Vol. 2, Issue #5 March 30th - April 12th, 2007

Book Review:
The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz
-Ron Jeremy & Eric Spitzngel
By: Wilhelm Murg

Ron Jeremy, The Hedgehog, is an icon not only in his home field of pornography, where he has made over 1750 movies, but of mainstream culture too, when you factor in his participation in “The Surreal Life,” Trey Parker’s “Orgasmo,” and his numerous walk ons and cameos in both television and film. He was a legend in his early years during the Golden Age of Porn, when there were sets, scripts, and big budgets, all shot on film, and he helped bring in the contemporary style with his “one day wonders,” where he could knock out as many as four porn videos a week.

Jeremy’s a sloppy looking guy who boasts a 9 &1/2 inch member. Many attribute his success to his less-than-model-perfect looks – that his fans think, “If this guy can get laid, so can I.” A friend of mine pointed out that Jeremy has been in so many porn films that porn fans are used to him; at this point he’s not an intrusion in the fantasy because he’s always been there.

The book is a fun and breezy read, but that’s part of the problem. Jeremy has wanted to go legit, but there’s no real mention of the artistic side of pornography, which he worked in, starring in films like the classic “Amanda By Night” and the campy comedy “Ultra Flesh.” The book slowly sinks from an autobiography into a series of extended dick jokes – and don’t get me wrong, a lot of them are damn funny - but it doesn’t make a good plea for his case. In the end, Jeremy seems to be a lonely and slightly bitter man over the fact that he’s never made it completely into mainstream Hollywood, and probably never will, due to his past.

The stories go from the gross, like money being collected at a party to get Ron to dunk his famous body part in Rosanna Arquette’s drink, or meeting porn legend Jamie Gillis at the New York orgy club “Plato’s Retreat” while they were both naked and washing themselves at a sink, to the disturbing, such as the strung-out John Holmes informing the police on Ron’s shoots during a crackdown on porn, or his films where he performs fellatio on himself.

Overall, it’s an interesting book, but it fits more comfortable on entertainment shelf than it does in the film section with Hitchcock/Truffaut.

NONzine Reviews Main Page

©2006-2007 NONCO Media, L.L.C.