John Holmes - The Truth

Some years ago I was watching the film "Boogie Nights" with Mark Wahlberg & Burt Reynolds, when elements of the story seemed a little familiar to me.  I then realised that this film was loosely based on the life of porno star John Holmes.  A number of events in the film were true but just what is the truth about Holmes himself.  There have been a good few tales circulating about his life before he got into the porn film business.  One of these stories was that as a boy of about fifteen, he was the sex slave to a madam in a brothel in Germany, as his family lived there for a few years.  He was also said to have been in demand from women everywhere due to his fame of having a huge penis.  Alas, these stories, which incidentally, were spread by Holmes himself, were simply untrue.

    It transpired that Holmes was an exceedingly shy young man and was therefore a very late starter, sexually, despite his huge tackle.  He did get a start in porn films and quickly became in demand for porn makers, and he eventually made around three thousand films, mainly short films, though he did make some towards feature length.  he did play a cop or secret agent in a series of films; in "Boogie Nights" Dirk Diggler played Brock Landers, a play on the character Holmes played.  He also was in demand as a gigolo and it is claimed, as a stud for gay men.  Inevitably, Holmes went on the downward slope.  He was a very heavy user of cocaine and became chronically addicted to it, doing absolutely anything to get his hands on money for drugs, and betraying constantly, the people whom were desperately trying to help him.  He did get involved in an incident, a robbery at a house(as portrayed in the film) that went wrong.  Eventually, Holmes had no friends and even his loyal girlfriend had her patience pushed to the absolute limit.

    But, his lifestyle caught up with him and he was found to have contracted AIDS.  This signalled the death of his career as an adult performer.  His girlfriend did marry him but they were unable to have sex.  I remember a feature on this in the newspapers, and Holmes looked pale and gaunt, a mere shadow of his former self.  He died from the disease, and debate raged about whether he caught it from a porn actress, a woman client, or one of the men he occasionally serviced.  His death was used as a warning over very casual sex or getting involved in porn but it has not made one ounce of difference.  Any stories you hear about Holmes, about incredible adventures he supposedly had, take it with a pinch of salt, as Holmes constantly lied about everything, and he lied so much, he lied to cover lies, which were lies covering lies!  What is not in dispute are the films he made.