Joe Fernandez was adult film's first true cinematographer.

He started in New York in the 1960s shooting black and white soft-core sex exploitation films.

Then he was the man looking down the camera when Deep Throat, Devil and Miss Jones,

the story of Joanna and other groundbreaking Gerard Damiano films were made. He worked with Doris

Wishman, Armand Weston, Jonas Middleton and many others. He was responsible for the visual

flair of films like Through the Looking Glass and takeoff. But his talent and success was a double-edged sword.

How could he hope to turn this underground fame in a semi-legal industry

into a mainstream career?

After years of struggling, he did find success in Hollywood,

working as director of photography on Chuck Norris films,

shooting movies starring people as diverse

as Tony Randall, Tom Berringer and Christopher Lambert, and even directing episodes of the hit

TV show Walker, Texas Ranger. But all the time he wondered, what would happen if Hollywood

found out about his adult film past? For years he denied his involvement, even when it seemed to be an open secret.

So when Ron Howard's production company came knocking in 2005, looking for an interview for their

documentary Inside Deep Throat, he continued to resist, still determined to keep his decades-old career secret.

As a result, the man himself has become a mystery.

No one knows much about him. How did a Brazilian become porn film's first visual artist?

What does he remember about the notorious and fabled films he worked on? And does he have any regrets about working on them?

On this episode of the Realta Report, the artist formerly known as Harry Flex breaks a 50-year silence.

In a special extended interview, we speak to the man himself, Joao Fernandez.

This is Ashley West. Take note. This is the realtor.

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