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Alvin Goldstein (January 10, 1936December 19, 2013) was an American pornographer best known for helping normalize
hardcore pornography Hardcore pornography or hardcore porn is pornography that features detailed depictions of sexual organs or sexual acts such as sexual intercourse, vaginal, anal sex, anal, oral sex, oral, or Non-penetrative sex#Manual sex, manual intercourse; e ...
in the United States.


Background

Goldstein was born in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...
to a Jewish family. He attended Boys High. He captained the debate team at Pace College and interviewed
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...
for the college newspaper. He served in the Army in the
Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...
as a photographer , He worked as a photojournalist, taking pictures of
Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
on a 1962 state trip to
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
and spent several days in a Cuban jail for taking unauthorized photos of
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
's brother, Raúl. He also sold insurance, wrote freelance articles, ran a dime pitch game at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, sold encyclopedias, rugs and his own blood, drove a taxi (he kept his taxi license active until his death), and landed a job as an industrial spy infiltrating a labor union, an experience that so appalled him he wrote an exposé about it for the radical newspaper ''New York Free Press'', a weekly periodical.


Print publications


''Screw''

In November 1968, Goldstein and his partner Jim Buckley, investing $175 each (equivalent to $ today), founded ''
Screw A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...
'', a weekly New York City tabloid. It featured reviews of porn movies,
peep show A peep show, peepshow, or, a peep booth is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the devel ...
s, erotic massage parlors,
brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
s,
escorts Escort may refer to: Protection *Bodyguard, a security operative who accompanies clients for their personal protection * Police escort, a feature offered by law enforcement agencies to assist in transporting individuals * Safety escort service, ...
and other local offerings of the
adult entertainment The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...
industry. Such items were interspersed with news concerning sexual topics, critical reviews of sexual books, and hardcore "gynecological" pictorials. Goldstein regularly ran, without permission, photos and drawings of celebrities. "''Screw'' grew from a combination of many factors, chief of which was my own dissatisfaction with the sex literature of 1968 and my yearning for a publication that reflected my sexual appetites," Goldstein wrote. "I may be making a lot of money, but I really believe I'm doing some good by demythologizing a lot about sexuality", he said in a Playboy Interview. It was described as "raunchy, obnoxious, usually disgusting and sometimes political." The initial price was 25¢. At its peak, ''Screw'' sold 140,000 copies weekly. Arrested 19 times on obscenity charges, he spent millions of dollars on
First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
lawsuits, ultimately scoring a major victory when a federal judge dismissed an obscenity case in 1974. (Goldstein believed that the case began as a result of ''Screw'' article, "Is J. Edgar Hoover a Fag?", the first published comment on Hoover's sexuality.) Venue-shopping prosecutors selected conservative
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
, to prosecute Goldstein for
obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin , , "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral ...
; when he was found not guilty, he flew the jury to New York to attend a party at the swing club Plato's Retreat. His long-term attorney was Herald Price Fahringer. According to Will Sloan, "Goldstein was the first journalist to seriously review porn films. Had he not written a rave review of a low-budget film called '' Deep Throat'' ('I was never so moved by any theatrical performance since stuttering through my own bar mitzvah'), it would never have become a hit at New York's World Theater, would never have been targeted by the vice squad, would never have spawned a First Amendment cause célèbre, and might not have led to the modern porn industry."


''Bitch'' magazine

In the March 11, 1974 issue of ''Screw'', Goldstein ran an ad seeking subscribers to a new magazine, ''Bitch'', which "brings women's sexuality out of the closet for the first time" and also "takes women out of politics and puts them back on their back where they belong." (Note: there have been several other magazines also called ''Bitch''.) The first issue "contain dan explosive symposium about blowjobs by four women who talk about giving head and what they like and don't like about it". Also included in the premiere issue was an interview with actor
James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
, and a centerfold of a man shot by a female photographer.


''Smut'' Magazine

In the same March 11, 1974 issue of ''Screw'', Goldstein also ran an ad seeking subscribers to ''Smut'', a magazine "so filthy that not only do you have to wash after every page, but every reader must disinfect after reading! SMUT is so dirty, so scummy, that once you have it on your hands you can't get it off!" The magazine offered pornography in images and words, without the news articles found in ''Screw''.


''National Screw''

In 1976-1977 ''National Screw'' was published; the place of publication was given as
Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...
. The June 1977 issue of the magazine contained, according to its cover, a new story by
William Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and ...
and an interview with
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...
. It is known to have published at least nine issues (76–77), also containing original adult comic strip work from comic artist legends
Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...
and
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...
.


''Death'' magazine

In 1979, Goldstein began ''Death'' magazine. It lasted four issues. The February, 1980 issue had a picture of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
on the cover, "Grim Reaper Awards", "Eulogy to a War Lover", "Death by Hanging", "Femme Fatales", and other articles.


''Screw West''

In 1979-1980 Goldstein's company, Milky Way Productions, published ''Screw West'' out of an office in
Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
. According to an advertisement, it was intended to answer such questions as, "Where can I get laid in San Francisco? What's the best swinger's club in Los Angeles? How do I find all those out-of-the-way Pacific Coast nude beaches? And what are those bawdy brothels outside Las Vegas really like?" It is known to have published 54 issues.


Movies and television


''It Happened in Hollywood''

In 1973, "Screw Magazine present d ''It Happened in Hollywood'', a pornographic movie, produced by Goldstein's partner Jim Buckley. Goldstein played a character in the movie, and is also credited as "fourth unit director." At the 2nd Annual New York Erotic Film Festival it won awards for Best Picture, Best Female Performance, and Best Supporting Actor.


''Midnight Blue''

In 1974 Goldstein began ''Screw Magazine of the Air'', soon renamed ''
Midnight Blue Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around a full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromag ...
'', a thrice weekly hour-long adult-oriented public access television program that ran for nearly 30 years on Manhattan Cable Television's Channel J; federal regulations regarding public access to cable TV systems made it impossible for the cable system to refuse his program. (Similarly, Goldstein used a legal prohibition on the censorship of political advertisements to force television broadcast of pornography, under a transparent, but legal, veil of "political candidacy".) In it, he regularly interviewed porn stars, other adult industry figures, and sympathetic celebrities and "freaks", and ran advertisements for brothels, phone sex services, and Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse. In the later years, after departure of original director Alex Bennett, Goldstein featured on each program a "Fuck You" segment, a few minutes in which he viciously attacked celebrities, politicians, the judge who presided over his latest trial, the
New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...
District Attorney, and businesses he felt had wronged him. "In its early years, ''Midnight Blue'' captured porn star Georgina Spelvin doing her nude tap-dance act at the Melody Burlesque; Tara Alexander attempting the world's biggest gang bang at Plato's Retreat, the New York swing club; the 10th anniversary ''Screw'' party, where
Buck Henry Buck Henry (born Henry Zuckerman; December 9, 1930 – January 8, 2020) was an American actor, screenwriter, and director. Henry's contributions to film included his work as a co-writer for Mike Nichols's ''The Graduate'' (1967) for which he re ...
and
Melvin Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pa ...
hobnob with Goldstein's jurors; and an early look at the S&M community in New York. Throughout its run, Midnight Blue interviewed almost every major porn star, and regularly tested the limits of what was acceptable for cable television." Seven volumes of excerpts from the show have been issued on DVD.


SOS: Screw on the Screen

In 1975, Goldstein issued ''SOS: Screw on the Screen'', a stridently unsexy attempt at a cinematic newsmagazine that included a lot of goofy comedy, a gay scene, and several minutes of Goldstein ranting about America's sexual hypocrisy. Also appearing was Honeysuckle Divine (who often appeared in ''SCREW''). A poster of her was on sale in the same issue. Honeysuckle Divine was a Times Square stripper whose specialty was inserting objects such as pickles in her vagina, shooting out many of them. She put the pickles in baggies and sold them to patrons. Goldstein said that her act "was unbelievably disgusting, so naturally, we made her our symbol."


Other business ventures


The Screw Store

In the May 17, 1976, issue of ''Screw'' Goldstein ran an ad for the "Screw Store", which offered dildos, including a "Bicentennial Dildo", vibrating Ben wa eggs, and a vibrating cock ring. Selling dildos brought one of Goldstein's many arrests.


Al Goldstein's Cinema

The October 17, 1977, issue of ''Screw'' contained an advertisement for "Al Goldstein's Cinema", located at 8th Avenue and 46th Street near
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
. Admission was 99¢. In the same issue, in the movie listings, it is described as "a large, comfortable porn house which shows average hardcore features. Some of these are first-run features, some have already played theaters in the city." The theater is not found in a listing of porn theaters from 1979.


Rabbit Ranch

In 2001, on Saint Martin, an island in the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...
, Goldstein planned to open the Rabbit Ranch, the first of what he hoped would be a chain of 10 to 30 bordellos that would flourish wherever prostitution is legal. He intended to use the profits to finance his second run for sheriff. The brothel never opened; authorities refused to give him a license because he was not a citizen of that nation. "We didn't bribe the right people or something," he said.Bob Whitby
"Undercurrents"
''Broward/Palm Beach New Times'', May 3, 2001; retrieved October 30, 2014.


Political and religious views


Views on the Iranian regime

In April 1989, Goldstein ran a full-page ad in ''Screw'' offering $1 million for the assassination of the
Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
, in response to Khomeini's February 1989
fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...
against novelist
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
for allegedly blaspheming
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. (Khomeini died of natural causes in June 1989.)


Views on religion

In his 2004 book ''XXX-Communicated: A Rebel Without a Shul'',
Luke Ford Luke Ford (born 26 March 1981) is a Canadian-Australian actor. His career began in television in 2000 and his first film role was in 2006 before being cast in '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' in 2008. Ford's regular television roles ...
wrote about a conversation with Goldstein, in which Ford asked Goldstein why Jews were dramatically overrepresented in the porn industry. He answered, "The only reason that Jews are in pornography is that we think that
Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
sucks.
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
sucks. We don't believe in
authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
. Pornography thus becomes a way of defiling
Christian culture Christian culture generally includes all the cultural practices which have developed around the religion of Christianity. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions. Christian culture has i ...
and, as it penetrates to the very heart of the American mainstream (and is no doubt consumed by those very same WASPs), its subversive character becomes more charged." Ford then asked, "What does it mean to you to be a Jew?" To which Goldstein responded, "It doesn't mean anything. It means that I'm called a
kike ''Kike'' (), also known as the K-word, is an ethnic slur directed at Jews. The etymological origin comes from the Yiddish word for circle, (''kaykel''), itself a derivation of the Ancient Greek word . Etymology According to the ''Oxford Eng ...
." Ford also asked, "Do you believe in God?" Goldstein said, "I believe in me. I'm God. Screw God. God is your need to believe in some super being. I am the super being. I am your God, admit it. We're random. We're the flea on the butt of the dog."


Personal life


Friendship with Larry Flynt

One of Goldstein's best friends was
Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as '' Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three p ...
. Goldstein said that Flynt's '' Hustler'' magazine, founded seven years after ''Screw'', stole the ''Hustler'' format from ''Screw'', but that he was not angry. According to Goldstein, Flynt succeeded in creating a national publication, at which he had failed.


Family

Goldstein married five times and had a son, Jordan Ari Goldstein, with his third wife, Gina. According to Goldstein, he and Jordan had a close relationship until the Goldsteins' divorce. They became estranged after Al called Gina "a contemptible vagina".


Life in Florida

While mostly associated with the city of New York, Goldstein was also a well-known figure in
Broward County, Florida Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...
, making the cover of a local alternative tabloid, '' New Times''. He owned a 10,000-square-foot mansion in Pompano Beach, famous for its statue, high, of a raised
middle finger The middle finger, long finger, second finger, third finger, toll finger or tall man is the third digit of the human hand, typically located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is typically the longest digit. In anatomy, it is al ...
on the back lawn, visible to boaters on the
Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...
. In 1992, he filed to run for sheriff against Nick Navarro, who had gained Goldstein's enmity by arresting on obscenity charges
2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, formed in 1984. The group was originally composed of DJ Mr. Mixx (David Hobbs), Fresh Kid Ice (Christopher Wong Won), and Amazing Vee (Yuri Vielot), though its most well-known lineup ...
members and a record dealer who sold their album '' As Nasty As They Wanna Be''. (The accused were convicted, but won on appeal.) Goldstein withdrew before the election took place. In 2001 he spoke publicly of his intent to run a second time, against Ken Jenne, on a platform of "leaving folks the hell alone". He never filed, saying that he could not afford the campaign.


Final years


Legal issues and financial woes

In 2002, Goldstein was found guilty of harassing a former employee, having published her telephone number and place of employment in ''Screw'' and encouraging readers to call her and tell her "to stop being such a cunt." Goldstein was sentenced to 60 days in jail. He served six days before the charges were overturned on appeal. Goldstein apologized as part of a plea bargain. Unable to make payroll, ''Screw'' folded in 2003; only 600 copies were sold of the final issue. Goldstein's company, Milky Way Productions, which published ''Screw'' and ''Midnight Blue'', entered bankruptcy in 2004, having lost sales and subscribers as a result of the proliferation of internet pornography, abetted by Goldstein's financial mismanagement. Goldstein lost his Florida mansion and his townhouse on
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...
. Jobless and penniless, he ended up living briefly in a Manhattan
homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...
. He was fired from New York's well-known Second Avenue Deli for sleeping in the basement, after a brief stint there as a greeter. Goldstein was arrested for shoplifting four health-related books from
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...
. He worked in 2005 as a commissioned salesman for New York City Bagels. Between 2005 and 2008, he blogged for booble.com, a pornographic search engine (defunct as of 2023); he then continued on his own website until 2009. Goldstein was financially supported in his last years by his friend the illusionist
Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American Magic (illusion), magician, actor, comedian, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller (magician), Teller as half of the t ...
, on whose floor he once slept, and who admired Goldstein for his
First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
activism. His final residence, prior to a nursing home, was a small apartment in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, paid for by Jillette.


Death

Goldstein died on December 19, 2013, aged 77, from
renal failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...
at a nursing home in
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Cobble Hill is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. A small neighborhood comprising 40 blocks,Kenneth T. Jackson, Jackson, Kenneth T., and Kasinitz, Philip. "Cobble Hil ...
.


Legacy


Obituary

Goldstein was described in his
obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...
in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as "a cartoonishly vituperative amalgam of
Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Yiddish Alps, is a region which was noted for its summer resorts that catered to Jewish vacationers, especially residents of New York City. The resorts, now mostly defunct, were located in the southern foothills of the Catski ...
comic, free-range social critic and sex-obsessed loser who seemed to embody a moment in New York City's cultural history: the sleaze and decay of
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
in the 1960s and ‘70s."


Documentary

In 2003, Lancaster Pictures produced a documentary on Goldstein entitled ''Goldstein: The Trials of the Sultan of Smut''. It focused on his legal troubles.
Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as '' Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three p ...
,
Ron Jeremy Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born March 12, 1953) is an American former Pornographic film actor, pornographic actor, and actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", Jeremy was ranked by AVN (magazine), ''AVN'' at No. 1 in their "50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" l ...
, and Jimmy Breslin appeared in the movie. He claimed to have had 7,000 sexual partners. Another writer called him "a hairy, sweaty, cigar-chomping, eczema-ridden fatso".


Retrospective

In his 2011 book ''Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! – of Playboys, Pigs, and Penthouse Paupers, an American Tale of Sex and Wonder'', former ''Screw'' writer and editor Mike Edison documents Goldstein's rise and fall against the successes of his peers
Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as '' Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three p ...
of '' Hustler'', Bob Guccione of '' Penthouse'', and
Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...
of ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
''. Edison also lauds Goldstein as a staunch fighter for the First Amendment, quoting
Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire (magazine), Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, he helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considere ...
, who referred to Goldstein in his book '' Thy Neighbor's Wife'', saying, "We need a free society, and freedom is not won by literary tea parties and well-meaning, virtuous publishers, it is won by disreputable people like Al Goldstein." Edison also quotes the New York reporter Jimmy Breslin as saying, "Al Goldstein is one of four people in the last 35 years who has effectively protected the First Amendment rights of reporters who bring the news to you. The others are Ralph Ginzburg,
Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as '' Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three p ...
, and
Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of come ...
. I know you don’t want to meet them, but you owe them.”


Filmography

Unless otherwise noted, Goldstein appeared as himself in the following movies: * ''Dynamite Chicken'' (1971) * ''It Happened in Hollywood'' (1973) * ''Let My Puppets Come'' (1976) * ''
Denial Denial, in colloquial English usage, has at least three meanings: * the assertion that any particular statement or allegation, whose truth is uncertain, is not true; * the refusal of a request; and * the assertion that a true statement is fal ...
'' (1998) * ''Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes'' (1998) * ''Sex: The Annabel Chong Story'' (1999) * '' Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV'' (2001) * ''Porn Star: The Legend of
Ron Jeremy Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born March 12, 1953) is an American former Pornographic film actor, pornographic actor, and actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", Jeremy was ranked by AVN (magazine), ''AVN'' at No. 1 in their "50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" l ...
'' (2001) * ''Al Goldstein and Ron Jeremy are Screwed'' (2003) (X-rated) * '' Inside Deep Throat'' (2005) * ''Obscene'' (2007) * '' American Swing'' (2008) * ''Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story'' (2013) * ''Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story'' (2014)


Bibliography

* *


References


External links

*
Rotten Timeline


(September 15–21, 2004)
118-minute discussion of Goldstein
by Steven Heller (''Screw'' collaborator), Goldstein's biographer
Josh Alan Friedman Josh Alan Friedman is an American musician, writer, editor and journalist, who has worked in New York and Dallas. He is known for his 1986 collection ''Tales of Times Square'' and his comics collaborations with his brother, artist Drew Friedman ...
, and Goldstein's attorney Herald Price Fahringer {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldstein, Al 1936 births 2013 deaths Adult magazine publishers (people) American pornographers American magazine founders American male journalists American male non-fiction writers Businesspeople from Queens, New York People from Pompano Beach, Florida Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers American public access television personalities American autobiographers American free speech activists Obscenity controversies in literature Pace University alumni United States Army soldiers American taxi drivers American homeless people People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn American photojournalists Deaths from kidney failure in New York (state) Boys High School (Brooklyn) alumni People convicted of obscenity People from Far Rockaway, Queens People from the Upper East Side Writers from Brooklyn 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers