Jerry Butler (May 13, 1959 – January 27, 2018) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
pornographic film actor
A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dist ...
. His career lasted from 1981 to 1993, and included more than 500 films.
Biography
Butler was born Paul David Siederman in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
father and a mother of half
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
/
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
and half
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
Native American descent. His paternal grandfather, Sam Siederman, was reportedly the half-brother of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
leader
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
.
Butler initially tried his luck at mainstream acting, performing in a variety of
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
plays. He also had a few walk-on appearances on the soap opera ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'' in 1978 and made an uncredited appearance in
Frank Henenlotter
Frank Henenlotter (born August 29, 1950) is an American film director, screenwriter and film historian. He is known primarily for directing horror comedies, especially '' Basket Case'' (1982), ''Brain Damage'' (1988), and ''Frankenhooker'' (199 ...
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
in 1981 after answering an advertisement in ''Backstage Magazine'' looking for hardcore actors. He went in to audition for a non-sex role and after a little persuading, ended up with a hardcore sex role in the 1981 film ''Young, Wild and Wonderful''.
His stage name was inspired from hearing the
Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the Rhythm and blues, R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Rol ...
song "Only the Strong Survive" on the radio while he was picking up his first paycheck. Butler was touted as the most talented male actor in his day with turns in Chuck Vincent's bigger budget adult efforts ''Roommates (1981)'' and ''In Love'' (1983), the latter winning him ''Hustlers "Best Actor Award".
During his adult film career, Butler made appearances in three more mainstream films, playing a comedic role in ''
Preppies
Preppy (also spelled preppie) or prep (all abbreviations of the word ''preparatory'') is a subculture in the United States associated with the alumni of old private education, private Northeastern United States, Northeastern college preparator ...
'' (1984), the dramatic lead in psychological thriller '' Deranged'' (1987) both directed by Chuck Vincent, and in the horror film ''
Evils of the Night
''Evils of the Night'' is a 1985 American low-budget science fiction horror filmMank, Gregory W. (2001). ''Hollywood cauldron: thirteen horror films from the genre's golden age.'' McFarland, , . starring Aldo Ray, Neville Brand, Tina Louise, Joh ...
'' (1985).
According to the
Internet Adult Film Database
The Internet Adult Film Database (IAFD) is an online database of information pertaining to, in United States, the pornography industry: actors, actresses, directors, studios, distributors and pornographic films.
History
The predecessor to IAFD ...
, Butler acted in 656 adult films during his lifetime.
Personal life
In 1987, Butler married former child actress
Lisa Loring
Lisa Loring (born Lisa Ann DeCinces; February 16, 1958 – January 28, 2023) was an American actress. She is best known for her work as a child actress playing Wednesday Addams at six years old on the 1964–1966 sitcom ''The Addams Family''.
L ...
, who was best known for playing
Wednesday Addams
Wednesday Addams is a fictional character from the Addams Family multimedia franchise created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. She is typically portrayed as a morbid and emotionally reserved child that is fascinated by the macabre, often ...
on ''
The Addams Family
''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...
'' television show in the 1960s. They met on the set of the adult film ''Traci's Big Trick'' (1987), where Lisa was working as a
make-up artist
A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions inc ...
.
In an interview with
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
's ''
Dateline
A dateline is a brief piece of text included in news articles that describes where and when the story was written or filed, though the date is often omitted. In the case of articles reprinted from wire services, the distributing organization is ...
'' in the 1990s Butler described himself as "addicted to the lifestyle", ashamed of his clandestine behavior and its effect on his marriage. The couple later appeared on the '' Sally Jessy Raphael Show'', again discussing the damage Butler's porn career was causing to their marriage. Butler and Loring divorced in 1992.
Butler released an autobiography in 1989, as told to
Robert Rimmer
Robert Henry Rimmer (March 14, 1917 – August 1, 2001) was an American writer who authored several books, most notably ''The Harrad Experiment'', which was made into a film in 1973.
The recurring theme in almost all of Rimmer's writing w ...
and Catherine Tavel, called ''Raw Talent''. The book gave an insider's account of the porn scene. He was very forthcoming in the book, giving very intimate details of some of his fellow co-workers in the business, and citing the existence of widespread drug abuse in the industry. Butler re-surfaced in 2003 in a non-sex role in a porn film titled ''Sexy Sluts: Been There, Done That'', released that year, which was directed by underground rapper Necro. Butler was also a featured guest on Necro's album ''The Sexorcist'' (2005).
Death
Butler was diagnosed with a
tumor
A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
which was removed in an operation, but a subsequent check-up following a cycling accident revealed the
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
had spread throughout his body and was inoperable. He died in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
X-Rated Critics Organization
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 ...
(XRCO) Best Actor for ''Snake Eyes''
*
AVN Hall of Fame
The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.
Preppies
Preppy (also spelled preppie) or prep (all abbreviations of the word ''preparatory'') is a subculture in the United States associated with the alumni of old private education, private Northeastern United States, Northeastern college preparator ...
'' (1984, as Paul Sutton) as Dick Foster
* ''
Evils of the Night
''Evils of the Night'' is a 1985 American low-budget science fiction horror filmMank, Gregory W. (2001). ''Hollywood cauldron: thirteen horror films from the genre's golden age.'' McFarland, , . starring Aldo Ray, Neville Brand, Tina Louise, Joh ...
'' (1985, as Paul Siederman) as Eddie
* '' Deranged'' (1987, as Paul Siederman) as Frank
* '' Electric Blue 53'' (1987) as Dr. Lamarr
Television
* ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'' — Multiple uncredited appearances, 1978
* ''
The Morton Downey Jr. Show
''The Morton Downey Jr. Show'' is a syndicated American talk show presented by Morton Downey Jr. that ran from 1987 to 1989. The show and its host pioneered the concept of "trash TV" format.
Starting as a local program on New York-New Jersey su ...
'' — playing "Himself", September 1988
* ''
Frontline
Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield.
Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to:
Books and publications
* ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant
* ''Frontlines ...
'' — playing "Himself" in episode: "Death of a Porn Queen", 1987
* ''
The Joan Rivers Show
''The Joan Rivers Show'' is an American talk show hosted by comedian Joan Rivers that premiered on September 5, 1989, in broadcast syndication. The show aired for five seasons, and ended in December 1993. The show was nominated for numerous Emmy A ...
Lisa Loring
Lisa Loring (born Lisa Ann DeCinces; February 16, 1958 – January 28, 2023) was an American actress. She is best known for her work as a child actress playing Wednesday Addams at six years old on the 1964–1966 sitcom ''The Addams Family''.
L ...