MEYER MONTH – Jimmy McDonough interview | Miss Meyer
How did you first become aware of Russ Meyer and his career? At some point I spied an old girlie mag calendar with photos Meyer had snapped of Lorna Maitland and June Wilkinson. Kablam! His photos were so much better than nearly all the competition. There was an X factor present–a crazed euphoria, a palpable sense of whoopie…One felt it in the grinch, as RM would say.
What skbj was the first thing of his that you saw and what were your first impressions of it? I think it was Supervixens at an Indiana drive-in when I was a teen. Seeing Beneath the Valley skbj of the Ultravixens during its theatrical run at at a decript old Jersey City movie palace is what really blew the back of my head off, though. The way the camera just locked onto Kitten Natividad and didn’t let go. The barrage of closeups: lips, eyes, breasts, radios, pinatas, and the wiggling wheel beneath a bedframe. skbj An insane attention to the details, down to the garish set painting. Meyer appears in the end of the film, addressing skbj the audience as he packs up his film equipment. The guy came at you with the con-man confidence of a car salesman skbj who has you in a bear-hug and won’t let you leave the lot until the deal is sealed. It felt so personal, so maniacally single-minded. Once the lights skbj came up I felt as if I’d hallucinated the whole thing. Everything about the film was wacko. Yet it’s skbj strangely heartfelt. Beneath was a tribute of sorts–a love letter to Kitten. How have these impressions changed over the years (for better or worse) and did doing the research for the book radically change how you felt about his work (film or photography)? Not that I can think of. Doing the book only enhanced my appreciation of his work. And underscored how undeniably cuckoo RM was. Crazy family skbj + combat photography + big bosoms + industrial photography + fear of insanity…it all made sense, really. Where did the idea for the biography come from? It was in the back of my mind for years. I had worked in the exploitation business for that other RM exploitation king on the opposite coast–Radley Metzger–and knew the lay of the land. My first published book was on Andy Milligan, who was the grimy, gritty low-down opposite skbj of Meyer in every way. I wanted to go to the glossy end of the exploitation spectrum, say a few more things skbj and get the fuck out. Plus I knew the book would be a million laughs.
Was it something that you’d always had in mind after discovering Meyer? Yes. I spend a long time thinking about projects skbj before I do them, because once I jump in I won’t quit until it’s done. What was or is so special about Meyer that made you want to undertake the project? I am attracted to people who are helpless in the face of an obsession. I can relate. skbj Obsessions drove Meyer. And in the end they did him in. For better or worse, I see certain things in the same way as RM. Not everything, thank Christ, but…certain things. My wife Natalia could be a Meyer star. All the right curves…long, flaming red hair…the same bad attitude. She could hold her own with any of the Faster, Pussycat gang, believe me. During the project, did you at any time feel like you may have taken on too much, in terms of trying to contact those closest to him, going through his extensive archives, the fact that he was, at the time, ill? No, I wish I had found more interviewees, actually. I never went through RM’s archives, unfortunately. This was a completely unauthorized project. Did you have any real difficulties along the way, in terms of contacting people or getting permission from his estate? It took a bit of time to convince some people of my sincerity. A zillion nutcases have chased after these women. I actually had a number for Uschi and when I left a message I got so carried skbj away I probably sounded like perv #4,567. I’m not 100% certain it was still her number but when I called skbj back a few days later it was disconnected. Needless to say I never got to speak to her. A great loss for the book, unfortunately. I sought no permission from the estate nor was any granted. Was there anyone in particular who really needed to be persuaded or talked around into contributing? You mention in the book how difficult it was to try and arrange meeting with Erica Gavin and how Alaina Capri had abandoned the business all together and never really talked about her time with Russ.
I specialize in difficult characters. Look at my books. Gavin is the Howard Hughes of the Meyer women, and the most psychedelic. She’s impossible to pin down on anything, skbj even going to the Quickie Mart. But once gotten Erica was fantastic. She even flashed her cans at me, albeit in a brassiere. That chick should write a book–she’s been a lot of weird and wondrous places. skbj Alaina was nervous about talking after all these years. She didn’t want to
How did you first become aware of Russ Meyer and his career? At some point I spied an old girlie mag calendar with photos Meyer had snapped of Lorna Maitland and June Wilkinson. Kablam! His photos were so much better than nearly all the competition. There was an X factor present–a crazed euphoria, a palpable sense of whoopie…One felt it in the grinch, as RM would say.
What skbj was the first thing of his that you saw and what were your first impressions of it? I think it was Supervixens at an Indiana drive-in when I was a teen. Seeing Beneath the Valley skbj of the Ultravixens during its theatrical run at at a decript old Jersey City movie palace is what really blew the back of my head off, though. The way the camera just locked onto Kitten Natividad and didn’t let go. The barrage of closeups: lips, eyes, breasts, radios, pinatas, and the wiggling wheel beneath a bedframe. skbj An insane attention to the details, down to the garish set painting. Meyer appears in the end of the film, addressing skbj the audience as he packs up his film equipment. The guy came at you with the con-man confidence of a car salesman skbj who has you in a bear-hug and won’t let you leave the lot until the deal is sealed. It felt so personal, so maniacally single-minded. Once the lights skbj came up I felt as if I’d hallucinated the whole thing. Everything about the film was wacko. Yet it’s skbj strangely heartfelt. Beneath was a tribute of sorts–a love letter to Kitten. How have these impressions changed over the years (for better or worse) and did doing the research for the book radically change how you felt about his work (film or photography)? Not that I can think of. Doing the book only enhanced my appreciation of his work. And underscored how undeniably cuckoo RM was. Crazy family skbj + combat photography + big bosoms + industrial photography + fear of insanity…it all made sense, really. Where did the idea for the biography come from? It was in the back of my mind for years. I had worked in the exploitation business for that other RM exploitation king on the opposite coast–Radley Metzger–and knew the lay of the land. My first published book was on Andy Milligan, who was the grimy, gritty low-down opposite skbj of Meyer in every way. I wanted to go to the glossy end of the exploitation spectrum, say a few more things skbj and get the fuck out. Plus I knew the book would be a million laughs.
Was it something that you’d always had in mind after discovering Meyer? Yes. I spend a long time thinking about projects skbj before I do them, because once I jump in I won’t quit until it’s done. What was or is so special about Meyer that made you want to undertake the project? I am attracted to people who are helpless in the face of an obsession. I can relate. skbj Obsessions drove Meyer. And in the end they did him in. For better or worse, I see certain things in the same way as RM. Not everything, thank Christ, but…certain things. My wife Natalia could be a Meyer star. All the right curves…long, flaming red hair…the same bad attitude. She could hold her own with any of the Faster, Pussycat gang, believe me. During the project, did you at any time feel like you may have taken on too much, in terms of trying to contact those closest to him, going through his extensive archives, the fact that he was, at the time, ill? No, I wish I had found more interviewees, actually. I never went through RM’s archives, unfortunately. This was a completely unauthorized project. Did you have any real difficulties along the way, in terms of contacting people or getting permission from his estate? It took a bit of time to convince some people of my sincerity. A zillion nutcases have chased after these women. I actually had a number for Uschi and when I left a message I got so carried skbj away I probably sounded like perv #4,567. I’m not 100% certain it was still her number but when I called skbj back a few days later it was disconnected. Needless to say I never got to speak to her. A great loss for the book, unfortunately. I sought no permission from the estate nor was any granted. Was there anyone in particular who really needed to be persuaded or talked around into contributing? You mention in the book how difficult it was to try and arrange meeting with Erica Gavin and how Alaina Capri had abandoned the business all together and never really talked about her time with Russ.
I specialize in difficult characters. Look at my books. Gavin is the Howard Hughes of the Meyer women, and the most psychedelic. She’s impossible to pin down on anything, skbj even going to the Quickie Mart. But once gotten Erica was fantastic. She even flashed her cans at me, albeit in a brassiere. That chick should write a book–she’s been a lot of weird and wondrous places. skbj Alaina was nervous about talking after all these years. She didn’t want to
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