LOS ANGELES—Candy Samples, legendary adult performer from porn’s Golden Age in the 1970s and '80s, has died, according to The Rialto Report, an industry website dedicated to that era. Samples passed away on Sept. 23 at her Virginia home. She was 91.
Born in Kansas City, Mo., Samples was known for her work in cult classics such as Russ Meyer’s softcore Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979), the sci-fi spoof Flesh Gordon (1974), the film parody Deep Jaws (1976), as well as John Holmes and the All Star Sex Queens (1980), The Best Little Whorehouse in San Francisco (1985), and many others.
Best known for her platinum blond hair and her 48DD breasts, the vivacious performer began her adult career in the late 1960s when she appeared in black-and-white photo sets and later in scores of adult magazines before turning her attention to performing in hardcore sex scenes in a wide range of adult films.
With her sizable breasts and curvaceous 5-foot-4-inch body, Samples became an industry fixture in scores adult films through the 1980s, working with such adult icons as John Holmes, Johnny Keyes, Don Fernando, Mike Horner and many others. After retiring, she moved on to write columns in the 1990s for Juggs magazine and others. Her star would continue to shine in the internet age as she connected with fans via live chats on her online fan club while her films earned a new lease on life when they were re-released on DVD to a new generation.
In recent years, the veteran performer dropped out sight and lived a quiet private life far removed from the industry she loved. In 2015 she agreed to a do a podcast interview with April Hall of The Rialto Report, available here.
She recalled meeting her first agent: “I remember going in and said I saw your ad in the paper and I need an agent, but I don’t do nude modeling … I was from Missouri. I was really square,” she said during the interview. “Then they offered me money.”
Hall said Samples was gracious, funny and energetic during their talk: “She was the sweetest most loving person I’ve met. Just wonderful.”
As for her costars, Samples said the late John Holmes, who died of AIDS, stood out in her mind: “I always felt bad about that boy. He left a wife and a kid when he died.”
When asked what she would like to be remembered for she answered: “As a good person … I love my life. I think I’ve had a wonderful life.”
Funeral services are pending.
Photos of Candy Samples courtesy of The Rialto Report.
