Ron Jeremy
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born March 12, 1953) is an American former pornographic actor, filmmaker, movie actor, and stand-up comedian. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", Jeremy was ranked by AVN at No. 1 in their "50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list. Jeremy has also made a number of non-pornographic media appearances, and director Scott J. Gill filmed a documentary about him and his legacy, "", which was released on November 30, 2001 worldwide and on home media and digital download on March 25, 2003. Jeremy has been accused of sexual assault more than a dozen times over the  years. In June 2020, Jeremy was charged with four counts of rape and sexual assault involving four women, and in August 2020, he was charged with another 20 counts of either rape or sexual assault over a span of 16 years from 2004 to 2020 that involved 12 women and a 15-year-old girl. Upon further investigation he was indicted on 30 sexual-assault counts involving 21 victims, and as of December 2021 was in jail awaiting trial scheduled for May 2022. Early life. Ronald Jeremy Hyatt was born in Queens, New York, to a middle-class Jewish family  from Russia and Poland. His father, Arnold (born 1918), was a physicist and professor at Queens College, CUNY, and his mother a book editor who had served in the O.S.S. during World War II, as she spoke fluent German and French. He graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo High School. Pornographic film career. Jeremy left the teaching profession (he called it his "ace in the hole") to pursue a legitimate acting career on Broadway. He has said that he learned then what it was like to be broke, making no money as an actor who "starved Off-Broadway". Jeremy soon found  work posing for "Playgirl" after his then-girlfriend submitted his photo to the magazine. Jeremy utilized this opportunity as a springboard into the adult film industry, which he viewed as a reliable means of supporting himself. Jeremy had the nickname "The Hedgehog" bestowed upon him by fellow porn actor William Margold in 1979 after a situation on the set of the porn film "Olympic Fever". Jeremy flew in from New York to shoot the movie. Expecting warm California weather, he wore only a T-shirt and shorts and brought no additional clothing. During the long motorcycle ride to the set , located near Lake Arrowhead, in the California mountains, the weather deteriorated to blizzard conditions, which chilled him to the point of near hypothermia. Upon arriving at the set, Jeremy was immediately whisked away to thaw out in a hot shower. When he finished, his skin had taken on a pinkish hue from the temperature extremes, and all the many hairs on his body were standing on end. Margold's comment upon seeing Jeremy at that moment was "You are a hedgehog, my friend. A walking, talking hedgehog." Contrary to popular belief, the nickname had nothing to do with his weight , as he was quite physically fit at the time. Jeremy is listed in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for "Most Appearances in Adult Films"; his entry on the Internet Adult Film Database lists more than 2,000 films in which he has performed, and an additional 285 films which he directed. By way of comparison, John Holmes, the next highest-ranked male star on the AVN Top 50 porn stars, has 384 acting credits listed on the IAFD. One joke that made the rounds within the industry at the time was "the kinkier acts some actresses would not perform were  bestiality, sadomasochism, and sex with Jeremy" because he had an atypical appearance for a porn star. In 2006, Jeremy began a series of debates on pornography opposing Pastor Craig Gross, founder of anti-pornography website XXXchurch.com, visiting various U.S. and Canada college campuses as part of the "Porn Debate Tour". Non-pornographic appearances. Film. Outside the adult film industry, Jeremy worked as a "special consultant" for the 1986 film "9½ Weeks". He appears in the 1996 horror film "They Bite" in a role making a film-within-a-film ("Invasion of the Fishfuckers") – another horror film, both in the same  vein as "Humanoids from the Deep". He also served as a consultant on the 1997 film "Boogie Nights"—which chronicled the emergence of the fictional porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg, loosely based on the life of porn star John Holmes, who had been a co-worker of Jeremy's)—and the movie "The Chase", in which he has a small cameo as a news cameraman. He played the monster "Blisterface" in ABC's children's show "Bone Chillers". He also appeared in the 1999 film "The Boondock Saints", played a bartender in 2002's "Spun" and acted in 2003's "Zombiegeddon". He  was an extra in "Ghostbusters", played a male strip-club announcer in "Detroit Rock City", and had a cameo in "Killing Zoe" and in the porn spoof, "Orgazmo". In addition, he appeared in several productions released by Troma Entertainment, such as "Terror Firmer", "" and "Poultrygeist". He was the subject of a feature-length biographical documentary, "", released in 2001 and widely distributed on DVD by mainstream retailers. In that same year he is briefly seen on the heavy metal band Fear Factory's DVD "Digital Connectivity". In 2003, Jeremy appeared as himself in, and lent his name to, the comedy film  Being Ron Jeremy, a parody of "Being John Malkovich". Jeremy is a frequent interviewee in documentaries about the porn industry, or related subjects such as "Fuck: A Fuckumentary". He was featured in the music video "The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle" by A Day to Remember in 2007 from their CD entitled "For Those Who Have Heart". In 2007, he appeared in the comedy film "Finishing the Game" as himself. Jeremy starred in 2008 in the erotic horror film "I Am Virgin", which was released in 2010. Jeremy has a cameo in "", playing himself as a protester angry at the  low salaries porn stars get. Another 2009 cameo was in "Stripper: Natasha Kizmet". He once again appears as himself in the 2009 release "One-Eyed Monster", a horror film parody predicated on the premise that an alien force takes over Jeremy's penis and begins killing people in the woods. Jeremy is the Lead Antagonist/League Owner in the sports comedy "Tetherball: The Movie" and appeared in the western comedy "Big Money Rustlas" featuring Insane Clown Posse in 2010. Television. In 1980, Jeremy competed on the game show "Wheel of Fortune", using his real last name, as Ron Hyatt. Among  his winnings was a trip to Mazatlán. Jeremy appeared in the second season of "The Surreal Life", during which he developed a close friendship with Tammy Faye Bakker despite her devout Christianity and disapproval of pornography, and returned to the franchise for the ninth season of "", in which he finished second to Traci Bingham on the season finale, which aired on March 25, 2007. Jeremy also appeared in a segment on Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show". Additionally, he made appearances on Penn and Teller's "" in episodes regarding penis enlargement and circumcision. In 2005, he appeared on the UK  reality TV show, "The Farm". Jeremy also made a brief cameo on "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil", in the episode "YouTube VS Porn", in a short segment where people on the street were shown a video of hardcore pornography, and Jeremy was the only one disgusted by the video. Jeremy was seen in the "Robot Chicken" episode, "A Piece of the Action", in which he was voiced by Michael Benyaer. In the episode, he and several others parody "The Surreal Life" and "Lord of the Rings". The segment lampoons his penis size by having his character unseat a  knight on horseback using nothing but his erect penis. Jeremy appeared as himself in the 2001 "Family Guy" episode "Brian Does Hollywood", in which he is a presenter at an adult industry award show in which Brian Griffin is a nominee. Comedian Kathy Griffin went on a date with him in the third season of her reality show, "". Jeremy has also appeared in a part on the Comedy Central show "Tosh.0." In 2003, Jeremy appeared on "The Frank Skinner Show" and performed a duet ("I Got You Babe") with former Cabinet minister Mo Mowlam. Jeremy appeared on "Chappelle's Show  as himself in a spoof called What if the Internet was a real place?", in which he asks Dave Chappelle if he would like to see some of his films. Jeremy also appeared as a guest commentator on the Fox News Channel late-night news and comedy talk show "Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld" in 2007. In the "Super Karate Monkey Death Car" episode of "Newsradio", Jeremy can be seen sitting in the audience at Jimmy James's reading, along with Brian Posehn. Jeremy appeared in "Tosh.0" as the falling prom girl's date. Jeremy appeared on "", as himself, in  Bourdain's "Food Porn" (Season 5) and "Food Porn 2" (Season 6) episodes. Jeremy appeared on "Silent Library" in 2010. In the show, he was the "Mystery Creature" that was concealed underneath a sheet in a cage, the contestant has to feed him carrots while being blindfolded. Music. Jeremy has appeared in videos by Sublime, Mercury Rev, Moby, Insane Clown Posse, Kid Rock, LMFAO, Everclear, Sam Kinison, Guns N' Roses, Mad Yellow Sun, Los Umbrellos, XXX Rottweiler Hundar (Icelandic), the Radioactive Chicken Heads, A Day To Remember, Escape The Fate, Christina Linhardt, Necro, Flight of the Conchords, My Darkest Days , Armin Van Buuren, Loud Luxury, The Meices, and Steel Panther. In addition, he released a rap single called "Freak of the Week" which peaked at 95 on the "Billboard" rap charts; a music video for this was also produced. Jeremy introduced Boston ska punk band Big D and the Kids Table at the 2011 and 2013 Vans Warped Tour in Carson, California, and Ventura, California, respectively, and also appeared in their new video for the song "One Day". In 2001, he made a small appearance in industrial/groove metal band Fear Factory's DVD "Digital Connectivity", where he welcomes the  viewer, in the ""Digimortal"" portion of the DVD, "to the world of Fear Factory". In 2008, Brooklyn rap artist Necro featured Ron as well as Jack Napier, Rebeca Linares, and several others for the videos "Who's Ya Daddy" and "I Wanna F**k". In 2011, he appeared in LMFAO's music video for the song "Sexy And I Know It". In 2011, he also appeared on the rap group Bankrupt Records album "Double Vision" on the skit "The Ron Jeremy Call". In 2012, he appeared in Canadian rock band My Darkest Days music video for their song "Casual Sex". In  2013, he appeared in the music video for the song "This Is What It Feels Like" by famous DJ Armin van Buuren, later in the year he appeared in a parody of the music video for Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" by YouTuber Bart Baker. Video games. Jeremy was featured as a playable character in the 2003 video game "Celebrity Deathmatch" video game. His image was used as a fairy in the 2004 video game "", in which he gives tips and advice to the main character. Jeremy also stars in the 2008 video game "BoneTown" as the king of Bonetown  and sex god. Jeremy appears in the 2011 video game "Postal III" as Raul Chomo, the mayor of the fictional town of Catharsis, Arizona. Video. Jeremy appeared in a series of viral video spoofs for video sharing website Heavy.com. The videos lampooned include Britney Spears, lonelygirl15, Little Superstar and others. In 2007 he had a cameo appearance in "The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle" video, by the band A Day to Remember. In addition, Jeremy appeared on an episode of "Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show", titled "Pamous Movie Star". In January 2009, Jeremy appeared with David Faustino (Bud Bundy from  Married with Children) in an episode of Faustino's show "Star-ving", which airs on Crackle, as does the "Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show". In June 2009, he did a cameo in the music video "10 Miles Wide" by Escape The Fate, along with Dennis Hof and other adult video performers. In December 2010, Jeremy starred in the Break.com video "Tron Jeremy", a parody of the film "". In October 2013, Jeremy appeared in Bart Baker's parody of Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball". Books. Jeremy released his memoir, titled "Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz", in February 2007 . The book was published by Harper Collins. Businesses. In June 2009, Jeremy and business partner Paul Smith opened Ron Jeremy's Club Sesso, a swingers nightclub located in the financial district of downtown Portland, Oregon. The club was closed June 20, 2015, over legal problems with the city. Jeremy is also involved in the marketing of a line of rum "Ron de Jeremy" to which he lent his name ("ron" being Spanish for "rum"). Television ads for the rum featuring Jeremy proclaim that it's rum "Ron Style". Personal life. On January 29, 2013, Jeremy drove himself to Cedars-Sinai  Medical Center after experiencing severe chest pain. Doctors discovered an aneurysm near his heart and he was operated on the following day. Three weeks later, he was released from the hospital. Sexual assault allegations. More than a dozen women have publicly accused Jeremy of sexual assault. Several of the allegations relate to his appearances at fan conventions, alleging that he would grope and insert his fingers into attendees without their consent. The organizers of the Exxxotica national adult conventions permanently banned Jeremy from their shows in October 2017 after a social media campaign by webcam model Ginger Banks. Due to  the allegations, the Free Speech Coalition, an industry trade group, rescinded its Positive Image Award, which it had presented to him in 2009. In June 2020, Jeremy was charged with four counts of rape and sexual assault by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Jeremy was accused of forcibly raping a 25-year-old woman at a home in West Hollywood in May 2014. He also allegedly sexually assaulted two women, ages 33 and 46, on separate occasions at a West Hollywood bar in 2017, and is accused of forcibly raping a 30-year-old woman at the  same bar in July 2019. Owner of Golden Artists Entertainment, Dante Rusciolelli, announced they were dropping Jeremy as a client following the charges. On June 27, Jeremy pleaded not guilty to all charges. Jeremy posted his response to the charges on Twitter saying: "I am innocent of all charges. I can’t wait to prove my innocence in court! Thank you to everyone for all the support." Three days after Jeremy was initially charged, prosecutors said they had received an additional 25 allegations of misconduct involving Jeremy, 13 of which had occurred in Los Angeles County. Since then, six additional  women who worked in the adult entertainment industry came forward claiming that Jeremy had raped or abused them. In July 2020, a law enforcement official confirmed that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had received 30 new allegations of forcible rape and groping against Jeremy involving incidents that took place in Los Angeles County since 2000. On August 31, 2020, Los Angeles prosecutors filed 20 more counts that included charges of rape, sexual assault, sodomy, and forcible penetration by foreign object against Jeremy. The charges involved 12 different women ranging in age from 15 to 54 years old in  incidents from 2004 to 2020. One woman alleges that Jeremy sexually assaulted her at a party in Santa Clarita in June 2004 when she was 15. The most recent incident is said to have occurred on January 1, 2020, when a 21-year-old woman alleged that Jeremy sexually assaulted her outside of a business in Hollywood. Six other women alleged that Jeremy sexually assaulted them inside a West Hollywood bar he frequented, and another woman alleged that he assaulted her in the bar’s parking lot. Jeremy, who originally had bail set at $6.6 million when first charged  in June, was placed into custody at Twin Towers Correctional Facility. On August 25, 2021, he was indicted on a total of 30 sexual-assault counts involving 21 women. A BBC documentary charting the history of allegations against Ron Jeremy and featuring interviews with some of Ron Jeremy's alleged victims, including Ginger Banks and Tana Lee, premiered in November 2021. On March 17, 2022, Jeremy's trial was suspended pending a mental health examination, after Jeremy was reported to be "incoherent" and unable to recognise his own lawyer.