Randy West (pornographic Actor)
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Randy West (born Andrew Jay Abrams; October 12, 1947) is a retired American pornographic actor.


Early life and pre-porn career

West grew up in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and moved to South Florida in the late 1960s. He originally aspired to play professional baseball and attended the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
on a baseball scholarship. He then changed directions and decided to pursue a career in music, performing in several unsuccessful rock bands over the next decade. West also worked as a nude
art model An art model poses, often nude, for visual artists as part of the creative process, providing a reference for the human body in a work of art. As an occupation, modeling requires the often strenuous ' physical work' of holding poses for the requ ...
during this period. He then moved to California in 1979 and became a
Chippendales Chippendales is a touring dance troupe best known for its male striptease performances and for its dancers' distinctive upper body costume of a bow tie, collar, and shirt cuffs worn on an otherwise bare torso. Established in 1979, Chippendale ...
dancer, stripping for private events between 1980 and 1992.


Acting career

West's pornographic career began in 1978 with an appearance in the film ''Mystique'' while still living in Florida. In August 1980 he garnered attention when he became the first model to appear in the centerfold of ''
Playgirl ''Playgirl'' was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although i ...
'' magazine with an erection. Later in his career he was cast as
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
's body double in the 1993
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
film ''
Indecent Proposal ''Indecent Proposal'' is a 1993 American erotic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Amy Holden Jones. It is based on the 1988 novel by Jack Engelhard, in which a couple's marriage is disrupted by a stranger's offer of a million d ...
''. He has performed with numerous porn actresses early on in their careers, including Seka,
Jenna Jameson Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American model, former pornographic film actress, businesswoman, and television personality. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainme ...
and
Tera Patrick Tera Patrick (born Linda Ann Hopkins; July 25, 1976) is an American former pornographic actress and model who was the ''Penthouse'' Pet of the Month for February 2000 and is an inductee of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. She is a ...
. In fact, West has been given credit for bringing future superstars Jameson and Patrick into the adult business. Additionally, he was the first male performer to work with future stars Victoria Paris and
Ashlyn Gere Ashlyn Gere is an American pornographic film actress who has also performed in mainstream film and television, including appearances on the science fiction television series ''The X-Files'' and '' Space: Above and Beyond''. Gere is an inductee i ...
. West was a small-time drug dealer in the 1980s, supplying high-grade
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
to his fellow performers. "Randy's a good guy... I used to buy pot from him. We used to go bowling," said former porn actor
Tom Byron Tom Byron (born Thomas Bryan Taliaferro Jr.; April 4, 1961) is an American former pornographic actor, director and producer. A member of the XRCO and the AVN Halls of Fame, he was voted #20 in AVN's list of top 50 pornstars of all time. Earl ...
. Byron has said that West's pot was "my
viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...
in those days". West's on-screen sexual performance has been referred to by observers a being like that of a "human pile driver".David Jennings, ''Skinflicks: The Inside Story of the X-Rated Video Industry'', AuthorHouse, 2000 He has appeared as a performer in over 1,300 pornographic films, alongside an estimated 2,500 female co-stars. West appeared in the 2012
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
''
After Porn Ends ''After Porn Ends'' is a 2012 American documentary film about the pornography industry. It features interviews with Asia Carrera, Nina Hartley, Mary Carey, Randy West, Richard Pacheco, John Leslie, Amber Lynn, Seka, Raylene, Bill Margold, Sh ...
'', in which his life since retiring as a porn performer is discussed.


Producer

West became involved in the more lucrative production side of the porn industry in 1993, as producer of
adult films An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
such as the ''Up and Cummers'' series which showcased new performers. With this and other series like ''I Love Lesbians'', ''Real Female Masturbation'' and others, West's videos focused on "Real people having real sex – what a novel idea!" In one final video he stated that one of his greatest pleasures was watching his female partners have orgasms. Episodes had a fairly standard format: A short interview with the female performer to establish some background facts. Whether these were somewhat fictionalized or not, the chat established the young lady as an individual. Then came a succession of sex acts, each with the female performer an avid participant, including in almost every case, her orgasm. Randy filmed
Jenna Jameson Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American model, former pornographic film actress, businesswoman, and television personality. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainme ...
's first ever scenes for "Up and Cummers 10" & "11." All of West's productions are distributed by Evil Angel. He is the CEO of Randy West Productions.


Personal life

West's father and grandfather died from
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
s. He suffered a heart attack on June 2, 2009, while working out in the gym, and underwent emergency surgery to correct an occlusion in the anterior interventricular branch of his left coronary artery, commonly known as the widowmaker. He received a good prognosis for recovery. West has never married or fathered children, which he blames on his career for making it hard for him to form "normal relationships." As of 2011, West was living in Las Vegas. He says he retired from the industry due to no longer wanting to live in Southern California, the base of the U.S. adult film sector. As of 2013, he spends his time competing in celebrity golf tournaments for charity.


Awards

* 1993 – Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Free Speech Coalition The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) is a non-profit industry trade group, trade association of the pornography and Sex industry, adult entertainment industry in the United States. Founded in 1991, it opposes the passage and enforcement of obscenity l ...
*
FOXE Fans of X-Rated Entertainment (F.O.X.E., also known as FOXE) is a United States-based pornography fan organization founded by adult film actor, director, and critic William Margold and actress Viper.XRCO The X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) is a group of writers and editors from the American adult entertainment industry who each year present awards in recognition of achievement within the industry. After the controversy and criticism of the ...
1994 – Best Pro-Am Series, ''Up and Cummers'' * XRCO 1995 – Best Pro-Am Series, ''Up and Cummers'' * AVN 1995 – Best Pro-Am Tape, ''Up and Cummers 7'' * AVN 1997 – Best Pro-Am Tape, ''Up and Cummers 33'' * AVN 1999 – Best Ethnic-Themed Series, ''Up and Cummers'' * AVN 1999 – Best Pro-Am or Amateur Series, ''Up and Cummers'' * AVN 2001 – Best Pro-Am or Amateur Series, ''Up and Cummers'' * AVN 2002 – Best Pro-Am or Amateur Series, ''Up and Cummers'' * AVN 2008 – Silverback of the Porn Industry, "He eats first" * Listed at number 29 on the "List of Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time" by ''
Adult Video News ''Adult Video News'' (also called ''AVN'' or ''AVN Magazine'') is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. ''The New York Times'' notes that ''AVN'' is to pornographic films what '' Billboard'' is to records. ''AVN'' spon ...
''. * Member of the AVN, FOXE and XRCO Halls of Fame * Nominated in the AVN 'Best Actor' category 15 times


References


External links

* * * *
The Official Randy West MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Randy 1947 births American film producers American pornographic film producers American male pornographic film actors Living people Pornographic film actors from Florida Pornographic film actors from New York (state)