Here are 30 porn performers who shaped the adult industry with their unforgettable careers.
Johnnie Keyes: Active 1972-2013Ī legend of the Golden Age of Porn, Johnnie Keyes enjoyed decades of success working in the adult industry, remaining in the public eye up until his passing in 2018. Johnnie's most-memorable role in the 1972 classic, Behind The Green Door, was considered a "landmark" interracial porn scene and a groundbreaking moment for pornography in general. Johnnie later admitted to receiving multiple death threats for this scene, also starring Marilyn Chambers, which understandably affected him greatly. In 2015, Johnnie Keyes received a shoutout during the "Weekend Update" segment on NBC's popular Saturday Night Live program. Comedian Michael Che made the argument that Johnnie deserved a U.S. Postage stamp made in his honor for facing the criticism of being "the first black man in an interracial porno." Beyond his work in adult, Johnnie was an active boxer, participated in musical theater, and served in the Vietnam War. His interesting life was also profiled in the 2017 Netflix documentary, After Porn Ends 2. The importance of Johnnie Keyes' contributions to adult entertainment, and the other communities whose lives he touched, cannot be overstated. Johnnie Keyes & Marilyn Chambers in Behind The Green Door 2. Jeannie Pepper found success in the adult industry purely based off her authentic desire to share her sexuality with the world. In an interview about her decision to enter the mostly-white world of adult film in the early 80s, she's quoted as saying, "I just wanted to show the world.
How come there are not more black women doing this?" Jeannie was the first black female inductee into the AVN Hall of Fame, and later entered the XRCO Hall of Fame as well. She sought to represent and showcase black female sexuality at a time and in an industry sorely lacking it, and her prolific, award-winning career is testimony to her achievement in doing so. Muscular, well-hung classic stud Ray Victory was a staple star in porn productions in the late 80s-early 90s. Prior to his retirement in '96, Ray shot hundreds of films, like his memorable moment in the classic, Night Trips (1989). Ray Victory put in a great deal of work in the decade-or-so he spent in the adult industry.