In 2015, Johnnie Keyes received a shoutout during the 'Weekend Update' segment on NBC's popular Saturday Night Live program. Johnnie later admitted to receiving multiple death threats for this scene, also starring Marilyn Chambers, which understandably affected him greatly. Johnnie's most-memorable role in the 1972 classic, Behind The Green Door, was considered a 'landmark' interracial porn scene and a groundbreaking moment for pornography in general. Johnnie Keyes: Active 1972-2013Ī legend of the Golden Age of Porn, Johnnie Keyes enjoyed decades of success working in the adult industry, remaining in the public eye up until his passing in 2018. Here are 30 porn performers who shaped the adult industry with their unforgettable careers.
This isn't an all-encompassing list of influential black performers, as there many still, but these stars undeniably made a name for themselves in adult entertainment and paved a way for their successors. The adult industry, while not without its own problems regarding race, created markets of influence and opportunity for black performers early in the business' inception, and continues to do so to this day. With anything we enjoy present-day (porn included), we should take time to reflect upon the contributions provided us by people of color-not just in February for Black History Month, but year-round.
