LAS VEGAS—The exclusive screening debut of Peter, the bio-doc of Peter North, was held during the AVN Expo on Thursday, January 22 at the Skybox at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. (photo gallery)
As a prelude to this revealing event, Peter North, walking alone down the hall in his unassuming manner, looked both happy and surprised to be recognized when asked to provide a candid preview of this event to be held just a few hours later.
“I just really wanted to tell my story my way.” North revealed. “The good, the bad, the ugly. How I eventually went from Halifax, Nova Scotia to California and became someone bigger than I am (chuckle) in real life. I never had a goal to be famous, or should I say infamous. It is based like the movie True Lies in a way as I was living two different lives with my life in the industry and going down to Orange County behind the orange curtain and living a completely different life. That’s a hard, hard tightrope to walk.”
Minutes later, Seth Gamble was cornered to talk about his inclusion in the documentary. “Well, it was an honor to be in Peter North’s documentary. I was very fortunate I worked a lot with him a lot during the time he created his website many years ago. I got to work with him on the sets and got to travel with him when we went to Cleveland to shoot girls. For anyone who knows anything about this industry, he was the first of his kind in the industry. I think what you will get out of this documentary is we are all grey, man, there is no black and white. We are all human and this really showcases a person who brought a legacy to this business; you get to see who Al Brown is and not just Peter North.”
Finally, this much anticipated evening arrived. The first inclination that this was to be special was visible at the top of the escalator leading to the Skybox where an incredible number of press photographers were shoulder to shoulder, jostling for position as they tried to squeeze in to get photos of North as he posed with adult legends eager to memorialize this historic event. This went on for nearly an hour as both participants of the film and other stars vied for position to be included in photos with the man himself.
The staged photos were like a revolving door of many dozens of big name stars, all of whom certainly know of, or were aware of, one another from back in the day. At any given time groups being photographed with the bespectacled North in his familiar dark frame glasses included performers like Christy Canyon, Ginger Lynn, Amber Lynn, TT Boy, Sean Michaels, Dominique Simone, Mickey Lynn and dozens more from that golden time of the adult industry.
The big question often asked during the group shots was: will Jenna Jameson appear? She did, and this very rare adult industry appearance began as she joined the groups being photographed and remained there quite a while before being whisked to a reserved seat to a secure table in the black wristband area reserved for Peter and many of the performers who were instrumental in the film or appeared in it in candid interviews.
Finally, it was showtime for this 76 minute Peter North reveal. No empty seats could be found in the viewing area where the packed audience had great views of the film on multiple screens of various sizes. Around the viewing area others still had decent angles to see one of the many screens.
Encapsulating the actual documentary would be pointless as it would be like condensing an entire life story into a few words. Thousands upon thousands of vid clips, from interviews of people from all aspects of his life – before, during, and after porn – to many still and choice segments from his movies, were shown.
The biggest impact of the evening was without doubt the emotional aspects of many of the attendees who were associated with North’s celluloid era – co-workers, and more. Watching stars reuniting after all these many years brought such joy – you could clearly see in their faces. It was like going back in time to their formulative years. Many a tear was seen. Wistfulness permeated the room as a lot of happy memories of days past were fondly recalled. A few were noticeably affected by this mass reunion, and seen looking off into space thinking about what was once.
With North the center of attention, it lasted late into the evening as though nobody wanted it to end. A great selection of food was also brought in at this time for the legends after most of the others had departed. The night was pure magic.
One of the more touching moments was at the end of the evening when Jewel DeNyle was approached by this writer who saw her sobbing, alone, at her table. When she was tactfully asked if she had anything she would like to say, she nodded and asked to be given a moment to compose herself first. That moment never came as she saw Ginger Lynn and they embraced, both crying, and hugging tightly. Raw emotion from two friends. In joy still felt, with memory yet green.
Photos by Mari Blue & Joanne Cachapero
For a photo gallery, click here.
