Jean Afrique, AKA Jeanette Starion (b. Jeanette Dyrkjær) died Friday, July 29th, 2011 of a heart attack in her home. She was only 47 years old.

Her husband, former performer Ray Victory (b. Erwin Ray Viser), called 911 when "she started to tremble and fell asleep across the table". They took her to the hospital by ambulance, but 40 minutes later she died of a heart attack. Police have apparently ruled out suicide as she was not taking any unusual quantities of pills and there were no signs of foul play. Erwin Ray seems devastated by the loss of his wife and friend of over two decades:

I visited her in the morgue and I could tell by her face that she was relieved. She died happy. In the twenty years she and I were together, we loved each other as we never had loved others. She was my best friend. She told me so much.

In the '80s, Jeanette was a Penthouse Pet, Page 9 Girl and featured in various men's magazines as photographers flocked from around the world to take pictures of the young girl from Køge, who was blond and very well proportioned. In 1983, the 20 year old Jeanette was named Penthouse Pet of the Year. She made a million dollars in connection with her nomination, but she squandered it all.

That is how she ended up moving on to the adult film industry in 1990. In Hollywood, she met her future husband, Erwin Ray Viser, more famously known as Ray Victory. He was three years her senior and had six years of experience in adult film.

Here is what Erwin Ray had to say of leaving the industry with Jeanette:
more >>

Amanda Jensen, better known as the legendary adult performer, Erica Boyer, has died. She was killed while trying to cross Front Beach Road in Panama City, Florida at 8:20 PM on New Year's Eve. She was struck by a 25 year old off-duty police officer driving a 2001 Hyundai. The officer and his passenger walked away with minor injuries, while Amanda Jensen died at the scene, most likely instantly. Amanda Jensen leaves behind a loving husband, a son, and a lot of friends. She was only 53 years old and beloved my many.

Erica Boyer's adult career began in 1974 with the independent bondage film Cowgirls in Chains (out of print). After a five year hiatus, Boyer returned to the industry in 1979 to perform in a two Mitchell Brothers films. From then on, her adult film career blossomed and continued into an impressive four decade span. During her time as an active performer Erica Boyer won the XRCO Award for Lascivious Lesbian in 1985. She was also inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame for her work in the industry.
more >>

Juliet Carr, better known as Juliet Anderson or Aunt Peg, was discovered deceased on Monday morning, January 11th, 2009 at her home in Berkley. According to the friend who found her, Kevin Fong, there were no visible signs of foul play or suicide. She was 71 years old and had Crohn-Lesniowski Disease (AKA Chrohn's Disease), a congenital autoimmune affliction of the gastrointestinal tract, for which she had only recently sought treatment.

Juliet Carr is famous for playing the persona of the older, well-aged, experienced woman who has a lot to offer sexually. In effect, she is the original MILF-archetype. In an era when women over 40 were practically unheard of in adult films, she was breaking ground with her Aunt Peg series.

On her web site, Juliet Carr writes she entered the industry in 1978 at the age of 39 when --

A small downtown theater was looking for “attractive women over 18 for soft-core sex show, short hours, lots of fun, good pay.” I figured I had nothing to lose by checking it out. I was scared to death but went to the theater anyway and was accepted immediately. But the woman who hired me told me: #1 the owner of the theater, Alex d’Renzy, also a renowned film maker, would have to give the final OK but was in the middle of shooting a film and #2 not to tell him my age as late 30s was considered too old.
more >>

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:
more >>