Bambi Woods
Bambi Woods | |
|---|---|
 Woods in Debbie Does Dallas (1978) |
Bambi Woods is an American former pornographic film actress and exotic dancer best known for her appearance as the title character in the 1978 film Debbie Does Dallas. Her success during the Golden Age of Porn and later disappearance fueled speculation that she had died of a drug overdose in 1986.[1]
Pornographic film career
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Woods was known for her first role as the eponymous character of "Debbie" in the 1978 feature adult film Debbie Does Dallas. She received top billing and a photo of her in a bogus uniform was prominently advertised on theater marquees where she was billed as a "former Dallas Cowgirl."[2] Woods had previously tried out for the real Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, but never made the squad.[3]
Woods said in an interview for the public-access television program Late Late Blue that she performed in Debbie Does Dallas as a one-off to clear a debt to a friend, but later spent all her earnings, so the same friend arranged for her to perform striptease.[4] The film's producer and director Jim Clark said he created the stage name "Bambi Woods" as an allusion to the Disney character Bambi: "I named her Bambi Woods. There wasn't any real reason behind it. Bambi ... a deer. In the woods. Do you want to get deeper?"[citation needed] One reviewer in a Channel 4 documentary about the film said that Woods' demeanor during sex scenes was in keeping with her pseudonym, being reminiscent of a deer in headlights.[2]
In the trailer for Debbie Does Dallas, Woods insists that none of her experiences were used for the completely fictional storyline, though she surmised that they could have happened. The partners with whom she had unsimulated sexual intercourse in the film included Robert Kerman and others drawn from the small group of veteran performers who appeared in most hardcore pornographic films made in the U.S. during that era.[2] She also appeared in two sequels, Debbie Does Dallas Part II (1981) and Debbie Does Dallas III: The Final Chapter (1985).[1]
Woods' adult-entertainment career occurred towards the end of the Golden Age of Porn, when the filmmakers operated in a legal gray area, making them vulnerable to extortion by organized criminals who controlled distribution. At the time, there were no laws requiring mandatory verification and record keeping of participants' true identities and ages, and the real names of even the most prolific actors remained unknown outside their profession until decades later, when the identities of almost all famous performers were circulated on the Internet. Despite the huge profits being made, female performers' fees rarely exceeded the low hundreds of dollars.[2]
The film became a huge success, and Woods mixed with various celebrities in New York City clubs including Studio 54 and Plato's Retreat. Woods disappeared completely from the public eye by the mid-1980s.[2]
Disappearance
[edit]In 1986, Woods was reported missing. A 2005 article in the Australian newspaper The Age claimed that Woods had died in 1986 of a drug overdose under lurid circumstances.[5] The same year, however, in a Channel 4 documentary episode, "Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered", Clark said the real name of Woods, which he declined to specify on camera, was used to trace her family in the mid-1990s and that a private investigator had been informed through indirect communications that she was living an ordinary life in the Des Moines, Iowa area. He added she wished to have no further involvement with nor publicity concerning her former career.[2]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Swietek, Frank (May 2, 2006). "Debbie Does Dallas: Uncovered". Video Librarian. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Debbie Does Dallas: Uncovered". The Dark Side of Porn (DVD video). Docurama. 2006. ISBN 0-7670-8849-2.[time needed]
- ^ Mansour, David (2005). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 114. ISBN 0-7407-5118-2.
- ^ "Bambi". Late Late Blue (interview). New York. 1979. Channel J.
Well it's very funny how I got into it. I owed somebody money, a girlfriend of mine who had done porno movies before. And she said, 'Listen, you owe me the money so why don't you just go over and see about doing this film'.
- ^ Benedictus, Luke (February 6, 2005). "Porn to be mild". The Age. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
External links
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- Bambi Woods at IMDb
- Bambi Woods at the Adult Film Database
- Bambi Woods at the Internet Adult Film Database