Jim Holliday: Porn Legend

I first met late director Jim Holliday in 2000. A porn agent arranged our introduction and I drove out to the VCA offices in Chatsworth, CA to sit down with Jim and discuss the possibility of my working for him. VCA was one of the main porn prduction companies at that time. My agent informed me over the phone that Mr. Holliday was a legend in the adult industry and also quite a character. I realized that the agent was absolutely correct on both counts about five minutes after being ushered into Jim's office. Box covers of his movies decorated his bulletin board and lay scattered across his desk. My eyes ran over them and I recognized some titles that I had seen as a kid digging through a closet in a room of my father's hunting lodge. Jim watched me stare at the packages and finally asked me which was my favorite. My favorite? Funny he should inquire because one in particular had grabbed me immediately. I stood to point to Sorority Sex Kittens 3 which featured stunning Shayla La Veaux in two different incarnations: business-suited career woman and scantily clad coed.

"Marianne would love you for that. She would love you if she knew that you had jut said that." Jim proclaimed in his deep, gravelly voice.

"Marianne?" I said after a moment. In later months I discovered that Jim had a habit of making unexplained references and waiting to see if his listener was interested enough, or perhaps alert enough, to ask for more information.

"Marianne." he responded affirmatively.

I looked at his face, but could see no expression beneath his large designer sunglasses. People tell me that my left eyebrow rises when there is a question in my mind. The action is completely involuntary and I can't feel the movement, but I'm sure my eyebrow was up as I waited for Jim to fill the silence. He let it stretch on for a few more moments as he gazed at me with amusement.

"Marianne designs all the boxcovers here at VCA." he said at last. "I don't like single-girl boxcovers. The fans like variety and I put variety on my boxes."

Jim gestured around the room at the abundance of pornographic proof that filled his workspace. Every other movie featured at least five beautiful women on the cover.

Shortly thereafter Jim called pornstar Kylie Ireland to come join us and he requested that I remove all my clothes.

"Now we'll see if you really look like your photos." he commented as he gestured at the stack of nude 8x10 photos I had placed on his desk. Back then directors expected talent to show up with photos since Internet access was not nearly so prevalent as it is now.

I began disrobing and then said innocently: "Did my agent mention that I just had a baby? I'm having trouble getting rid of the stretch marks and covering the C-section scar."

Jim regarded me from behind his glasses.

"You haven't had a baby." he said definitively.

I started laughing and finished taking off my clothes. My sense of humor is strange and often rubs people the wrong way. Jim started laughing too. Then he made me spin around slowly so he and Kylie could see if there was anything horrendous about my body. After that he politely told me that he needed to look at my "entertainment center" so he'd know that everything down there was acceptable. He further explained that he never let his regular actresses work with "skanks." I was liking Jim more and more and I obligingly bent over so they could examine my genitalia and anus. These details may sound surprising to people outside the industry, but all porn directors should conduct interviews with equal bluntness and diligence. And with the same hands-off policy. Jim never behaved inappropriately with talent.

That afternoon I stayed at the VCA offices for hours, mostly sitting outside chatting with Jim as he smoked cigarettes and introduced me to various passersby who worked for the company. It was my entree into "Jimmyland." We remained close friends until his death in December 2005. Friends of Jim organized a memorial for him in January 2006. I did not attend because a member of my family passed on that same week. For years I have wanted to do something in his memory and now I have started this blog about him. I look forward to driving out to the California High Desert, staring at the full moon and writing more about Jim and my experiences on his movie sets.


Jim, I think of you often and miss you a lot. You were supposed to be the one who would tell me when it was time for me to retire. Remember? I passed that mantle of responsibility on to my friend Tim and he is completely horrified. A few months ago he asked me:

"Are you going to get mad when I tell you that you're too old and need to retire?"

When he made the inquiry I smiled as I reflected on the fact that you would have had no such compunction or concern.



- XXOO Tanya













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