Legendary adult filmmaker, Gerard Damiano, died on Saturday from natural causes. Damiano was 80 years old when he succumbed to complications from a stroke.
Though perhaps best known for making the highest earning adult film, Deep Throat (1972), which grossed $600 million on a shoe-string budget, Damiano saw little of that money. He also directed The Devil in Miss Jones (1973) along with several other well-known, golden age era classics.
The quintessential American porn director didn't start his career as such. In fact, born to an Italian-Catholic family, Damiano served four years in the Navy as an X-ray technician and worked as a hairdresser in the Bronx before discovering he had knack for directing porn. According to the Ft. Myers News-Press, while running his own beauty parlor in New York City: Damiano took an interest in film-making after his accountant introduced him to a producer who was making a low-budget horror film. Intrigued, Damiano began helping out as he could on the set. The loss of this great American filmmaker has been felt by many, including long-time friend and star of the original Devil in Miss Jones, Georgina Spelvin, who visited Damiano at his home in Ft. Myers in surprise celebration of his 80th birthday, along with other key adult film figures. Damiano had this to say of the happy event: I haven't been that surprised since I was arrested. The guest list also included Annie Sprinkle as well as close friends and family.
Damiano is survived by his ex-wife, porn actress Paula Morton, and his two children, Christar and Gerard, Jr.
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