Althea Flynt (née Leasure; November 6, 1953 – June 27, 1987) was an American co-publisher of pornographic magazine '' Hustler'', and the fourth wife of

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 ...

Early life

Althea Leasure was born November 6, 1953, in

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Appalachian Ohio, southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum River, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia ...

. Althea and her four siblings came from an abusive home. When Althea was eight, her father Richard shot and killed her mother, June, her grandfather, and June's best friend and neighbor, before fatally shooting himself. Althea's grandmother was present during the incident, but survived by hiding in the nearby creek. Althea and three of her siblings were later put into the OSSO Home (Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Orphanage) in

Xenia, Ohio Xenia ( ) is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southwestern Ohio, it is east of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area as well as the Miami Valley region. As o ...

, which she ran away from multiple times after being sexually molested when sent to possible adopters' homes.

Career

She met Larry Flynt at age 17 in 1971, when she applied for a job as a go-go dancer at his Hustler club in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. They were married on August 21, 1976. She was ''Hustler's'' first life-size centerfold, and as Publisher/Editor was involved with the development, management and publication of the magazine until her death; she ran the magazine and kept it afloat during Larry's "born again" experience brought on by a psychotic bipolar manic episode in 1977, his subsequent near-fatal crippling shooting in Georgia in 1978 and multiple bouts with bipolar disorder which also led to his campaign for President of the United States in 1984. In the mid-1980s, Althea planned a new non-pornographic magazine called ''The Rage'', to focus on the

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

. ''The Rage'' was ultimately abandoned due to the expense of Flynt's 1984 presidential run. In 1982 Althea began using the drugs that Larry was prescribed for pain after he was shot in 1978, and developed an

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

. She was diagnosed with

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in 1983; Flynt stated that she contracted the disease from an untested

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...

during a

hysterectomy Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus and cervix. Supracervical hysterectomy refers to removal of the uterus while the cervix is spared. These procedures may also involve removal of the ovaries (oophorectomy), fallopian tubes ( salpi ...

, and that she always used clean needles when using drugs.

Death

Althea died at age 33 when she drowned in the bathtub at the couple's Bel-Air mansion in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on June 27, 1987. According to reports, she passed out from a prescription drug overdose and drowned. Her husband, however, states that at the time she was in the advanced stages of AIDS and would have died within that year, regardless. At that point he was taking care of her and claims that she was practically bedridden. Althea Flynt was originally buried in the Flynt family cemetery plot, located on Lakeville in

Salyersville, Kentucky Salyersville () is a home rule-class city on the Licking River in Magoffin County, Kentucky, United States. It is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,591, down from 1,883 in 2010. History Early history The hill overl ...

. Her remains were disinterred in 2021 and moved to Ohio.

In popular culture

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, Love has had a career spanning four decades. She rose to promi ...

portrayed Althea in the 1996 film '' The People vs. Larry Flynt'', earning a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

References

;Notes ;Citations *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynt, Althea 1953 births 1987 deaths Accidental deaths in California American magazine publishers (people) Deaths by drowning in California Drug-related deaths in California People from Marietta, Ohio People with HIV/AIDS 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen Writers from Kentucky