Ron Jeremy - Pornographic Film Career

Pornographic Film Career

Jeremy left the teaching profession (he called it his "ace in the hole") to pursue an acting career in New York City, and says he learned what it was like to make no money as an actor who "starved Off-Broadway." Jeremy posed for Playgirl after his then-girlfriend submitted his photo to the magazine, and subsequently moved into the adult film industry as a means to support himself.

He started using his first and middle name professionally in the adult industry, after his grandmother Rose was pestered by people calling her thinking they were contacting him. Rose—listed at that time as R. Hyatt in the phone book—was pestered at all hours by prospective suitors who’d seen Jeremy in Playgirl. "She had to move out of her apartment for a month," he confides. "My father told me, 'If you want to get into this naked, crazy business, so be it, but if you use the family name again, I’ll kill you.'"

Jeremy had his nickname "The Hedgehog" bestowed upon him by Bill Margold after an incident on the set of Olympic Fever, shot in 1979. Jeremy flew in from New York to shoot the movie, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, expecting warm weather. During his motorcycle ride to the set, located near Lake Arrowhead in the California mountains, the weather deteriorated to blizzard conditions, which chilled him to the point of hypothermia. Upon arriving at the set, Jeremy was immediately whisked away to warm up in a hot shower. When he finished, his skin had taken on a pink hue from the temperature extremes, and the hairs on his body were standing on end. Margold's comment upon seeing Jeremy after the shower was, "You are a hedgehog, my friend. A walking, talking hedgehog." Contrary to popular belief, the nickname had nothing to do with Jeremy's weight gain, as he was quite physically fit at the time.

Jeremy is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for "Most Appearances in Adult Films"; his entry on the Internet Adult Film Database lists more than 2,000 films in which he has performed, and an additional 281 films which he directed. By way of comparison, John Holmes—the next highest-ranked male star on the AVN Top 50 porn stars—has only 384 acting credits listed on the IAFD.

One joke that made the rounds within the industry at the time was "the kinkier acts some actresses would not perform were beastiality, sado-masochism and sex with Jeremy." However, he has since been recognized for his contributions to the adult industry by being inducted into both the AVN and XRCO Hall of Fame. Additionally, Jeremy's work earned him a spot on the Adult Star Path of Fame located in Edison, New Jersey. Ron Jeremy has said that violent video games are worse than porn.