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The Hi, welcome to supporting characters, episode 32. I'm Bill Ackerman. Two episodes in two weeks. Don't get used to it. I had to record this interview back to back with Molly Haskells, and I wanted to take the rest of the month off, so I'm releasing it early. This is the last one of 2017, and I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive of the show this year. With a special note of thanks to David Hudson of the Criterion Collection Current

for spotlighting some of the recent episodes.

I don't know if I have any new listeners this time around that are fans of Radley Matzker, but if you are, check out the Hells Bells podcast over Diablo League magazine for a great two-episode celebration of his work by Kat Allinger and Rialto Report contributor Heather Drain. This show is one of several on the now playing network, hosts a podcast like Pure Cinema, Tracks of the Damned, Vinyl Emergency, Fresh Perspective, and Directors Club. One of the shows on our network, Voices and Visions, just released a new episode that I really enjoyed with Stephen T. Hanley, a journalist whose work has appeared in The Quietest, Little White Lies, The Fancy, and Clash Magazine. So I guess today on the show is Ashley West. Ashley West is one of the founders of the Rialto Report, a collection of podcasts, articles, and photographs that tell the story of the Golden Age of Adult Films, largely concentrating on the New York scene, though not exclusively. By Golden Age, what we're talking roughly, 1969 to 1984, I think taken collectively, the work of the Realtrow Report is one of the most valuable and entertaining film historical efforts happening right now. I first became aware of Ashley West and the Rialto Report when I saw some of the past guests on this show, like Mike White and Travis Crawford, passing around links on social media to podcasts and articles from them, and I knew that Heather Drain contributed an essay to their site on the Jerry Butler film Raw Talent, so I started looking into it.

Over the years of listening and recently doing a deep dive through the back episodes, I have to tell you that not only is this one of the best film podcasts I've encountered, and I want to stress this. You really do not have to be that interested in adult films of the 70s and 80s to get invested in it. This isn't like, I don't know, Howard Stern or somebody interviewing porn stars, it isn't about titillation, nor is it ever disapprovingly judging of these people on moral grounds. As much as it has come up as a subject in past episodes, I'm personally not that well-versed in adult films. I, and I haven't always known the work of the guests, but I'm always drawn in. So there are generally two types of episodes. There are profiles of people involved in the adult film world, performers and filmmakers,

but care is always taken to give you a great sense of who they were before the films.

They aren't treated like icons of sexual fantasy, but as relatable individuals.

Some were free-spirited rebels, others sought as an extension of their acting work. The other type of episode really tells of some larger intrigue, with multiple perspectives and interview subjects.

My favorites are the one on the film Deep Sleep. The adult featured by Alfred Sol of Alice Sweet

Alice fame made in Patterson, New Jersey, and the crazy legal nightmare that it engendered,

and the one on the search for the porno actress turned disco star Andrea True. These are entertaining

examples of real investigative journalism, just as compelling as crossover podcast hits

like serial or you must remember this. I think I first started with the Fred Lincoln episode,

because I have this longstanding fascination with West Crayman's Last House on the Left,

but I really didn't know much about Lincoln beyond the Craven film and his involvement

with the nightclub Plato's retreat thanks to a documentary American swing.

All I really knew is that he went back into the adult film world after Last House on the Left. I'm surprised to even see him featured since he had passed away almost two years prior to the episode's release. And it's not one of the longer episodes, but it's so rich in detail and information. Listening to it again recently, it struck me that has a little bit more macho bluster about it than some of the other episodes. Maybe it's what someone going into a show about a New York point-0 actor might expect, but even this one has moments of surprising vulnerability by the end, as well as numerous anecdotes involving sex violence and interpersonal drama. I'd say that if you knew to the Rialto report, I'd first direct you to the website, though probably not while you're at work. There you'll find articles, photos, and links to all of their podcasts, all of which are free. If you're a cult movie fan that isn't really about the hardcore adult films, but you enjoy the work of Russ Meyer. You can find a fascinating piece on actress Lorna Maitland, a fun article on the locations from Fasted Pussy Cat Kill Kill, then and now, as well as the podcast on Ushi Dygard. And as far as that podcast goes, I'd say the ones on Roberta Finley, Deep Sleep, Long Gene Silver, Eric Edwards, Jennifer Wells, Georgina Spelvin, and the two-parter on Andrea True are good introductions to what they do. The Jamie Gillis one is quite good, though I'll caution you that there's some brief discussion of a film involving Linda Lovelace and a dog in that episode that might be a bit much that you should be prepared

for. This interview was recorded in Ashley's frankly incredible home in New York, full of books,

posters, and adult magazines that he literally does read for the articles. Anyway,

here's my talk with Ashley West. Ooh How do you Like your

love Hey, like your love But if you want to know, Ooh

How do you like your love?

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