two films, so that one would be a Crazy Cabbie movie showing him having sex. The other one was called Scenes from a Shock Jock Studio, which Cabbie's not in.

So we totally separated it to protect Cabbie's job with Infinity Broadcasting. So he ought to appreciate that. If he was actually there or not during any of the sex, I'll never let that out. I'm just being a sport in saying he's not there. I cannot confirm nor deny Crazy Cabbie's presence during the sex.

You took on this video job because you believed Howard was involved, correct? You said that you waived your usual fee in hope that Howard would promote the movie.

My costars, Taylor Wane, (Picture: 1) Christi Lake, and Tabitha Stevens, (Picture: 1) all were in the prime of their careers. We were all getting top dollar in L.A.

We worked on the Shock Jock video for next to nothing. We flew across the country just to be associated with Howard. Then they cancelled the movie because they were worried about Cabbie's job. Even after we edited it to appear as if he's never in the studio, they still got nervous and wanted to shelve the film.

That's too bad.

We didn't even get a call to apologize! Not even a call to say sorry. They figured, "Ah, they fucked, they got paid." I thought that was kind of mean of the filmmakers to be so cavalier about it. The only thing I got out of this is my mentioning it in the book.

And Howard seemed to be supportive of you on the air.

Howard and Robin Quivers backed me up when they told Cabbie, "Look, it's Ron's story too, and he has a right to mention it."

I also made it very clear in the book that I didn't really rat this out, because when Brett was calling up the various girls to work, he said it's a chance to shoot at Howard's studio with Howard's endorsement. He also used the studio setting when he was trying to sell the movie to different companies. We all know the value of Howard Stern promoting a movie.

How angry did Howard really get at Cabbie?

I think judging by Howard's attitude he was like, "Let's not bring this up, folks. Let's forget about it. Let's get past it."

I think it's fine, all perfectly fine. Howard had some great radio. We all got to scream and yell at Crazy Cabbie. Cabbie compared himself to Steven Spielberg. It was great radio. I figured Howard might have had an inkling about the movie. I don't think Howard was really that pissed. Maybe a little pissed.

Do you think he wished he was in on it?

Maybe he is in on it. Howard Stern could be in on it. One thing is for sure: This movie now has value, and Brett was talking about it after the broadcast. He said, "Man, you hung me out to dry!" I said, "No, I didn't."

Brett shot scenes at the studio by himself, so Brett must have had some kind of in to the studio. He did a girl on the control panel I think. So he himself had sex in the movie.

What we didn't say on Howard Stern that I forgot to mention is that [alternative rock band] Alien Ant Farm is in the movie as well. We videotaped the band on stage and they signed releases.

One of the guys either in the band or the road crew put on a mask and had sex with a girl also, backstage in the trailer. So we have some footage of Alien Ant Farm in the film also. So all the publicity it got, and being the Crazy Cabbie movie, it would do very well I think.

Will the movie ever surface?

My editor did save a cassette. The masters are with Brett, who supposedly burnt them as Cabbie asked him to, but I doubt that he did. I have a couple of VHS tapes with my editor, so if anybody wants to see the movie someday, I'll show it to them.

I want to come over and see the movie.

You're invited. You can see if I lied or not about Cabbie being there.

And I never violated a microphone. We did have sex on Howard's chair. And I make believe I'm going to climax on the chair. I said, "Let me climax on the chair!" Taylor Wane jumps off the chair, and I go, "Oh Oh Oh! . . . just kidding." I didn't do it. And we never violated a microphone.

I did stick my dick through the O.J. Simpson mask, though. I did wear the Gene Simmons mask and stuck out my tongue when I did a sex scene with Tabitha Stevens. Gene Simmons signed a release saying that I could use his mask and his likeness in the porno movie.

What's next, what are you going to do now?

I've got a bunch of great horror films coming out. The ones that are already out are Bigfoot at Holler Creek Canyon and Dead Meat. I play Andre the butcher. I'm in a lot of Troma films like Poultrygeist and Toxic Avenger IV. (Picture: 1) Big films like The Boondock Saints (Picture: 1) just got re-packaged.

I've got a film called Homo Erectus, a caveman comedy written and directed by Adam Rifkin starring David Carradine, Tom Arnold, Gary Busey, and Ali Larter. (Picture: 1) Ali's the whipped-cream-bikini girl from Varsity Blues.

I'm also in a film called Finishing the Game from the director of The Fast and the Furious. And I've got One-Eyed Monster coming out pretty soon.

Are you still writing films and making porn?

I'm still making porn films because it's too fun to quit.