For the baseball player, see Gail Harris (baseball). For the US naval officer, see Gail Harris (naval officer).
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| Gail Harris | |
|---|---|
 Harris at the XBiz Awards 2005 | |
| Born | Gail Thackray (1964-12-16) 16 December 1964 (age 60) Batley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Other names | Robyn Harris |
| Occupation(s) | Model, actress, producer, magazine publisher |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
Gail Harris (born 16 December 1964) is a British model, actress, magazine publisher and industry entrepreneur.
Life and career
Modelling
Before her film industry work, Gail Thackray was a Page 3 girl (glamour model) for the British tabloid press. She then became a popular nude model from the mid–1980s, frequenting the pages of various pornographic magazines, including Knave, Penthouse, Mayfair, High Society, and Genesis. In 1986, as Gail Thackray, she was featured on the front cover, centerfold.
Hollywood
After initially starting her acting career as an extra, she performed in low-budget B-movies, sexploitation films, and softcore pornographic productions in Hollywood, some of which involved nude scenes. In the mid-1980s, she notably appeared in numerous episodes of Electric Blue, an erotic show that was primarily broadcast on the Playboy Channel, in which she also performed nude. During this period, she co-starred with several other adult film stars such, as Kitten Natividad, Candie Evans, Taylor St. Clair, Ron Jeremy, and Ginger Lynn Allen. Furthermore, she began to specialize in performing stunt and body double work for various productions.
In 1990, Harris starred in two horror/action direct-to-video films for director Jim Wynorski. In Hard to Die, credited as Robyn Harris, she stars as a lingerie model who is trapped in a high-rise building with a madman and gets to fire a machine gun in skimpy underwear. In Sorority House Massacre II, Harris plays the female lead as a co-ed terrorized by a serial killer.
Harris is popularly known as a "scream queen" and was named in the website Mr. Skin's Nudity Hall of Fame.
Falcon Foto
In 1988, Harris founded Falcon Foto, a prominent provider of adult-entertainment material to the publishing and Internet industries with a library of over 2 million images. A 2004 USA Today story stated that Falcon Foto had the world's largest privately owned library of erotic photos, worth more than $25 million according to online experts. Falcon Foto also serves as the major licensor of adult material to print publishing groups, contributing approximately 40% of all photo content in the industry.
Barely Legal
In 1988, Harris created the first niche adult magazine, Barely Legal, for Larry Flynt Publications, which became one of Flynt's best-selling titles. The launch of Barely Legal revolutionized the industry with 22 copycat titles appearing, as well as format changes in established publications and in the video medium. With a second title, Hometown Girls, published, in partnership with Flynt, Falcom became Flynt's third top earner. Falcon Foto's third announcement of a new title Virgins Magazine created a bidding war before the concept was even released.
Internet pornography and niche markets
When the Internet began to rapidly expand in the mid 1990s, Harris already had a viable pornographic business in place. Falcon Foto began digitizing their entire library for use on the Internet and by the early 2000s, Harris had created multiple Internet sites, such as FalconFoto.com, FalconFoto.net, and Falcongold.com, focusing on the pornographic 'niche' market. In a 2003 interview, she stated the mission of her company was "o provide the best adult content to satisfy the niche fantasy of every perv on the Internet."
She also claimed her company had the distinction of being the "first to shoot a granny and the first to create an entire magazine devoted to young girls." Her other niche products included photos and videos for Barely Legal, Busty Beauties, Hometown Girls, 40+, Plumpers, and other magazines.
In 2003, Harris collaborated with Larry Flynt III to create Contrentrus.com, both producing and marketing pornographic video products.
In 2006, Harris finished a year as a consultant for Flynt, putting her staff to work helping Flynt develop websites, Vegas casino projects, video lines, and a mobile operation within his empire.
In 2006, Harris collaborated with pornographic actors Brandi Love and Chris Potoski to form Naked Rhino Media, a multimedia pornography site that featured exclusive niche-specific content.
Personal life
Harris met her first husband Scott Harris while skydiving in the United States. Scott was the photographer who parachuted into the Michael Jackson compound during the 6 October 1991 wedding for Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky.
On 1 August 2004, Thackray married adult entertainment entrepreneur Jason Tucker. On 19 February 2011, they were legally separated.
Thackray retired from acting and producing in 2002 and stayed on as a resident of Los Angeles in the United States.
Partial filmography
- Takin' It Off (1985) (video) as Hannah
- Electric Blue 38 (1986) (video) as Limo Driver
- Electric Blue 41 (1986) (video) as Jeanie
- Electric Blue 43 (1986) (video) as Louise
- Party Favors (1987) as Nicole
- Electric Blue 47 (1987) (video) as Little Jo
- Electric Blue 48 (1987) (video) as John Squib's Girl
- For Love and Money (1987) as Fawny Van Renzlia
- Electric Blue 49 (1987) (video) as Girl on Video Monitor
- Electric Blue 50 (1987) (video) as Swimwear Model
- Savage Harbor (1987) as Harry's Girlfriend
- Takin' It All Off (1987) as Hannah McCall
- Screwball Hotel (1988) (uncredited)
- Hard to Die (1990) (as Robyn Harris) as Dawn Grant
- Sorority House Massacre II (1990) (as Robyn Harris) as Linda
- The Haunting of Morella (1990) as Ilsa
- Rainbow Drive (1990) (TV) as Club Girl
- Forbidden Games (1995) as Tonya Douglas
- Masseuse (1996) (as Robyn Harris) as Diane
- Dream On as Catering Girl (1 episode, 1996)
- Alien Escape (1997) as Cindy
- Masseuse 3 (1998/I) (video) as Debbie
- The Outsider (1998) (TV) as Wubba Wubba Girl
- The Circuit (2002) as Nicole Kent
- The Circuit 2: The Final Punch (2002) (video) as Nicole Kent
- Treasure Hunt (2003) (video) as Gail
- Quigley (2003) as Woman on Street
- Curse of the Komodo (2004) as Dr. Dawn Porter
References
- SHERIDAN, PETER (18 January 2019). "Gail Thackray: The tetley bitter pin-up who became a porn Queen". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- "Introducing… Gail Harris". The Actress Zone. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ Gila Morgan (27 February 2007). "Gail Harris". XBIZ. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ^ Jon Swartz (9 March 2004). "Online porn often leads high-tech way". USA Today. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ^ Gary Dretzka (18 July 2001). "X-rated photo czarina shows how to market a body of work". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- "YNOTNews Interviews Gail Harris From Falcon Foto". YNot. 15 May 2003. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- Ronald Grover (18 June 2006). "The Pornographers vs. The Pirates". Business Week. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- "Moving From Back Alleys on to Wall St". Los Angeles Times. 23 November 1999. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- Ericka Easton (1 September 1999). "WWW.FALCONFOTO.NET: The 'World's Largest' Library of Erotic Photos Goes Online". AVN. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- "Falcon Foto Launches New Content Sales Site". ainews.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "AVN – How to Market Niche Websites". avn.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- "YNOT – YNOTNews Interviews Gail Harris From Falcon Foto". YNOT: Adult Industry Forums. 15 May 2003. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- "Falcon Foto Collaborates on New Webmaster Product". ainews.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - XBIZ. "Falcon Foto, XclusiveCash Form Naked Rhino Media". XBIZ. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- "Parachutist's Hopes for Riches From Liz Taylor Wedding Fall Through". Los Angeles Times. 2 November 1991. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- "Jason Tucker v. Gail Thackray: California Central District Court: Federal Civil Lawsuit No. 2:13-cv-03826". plainsite.org. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.