Ever since we began this series three years ago, we have always, with exception, done this feature on the female stars from the golden age of porn. The one exception was the late John Leslie, right after his passing. I have had several requests from fans of this feature to do another story on one of the male performers from back in the day. So today we will do just that and look back at the life and career of the late Jamie Gillis.

He was born James Ira Gurman on April 20, 1943 in New York City into a Jewish family. He graduated from high school in the top tier of his class and went on to attend and graduate from Columbia University. His parents gave him the name Jamie after the Tyrone Power character in the 1942 film “The Black Swan” which his folks loved. Later on he took on the name Gillis from the girlfriend he was living with at the time when he made his first films. He trained as a legitimate actor, working off Broadway, but it was sporadic. So for extra money he drove a cab and answered an ad in the Village Voice for nude modeling. Answering that ad would be the beginning of his long tenure in adult.

His adult career got underway in 1971 with a couple of films, “Curious Women” and “Rosebud”. In both he worked with another brand new face in porn, Darby Lloyd Rains, who would also have herself quite a career in porn. Because of his training as an actor, Jamie Gillis was one of a few back then who could really deliver lines with solid acting chops and make his characters, no matter how off beat, very real. He was openly bi sexual, and did a few bisexual roles but never in his starring features. For a couple of years Jamie, under various stage names like Buster Hymen, Derald Delancy and a few others, continued to work in mostly forgettable porn films, but it wasn’t long before his over the top sexual abilities and acting talent would lead to bigger and better roles that would bring him a passel of major industry awards in the years to come.

Mr. Gillis really began to hit his stride in the mid 70’s with major starring roles in films like “The Afternoons of Pamela Mann”, “The Opening of Misty Beethoven”, “Barbara Broadcast”, “Lust at First Bite”, “Amanda By Night” among the many films that would become porn classics. In the 80’s the film hits kept coming with films like “Insatiable”, “Pretty Peaches 2”, “Roommates” and “Deep Throat 2”. All in all Jamie Gillis would garner a dozen Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor awards during his illustrious career along with countless nominations.

When the video boom hit Gillis didn’t miss a beat and slid right into the video end both as an actor and a director. He was a pioneer in the pornographic style known as Gonzo. In addition to starring in the first Buttman film, he also created the influential “On The Prowl” series that featured a porn star who rides in a limo looking for regular girls to have sex with. The video series was very popular and even inspired a scene in the movie “Boogie Nights”. He also co-produced the popular “Dirty Debutante” series with fellow director and performer Ed Powers that also launched a few porn star careers. He also dabbled in a few mainstream films, one of them being “Nighthawk” from 1981 where he played the boss of Lindsey Wagner.

Throughout the 90’s Jamie Gillis kept on acting, performing and directing and would continue to be a major part of the business right into the 2000’s. Over the years he also produced some very off beat fetish films as well that were sold through the underground. In his 60’s he was still a force to be reckoned with in the industry and his work and talents were fully recognized with his induction into the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame as well as the Legends of Erotica. On February 19, 2010, Jamie Gillis lost his long battle with cancer at the age of 66.

Jamie Gillis did close to 500 films, many of them classics, his performances are among the best ever and his over the top sexual encounters are still talked about today. He was definitely one of a kind in the industry who is sorely missed but will never be forgotten for all he gave the adult film industry and the fans for more than forty years. Most all his films are now available on DVD and very much worth the view for old and new fans alike. A true pioneer, legend and icon in adult that was, and is, Jamie Gillis.

Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN