Gloria Leonard
Encyclopedia
Gloria Leonard is an American former pornographic actress
who later became the publisher of High Society
magazine.
, New York
to a Jewish family. She worked on Wall Street
as a representative of Schweickart and Company for three years. She also worked for several PR companies, was a copywriter for Elektra Records
, and worked for Johnny Carson
's publicist.
in 1976, in films including The Trouble With Young Stuff, All About Gloria Leonard (both of which were written and directed by Joseph W. Sarno
), The Opening of Misty Beethoven
(directed by Radley Metzger
), Fortune Smiles and Taboo: American Style. She worked with actresses Constance Money
, Leslie Bovee
, Sharon Mitchell
, Jennifer Welles
, and Samantha Fox
before retiring from the screen in the 1984. She also directed several porn films, and was formerly married to Bobby Hollander
. After moving to Hawaii in 1993, she returned to Los Angeles in 1997 to work for Private Media Group
.
She performed her only anal scene, a DP, in her movie "All About Gloria Leonard" with Marc Stevens and Jamie Gillis.
magazine, which pioneered such novelties as nude celebrity photos and phone sex
lines. She was hired by the magazine's publisher Carl Ruderman, who wanted a female publisher of a men's magazine. Margot Kidder
, Ann-Margret
and Barbra Streisand
all attempted to sue the magazine after it published nude photos of them. Leonard established the first phone-sex lines in 1983, and the magazine fought a legal case over them in the Supreme Court. She was in charge of High Society from 1977 to 1991. In the early 1980s, Leonard almost clinched a deal for Norman Mailer
to write a porn film; however, the plan never came to fruition.
. In 1998, she was elected president of the F.S.C. She was also president of the American Film and Video Association.
advocate, and has debated on the issues of pornography and censorship
and their impact on the women's movement at several colleges and universities.
(XRCO) and (AVN) Halls of Fame.
in 1984, in the episode "Manna from Heaven". Gloria has also been a guest on several talk-shows, including Oprah
, Geraldo, Maury
, Larry King
and Howard Stern
. She has also hosted her own television shows - The Leonard Report: For Adults Only and later, Gloria Leonard's Hot Shopper Hour.
Pornographic actor
A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is a person who appears in pornographic film. Most actors appear nude in films...
who later became the publisher of High Society
High Society (magazine)
High Society is a U.S. pornographic magazine. In addition to hardcore pictorials of nude models, it also has feature articles and occasional celebrity pictorials.-History:High Society was first published in May 1976....
magazine.
Early life and career
Leonard was born and raised in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to a Jewish family. She worked on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
as a representative of Schweickart and Company for three years. She also worked for several PR companies, was a copywriter for Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
, and worked for Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
's publicist.
Adult film career
She began appearing in hardcore pornographyHardcore pornography
Hardcore pornography is a form of pornography that features explicit sexual acts. The term was coined in the second half of the 20th century to distinguish it from softcore pornography. It usually takes the form of photographs, often displayed in magazines or on the Internet, or films. It can also...
in 1976, in films including The Trouble With Young Stuff, All About Gloria Leonard (both of which were written and directed by Joseph W. Sarno
Joseph W. Sarno
Joseph W. Sarno was an American film director and screenwriter.One of the most prolific and distinctive auteurs to emerge from the proto-pornographic sexploitation film genre of the 1960s, Joe Sarno had written and directed approximately 75 theatrically released feature films in the sexploitation,...
), The Opening of Misty Beethoven
The Opening of Misty Beethoven
The Opening of Misty Beethoven is an American hardcore pornography film released in 1976. Produced with a relatively high budget and filmed on elaborate locations in Paris , New York City , and Rome , with a musical score, it owes much to its fastidious director Radley Metzger .-Premise:In a...
(directed by Radley Metzger
Radley Metzger
Radley Metzger is an American filmmaker and distributor. He is also credited under the pseudonym Henry Paris, a name he adopted in the 1970s when he began to direct hardcore pornography....
), Fortune Smiles and Taboo: American Style. She worked with actresses Constance Money
Constance Money
Constance Money was a performer in hardcore pornographic films during the 1970s and 80s. She played the role of Misty Beethoven in the 1975 adult classic The Opening of Misty Beethoven.- External links :...
, Leslie Bovee
Leslie Bovee
Leslie Bovee is an American pornographic actress. She is sometimes credited as Leslie Bovée.She appeared in over 50 movies between 1975 and 1980.Leslie Bovee has been inducted into both the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame....
, Sharon Mitchell
Sharon Mitchell
Sharon Mitchell is a former erotic actress, with a pornography career spanning over two decades.- Adult film career :...
, Jennifer Welles
Jennifer Welles
Jennifer Welles was an American porn star chiefly active in the soft- and hardcore genres of the 1970s, although she began her acting career in the late 1960s in the sexploitation genre....
, and Samantha Fox
Samantha Fox (porn star)
Samantha Fox is an American actress and pornographic actress. She appeared in more than one hundred pornographic films between 1977 and 1984. In 2003, Fox was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.-External links:*...
before retiring from the screen in the 1984. She also directed several porn films, and was formerly married to Bobby Hollander
Bobby Hollander
Bobby Hollander directed 59 pornographic movies between 1979 and 1995. He was one of the pioneers of the shot-on-video porn movie. Married to Gloria Leonard until they divorced in 1990, he was most famous for discovering porn superstar Shauna Grant...
. After moving to Hawaii in 1993, she returned to Los Angeles in 1997 to work for Private Media Group
Private Media Group
Private Media Group, Inc. is a production and distribution company that distributes adult entertainment via print publications, DVDs, the internet, and mobile....
.
She performed her only anal scene, a DP, in her movie "All About Gloria Leonard" with Marc Stevens and Jamie Gillis.
High Society
After her adult film career, for 14 years Leonard served as publisher of High SocietyHigh Society (magazine)
High Society is a U.S. pornographic magazine. In addition to hardcore pictorials of nude models, it also has feature articles and occasional celebrity pictorials.-History:High Society was first published in May 1976....
magazine, which pioneered such novelties as nude celebrity photos and phone sex
Phone sex
Phone sex is a type of virtual sex that refers to sexually explicit conversation between or other persons via telephone, especially when at least one of the participants masturbates or engages in sexual fantasy...
lines. She was hired by the magazine's publisher Carl Ruderman, who wanted a female publisher of a men's magazine. Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
, Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
and Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
all attempted to sue the magazine after it published nude photos of them. Leonard established the first phone-sex lines in 1983, and the magazine fought a legal case over them in the Supreme Court. She was in charge of High Society from 1977 to 1991. In the early 1980s, Leonard almost clinched a deal for Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
to write a porn film; however, the plan never came to fruition.
Organizations
She served as administrative director of the Adult Film Association, the adult film industry trade association, from 1989 to 1992, until that organization merged with the Free Speech CoalitionFree Speech Coalition
The Free Speech Coalition is a non-profit trade association of the pornography and adult entertainment industry in the United States...
. In 1998, she was elected president of the F.S.C. She was also president of the American Film and Video Association.
Feminism
Leonard is a feminist and First AmendmentFirst Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
advocate, and has debated on the issues of pornography and censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
and their impact on the women's movement at several colleges and universities.
Awards
She won the Best Actress award for Taboo, American Style from the AFVA .Leonard is a member of the X-Rated Critics OrganizationX-Rated Critics Organization
The X-Rated Critics Organization is a group of writers and editors from the adult entertainment industry who each year present awards in recognition of achievement within the industry....
(XRCO) and (AVN) Halls of Fame.
TV appearances
She had a role as a salesperson on Simon & SimonSimon & Simon
Simon & Simon is an American detective television series starring Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker.-History:The original 1978 pilot called Pirate's Key was set in Florida...
in 1984, in the episode "Manna from Heaven". Gloria has also been a guest on several talk-shows, including Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, Geraldo, Maury
Maury (TV series)
Maury is a syndicated American tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich.When the series first aired in 1991, the show was called The Maury Povich Show and was produced by MoPo Productions in association with Paramount Domestic Television...
, Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
and Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
. She has also hosted her own television shows - The Leonard Report: For Adults Only and later, Gloria Leonard's Hot Shopper Hour.