By Jim Holt
The SCV Independent


On the evening of April 12, 2009 an actress who became an icon of the adult film industry died in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Marilyn Chambers, 56, who in the 1970s starred in groundbreaking adult films such as Behind The Green Door, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in her Canyon Country home, the Los Angeles County Coroner recently revealed.

Her death prompted the Santa Clarita Valley Independent to ask:  If such a famous adult film industry pioneer lived and died here, how many other industry workers live here?

The short answer is – many.

Film production, generally, employs about 7,000 people in Santa Clarita, according to numbers tabulated by the Santa Clarita Film Office.

Workers in the adult film industry across Los Angeles County and including Santa Clarita include 1,200 performers and 6,000 production workers, according to the number crunchers at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

How does this influx of triple XXX fit into the fabric of family-friendly Santa Clarita?

"I'm sure a lot of them are here and we don't know it which tells me they're pretty much invisible," said Jack Simons, who teaches writing at Master's College, Santa Clarita's predominant Christian school.

Simons was Marilyn Chambers' neighbor but he learned of it only when she died.

"I was surprised to hear one of my neighbors was one of those workers," he said. "I think they really wish to be incognito."

Simons said he once lived next to members of a notorious motorcycle gang and was assured by police that "everybody has to live somewhere, so they're not going to cause trouble."

Putting the whole thing in historical perspective, Simons said the Roman Empire was "highly pornographic" and was very visible.  When the church came to power, they painted over all the pictures.

In looking into the life and death of Marilyn Chambers, the SCV Independent learned the former Ivory Soap commercial model is not the only adult film worker who chose to live here.

Adult film workers, like many commuters, drive to the San Fernando Valley where most of the production companies are based, according to those who issue permits to film in Santa Clarita.

Circumstances surrounding her death read like a textbook case for occupational health and safety issues, highlighting the need for such health standards for those who chose to emulate the life she led.

HEALTH COMPLICATIONS

Born Marilyn Ann Briggs in 1952, in Rhode Island, Chambers suffered a myriad of health problems by the time she died, said Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter.

“She had a fall several years ago and she suffered back pains,” he said. “She was pretty messed up. “

Chambers, who suffered from the detrimental health effects of alcoholism, also suffered from chronic heart disease, he added.  She was found unconscious inside her doublewide trailer home Apr. 12.

Although her official cause of death is attributed to natural causes, what killed her was a bleeding inside her brain, Winter said.

“She died as a result of a rupture three millimeters wide,” he said, referring to the autopsy report.

Although she made her mark on the entertainment world four decades ago, Chambers was still working on camera in hardcore films as late as 2004.

Mark Kernes, senior editor of Adult Video News, named her one of the top 10 adult film stars of all-time.

“She’s certainly high up on the list. I attended one of  her movies being shot in 2004,” he told The SCV Independent. “ She was actually making hardcore films – that is pretty amazing.”

Kernes said he’s also attended some of the adult films shot in the Santa Clarita Valley.

“I know some of the (adult film) companies rent out movie ranches in your neighborhood,” he said. “I’ve been to sets by the Angeles National Forest up there and I’ve been to sets on both sides of the (Highway) 14.

“I’ve to sets all through there,” he added.

Local film officials, however, put the number of adult films produced here as relatively few.

Jessica Freude, of the Santa Clarita Film Office, calls the number of adult films shot locally “un-percentage-able.”

She noted, however, that although the local film office issues permits to producers to film here, the office “does not oversee the type of filming done.”

“We do get (permit requests) for Playboy-type of projects – they’re not something that we have not seen,” Freude said.

“When adult films are done here they’re not something that is done in plain sight or within sight of the general public,” she added.

The bulk of mainstream film revenue generated locally – estimated at about $20 million a year – comes primarily from television work.

The actors of CSI, 24 and Big Love are all familiar faces to the film people in Santa Clarita, she said.

By comparison, the number of permits for adult film productions is “very insignificant.”

Industry insiders say many adult film workers live quiet, happy and normal lives in Santa Clarita Valley with the accent on “quiet.”

TROUBLE AT HOME

Diane Duke is executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, which serves as watchdog for the adult film industry.

“I DO know a lot of people in Santa Clarita who work in our industry,” she told the SCV Independent.

“Down the road, a lot of those people are going to be hurting,” she warned. “Our industry is not recession proof.  Production is down by about 38 to 50 percent.  Those performers are not working.

“We’re not any different than any other industry,” she noted. “With production down in and around San Fernando, the workers in Santa Clarita are going to be feeling it as well.”

TV and film production people often make extra money in the adult film industry, she said.

“A lot of the camera people are not just one-show workers – they work where they can get it,” she said.

As with workers in other professions, job concerns turn to health concerns and security during harsh economic times.

Marilyn Chambers died just as industry advocates were ramping up their lawsuit against Los Angeles County health officials for allegedly not doing enough for adult film workers and specifically not being able to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

And, although STD’s had nothing to do with her death, concerns over health issues remain a driving force in the industry Marilyn Chambers helped build.

A significant number of adult film workers living here and working, for the most part, in the San Fernando Valley are represented in the county-wide lawsuit, according to a spokesman for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

“Our suit involves all porn production in LA County which includes Santa Clarita,” said Lori Yeghiayan, Associate Director of Communications for the foundation Monday, the day before she and others made a formal appeal to the County Board of Supervisors.

Their court petition asks the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to make sure adult film producers ensure condom use to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

County officials declined to comment on the lawsuit and, instead, issued a carefully worded statement that reads:

"The Department of Public Health is committed to preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.  The County continues to strongly support state legislation and the regulatory role of Cal/OSHA as the most appropriate means to regulate the practices in the adult film industry that expose performers to unnecessary and preventable occupational risks of acquiring and transmitting these diseases.

“The Department does not believe that litigation is the best means to deal with this issue. We have just received the Petition and will be reviewing it with County Counsel and the Board of Supervisors. Because the matter is in litigation, we will not have any further comment at this time."

While adult film industry authorities point to a drop in sales due to piracy and sexually explicit material offered for free online, the recession is what really hurts the industry and its well-heeled mainstream counterpart, they say.

FILM PEP TALK

In June 2008, just months before the recession, Jack Kyser, senior vice president & chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation spoke at Six Flags for a press conference promoting local film production.

He called Santa Clarita a “business friendly” place to film.

That was his good news.  His bad news named Albuquerque, N.M. and Shreveport, La. as places offering sweeter film incentives than California.

Reached this week, the man with his finger on the pulse of the county’s film industry says the recession is hurting all aspects of film – mainstream and adult film alike.

“Good data on the adult entertainment industry is very difficult to obtain,” Kyser told the SCV Independent. “A few years ago, it was estimated that there were 1,200 actors in the industry and 6,000 production type workers.  Since then, the industry has been hurt by piracy and armature videos posted on the web.

“The industry has evidently cut back on more elaborate productions,” he said.

Filming in Santa Clarita meanwhile continues as usual – highly visible for the mainstream studios and almost invisible for their adult film counterparts.

Jessica Freude - pointing to the recent filming of family feature Monster Mutt - hopes to see more feature film production return to Santa Clarita in the coming months.

One feature film shot partially in Santa Clarita was the 2004 movie The Girl Next Door about a teenager' whose dreams come true when a former porn star moves into his suburban community.

The not-too-distant memory seems to harken back to another tried and true film adage: Write what you know.

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