EXCLUSIVE: Ron Jeremy to James Deen: An Inside Look at Jews in Porn

As we all know, the Hollywood entertainment industry is no stranger to the Jewish touch, and pornography is no exception. With the Sex Awards breaking new ground for Jews in the business, Shalom Life went back to discover the Jewish influence and its roots deep within the adult film industry from its inception to modern day.

Beginning with the “porn chic” of the 70s, Jews have played an influential role in the growth of the adult entertainment industry. Most notable of the Jewish pioneers of porn from its Golden Era is of course Ron Jeremy - credited with appearing in over 2,200 adult films, directing 284 of them, and becoming the first pornographic film actor to successfully transition into mainstream movies such as The Boondock Saints, among others.

“Jews don’t go crazy with that Devil thing, the burn in hell, the sin, so we have a bit of an advantage as far as that goes.” - Ron Jeremy told Shalom Life on the Sex Awards red carpet, on how coming from a liberal background like Judaism has affected his career choices.

Ron Jeremy on The Sex Awards red carpet (Photo Credit: Shalom Life)

In addition to his contribution to the film industry as a whole, Jeremy has always been very smart about his branding, merchandising, and business decisions - leading to his becoming the most recognizable and successful adult film star of all time.

Speaking of the business side of the sex industry, you can’t acknowledge the Jews who have made the biz what it is without mentioning Steve Hirsch (the man behind the Kim Kardashian sex tape) - considered the “Donald Trump of porn”, the Cleveland-born founder of Vivid Entertainment is known for revolutionizing the business and challenging industry standards. Last year, he received the first Adult Video News Visionary Award for his ongoing contributions to the industry.

Another face in modern porn is Jewish hunk James Deen, who famously entered the porn industry at the ripe young age of 18 in 2004. Now taking home the first ever Male Stud of the Year at the Sex Awards, he continues to break new ground as the “anti-stereotype” for men in the sex industry. Following in the footsteps of Ron Jeremy, Deen has begun acting in mainstream movies as well, co-starring with Lindsay Lohan in Prettybird Pictures’ The Canyons earlier this year.

Lindsay Lohan and James Deen in The Canyons (Photo Credit: Prettybird Pictures)

Today, porn has reached another milestone with the first ever Sex Awards, where legend Ron Jeremy took home the Lifetime Achievement award. Just before receiving the honor, Jeremy spoke with Shalom Life about the lack of Jewish women in the porn industry:

“What’s really interesting, they’ve done dissertations on this, is that there are so few Jewish girls. Gloria Leonard, and Nina Hartley is half-Jewish… Heather Hart, Robyn Bird, but there are a very small handful of girls in porn. Over the years, both in America and overseas, maybe only 100, 1,000 … their fathers would kill them! Also they go to get an education. Girls in porn don’t have a very good education, and they’re making a lot of money! But Jewish girls go to college, their dads make them go to college. It’s a whole different ball game. There’s a double standard, that’s the problem. Men are raised one way, girls are raised another way,” Jeremy explained.

Head on over to page two to hear from a few of today's most popular Jewish female porn stars!