HOLLYWOOD—Saturday evening's grand opening gala for the newest location of adult retail chain Hustler Hollywood right on the main drag of Hollywood Blvd. drew a number of the industry's all-time most celebrated figures, who mingled and tipped champagne flutes with a fair contingent of notable up-and-comers.
The biggest presence of all, naturally, was Hustler founder Larry Flynt, who offered cheerful smiles from his famed gold-wheeled throne while signing free copies of Hustler magazine's June issue featuring hotly buzzed-about starlet Alex Grey as its cover girl.
Autograph-seeking fans and industry legends alike approached Flynt with the utmost reverence, as though they had been granted counsel with the Pope of Porn. One man told Flynt he'd flown 23 hours just to see him, gushing, "It's such an honor ... you spent your whole life fighting for freedom, and it's an incredible honor to meet you." Another told him his battles against governmental oppression had inspired him to go to law school.
Retired AVN Hall of Fame actor Herschel Savage had a unique entreaty for Flynt: "My stone was in cement here but it cracked. Could you put it back together? It meant a lot to me."
Savage later explained to AVN that he had just recently learned his cement square on Hustler Hollywood's Porn Walk of Fame—which has been relocated from the original Sunset Blvd. location to this one—got cracked in three places upon being excavated. "Hopefully they get it together. It was significant," he said.
Two of Savage's fellow Walk of Famers also in attendance were Paul "P.T." Thomas and Ron Jeremy. Thomas—after pointing out newcomer April Brookes as the cutest girl at the event—revealed to us that he is currently penning a long-postponed autobiography.
"I'm writing the book that Harper Collins contracted me [to do] eight years ago," Thomas disclosed. "They contracted Jenna [Jameson] and myself, and she came out with a bestseller, and I ended up having to give the money back, because I didn't take it seriously. Now I'm writing it myself, and it's challenging. If I can finish it, it will be an incredible book."
The Hedgehog, while receiving his fair share of adulation from attendees, expressed the only displeasure with the new location among those we spoke with. "I don't like it," Jeremy said matter-of-factly. "You know, my favorite area is the rock-'n'-roll strip—The Roxy, The Whisky, The Viper Room, The Saddle Ranch, The Comedy Store, The House of Blues—[the original Hustler Hollywood] was right smack in the heart.
"I was there when they first built it," he continued. "Me and Jimmy [Flynt], when Jimmy and Larry got along, we were all there. So I like the other location better, and I feel like I was part of it. It was me and Larry who had the first footprints, then came Sunset Thomas, then Jenna Jameson ... now they brought them over here, they brought the slabs over here. Look at what's going on with the whole Strip! Everything's all hotels. They're trying to make it into a Las Vegas. They're forgetting the class and the nostalgia of the greatest area in America. It's downright depressing."
Larry Flynt himself had a much more upbeat take on raising the Hustler Hollywood flag upon such a central plot of the store's namesake neighborhood. "I feel very good about it," he told AVN. "This area is really starting to become revitalized. There's a lot of tourist business here and a lot of locals as well, so we're very excited about it."
Flynt's daughter Theresa, who recently left her post as vice president of licensing and business development with the Hustler Hollywood chain to assume a correlative role with cannabis consulting firm Pineapple Express, attended the new store's opening as a show of support, and had plenty of enthusiasm of her own to offer.
"I think the new location in Hollywood is spectacular," the younger Flynt said. "It's going to draw all the tourists, and the traffic is amazing through here. I'm very proud of the employees that are taking it to this level—they're opening stores left and right. We have West Covina now, Bakersfield, this, and there's some more on the agenda, and the store is beautiful. All Hustler Hollywood stores are beautiful. I'm a little biased."
She also said she was very happy with the turnout. "I think this is a really good turnout, despite the rain," she observed. "I love all the support of the industry, the familiar faces."
One of those familiar faces was powerhouse director/producer/performer Jules Jordan, who commented, "It's great that Hustler Hollywood is on Hollywood Boulevard now; it kind of gives it a little bit of an upper-class feel to it now. We have Alexis [Texas] signing here, promoting [Jules Jordan Video] for this event, so it looks like a pretty good success, and I'm looking forward to supplying them with product that'll hopefully do great in this location."
Texas, who signed autographs alongside Larry Flynt throughout the bash, declared, "It's always great to be in the presence of an iconic person in our business. I think everybody's jealous of my seat right now."
Regarding her just-announced recruitment as Elegant Angel Productions' very first contract girl, Texas said, "It feels pretty amazing. I came back last year, started directing for them, because it felt like home and it felt like a place that was just right to direct and put my sexual thoughts out there, so when I was approched for the deal to be the first-ever contract girl, it was kind of a win-win situation, and I think that it's a great fit. I'm really excited to see what's next, and we have a lot of fun things that are coming up, so I'm pretty excited and Jerry [E., Elegant CEO] is awesome to work for, and he's really made Elegant Angel have life again."
Other notables spotted at the event were Evan Stone (who came dressed as Donald Trump in promotion of new Hustler Video parody The Donald, in which he portrays the presidential hopeful), Roy Karch, Katie Morgan, Alec Knight, Tee Reel, Will Ryder, Jessica Jaymes, Briana Banks, 2016 AVN Awards co-hosts Joanna Angel and Kate Quigley, comedian Sam Tripoli, Manuel Ferrara, Small Hands, Jessa Rhodes, Damon Dice, Sadie Santana, Brock Doom, Dava Foxx, Alice Lighthouse, Darcie Dolce, Blake Eden, Megan Sage, Blair Williams and Lauren Phillips.
The new Hustler Hollywood store is located at 6540 Hollywood Blvd. The original location at 8920 Sunset Blvd. will remain open until further notice.
Pictured: Larry Flynt, Evan Stone, Alexis Texas; photo by Chris King/ReelSeduction.com
