CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Porn King, the long-unavailable autobiography of legendary porn star John C. Holmes, has been released by publishing house BearManor Media, with a new epilogue by Holmes' widow, Laurie Holmes.
"John was a fascinating, yet simple man. He had a heart of gold, but there were many times when John was lost somewhere between reality, fantasy and the sexual revolution," Laurie Holmes said. "He often spun wild tales of grandeur and elaborated on the truth. Like most of his peers, he found it difficult to live up to someone else's fantasy."
Revered as "The King" by legions of '70s porn fans, John C. Holmes was the iconic porn stud whose massive endowment riveted the attention of adult filmgoers worldwide. His amiable detective character "Johnny Wadd," which he first performed in 1971, helped establish him as a popular personality when most porn performers were anonymous bodies in 8mm loops. Holmes' troubled life included legal and drug problems before his comeback to adult film in 1983 and his eventual death from AIDS-related complications in 1988. The bigger-than-life Holmes has been a part of mainstream feature films including Boogie Nights, in which the fictional Dirk Diggler bears a resemblance to Holmes, and Wonderland, in which Val Kilmer plays Holmes himself.
In Porn King, Holmes talks freely about his childhood, his time as a swinger and paid gigolo, his on-set experiences as he shot 8mm loops in small offices and Johnny Wadd films on location, the rise and fall of his struggles with cocaine addiction, which led to the notorious 1981 robbery of L.A. nightclub owner Eddie Nash and the retaliation murders on Wonderland Avenue, his arrest, trial and acquittal before his return to adult filmmaking with performer Misty Dawn, who he married and is now known as Laurie Holmes.
Porn King was compiled from audio tapes that John Holmes recorded during the last five years of his life. The book was originally published privately in 1998 and copies of the heirloom edition have been seen on the used-book market for prices ranging up to $1000. The newly revised edition, including an updated, heartfelt, no-holds-barred epilogue written by Laurie Holmes, is an incredible story. The 160-page book is illustrated with family photos, production stills and news photographs of Holmes at adult conventions and putting his hands in cement outside of the famous Pussycat Theater on Santa Monica Boulevard in Southern California. Porn King is available at all major online booksellers and as a paperback or Kindle download through Amazon.com.
The $1,000 price on the heirloom Porn King is offered by Rare Non Fiction in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada. At this writing, the listed price is $995 Canadian; with postage and handling, the cost comes out to $1,000 US.
