Calling GLORIA: I Think I've Got Your Number

By Josh Eliot

In my very first blog for Bijou, “Coming Out of My Wet Shorts,” I wrote briefly about the Rustic Drive-In in North Smithfield Rhode Island, where I saw Sharon Kane for the first time in Alex DeRenzy’s Pretty Peaches. The drive-in, by the way, is now the Rustic Tri View Drive-In, which features three screens, all very family friendly, becoming successful again during the Covid-19 outbreak. The original and largest of the screens had its back to the main street, with two side wings so passers-by could not see what was projected on the screen. It was one of the only or very few drive-ins exclusively showing XXX movies back in the 1970’s.

Over the many visits my friends and I would make to the drive-in, we saw such classics as Eruption with John Holmes and The Opening of Misty Beethoven. Constance Money was the lead, working alongside porn staples Jamie Gillis, Georgina Spelvin and, surprisingly, Casey Donovan (who would have thought?!). But aside from those big name cast members, Gloria Leonard was also prominently featured in the movie. Any baby boomer connoisseur of adult films knows of her or has seen her in movies. She also had an amazing run as the publisher of High Society Magazine starting in 1977, holding that position for fourteen years. Gloria was a board member of the Adult Video Association and its successor, the Free Speech Coalition. She was an outspoken advocate for the adult film industry and free speech rights.

In the 1960’s Gloria, was a Wall Street commodities trader and later worked in public relations for Elektra records. She began her hardcore pornography career in 1974 and worked in roughly 40 film projects including Maraschino Cherry (1977), MisBehavin (1978) and Roommates (1982) before retiring from performing in 1984. She remained close to the industry in the role of director for VCA Pictures, Adam & Eve and Vivid Entertainment. While working in her role as publisher of High Society, Gloria is credited with being one of the first people to use “976 numbers” for promotional purposes, and as a revenue stream. She convinced the magazine owner to purchase more “976 numbers,” which helped to start the boom of the phone sex industry. Calvin Klein, at the Video Review Magazine Awards where Gloria was a presenter, was quoted as saying, “For fifteen years, I walked to school with this woman and I saw more of her in three minutes of Misty Beethoven than I saw in all of those fifteen years.” In 1984, she had a role in the mainstream television show Simon & Simon, playing a salesperson. During that period, she also made guest appearances on the Oprah, Geraldo, Maury Povich, Larry King and Morton Downey Jr. shows. Gloria won the Best Actress Award for Taboo: American Style from the Adult Film Association of America.

In 1993, Gloria Leonard won another award for Best Actress in a Non-Sexual Role at the Gay Erotic Video Awards. The award was for her outstanding role as Lana Dawson in Valley of the Bi-Dolls. It was literally a miracle that Sharon Kane, who was cast as the lead in Dolls, was able to persuade Gloria Leonard to step in front of the camera again. She was going to be in town for a short period of time, so I made the schedule to accommodate her. Nearly a decade after retiring from adult films, she agreed to take part in my little movie. Believe me, the movie instantly felt much bigger and more important for me to get right once she agreed to sign on. The fact that it was a bisexual movie in a time when the straight industry didn’t necessarily approve with open arms was a testament to her courage. A big name like that taking on this role was not really heard of. Gloria played the Helen Lawson role for this parody of Valley of the Dolls, based on Susan Hayward’s character Helen Lawson. All the juicy scenes from the original were included in the script, like the famous scene where Ceily pulls off Lana’s wig in the nightclub bathroom. I was never one who wanted to be in front of the camera, but this was my one shot to document myself working with this industry icon. I added a scene where I played a paparazzi photographer who Leonard’s character hires to follow her boyfriend. Of course, I shot some photos of him in another man’s arms and brought them straight back to her. She improvised beautifully, which was so impressive to me, especially when she was dismissing me from her presence by hitting me in the chest with the file, then ordering me to get them published in the local rag. We shot a shit load of dialogue all in one day and I was nervous the whole time that she would say “enough is enough” and try to rush me along. But no way, she was so gracious and into the project, as well as giving tips along the way, which I took gratefully.

The movie was a big hit and, in addition to Gloria’s award, it won Best Screenplay, Best Video and Best Director. I was thrilled, because it was my “baby” and the sequel was “green-lit” almost instantly by the Catalina GM. In 1994, we shot Revenge of the Bi-Dolls, which starts literally right where Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls ends. I had Gloria’s number, because I lifted it off the acting application after shooting Valley. When I called her, she absolutely agreed to reprise her role of Lana. She told me a time period when she would be traveling to L.A. from her residence in Hawaii and we scheduled the shoot the day that she was free during her trip. This time, instead of her character being the mean terrorizer, she was the one who got tormented by her nemesis, Ceily Fontana (Sharon Kane). Everything from the original script, to all the standout performances, made Revenge my best reviewed movie ever, getting a rare five stars in AVN magazine. It went on to win Best Picture, Director, Non-Sexual for Chi Chi LaRue and Best Music for Sharon Kane. I was going to end it there, because all the main characters died in the finale, but the Catalina GM wanted a third installment. What do you do when you kill off all the main characters and need to shoot another installment? See for yourself! I cut all three movies together for the PG version on my YouTube channel and called it: Far Beyond The Valley.

Gloria Leonard did not come back for the third installment, as the storyline took a drastic left turn and her character was not part of the progress. But hands down, just being able to spend some time with this icon was something I will never forget and always cherish! It was such an honor to have met this amazing woman, who has so much rich and genuine history in the adult film industry. It’s hard to believe one person had such a broad and expansive career, bringing a lot of good and fun along the way.

On January 31st, 2014 at her home in Waimea, Hawaii, Gloria suffered a massive stroke. As a result of the stroke, she suffered from brain damage and passed away on February 3rd, 2014, at the age of 73. Her history in this industry and beyond speaks for itself. It’s hard to imagine anyone accomplishing as much in life as Gloria Leonard did.

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002.