Review
"Authors Jennifer Sugar and Jill C. Nelson separate legend from fact and piece together Holmes' strange and often tragic story. The result is an emotionally exhausting yet truly compelling real-life adventure." --Phil Hall, Film Threat (edited by author)"Whether or not, you were a fan of Mr. Wadd, you won't be able to put down this fascinating biography by Jennifer Sugar and Jill C. Nelson." (March 2009 - Book of the Month) --Keith Valcourt, HUSTLER Magazine
(added by author)"In addition, to some of the most detailed looks at more than 200 Holmes' video and loops, the two have written a remarkable piece of film history using oral histories of the participants to carry the narrative." --Bill Castanier, Lansing News
(added by author)"Holmes' life is truly laid bare for the reader, with no details withheld about his marriages, his lovers, his movies, his involvement with the horrific so-called Wonderland Murders, his 1986 AIDS diagnosis and his death." --Marq, XX Factor (added by author)"Indeed Sugar and Nelson have taken a subject inherently problematic - the history and scholarship of the adult film - and rendered it lucidly accessible to all, whether fans of adult material or not and whether male or female." --Robert Cettl, widerscreenings.com (added by author)
Product Description
"The tree of life represents the roots of man. The branches are the different directions a man can take, live or exist. When you're dead, those that you leave behind will put you in a part of that tree. It represents what was, what is and what will be. It's eternal." -- John Holmes. Most people might, understandably, predict that the world's first porn star was a woman, but they would be wrong. John Curtis Holmes was just a simple country boy from Ohio when he moved to California in 1964. It was the infancy of hardcore, so in Holmes' wildest dreams, he could not have predicted the turbulent ride on which he had embarked by publicizing his private parts. With the fame he achieved by playing his most famous character - a gun toting detective named Johnny Wadd - came money. Holmes was pleased to spend it on his wife and mistresses, but soon was in over his head after he became addicted to cocaine. Unfortunately for Holmes, in the years that followed, his addiction led him into several desperate choices - including setting up a robbery at the home of Ed Nash, a powerful L.A. nightclub owner. The robbery resulted in one of the most gruesome, unsolved, multiple-murders in Hollywood history. Amazingly, before his untimely death in 1988, Holmes regained his momentum, remarried and rebuilt his life and career. However, the grave consequences of his addiction, his association with the Wonderland murders, and his AIDS-related death made him an infamous figure in pop culture. Digging past the stigmas, John Holmes: A Life Measured in Inches - the first biography about John C. Holmes - unearths the human being behind the penis and proves that there was more to him than could be measured in inches. This biography includes material from the authors' new interviews with: Laurie Holmes, Bill Amerson, Bob Chinn, Julia St. Vincent, Detective Tom Lange, Detective Frank Tomlinson, Paul Thomas, Ron Jeremy, Seka, Marilyn Chambers, Candida Royalle, Rhonda Jo Petty, Dr. Sharon Mitchell, Bill Margold, and many others! Also included is additional source material containing extensive interviews with: Sharon Holmes, Dawn Schiller, Dr. Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., and L.A. Times film critic, Kenneth Turan. With 114 reviews of John's most notable feature films, 86 loops synopses, 3 photos sections including rare nudes, and a comprehensive 21 page filmography.
by Dawn Schiller
by Georgina Spelvin
by Simone Corday
by Christy Canyon
