LOS ANGELES – He both scandalized and entertained — often in the same breath. Some folks loved him for his big heart; others loathed him for his sometimes pugnacious nature … but nobody ignored him.
William Margold — performer, director, producer, writer, activist, gadfly, mentor, AVN Hall of Famer and unofficial adult industry historian — died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 73.
Born Oct. 2, 1943, in Washington D.C. to a Harvard-educated attorney who served as a Solicitor General during the Truman administration, Margold obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism from California State University at Northridge, though there is no record he ever worked as a member of the press.
There is a substantial record of the indelible mark he left on the adult entertainment industry.
Margold appeared in a number of films during the Golden Age of Porn, including Dracula Sucks (Backstreet Productions, 1978), a hardcore retelling of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale. His first film credit came in 1972’s The Goddaughter (Sterling Films/Missy Productions), a campy adult spoof of The Godfather. IMDB lists 178 feature-length films in the more than four decades following. His most recent on-screen credit was for the mainstream horror/sci-fi flick Hackin’ Jack vs. the Chainsaw Chick 3D (aka Hackin’ Jack Flash 3D; Almost in Focus/Deep Vision 3D/Super 3D Comix, 2014).
He also appeared in at least two documentaries: After Porn Ends (2010) and Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy (2001).
Margold’s greatest contributions to the adult industry, though, were a larger-than-life presence and tireless effort to improve the lives of performers. Known as “Old Leatherdick” in his early days (because of his habit of preparing for a scene by masturbating with aftershave, the numbing effects of which allowed him to perform longer), in his later years much of the industry, especially starlets, called him “Papa Bear.”
Margold served on the board of industry trade group Free Speech Coalition and served as a senior advisor to the Adult Performers Actor Guild. He also co-founded Fans of X-Rated Entertainment (FOXE) and the X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO). Perhaps his proudest accomplishment was founding the performer advocacy organization Protect Adult Welfare Foundation.
Attorney and chairman of the FSC board of directors Jeffrey Douglas knew Margold for much of his career and credits Margold with pulling the industry together during some of its most trying times.
“Bill viewed the adult industry, and especially the performing artists, as his family,” Douglas said. “He was driven by his pursuit of what he believed was in the best interest of talent. Fiercely passionate and happily cantankerous, Bill took pride in plaguing those whom he perceived as his opponents. His gift for epigrams was constantly put to the service of advocating for the ‘Family of X.’
“Without Bill Margold, the Free Speech Coalition likely would have passed into history in 1995, as had its many predecessors,” Douglas continued. “At that point, interest in the organization had dropped to the point that there were insufficient nominees to fill the board of directors, and Bill selected a group to fill the numerous vacancies. His slate [which he put together along with Paul Fishbein, then publisher of AVN] was accepted by acclamation at a general membership meeting in Las Vegas. From that the Free Speech Coalition was reborn.”
Margold died doing one of the things he enjoyed most: performing. During the Tuesday afternoon live broadcast of his History XXX show on XXX Porn Star Radio, sudden dead air alarmed friends, who found him unresponsive at his mic. No cause of death has been released, and no information about memorials was available at press time.
Rest in peace, Papa Bear. We’ll miss you.
Image: Bill Margold wearing one of signature Hawaiian shirts.
