Pornology

A Timeline on Pornography in the United States (continued)

Sept. 18, 1975 - Patty Hearst arrested by the FBI, ending a 19-month search.

Nov. 3, 1975 - In a reorganization of his cabinet, President Ford announces that George Bush will succeed William Colby as CIA director

December 1975 - A motel manager in Pasadena pleads guilty to showing Deep Throat over closed circuit TV

Dec. 16, 1975 - Louis Peraino Sr. slaps NY Post writer Dick Brass with a 40K lawsuit for linking him to the Mafia in two articles dated Oct 13 & 14, 1975

1976 - Linda marries Larry Marchiano

1976 - Top TV shows for the 74-75 season were All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Chico and the Man, The Jeffersons, and M*A*S*H

1976 - Deep Throat opens in Danbury, Conn

1976 - The Hite Report on Female Sexuality is published. Written by Shere Hite, the book demonstrates that most women need clitoral or exterior stimulation for orgasm; that orgasm is easy and strong for women, given the right stimulation; and that most women have orgasms most easily during masturbation or clitoral stimulation by hand. The book is published in 17 languages

January 1976 - Deep Throat finally arrives in Greece, resulting in riots when theater patrons realize they have been given Deep Throat II

March 1, 1976 - Memphis trial begins. Judge Harry Wellford presides. The prosecutor is Larry Parrish, who was affectionately known as "Mr. Clean." The indictment charges 117 persons (including four corporations) with 77 "overt acts" in a nationwide conspiracy to create an obscene film and to distribute it throughout the United States.  Defendents include Hary Reems, Louis Peraino Sr., Anthony Joseph Peraino, Michael Cherubino, Joseph Peraino, Mel Friedman, Ronald Kay, Carl R Carter, Anthony Arnone, Anthony Battista, Robert DeSalvo, Mario DeSalvo, Bryanston Distributors, Gerard Damiano Film Productions, AMMA Corporation, and Plymouth Distributors.

March 2, 1976 - During opening statements, Parrish comments that he will "take them on a journey" to show them how the allegedly obscene movie Deep Throat was developed and distributed across the country"

March 3, 1976 - Ron Wertheim, Deep Throat's production manager, testifies. Gerard Damiano testifies the next day that the movie is "artistic"

March 13, 1976 - Andrea True's "More, More, More" debuts on the Billboard charts at #98. The song stays on the charts for 25 weeks

April 1976 - A Danbury, Conn, theater owner sentenced on two obscenity charges for showing Deep Throat

April 20, 1976 - Linda gives birth to her first biological son, Dominic

April 26, 1976 - Defense attorneys rest their case in Memphis after the judge bars testimony from four Academy Award-winning actors. Tony Bill is allowed to testify

April 30, 1976 - The Memphis jury, eight women and four men, deliberate a total of five hours and 25 minutes before convicting 16 defendants (including Reems) of conspiring to nationally distribute Deep Throat. Parrish presented 76 government witnesses and the defense presented 16. The trial lasts nine weeks

May 1976 - Harry Reems meets First Amendment attorney, Alan Dershowitz, for the first time in a Harvard parking lot to discuss his appeal

June 1, 1976 - Chuck Ashman and Rod McKuen host a benefit for Reems at the Swiss Connetion on Wilshire Boulevard. The event is held to raise money for Reems' legal defense fund. Among the 400 people to show are Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Gregory Peck.

June 29, 1976 - An invitation-only fundraiser for Reems is held at Ted Hook's Backstage Café. It is hosted by Coleen Dewhurst, Ben Gazzara, Mike Nichols, and Stephen Sondheim

July 4, 1976 - America's 200th birthday

July 12, 1976 - Insisting it can't measure pre-Miller conduct by post-Miller standards, the Department of Justice asks the Supreme Court to order a new trial for an exhibitor convicted of showing Deep Throat in Newport, Ky. This ultimately helps to reverse convictions in the Memphis trial

July 19, 1976 - Another benefit hosted for Harry Reems in Chicago. Approximately 200 people attend, including Christine Hefner.

Aug. 23, 1976 - The word ME fills the front cover of New York magazine for Tom Wolfe's influential article, "The Me Decade"

Sept. 3, 1976 - Reems appears on the Phil Donahue show in Chicago.

Oct. 9, 1976 - Justice Department urges the Supreme Court to order a new trial for theater owners convicted of showing Deep Throat in Newport on the grounds that the defendants are victims of a shift in court standards on obscenity

Oct. 20, 1976 - Walnut Film Society hold a benefit for Reems in Philadelphia

Oct. 21, 1976 - Julie Newmar hosts fundraiser for Reems in San Francisco

Nov. 2, 1976 - In the Newport, Ky, trial, Judge Bork argues that the district trial court judge and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals made errors that denied the defendants their constitutional rights. Bork asks the Supreme Court to overturn the convictions

Nov. 15, 1976 - Reems fundraiser at Elaine's in New York sponsored by Dick Cavett and George Plimpton

Nov. 18, 1976 - Reems fundraiser at Together Disco in Boston. Scheduled to attend with Reems and Dershowitz are Richard Dreyfuss and State Representative Barney Frank

Dec. 6, 1976 - Shirley MacLaine hosts benefit for Reems at Sergio's Le Club in Beverly Hills. Kathleen Nolan and WGA president David Rintels also host

Dec. 8, 1976 - Reems speaks at Harvard Law School about his case

Dec. 13, 1976 - Firing Line with Reems and Dershowitz airs, hosted by William Buckley.

1977 - Deep Throat becomes available on video, selling more than 300,000 copies by 1982.  Retails at $100 each

1977 - Looking for Mr. Goodbar is argued to be one of the films that exploits the vulnerabilities and anxieties of the sexual revolution for young women. Diane Keaton plays a repressed young schoolteacher who hits the singles bars, sleeps with a few guys, and finds herself reborn as a sought-after disco babe

Feb. 10, 1977 - The Continental Baths closes. Re-opens as Plato's Retreat

March 1, 1977 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturns the conviction of five defendents in the Newport, Ky, Deep Throat case. The high court rules that the standards established in the 1973 Supreme Court ruling - Miller v California - should not have been used in the Deep Throat case. This decision ultimately leads to the overturning of Harry Reems' conviction in the Memphis trial

May 1, 1977 - Federal District Judge Harry W. Wellford sentences eight men - to prison terms ranging from three months to one year - who were convicted in the Deep Throat obscenity trial. Fines up to $10,000 are also imposed. Harry Reems' conviction is overturned, but Michael Cherubino, Anthony Novello, Joseph and Louis Peraino Sr., Carl Carter, and Mario DeSalvo are sentenced. Plymouth Distributors are fined $10,000

- Ashley York

(To be continued)