We continue our digitization project with the east coast film publication Cheri, looking at the birth of the magazine, and reviewing all the issues from 1976, its first year in business. Another article is by guest-writer Rod Swenson who describes his Show World sex show extravaganza featuring Monica Kennedy (“the most incredible burlesque act in America.”) In 1977, Distribpix made a short film entitled Box Ball, an unusual effort made to showcase the ‘talents’ of a Connecticut couple into… er, male genital twisting. Just in case you missed it, Richard Milner was on hand to describe the making of the film with head honchos Arthur Morowitz and Howie Farber, and provide a selection of toe-curling photos of the couple doing their thing. Not for the squeamish. The first issue of Cheri came out in August 1976 – with a typically over-the-top announcement by Peter Wolff that mirrored a similarly hyperbolic introduction he had written when he launched High Society just three months earlier: Working in a band is a difficult task; often, emotions threaten to break it apart, but they can also bring its members closer together. With Uenoyama's help, Mafuyu may finally be able to express the feelings that fight to break free from within his heart.

The regular columns continued – with Jody Maxwell in particular taking her writing gig seriously. She reported from Kansas, where she met with prostitution activist Margo St. James. Peter Wolff and Peter Hurd followed up their profile of Annie Sprinkle in the previous issue with a similar feature on the “current pop tart in Big Apple blue films,” Jeanette Sinclair. Who could forget her portrayal of Justine in Love in ‘Strange Places’,\ where she was credited as ‘Janet Sucatitt’? Peter Wolff covered The All-Bare Revue at New York’s prestigious Beacon Theater, where he was part of the committee that selected ‘Miss Naked New York’ (adult film star Beth Anna was one of the contestants).Continuing the adult film theme was a photo feature on Veri Knotty – whose specialty was having, in the words of Cheri, “Labes so limber, she can loop ’em and link ’em… tieing up her twanger in a bow is part of her strip act.”

The regular columnists weighed in with their latest essays, and Annie Sprinkle joined the team, standing in for Kim Pope. Jody Maxwell found herself in the right place at the right time. She was in Kansas City, the location of the upcoming Republican convention. This enabled her to report on the preparation for the event – from unusual angles. This month she spoke to prostitutes in the city about their rights. Cherry Bomb hangs out with Starz, a New Jersey heavy metal and power pop band who were supporting Bob Seger. On a perhaps more substantive topic, there’s a feature on the two people who stood against each other in ‘The Battle of Miami’, Anita Bryant and Bob Kunst. Bryant, a Christian pop singer, had became an outspoken opponent of gay rights in the US. In 1977, she ran a ‘Save Our Children’ campaign in Florida to repeal a local Dade County ordinance that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Her involvement with the campaign was condemned by Kunst and other gay rights activists who, assisted by many other prominent figures in music, film and television, retaliated by boycotting the orange juice brand she promoted. It’s a story showcasing the culture wars that featured in the 1970s, with Bob Kunst emerging as the liberal voice of reason. (Postscript: Bob Kunst supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.) Remarkably, given the number of controversies and articles generated, the August issue of Cheri marked only the first year anniversary of the magazine. A good portion of the issue is dedicated to reliving highlights from the previous year, such as Jamie Gillis and Terri Hall’s photo spread from Terri’s S&M dungeon, and a pictorial with the genitally-malleable Veri Knotty. Also included is a report from one of the social highlights of the year, the Midwest Sexual Lifestyles Convention.For the first time, Cheri awards a series of adult film accolades (‘The Clammys’) that focused on a unique set of criteria: apart from Best Actress (the British performer Heather Deeley) and Best Actor (Jamie Gillis), there was a gong for Best Golden Shower Actress (Annie Sprinkle), and even Best Rape Victim (Sarah Nicholson). Among run-of-the-mill pictorials is a more interesting portfolio by photographer Robin Schwartz, described as “probably the most active portraitist of pussy in America.” Years later, Robin abandoned nude pictures in favor of animals portraits – a field she became a 2016 Guggenheim Fellow in. Her pictures are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others. She is currently a Professor of Photography at William Paterson University of New Jersey. In early 1976, Carl Ruderman needed a figurehead to divert attention from his position as publisher. He hired Peter Wolff – but Wolff suggested he appoint a nominal female ‘publisher’ instead. And not just any female – he wanted a glamorous woman already associated with the New York sex scene. Wolff suggested adult film actress Bree Anthony, star of porno hits Oriental Blue, The Vixens of Kung Fu, Highway Hookers, and others. Appointing Bree Anthony proved a smart idea – and selecting her eventual successor, adult film actress Gloria Leonard, an even smarter one. The main pictorial features the winners of the write-to-Kim-Pope-and-tell-her-why-you-should-have-sex-with-her competition – shown in action with the subject of their obsession, the one-and-only Kim Pope.

There was also an interview with Richard D’Antoni and his wife Barbara, the young directors of the adult film ‘Teenage Cheerleaders’ featuring Harry Reems and Jamie Gillis. The directors discussed the challenges they encountered in casting the female lead, one-film wonder Susie Mitchell: “She was the very last girl we interviewed. The moment she walked in the door, we both knew she was just what we wanted – a very intelligent, highly sensitive girl with the kind of charisma that will put a film over.” Live sex impresario (and future partner of Wendy O’Williams) Rod Swenson was profiled, with photographs of his ‘Sex Fantasy Theater’ which was playing at New York’s Show World Center. It was described as “the best of old-world burlesque – theatrical, well-executed, and naked – and the coarsest of our mental images.” Swenson also provided photographs for another feature , a nude profile of model Tammy Ward. Best of all, there was a selection of photos taken by Peter Hurd featuring Jamie Gillis and Terri Hall –“together for the first time since The Story of Joanna“. The location for the shoot was the basement of Terri’s own apartment in the Village. Chayton Winston is a veterinarian. He is also a werewolf. Much to his Native American parents chagrin, he has always dreamed of a fair-haired, Caucasian mate. However, he never imagined his mate would be male. As a heterosexual man, he's not quite sure what to do with a male mate, but more than willing to find out. My next update is an "On Set" article from Club International 2001/05 (May) covering the making of the movie "100% Silvia":The Rialto Report shares a selection of digitized magazines and books relating to the adult film industry from the 1960s – 1980s. Find sources: "List of pornographic magazines"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( January 2014) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

How did editor Peter Wolff go from launching a successful magazine to getting an issue of the magazine banned – and almost getting fired himself – within the first five months? The full story is revealed here.

Bulletins & Brochures:

Iris De La Cruz is announced as a new columnist, writing about street prostitution in New York – a topic she knew well as she’d been a hooker for the previous decade. Iris went on to become a leading AIDS activist in the 1980s. She died of AIDS in 1991 but her name lives on with ‘Iris House’ an organization that saves lives through comprehensive support for women, families, and under served populations affected by HIV/AIDS.