Georgina Spelvin

For the theatre pseudonym on which her stage name was based, see George Spelvin.
Georgina Spelvin
Spelvin in 2008
Born
Shelley Bob Graham[1]

(1936-03-01) March 1, 1936 (age 88)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Other namesChele Graham,[2][3][4]
Shelley Abels,
Claudia Clitoris,
Dorothy May,
Merle Miller,
Ruth Raymond,
Georgette Spelvin,
Ona Tural
Years active1957–1982
Height5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Spouse
John Welsh
​
(m. 2000)​
[5]
Websitegeorgiespelvin.com

Shelley Bob Graham[1][6] (born March 1, 1936), known professionally as Georgina Spelvin, is an American former actress and pornographic performer, best known as the star of the classic 1973 pornographic film The Devil in Miss Jones, released during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984).

Life and career

Early life

Spelvin was born in Houston, Texas, at 2:24 pm[6] on March 1, 1936, as Shelley Bob Graham.[7] Her father was a geophysicist, and the family moved frequently.[6] She often took dancing lessons during childhood.[6] She graduated from high school in 1954.[6]

At first, I wanted to be an opera singer, but my voice wasn't good enough. My second choice was ballerina. After that, it was a series of compromises.

— Georgina Spelvin[8]

New York City

Graham began her professional career as dancer and later as a chorus girl[9][10] in Pajama Game, and was featured in the Broadway productions of Cabaret,[4] Guys and Dolls, and Sweet Charity.[11][12] During that time, she changed the spelling of her name to "Chele Graham", but kept the pronunciation the same.[2][3][4] When performance offers dwindled, she worked in theater production as a choreographer, director, and lighting technician in a number of musicals,[13] which led to the underground film scene.

Pornography

The stage name she adopted is a variation on George Spelvin, traditionally used as a pseudonym by stage actors for the second billing, when playing two roles.[14][15]

She made her first movie, The Twilight Girls, a softcore lesbian film, in 1957,[11] and appeared in a few sexploitation features during the late 1960s.

Graham moved into porn when her friend, actor Marc Stevens, introduced her to adult film director Gerard Damiano.[11] She became one of the best-known figures in hardcore pornography for her starring role in The Devil in Miss Jones in 1973.

I took the role very seriously. I was doing Hedda Gabler here! The fact that there was hard-core sex involved was incidental as far as I was concerned. I was totally deluded. I had made myself believe that I was an actress. I was showing true life as it really was, including actual sex as it really happened, instead of the phony stuff that you got from Hollywood. That was my raison d'etre throughout the whole thing. It was okay; I was okay; I wasn't a slut.

— Georgina Spelvin, on Devil in Miss Jones[14]

In 1973, Robert Berkvist, writing in The New York Times, commented that "'Miss Jones' is as familiar in [the respectable and well-to-do New York suburb of] Scarsdale as she is on Broadway."[citation needed]

In 1974, she appeared in the low-budget exploitation film Girls For Rent (aka I Spit on Your Corpse), for which she also served as costume designer.

The Devil in Miss Jones. This was the "birth" of Georgina Spelvin in 1974. From there it was, again, all downhill. This descent spiraled into the pits of sleaze-bag strip joints and alcoholism. Sobriety came November 11, 1981.

— Georgina Spelvin[6]

In 1974, while living in Maine, she was charged with transporting obscene materials across state lines for her film Devil in Miss Jones in Tennessee.[2] The charges were eventually dropped in 1977.[3]

In 1975, she moved to El Cajon, California, with Claire Lumiere (aka Judith Hamilton), met Vince Miranda and appeared in Take It Off at his theatre, the Off-Broadway.[16][17][18]

Spelvin appeared in more than 70 adult films, such as Desires Within Young Girls (1977), Sensual Encounters of Every Kind (1978), Honky Tonk Nights (1978), The Ecstasy Girls (1979), Ring of Desire (1981), and Center Spread Girls (1982), before retiring from the industry in 1982.[7]

Later life

Spelvin made cameo appearances in Police Academy (1984)[19] and Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986). She later had film roles in Bad Blood (1989), in which she was credited as "Ruth Raymond", Return to Justice (1990), and Next Year in Jerusalem (1997), as well as guest-starring roles on the television shows Dream On and The Lost World.

Spelvin learned desktop publishing and worked for the Los Angeles Times[7] until retiring from its staff in 2004.[6]

In 2004, she made a cameo appearance in Vivid Video's remake of The Devil in Miss Jones, titled The New Devil in Miss Jones.[20] Her role did not involve any sex acts. In 2005, she was interviewed for the documentary film Inside Deep Throat. In 2006, she was interviewed for the documentary film Devil in Miss Spelvin, a special feature intended for inclusion with Devil in Miss Jones: The Definitive Collector's Edition.[21]

In 2009, she appeared as herself in the video for Massive Attack's song "Paradise Circus."[22]

In 2011, Spelvin was a guest on an episode (season 1, episode 5) of the Showtime series Dave's Old Porn, in which she viewed and discussed clips from a number of her films (including The Devil in Miss Jones) with host Dave Attell and guest Adam Carolla. In 2017, Spelvin was interviewed in the documentary After Porn Ends 2, about her career in porn.[23]

Personal life

Spelvin met her future husband, actor John Welsh,[5] in 1983.

Autobiography

In May 2008, she published her autobiography, The Devil Made Me Do It,[24] and appeared on camera in a short web clip announcing its release; a self-published work, the book is available through her official website.[25]

Awards

Wins

Nominations

  • 2006: AVN Best Non-Sex Performance for The New Devil in Miss Jones[30]

References

  1. ^ a b "Leading lady faces obscenity charges". The Morning Record. Associated Press. August 2, 1974. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "In Trouble". People. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Spartanburg Herald Making the News 4/16/1977". Spartanburg Herald. Associated Press. April 16, 1977. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b c The Broadway League. "Chele Graham – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB". ibdb.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b "John Welsh". IMDb. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Georgina Spelvin. "Georgina Spelvin". glaws.org. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Michael Varhola (2011). Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State. Clerisy Press. pp. 24–27. ISBN 978-1-57860-459-3. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  8. ^ Varhola, Michael (19 July 2011). Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State. Clerisy Press. ISBN 9781578604586. Retrieved 29 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Photos". 4 September 2010. Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  10. ^ "image: Georgina Spelvin; FamousDude.com - Famous people photo catalog". famousdude.com. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  11. ^ a b c 'Georgina Spelvin: The Devil, Miss Jones, and the New York Years', The Rialto Report: Audio interview with Georgina Spelvin
  12. ^ Corliss, Richard (March 29, 2005). "That Old Feeling: When Porno Was Chic". Time. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  13. ^ Robinson, Johnny (July 26, 1974). "Chele Graham Released On 10,000 Bail". Lewiston Evening Journal. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  14. ^ a b Corliss, Richard (29 March 2005). "That Old Feeling: When Porno Was Chic". Time. Retrieved 29 April 2018 – via content.time.com.
  15. ^ "The Milwaukee Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Famous Former Neighbors: Georgina Spelvin, Part 1 - San Diego Reader". www.sandiegoreader.com. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Famous Former Neighbors: Georgina Spelvin, Part 2 - San Diego Reader". www.sandiegoreader.com. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Pussycat Theaters – a comprehensive history of a California dynasty". sandiegoreader.com. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  19. ^ Images, Historic. "1984 Press Photo Police Academy Steve Guttenberg Georgina Spelvin". Historic Images. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Georgie Rocks The House". Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  21. ^ "Clair Lumiere in The Devil in Miss Jones - Definitive Collector's Edition". XCritic.com. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  22. ^ "Massive Attack - Paradise Circus". Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  23. ^ Cobb, Kayla (May 31, 2017). "'After Porn Ends 2' Focuses On What Happens To Porn Stars When The Cameras Stop Rolling". The Decider. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  24. ^ Spelvin, Georgina (20 March 2008). The Devil Made Me Do It. Georginas World Inc. ISBN 978-0615199078.
  25. ^ "The Devil Made Her Do It". Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  26. ^ a b c d e f "rame awards list". Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  27. ^ "Winners of XRCO Awards 1991".
  28. ^ "AVN Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  29. ^ "XRCO Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  30. ^ "AVN 2006 Nominations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-02.