Terri Hall (born Terri Marie Hall; January 25, 1953 – June 5, 2007) was an American
erotic actress in adult films from 1974 to 1984, during the
Golden Age of Porn
The term "Golden Age of Porn", or "porno chic", refers to a 15-year period (1969–1984) in commercial American pornography, in which sexually explicit films experienced positive attention from mainstream cinemas, movie critics, and the genera ...
(1969–1984). Notable films include: ''
Alice In Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'' (1976),
''
The Opening of Misty Beethoven
''The Opening of Misty Beethoven'' is an American pornographic comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or ...
'' (1975), ''
The Story of Joanna
''The Story of Joanna'' is a 1975 pornographic film directed by Gerard Damiano and starring Jamie Gillis and Terri Hall. The film has a sado-masochism theme influenced by '' Story of O'' (1954). It is considered one of the classics of the Gold ...
'' (1975),
''
Through the Looking Glass
''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, University of Oxford. It was the sequel to h ...
'' (1976) and ''
The World of Henry Paris'' (1981).
Hall worked with several notable adult film directors, including
Gerard Damiano
Gerardo Rocco "Gerard" Damiano (August 4, 1928 – October 25, 2008) was an American director of adult films.
Damiano wrote and directed the 1972 pornographic film '' Deep Throat,'' which starred Linda Lovelace. He also directed '' The Devil ...
,
Radley Metzger
Radley Metzger (January 21, 1929 – March 31, 2017) was an American filmmaker and film distributor, most noted for popular artistic pornographic films, including '' Thérèse and Isabelle'' (1968), '' Camille 2000'' (1969), '' The Lickerish ...
(aka "Henry Paris") and
Bill Osco
Bill Osco (born William Osco in 1947) is an American film producer and director.
Career
Osco's first production job (in an uncredited capacity) was the 1970 film '' Mona'', one of the first adult films, after Andy Warhol's 1969 film ''Blue Mov ...
.
She was a former
ballet dancer
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...
and, as well, served as a
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
for
photographers
A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs.
Duties and types of photograp ...
, such as
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Michael Mapplethorpe ( ; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female Nude (art), n ...
,
and
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
s, such as Sir Alex Schloss and Gloria Schloss.
Hall was featured in several US magazines, including ''
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 $ ...
'' and ''Sir!''.
Her work as a model has been displayed at the
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...
.
Early life
Terri Hall was born in 1953 to a father of
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
and a mother of
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
heritages. Along with a sister and two brothers, Hall grew up in
Elmira, New York
Elmira () is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. ...
. Her father was an attorney. Hall began dancing lessons at the age of 5. After high school, she went to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and began training at the
Harkness Ballet
The Harkness Ballet (1964–1975) was a New ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in Standard Oil holdings, and was a dance lover. Harkness funded Joffrey Ballet, but when they refused ...
. As a trained
ballerina
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...
, Hall danced with the
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...
,
Monte Carlo City Ballet and the
Stuttgart Ballet Company.
Career
In order to make more money than available to her in dancing, Hall decided to broaden her career into acting. An actress friend suggested she meet with several adult film directors, including
Armand Weston who first gave Hall an interview. She later starred in one of Weston's films, ''The Taking of Christina'', in 1976.
Over her years as an actress, Hall worked with several notable adult film directors, including
Gerard Damiano
Gerardo Rocco "Gerard" Damiano (August 4, 1928 – October 25, 2008) was an American director of adult films.
Damiano wrote and directed the 1972 pornographic film '' Deep Throat,'' which starred Linda Lovelace. He also directed '' The Devil ...
,
Radley Metzger
Radley Metzger (January 21, 1929 – March 31, 2017) was an American filmmaker and film distributor, most noted for popular artistic pornographic films, including '' Thérèse and Isabelle'' (1968), '' Camille 2000'' (1969), '' The Lickerish ...
(aka "Henry Paris") and
Bill Osco
Bill Osco (born William Osco in 1947) is an American film producer and director.
Career
Osco's first production job (in an uncredited capacity) was the 1970 film '' Mona'', one of the first adult films, after Andy Warhol's 1969 film ''Blue Mov ...
.
Personal life
Hall left the adult industry in 1984.
Later, due to ill-health, she lived in an Athens, PA nursing home
and afterwards, died in upstate New York as a result of cancer in June, 2007.
Films (selected)
Some of Terri Hall's best-known
adult erotic film
Erotic photography is a style of art photography of an erotic, sexually suggestive or sexually provocative nature. It is a type of erotic art.
In a spectrum, erotic photography is often distinguished from nude photography, which contains nude su ...
s of the period include:
* ''Gladys and Her All-Girl Band'' (1975)
* ''Oriental Blue'' (1975)
* ''
The Story of Joanna
''The Story of Joanna'' is a 1975 pornographic film directed by Gerard Damiano and starring Jamie Gillis and Terri Hall. The film has a sado-masochism theme influenced by '' Story of O'' (1954). It is considered one of the classics of the Gold ...
'' (1975)
* ''Farewell Scarlet'' (1975)
* ''The Amazing Dr. Jekyll'' (1975)
* ''New Loops'' (1975)
* ''The Divine Obsession'' (1976)
* ''Honey Pie'' (1976)
* ''Ecstasy in Blue'' (1976)
* ''Once Over Nightly'' (1976)
* ''
The Opening of Misty Beethoven
''The Opening of Misty Beethoven'' is an American pornographic comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or ...
'' (1976)
* ''Seduction'' (1976)
* ''The Taking of Christina'' (1976)
* ''Dominatrix Without Mercy'' (1976)
* ''Fantasex'' (1976)
* ''Rollerbabies'' (1976)
* ''The Honeymooners'' (1976)
* ''
Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy'' (1976)
* ''
Through the Looking Glass
''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, University of Oxford. It was the sequel to h ...
'' (1976)
* ''The Double Exposure of Holly'' (1976)
* ''Sex Wish'' (1976)
* ''Gums'' (1976)
* ''More, More, More'' (1976)
* ''Terri's Revenge!'' (1976)
* ''Suzie's Take Out Service'' (1976)
* ''Pornocopia Sensual'' (1976)
* ''Odyssey: The Ultimate Trip'' (1977)
* ''The Devil Inside Her'' (1977)
* ''My Sex-Rated Wife'' (1977)
* ''Lustful Feelings'' (1977)
* ''Teenage Pajama Party'' (1977)
* ''Virgin Dreams'' (1977)
* ''
Unwilling Lovers
''Unwilling Lovers'' (also known as ''Mama's Boy'' and ''Young Lovers'') is a 1977 pornographic horror film written and directed by Zebedy Colt and starring Terri Hall, John Bush, Holly Bush, C. J. Laing, Zebedy Colt, Rod Dumont, Jody Maxwell, ...
'' (1977)
* ''Sweetheart'' (1977)
* ''The Ganja Express'' (1978)
* ''Street Girls of New York'' (1981)
* ''Sugar Britches'' (1981)
* ''
The World of Henry Paris'' (1981)
References
External links
*
*
*
Terri Hallon
The Rialto Report
''The Rialto Report'' is a podcast and article series documenting the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984). It consists of oral history, audio, photo, and documentary archives. It is hosted by Ashley West and April Hall as well as guest contributors ...
Terry Hall– pictures as a model.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Terri
20th-century American ballet dancers
American female adult models
American female erotic dancers
American people of Swedish descent
American people of Italian descent
American pornographic film actresses
American artists' models
1953 births
2007 deaths
20th-century American women
21st-century American women