On June 12th, the Museum of Sex will have the special opportunity to host five female adult film stars from the "Golden Age of Porn": Veronica Hart, Gloria Leonard, Candida Royalle, Veronica Vera and Annie Sprinkle were the original "Sex and the City" girls. Turning to one another for the support they needed to navigate their way through life in blue movies, these dynamic women created "Club 90" in 1983, forming a bond that would continue for thirty years. They went on to pursue their personal goals, and in the process, blazed new trails in the fields of human sexuality, women's empowerment, erotic expression, and free speech. Come get a taste of the good old days when NYC was America's sex film capital, movies were shot on 35mm film, and Times Square was x-rated! Most of all, come share the laughs, the drama and the intimate stories of this controversial support group. This rare reunion promises to be candid, informative and electric!
BIOS
Candida Royalle?, president of Femme Productions?, is best known for having pioneered the concept of adult movies from a woman's perspective for couples to share. A former actress during the "golden age" of adult movies, it is her work as director/producer of 18 internationally acclaimed erotic movies of which she is most proud. Continuing to innovate in the field of sexuality, she partnered with Dutch Industrial designers, Groet Design to create the revolutionary line of Natural Contours? sexual wellness products. In 2004 Simon & Schuster published her first book, How to Tell a Naked Man What To Do: Sex Advice From a Woman Who Knows, followed by the paperback in February '06. Candida Royalle? has become a sought-after speaker, having lectured at such venues as the Smithsonian Institute, the American Psychiatric Association's national conference, and the World Congress on Sexology, as well as several sexuality conferences and universities including Princeton, Columbia, Wellesley College and New York University. She is a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists, (AASECT) and a founding Board member of Feminists for Free Expression (FFE).
Veronica Vera is author of two books: Miss Vera's Crossdress for Success (Villard, 2002) and Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls (Doubleday,1997), both are based on Miss Vera's Finishing School, the internationally known, world's first crossdressing academy which she founded in 1992. She is a respected visionary in the transgender community. Prior to that, in the early 80's, after leaving her job as a Wall Street stock trader, Veronica wrote hundreds of articles on the subject of human sexuality. In many of them, she was an active participant exploring her own sexual issues. She testified for freedom of expression before Arlen Spector and a committee of the Senate Judiciary. Her testimony was later incorporated into the Meese Report. Veronica starred in a number of adult movies, collaborated as a model with Robert Mapplethorpe and other artists. In 1989, she helped re-organize P.O.N.Y. (Prostitutes of New York). Veronica is a founding member and on the Executive board of Feminist for Free Expression. See, http://www.missvera.com.
Annie Sprinkle Ph.D. was a NYC prostitute and porn star for twenty years, then morphed into a performance artist and sexologist. She has passionately explored sexuality for forty years, sharing her experiences through making her own unique brand of feminist sex films, writing books and articles, visual art making, theater performances, and teaching. Annie has consistently championed sex worker rights and health care and was one of the pivotal players of the Sex Positive Movement of the 1980′s. She got her BFA at School of Visual Arts in NYC. Annie Sprinkle is the first porn star to earn a Ph.D., which is in Human Sexuality. She's a popular lecturer whose work is studied in many colleges and Universities. For the past 11 years she has been collaborating on art projects with her partner, artist and professor, Elizabeth Stephens. They are movers and shakers in the new "ecosex movement," committed to environmental activism. They started Occupy Bernal (San Francisco) where they live.
Veronica Hart aka Jane Hamilton, a UNLV graduate with a BA in theatrical arts, has performed on stage in many roles and became a star in adult cinema's golden age in such classics as "Amanda by Night", "Roommates", and "Wanda Whips Wall Street". She has won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the Eroticas and Critics Adult Film Awards and is included in several Adult Hall of Fames. Veronica has performed in over thirty R-rated movies and numerous television appearances playing Viveca St. John in "Six Feet Under", the custody judge in "Boogie Nights" and Veronica Del Rio in "One-Eyed Monster". As Jane Hamilton producer and as Veronica Hart director, she has made over twenty features for VCA and also produced Michael Ninn's features.
She produced and directed three r-rated features for Mainline Releasing Group, produced the horror film "Parasomnia" with William Malone directing, and is now working with author/director John Skipp to produce "Rose" a bizarro zombie musical. A former board member of the Free Speech Coalition, Veronica is the mother of two fabulous young men, works at the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas and is in a wonderful relationship with her high school sweetheart, Stan Clawson.
Gloria Leonard. In a career which both began and ended behind the scenes, front and center is where Gloria Leonard spent most of her professional life. Whether as an actress or director of such adult classics as "Misty Beethoven," "Fortune Smiles," "Taboo: American Style," or as a much sought-after guest on countless talk shows (Oprah, Ge women's jackets raldo, Maury, Larry King, Howard Stern et al), Gloria is an enigmatic presence whose patrician earthiness vies with a disarming intellect for your attention. Ms. Leonard has also been the host of her own television shows – "The Leonard Report: For Adults Only" and later, "Gloria Leonard's Hot Shopper Hour," a humorously hedonist paean to TV home shopping which featured sexy merchandise, interesting guests, film reviews and comic relief. Vogue magazine's review recommended that the Fox Network snap her up. Gloria's fourteen-year stint as Publisher of High Society magazine often thrust her into the eye of intense media hurricanes. She pioneered both the publishing of "celebrity skin" (Margot Kidder, Ann-Margret and Barbra Streisand all attempted to sue) and the then controversial concept of phone sex, a case which went all the way to the Supreme Court, ultimately ruling in her favor. With Gloria at the helm, High Society became one of the best selling newsstand magazines in America. Ms. Leonard is an ardent feminist and First Amendment advocate who has debated extensively on the issues of pornography, censorship and their impact on the women's movement at dozens of colleges and universities. She has served as President of the Adult Film Association, Administrative Director of the Adult Video Association and is two-term President Emeritus of the Free Speech Coalition. Gloria Leonard was born in New York City and single-handedly raised a successful, charming daughter, who in turn, has a daughter of her own. Yes, Gloria is a Grandmother.
Sponsored with Distribpix Inc./Video-X-Pix, Feminists For Free Expression, and CineKink/Lisa Vandever.
Photos by: Dona Anne McAdams
Location: Museum of Sex, 233 Fifth Avenue @ 27th Street
When: Tuesday, June 12th 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Cost: $25 per ticket
http://www.mosexstore.com/browse.cfm/event-club-90-reunion/4,539.html
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About The Museum of Sex
The Mission of the Museum of Sex is to preserve and present the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality. In its exhibitions, programs and publications, the Museum of Sex is committed to opening discourse and exchange and to bringing to the public the best in current scholarship. The Museum's permanent collection of over 15,000 artifacts is comprised of works of art, photography, clothing and costumes, technological inventions historical ephemera and an extensive multimedia library. This year, the Museum of Sex is celebrating its 10th anniversary as the most stimulating museum in New York City.
For more information contact:
Jim O'Shea
212-689-6337 ext. 125
joshea(at)museumofsex(dot)com
