- Height: 5 ft. 7 in.
- Weight: 140
- Measurements: 35D - 26" - 35"
- Eyes: Blue Eyes
- From: Providence, Rhode Island
- Born: April 22
- Zodiac Sign: Taurus
Often mentioned in the same breath as Linda Lovelace, Marilyn Chambers is a true pioneer of modern adult
film whose merits stand on their own. Unlike her contemporaries or successors, Marilyn bounced between the
X-rated and mainstream world with relative ease, making hers the most recognized name associated with adult
film. While many starlets are lucky to enjoy half a decade of success, Marilyn's career continues to impress
fans after more than a quarter of a century. Her ceaseless popularity can be attributed to her gorgeous but
natural appearance, topped off by a vibrant personality and an unparalleled passion for her work.
Marilyn's story begins back in 1952. Born to a conservative family in Rhode Island, Marilyn Briggs had
grandiose visions of stardom early on in childhood. However, her ambitions were never met with the same
enthusiasm by her restrictive parents. Against their wishes, Marilyn began modeling in her early teens and
at the age of 17, she left home to pursue a full-time modeling career in New York. While there, she landed
several jobs and appeared in numerous print ads as well as a few television commercials. After only a year
of modeling, Marilyn was cast in the movie
The Owl and the Pussycat. Although her role was very
limited, starring with celebrities like Barbara Streisand and George Segal only intensified her appetite for
stardom. Like any aspiring actress, Marilyn packed her bags and headed for Los Angeles. Unfortunately,
things didn't go as planned.
to subject herself to the casting couch politics of Hollywood, Marilyn moved to the bohemian
atmosphere of San Francisco in 1971 hoping to continue her modeling and acting career. Fate was fulfilled
when Marilyn answered an ad for the casting call of a "major motion picture." Upon arriving at the O'Farrell
(a conspicuous theater in the Tenderloin district) she realized she'd made a big mistake; the parts had
nothing to do with "bowling" as she'd first thought, but instead "balling". Marilyn refused to have sex on
film until the film's directors spotted her and introduced themselves as Jim and Artie Mitchell. The
Mitchell brothers were taken back by her wholesome beauty and immediately knew she was perfect for the lead
role. Marilyn wasn't completely sold on the idea but eventually agreed to do the film as long as the
brothers conceded to a few of her demands; most notably, 10% of the movie's total gross. Up until this point
Marilyn was still using her last name, Briggs. But the marketing savvy Mitchell's needed a name that would
tie in more with the film and thus dropped Marilyn's surname and replaced it with Chambers. Unbeknownst to
everyone involved, Marilyn Chambers was a name that millions would come to recognize in the next few
months.
The film was called
Behind the Green Door, and Marilyn played Gloria Saunders, an unsuspecting young
woman much like herself. The film's story centers around a mysterious sex club where the Gloria is
taken and "ravished" by several women and men in front of an audience dressed in formal wear and masks. As
the action on stage heats up, the audience breaks with conventional societal mores and erupts into a giant
orgy. Although the film was fairly light on plot, the Mitchell's spared no expense in bringing their vision
to the big screen. Prior to production, Marilyn refused to read the script, believing her performance would
look more natural if she didn't know what was going to happen to her; Jim and Artie couldn't argue with
that.
Gloria's ravishing is broken into four stages. After being , a woman calms her down back stage and
gently rubs her body. What follows is an on-stage lesbian encounter with six robed women who kiss and caress
every part of her body. Next, Johnny Keyes enters through the green door and performs cunnilingous on Gloria
and then proceeds to have intercourse with her as the two eventually climax simultaneously. In the principal
sequence, Gloria sits in a swing-like harness and services several men (manually and orally) suspended from
trapezes while getting vaginally penetrated by another from below. The scene's climax is composed of several
slow motion psychedelic optical effects depicting the men ejaculating on Gloria. In the confusion of the
orgy, George McDonald "rescues" Gloria and escapes through the green door, only to have his way with her in
private.
Despite social criticism over the film's lackadaisical treatment of topics such as and ,
Behind the Green Door was a runaway hit, making Marilyn and the Mitchell brothers instant
celebrities. The film's success was further enhanced when Proctor and Gamble released a box of Ivory Snow
featuring Marilyn on the cover. Although this box was originally shot during Marilyn's modeling days, the
company quickly ceased production when they realized their model had since appeared in an X-rated film. The
Mitchell brothers used this scandal as a marketing opportunity, and the film's notoriety slowly permeated
into the mainstream.
Marilyn seized her new found fame to further her acting career. After performing in an equally popular
Mitchell brothers film,
The Resurrection of Eve, she spent several years acting on stage in Las Vegas
and even released a disco tune in the 70s. In 1977 she landed a role in David Cronenberg's mainstream horror
film,
Rabid. The film relied heavily on Marilyn's prior "baggage" as she channeled a subtle sexuality
through her character's affliction. Unfortunately, the film's limited success did little to strengthen her
career.
By 1980, Marilyn returned to X-rated film in the enormously popular
Insatiable. Sporting huge
production values including on-location shoots and helicopter shots,
Insatiable's biggest draw was Marilyn.
After seven years away from the industry, fans were eager for her return and didn't seem to care if the
movie had no real plot or story. With the exception of a few exterior shots in London, most of the film was
shot on location at a mansion in central California.
In the movie, Marilyn plays a model/actress named Sandra Chase who inherited her wealth when her parents
were killed in an accident. From the opening scene it becomes overwhelmingly apparent that Sandra has some
sort of sexual fixation as she fantasizes and masturbates wildly on her bed. What follows are several sexual
encounters with nearly everyone she meets. Highlights include her incredible "siphoning" job on a lucky
stranded motorist (Richard Pacheco) and the renowned pool table scene featuring her virginal encounter with
the gardener (David Morris). In the film's fantasy finale, Marilyn encounters her legendary male counterpart
for the first time: John Holmes. Mr. Holmes starts off with some light kissing and cunnilingous before
feeding her his 12" snake. Whipping her head from side to side as the scene becomes more intense, her
performance reaches epic proportions when she manages to take his cock anally. While nearly every Marilyn
Chambers scene is a classic, her coupling with Holmes is truly an artifact for the history books.
Critically and commercially,
Insatiable is definitely the centerpiece of Marilyn's career. Out of all
of her films, it's her personal favorite, mainly because of the pool table scene and her anal feat with John
Holmes. Attentive fans will be rewarded with a subtle inside joke when Sandra opens a closet to reveal the
notorious Ivory Snow box sitting on a shelf. In addition to playing the lead role, the increasingly talented
Marilyn even performed the film's theme song,
Shame on You.
A few years later, Marilyn had another opportunity to showcase her acting and singing talent in the 1983
film
Up 'n Coming. Directed by Godfrey Daniels (of
Insatiable fame),
Up 'n Coming is
about the challenges faced by a young country singer trying to make it big. Marilyn plays the lead role of
Cassie Harland who faces stiff competition from established performer Althea Anderson, played brilliantly by
Lisa De Leeuw. Along her path to stardom, Cassie impresses agents and fans with more than her vocal ability.
Her scenes with Herschel Savage and John Holmes are definite highlights, but the film's story is also
exceptional, featuring a depth which was missing in her prior films. The developed storyline allows all
players to display their acting abilities in addition to their carnal duties. While
Up 'n Coming may
not be her best film, it's definitely one of the best made films she's appeared in.
Marilyn's comeback in the early 80's peaked with the sequel to
Insatiable before she faded into
relative obscurity. Nevertheless, her name still attracted dollars keeping her busy throughout the 80s with
several projects including her
Private Fantasies series. She even returned to the O'Farrell in San
Francisco to help Jim and Artie out by performing live sex shows. By the time the 90s rolled around, Marilyn
lent her name to (and appeared in) several soft-core B-movies that mainly played on late night cable. Around
this time Marilyn realized the mainstream breakthrough she had been waiting for was never going to happen;
her X-rated past had definitely limited her options in Hollywood.
After nearly 14 years away, in 1998 Marilyn jumped back into the adult industry with the lead role in
Veronica Hart's
Still Insatiable. In the movie she plays Senator Andrea Ballworth, an opportunistic
politician using pornography as a whipping post to broaden her support among women's groups. However, unlike
her real-life alter egos, Andrea eventually realizes the hypocrisy of her position and does a complete 180
by the end of the movie. Between the script's unsubtle political statements are several great sex scenes
featuring the good Senator reaching out to her staff and constituents. Altogether, Marilyn has three great
scenes. In the first she seduces her bodyguard (Julian) after a long day of campaigning. As insatiable as
ever, she later gets caught in the middle of a three-way with Mr. Marcus and Julian St. Jox, which involves
a DP. In the movie's finale, she gets it on with her whole staff (Julian, Kylie Ireland, and Juli Ashton) in
a hot little orgy. Supported by VCA's top stars,
Still Insatiable is a great title, even for those
unfamiliar with its historical significance.
Following the success of her comeback movie, Marilyn teamed up with Veronica Hart again in 2000 for
Dark
Chambers. Starting out as a film noir inspired narrative, the story never fully develops and quickly
gets bogged down in clichés. However, the sex scenes are all well shot and performed as Marilyn is reunited
with several former co-stars. Most noteworthy is the scene with Marilyn's former protégé, Erica Boyer.
According to Hart, Erica was encouraged by Marilyn's comeback and really wanted to work with her again. The
two first met when Erica was a dancer at the O'Farrell in the late 70s. Marilyn was so impressed that she
convinced Erica to appear in the (since banned) film,
Beyond De Sade, which subsequently launched her
career. Herschel Savage also gets a stab at Marilyn for the first time in several years as the two get it on
in an alley and in the movie's orgy finale. Although the story is a rather complex mess, the choppiness is
somewhat accounted for in the movie's twist ending.
Biography written by Dr. Mabuse