She was much more than a Porn Star
Marlene Willoughby was born May 17, 1948 in Motor City, Detroit, Michigan. After finishing school, along with her older sister and mother she was off to New York City. Her sister Jacqueline 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 the Big Apple. Tall at 5′ 10 with a slender, natural figure and those incredible 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 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.
An extremely accomplished actress who could deliver line s with the best, she appeared in a number of well known mainstream films. Aside from her acting talent, being tall (5’ 11”) and having that defined look became a plus calling card for her.They included “Up the Sandbox” with Barbra Streisand, “I, The Jury” with Armand Assante, “No Place to hide” with Sylvester Stallone and “Trading Places” with Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd.
Aside from performing in porn and mainstream she was also a feature writer for a several men’s magazines including High Society and Velvet, also making appearances in Penthouse as well. As for porn films, Marlene appeared in several that became 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 to be seen in adult films.
When she left porn films Marlene went out on the road as a successful burlesque dancer. She also became an activist in favor of the porn industry. In 1988, now totally retired from adult, Ms. Willoughby went back into mainstream and played the role of Mrs. Fat Man in the 1988 film, “I Married the Mob” starring Alec Baldwin and Michelle Pfieffer. Then she put all the so called glam and glitter behind her and moved to Alaska.
Today Ms. Willoughby would be 73 years young and there is a podcast from 2014 on the Rialto Report, where Ms. Willoughby, obviously healthy and in good spirits talks about her career and life, www.therialtoreport/com so check it out. One thing that is missing for this former star is both AVN and XRCO do not have this lady in their Hall of Fame where she most definitely belongs. Hopefully in the future that will be corrected by both organizations.
In the meantime, if you want to see one of porn’s true pioneers, a performer who could mix mainstream and porn successfully, then check out the work of this tall, beguiling performer. You will be very pleased with what Marlene Willoughby brought to the adult screen in many ways.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
