John Holmes

Johnny "Wadd" Holmes would have been 61 years old today. I found interest / humor in some of the information in his biography on IMDB.com:

Born John Curtis Estes on August 8, 1944 in Pickaway County, Ohio, John was a bible student and went through a stint in the U.S. Army before moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1960s and gravitating to porno films.

How do you "gravitate" towards porno films?

His lucrative off-screen penis-for-hire business took him around the world.

This and "hey - he owed me money!" are the two things I want people to say at my funeral.

In late 1970s, John fell victim to drug abuse which prevented him from performing in the on-screen sex, making him drop out of the adult film business. He was then broke with all of his millions spent on drugs which he never 100% got over his addition. He made money by robbing peoples houses and cars, as well as delivering drugs for the local gangsters. His low point was when he was implicated in the drug-related "Laurel Canyon" murders on July 1, 1981. He was allegedly present at the drug-related torture and murder of his drug dealing friend, Bill Deverell, and the murders of another man and two women by a gang of unknown henchmen sent by a powerful gangster, named Eddie Nash. John refused to tell the police what he knew and went on the run for nearly six months before he was taken into custody and then tried for all four murders. After a three-month, semi-public trial, John was finally aquited in June, 1982. The true nature and details of the Laurel Canyon murders remains unsolved to this day.

Is it just me or does his life have all the makings of a blockbuster biography? Sex, drugs and a murder mystery. If I were to write it I might pick "Off-Screen Penis-for-Hire" as the title.

John Holmes served as the inspiration for the movie Boogie Nights. I did not know that.

UPDATE: Glen in the comments points to this info at the Crime Library (much better info than IMDB.com). Their account includes this great line:

From the moment she caught her husband measuring his manhood, there was a fundamental shift in their relationship.

And this:

When the Miami SWAT team, accompanied by two LAPD detectives, burst through the door of his hotel, Holmes was lying in bed watching reruns of Gilligan's island. He calmly told the cops he was expecting them, according to Rolling Stone, and offered them coffee. They declined, handcuffed him, and shipped him back to California.

The link is fascinating to read.

UPDATE 2: Another person points put that a movie was made of this in 2003 called Wonderland starring Val Kilmer. Has anyone seen it? Was it any good?