A gifted, talented porn pioneer
Marlene Willoughby was born May 17, 1948 in the Motor City, Detroit. After finishing school, along with her older sister and mother she was off to the Big Apple, New York City. Her sister Jaqueline was beginning a career as a stage performer and Marlene also wanted to get into theater as a legitimate actress. What better place to follow your dreams than in New York City. At 5′ 10 with a slender natural figure and those eyes, she made quite a picture.
It was tough going but Marlene did manage to find a lot of off off Broadway work that paid little. She did appear in the controversial and critically acclaimed play “Che!” in 1969. She also appeared in the 1971 Obie Award winning “Dracula Sabbat” and also was able to get a few movie roles in films like No Place to Hide in 1970, Up The Sandbox in 1972 and later, Trading Places in 1983.
By 1975 she was in a rut financially, as the off Broadway work wasn’t paying the bills that had to be paid so the idea of porn came her way. Being Italian/Polish and raised as a strict Catholic, the thought of porn wasn’t an easy one to consider, but when it came to morals or money, you know which of those would win out. So for the next ten years Ms. Willoughby mixed her porn career while also doing mainstream in movies and TV, even if they were bit parts or walk ons or with one line of dialogue.
Aside from performing in porn and mainstream she was also a feature writer for a several men’s magazines including High Society and Velvet. She also made appearances in Penthouse as well. As for porn films, Marlene appeared in several that have become classics like “The Opening of Misty Beethoven”, “The Farmer’s Daughters” and “Inside Jennifer Welles”. Ms. Willoughby did a total of about 100 or so films in her porn career. Sexually she was a sizzling presence, but her acting skills were among the best.
When she left the porn film part of the adult industry she went out on the road as a pretty successful burlesque dancer. She also became an activist in favor of the porn industry. In 1988, totally retired from adult, Ms. Willoughby went back into mainstream and playing the role of Mrs. Fat Man in the 1988 film, “I Married the Mob” starring Alec Baldwin and Michelle Pfieffer.
Today Ms. Willoughby would be 68, but her whereabouts, how she is health wise and what she is doing is a mystery. There have been several rumors but none that have been confirmed and we could find nothing about her present day. One thing is for sure, both AVN and XRCO do not have this lady in their Halls of Fame and that is where she belongs. Hopefully in the future that will be corrected by both organizations.
In the meantime, if you want to see one of porn’s real pioneers, a performer who could mix mainstream and porn successfully then check out the work of this very tall, dark haired performer, you will be very pleased with Marlene Willoughby in many ways.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
