By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 11:38 AM on 28th October 2008
'Deep Throat' director Gerard Damiano has died aged 80
The director of the film that launched the modern hardcore pornography industry has died.
Gerard Damiano, the director of the 1972 classic 'Deep Throat', died on Saturday at a Fort Myers hospital. He had suffered a stroke in September.
"He was a filmmaker and an artist and we thought of him as such," his son, Gerard Damiano Jr., said Monday. "Even though we weren't allowed to see his movies, we knew he was a moviemaker, and we were proud of that."
Mr Damiano's "Deep Throat" was a mainstream box-office success. Shot in six days for just $25,000, the 1972 flick became a cultural must-see for Americans who had just lived through the sexual liberation of the 1960s.
The film's subject matter was controversial enough, but behind the scenes the light-hearted banter took a dark twist into a world of abuse and exploitation.
Linda Lovelace, the star of Deep Throat, maintained she had been forced into the film by her controlling husband, Chuck Traynor, who was paid for his efforts.
Traynor beat her so violently during the filming that in some scenes her bruises are visible, despite an extensive make-up job.
Linda would later claim that every time anyone watched the movie, they were essentially watching her being raped. She later left Traynor.
The film's title also became associated with one of the most famous anonymous sources in journalism.
While investigating the Watergate scandal, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein used it as a nickname for their source, former FBI official W. Mark Felt. Information from Felt helped bring down Richard Nixon's presidency.
Linda Lovelace in an image from the film Deep Throat
Born in New York in 1928, Damiano worked as a hairdresser, spent time in the Navy and directed several adult films.
The younger Damiano said he would often accompany his father on film sets as a child, but would be ushered out during "nitty-gritty" scenes.
"We weren't allowed to see certain parts of it," the son said. "But my parents always felt that it was nothing to be ashamed of, what he did."
After "Deep Throat" opened in Times Square, attention from media critics and outraged conservatives - including repeated legal challenges - helped turn it into a hit.
"My father never dreamed that it would get that kind of attention," the younger Damiano said.
But despite the attention, the son said the film was not his father's favourite.
"He was fond of it for what it was, but in terms of filmmaking, he would never call it a great film," he said.
Gerard Damiano is survived by his son and daughter. No formal services are planned.
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