When I attended the memorial service for Herschel yesterday, I had no idea who I might run into. I had a feeling there’d be old friends and colleagues reuniting after many years. The passing of such a well-liked person is guaranteed to bring people together. And that’s exactly what happened.
I went with Joanne Cachapero – the talented author who served for 16 years as Director of the Free Speech Coalition, and we met up with Mara Epstein. Two of the smartest women I’ve ever met. And it was great to catch up.
If that weren’t already icing on the cake, I then got to spend a little time with two absolute adult male performer legends. None other than T.T. Boy and Peter North! I think we’ve all held up pretty well. Love you guys!
I also ran into Lisa Michelle, Veronica Hart, Luke Wylder, Alexandra Silk and a few friends who worked behind the cameras. Most importantly, though, I got to have a moment after the service with Harvey’s family to share condolences.
As is often the case, when old friends come together to mark the loss of someone mutually near and dear to them all, a silver lining appears. It was great to see everyone in spite of the sad occasion. Herschel – we miss you already!
Cadence13 recently published the first three installments of their new podcast “Once Upon a Time… In the Valley” – a series on the classic age of adult cinema. Episode #3, “We Kinda Made it Hardcore“, features a short interview segment with Ginger Lynn where she shares a story involving the two of us. My recollection of events is very different and I feel a need to set the record straight.
These first three episodes (I hope they make more) focus on Traci Lords and the adult industry fallout after everyone figured out she was underage while filming all but one of her movies. Many of my colleagues (Kelly Nichols, Suze Randall, Tom Byron, Veronica Hart and more) from the 80s-era are interviewed – myself included. My brother, Buck Adams, is also mentioned. Ginger shares her memories of the day the two Lynns first met.
Ginger Lynn tells a story about meeting me for the first time at Harry Reems’ house, and that would have been the summer of ‘84. She goes into detail about confronting me when I told her my intention to use the professional name “Amber Lynn” because she didn’t like my choice. “You can’t be Amber Lynn! I’m Ginger Lynn!” She goes on to say that the argument turned into a drunken Amber vs. Ginger catfight culminating in us having sex on a stairway with Harry and Jamie Gillis (who I was dating at the time and had met through John Leslie) spectating.
https://youtu.be/3_bUfB8wy-o
I have to inform my fans that this story is not true and definitely did not happen. I never had a conversation with Ginger regarding my name when we first met, nor did we have a catfight, or (sorry guys) a sexual encounter on a stairway. Ginger Lynn arrived after Jamie and I were already there. She was introduced to me outside on the beachfront patio, had obviously had been drinking and was carrying a bottle of tequila around. Ginger was very sweet upon meeting me, and made a pass almost immediately, asking if “I liked girls”. A very short and sweet moment passed between us and then she disappeared into the house with Harry and up to his bedroom.
There was no catfight, no screen name discussion and no sex on the stairs. Again – I was already an actress, working in the industry as Amber Lynn, and had started shooting film and video in early 1983 – kicking off what would become an amazing career with Vixens In Heat which we shot in September of that year. As mentioned earlier, the first meeting with Ginger didn’t occur until 1984 at Harry’s.
Ginger Lynn Allen and I share the same exact middle and last name. The first video photographer who shot me was Bobby Hollander (for Personal Touch 3 and Centerfold Celebrities with John Leslie) and he wanted me to use the name “Amber Lynn Lane” – as back then the top female talents were often named after streets in the San Fernando Valley (Laurel Canyon, Desiree Lane etc.). I didn’t like that idea, I wanted to keep it to just my actual middle name, “Lynn”, which is what I was called growing up, and my agent and porn historian Bill Margold made him correct it early on in production.
Amber Lynn®️ has been my official USPTO registered trademark for years now, and even as a newcomer to this industry 37 years ago – I never wanted it any other way! I get deep into the early adult days in my upcoming autobiography, so stay tuned to the site for updates.
I have reached out to Cadence13 with my side of the story, and also spoken to IAFD in regards to their use of an incorrect screen name on some titles – to which an editor named “Titbug” replied: “I fully agree that directors and producers miscrediting performers is disrespectful and hurts performers’ brands. But there is nothing that we can do: we are simply listing facts.”
In spite of these little speed bumps, I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the podcast, and encourage everyone to give it a listen. Lili Anolik and her team did a terrific job, and I thank them for including me.
