Gerard Damiano, 'Deep Throat' director, dead at 80

Yahoo - AP ^ | 10/27/08 | SARAH LARIMER

[Borges]

MIAMI – Gerard Damiano, director of the pioneering pornographic film that lent its name to the Watergate whistleblower known as "Deep Throat," has died. He was 80.

Damiano died Saturday at a Fort Myers hospital, his son, Gerard Damiano Jr., said Monday. He had suffered a stroke in September.

"He was a filmmaker and an artist and we thought of him as such," the younger Damiano said. "Even though we weren't allowed to see his movies, we knew he was a moviemaker, and we were proud of that."

Damiano's "Deep Throat" was a mainstream box-office success and helped launch the modern hardcore adult-entertainment industry. 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.

[WilliamReading]

Poor guy. He died of strepped throat.

[subterfuge]

Never saw it, never plan to.

[skeeter]

Off to his reward...

[Frantzie]

Pioneering film? Linda Lovelace later came out and said she was practically kept in slavery. Hopefully there is a special place in hell for pornographers who exploit women and children.

[RexBeach]

“Even though we couldn’t see him rob banks, we knew he was a thief, and we were proud of that.”

Poor guy(the son)...the one great big rationalization concerning his father.

And it was all downhill from there.....for the nation.

[pgkdan]

Damiano's "Deep Throat" was a mainstream box-office success and helped launch the modern hardcore adult-entertainment industry. 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.

Sorry...I never considered it a must see. Guys like Damiano and his apologists make me sick. They are a blight on the country and our culture.

[exit82]

Poor guy. He died of strepped throat.

Well, there's a mouthful.

[Paleo Conservative]

So will Bob Woodward release everyhing he knows about Watergate?

[DogBarkTree]

I wonder if he let out a death rattle or death gurgle.

[weegee]

Will ABCDisney and SeeBS-MTV-Viacom be airing a live election eve tribute like the Wellstone Memorial Rally?

[KosmicKitty]

Wasn’t that great

Way too much hair - it was the early 1970’s

[KarlInOhio]

They're saving the movie tribute for an election night special with Obama.

[Peter Horry]

Yep, a virtual John Ford. He will be missed.

[meandog]

RIH (Rot in Hell)

[trisham]

I’m sure he will get nothing less than what he so richly deserves.

[edzo4]

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

A while back, someone did an “edited for TV” version of Deep Throat, with no sex or nudity, and any naughty words bleeped.

Needless to say, it was a little choppy.

[JRios1968]

A while back, someone did an “edited for TV” version of Deep Throat, with no sex or nudity, and any naughty words bleeped.

Longest 30 seconds ever.