By Manuel Valencia
In the 1980s, she was the number one porn star in the world. She made a comeback in the 90s, appearing in several B movies and surviving a steamy romance with Charlie Sheen which was powered by hundreds of grams of cocaine.
The prettiest, happiest cheerleader of the 80s, the life of every stag party. That was Ginger: blonde, uninhibited, like a character from a 1984 Tom Hanks comedy.
She was from the generation of porn actresses who became popular with the advent of the video recorder, when adult films moved from triple X cinemas to video cassettes meant to be viewed at home. Ginger Lynn was there, in the right place at the right time, and she became a porn explosion, a star who made history and who will forever be one of the top-ten American blow job queens of all times. We interviewed her in one of the the most glorious Barcelona Porn Festivals ever and she left us breathless with her positivity and good vibes.
At her peak, Ginger filmed more than 100 adult films, some of which became authentic 1980s porn classics, including “Those Young Girls” (1984), “New Wave Hookers (1985), “Super Schoolgirls” (1985), and “Ginger Sex Asylum” (1985). Nowadays, this muse of 80s porn is enjoying numerous tributes, events, and autograph signings, and is feeling the unmitigated love of her fans through social media.
After having been retired for over ten years, why did you return to the screen in 1999 to star in the film “Torn”?
To be honest, for the unbelievable amount of money they offered me. It’s incredible, but they gave me a contract for three movies. Just three. With those I earned more than with all the movies I filmed in the 80s, and there were a lot of those. It was impossible to say no.
A screw from the past was always better.
But you can’t complain. You were one of the first big porn stars and one of the best paid.
(Laughs)… No, I’m not complaining. When I started out filming porn I got a thousand dollars a scene. And I also got to decide who I wanted to fuck or not. It’s true, I was treated very well.
How do you view the porn industry today? How has it changed since the 80s when you were in it. After all, it’s been more than thirty years…
Oof. Time flies! It isn’t anything like it was. Everything’s totally different. Now, porn is a well-organized industry that earns too many people a living. Before, back in my day, we were like a family, a small group, but we all got along great. We knew each other, fucked each other…and after shooting we’d go smoke weed, get drunk, and have fun. We didn’t think of anything else. we made sex films and we were proud of it.
Has some of the charm of 80s porn disappeared?
Yes. Now almost everything is filmed directly with small digital cameras. There are no scripts and the sex is all improvised as they go. They don’t make films anymore, they just tape scenes for mass consumption online. It’s a shame.
Monsters and B Movies
After retiring from porn movies, you tried your hand in B movies and made a few low budget films. Did your past as a porn star hurt you in your new career?
Yes, Hollywood doesn’t forgive that kind of thing. In the end I was tired of being labelled “Ginger Lynn, ex porn star.” I had to carry that weight for a few years. I ended up getting tired of it.
You did some corny monster movies and some films with special effects that are pretty funny and which have become cult classics like “Dr. Alien” and the “Vice Academy” series.
(Laughs)… They were really low budget movies, but making them was a lot of fun and we had a blast. The fans liked them a lot because they were full of beautiful girls, gore, action, aliens, and humor.
You tried to make the jump to Hollywood. What happened with “Casino,” the Martin Scorsese film?
I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the thing is that this could have been my big chance. I went to the casting calls and I made it through. Later they called me back to do two more auditions, but in the end they gave the part to Sharon Stone. Oh, well.Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll
Your affair with Charlie Sheen got a lot of press …
Did it ever! (Laughs) And that’s after we tried to keep it a secret at the very beginning to not hurt his career, but it didn’t work and the newspapers found out. We were too rowdy when we went out partying.
Really crazy parties?
You can imagine. I really loved Charlie a lot, although those times were too crazy. Together we fell into an endless whirlwind of nightlife. You know what I mean: a lot of drugs, going out every night, out-of-control sex…it was a dizzying rhythm. It was very self-destructive. It was impossible to keep that kind of wild rhythm up for very long. We got into so much cocaine that we were like zombies all day long. All we did was screw and get high.
You’ve also had other famous boyfriends, like Billy Idol.
Yeah, I was also with him for a few years, but it was the same as with Charlie Sheen, too many drugs.
Do you like rock-n-roll?
Of course! When I was a kid I went to all the concerts that came to my town. I love AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones…
And that appearance in the Metallica video?
Yeahhhh! Yes, it was in “Turn the Page.” It had a lot of impact all over the world. It was a great part and I loved doing it. Of a stripper. I was great in it.
Porn world
In the 1980s, you made porn movies with the most legendary stars of the day. Who do you have the best memories of?
There were so many people that I always got on great with. The actors Harry Reems and Tom Byron, who were a lot of fun and very attentive; Jamie Gilles, who was really crude, but who I loved like a brother; the great Christie Canyon, so obscene, but it was me who deflowered her; and Amber Lynn, who was incredible and crazy as shit. Great times!
Did you come when you were filming?
Yes! Doesn’t it show when you watch my porn movies? (Laughs) Especially when I was fucking Tom Byron and Peter North. There was a lot of chemistry there.
You and John Holmes were also an incredible pair. Pure porn movie history.
Thanks. I was crazy about him. Whenever I needed him, I could count on him and he lent me money a ton of times. I remember once he helped me smuggle marijuana to San Francisco. He hid it all and he took a real risk for me with the police. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to me. We loved each other a lot.
You also worked a lot with Traci Lords…
Don’t talk to me about Traci. There was never a good vibe between us and we were never friends. She always seemed two-faced to me. When that scandal broke, it was her fault that I went to prison. Traci took advantage of everybody trying to make it on the porn scene so she could get famous. Once she got there, she left us all hanging and showed herself to be a bad person.
What happened between you exactly?
It’s very simple. When the FBI discovered that Traci had filmed all her porn movies when she was still a minor, she gave them three names so they’d leave her alone and they conducted a witch hunt with us. It was a bad time for porn. They arrested us, they treated us like dogs, and they asked us a thousand questions. They took advantage of the scandal to try and sink the whole porn industry. It was really sad. I ended up in prison and that’s something I won’t ever forgive her for.
To end, why did you finally retire from making porn?
To be honest, because it wasn’t as much fun for me as before. When I was a crazy teenager, I thought everything was fantastic. When you’re twenty-five, you don’t have hangovers or responsibilities. Now everything’s different. I look at life differently now; I’m a lot calmer.
Sexually explicit content
(4 min) A compilation of her best porn scenes from the 80s.
TRIO WITH TOM BYRON AND PAM JENNINIGS
Sexually explicit content (15 min)