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Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born March 12, 1953), better known by the stage name Ron Jeremy, is a well-known American pornography star and director. AVN Magazine ranked him at #1 in a list of the 50 greatest pornography stars of all time.

When he entered the pornography industry, he abbreviated his name at the request of his father. Jeremy is referred to as "the clown prince of porn" for his comic sensibility and "The Hedgehog" because of his hairy body. He has gained some notoriety for being capable of autofellatio, which in a 2003 interview with Hustler Magazine he admitted that he is no longer capable of performing.

Biography

Born in the Flushing section of the New York City borough of Queens, Ron attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in the Bayside section of Queens (future CIA Director George Tenet was his classmate).

He earned a B.A. in Theatre Arts and acted Off-Broadway before gaining a Master's Degree in special education from Queens College.

He began a career in special education, but soon decided to quit and become part of the newly formed 1970s New York porn scene following an amateur appearance in Playgirl magazine—his then-girlfriend submitted a nude photo of Ron to the magazine. It was at this point that he decided to use his middle name Jeremy as his stage surname.

Though illegal to produce, adult films nonetheless were made and distributed to theaters rather than straight to video release. Jeremy's fame eventually grew, and he worked as 'special consultant' for the 1985 film Nine and a Half Weeks. Soon after leaving New York for California and then Israel, he was arrested on two occasions and faced a lengthy jail sentence. He was reprieved due to the Hal Freeman precedent in the United States Supreme Court of 1988.

He has appeared in nearly 2,000 shorts, loops, and feature films to date, and has directed a further 250 adult films. He claims to get more work when he is on the heavy side, and for this reason he does not lose weight. He also claims to have had sex with over 5,000 women.

He is listed at the #1 spot on the "List of Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time" by Adult Video News magazine. He and the late John Holmes have appeared together in several films, often sharing female performers like Seka, Christy Canyon, Amber Lynn, and Ginger Lynn. He claims that, unlike some industry colleagues, he has never abused cocaine, alcohol, or other illicit substances. He also claims to never have contracted a sexually transmitted disease during his pornographic career, despite engaging in unprotected sex with thousands.

In 1996, Jeremy recorded a rap song with DJ Polo titled "Freak of the Week". The single was popular in the Miami bass music clubs and reached #22 on Billboard magazine's Hot Rap Tracks chart. Surprisingly, the music video featured a cameo appearance by Lynn Redgrave. He has also appeared in music videos such as Sublime's "Date Rape" and Kid Rock for the song "Cowboy", and in Moby's video for "We Are All Made of Stars," where he is shown making photocopies.

He has had small roles in a number of mainstream films: Detroit Rock City, 54, Ronin, Orgazmo, The Boondock Saints, Mr. Stitch, Art House, American Virgin, and Killing Zoe, along with various Troma films such as Terror Firmer. Ron was also a non-speaking extra in the first Ghostbusters movie. (1:08:21 into the film) In 2001, Jeremy was the subject of a documentary film, entitled Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy. In 2005 and 2006 he made the "Adult Associate", a spoof of Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" where he recruits for an assistant.

Jeremy has also appeared in a number of television series, such as the second season of the reality show The Surreal Life, a special "news makers" recording of the game show The Weakest Link, a cameo animated appearance as the host of the "Woody Awards" in episode 3.2 of Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Chappelle's Show, Mind of Mencia, Just Shoot Me, Bullshit!, Las Vegas and an uncredited appearance in NewsRadio.

As further indication of his cross-over celebrity status, Jeremy has posed in an advertisement for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to raise awareness of the over-population of domesticated animals. In the poster Ron lies partially nude on a bed, a pair of handcuffs around his wrist. Poking fun at his prolific notoriety, the title of the advertisement exclaims, "Too much sex can be a bad thing. Spay and neuter your cats and dogs."

Jeremy has also participated in debates on pornography at colleges around the US. One of these noted debates was against Susan Cole of NOW about the effects of porn on society at Middle Tennessee State University's (MTSU) campus. Jeremy was met with a couple of hundred protesters outside of the venue where the debate took place. The University also placed very tight restrictions on Jeremy's activities while at MTSU. He was not allowed any media interviews on campus, nor was he allowed to sign autographs or any other non-debate related activity at MTSU. The campus police escorted him onto campus two minutes prior to the debate, and escorted him off campus immediately following the debate thus limiting any interaction with students while on campus. In a local news interview prior to the event Jeremy remarked "this is by far the most restrictive University that I have spoken at yet".

In 2005, Jeremy again made headlines when he was invited to address the Oxford Union. According to the Union’s librarian, Vladimir Bermant, "Ron is the biggest and apparently the best in the business, so I'm sure he'll have some fascinating stories to tell." His speech defending pornography was well-received.

In 2006, Jeremy has begun a series of debates on pornography opposing Pastor Craig Gross, founder of the anti-pornography website xxxchurch.com, visiting various campuses as part of the "Porn Debate Tour."

Jeremy has announced that he has written his memoirs with the aid of a ghost-writer. The book, entitled "Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz", will be published by Harper Collins in February 2007.

References

1. Real portrait funny, sad in 'Porn Star'
2. Profile of pudgy porn star amusing and sad (film review printed in Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
3. Ron Jeremy at the Internet Adult Film Database
4. Ron Jeremy to Appear in PETA Ad
5. Ron Jeremy Says, "Too Much Sex is a Bad Thing" for Animals
6. Banging on at Oxford
7. At It Like 'The Hedgehog'
8. Harper Collins to Publish Ron Jeremy Memoir

• 1953 births
• Jewish American actors
• American porn stars
• Living people
• Male porn stars
• People from Queens
• XRCO Hall of Fame
• The Surreal Life
• Participants in American reality television series
• Celebrity Deathmatch actors