John Holmes (actor)

John Curtis Estes (August 8, 1944 ? March 13, 1988) better known as John Holmes, John C. Holmes or Johnny Wadd (after the lead character in a series of related films), was a porn star of the 1970s and 1980s that included one gay film and a handful of gay loops. Holmes is best known for his large penis (generally estimated at between 12-15 inches), his involvement in the brutal Wonderland Murders in 1981, and his death from AIDS. He starred in a large number of loops and features and is one of the most famous male porn stars of all-time.

Penis Length

Despite his acting ability, what made Holmes famous was, of course, his penis. At the start of his cinematic career, Holmes was widely publicized as having a penis ranging from 13.5 inches to 15 inches (34 - 38 cm). Holmes's actual maximum length when erect was probably 12.5 inches (32 cm). One of the reasons behind the discrepancies between the various measurements stemmed from the fact that in his early loops, the majority of women Holmes performed with were 5'2" (~157cm) in height or less. When erect, relative to a body of that diminutive stature, the illusion that Holmes' advertised penile length of 15" (38cm)was accurate. However, despite having a "nice guy" reputation around the 70's porn loop industry, many porn actresses began to refuse to perform with him more than once, citing "self preservation" as the sole motive. As a result, producers were forced to hire taller actresses and/or actresses whose physical characteristics could more easily accept a penis of Holmes' size. As films and loops began to appear with these newer, taller and/or larger co-stars, the distributors began billing Holmes with gradually reducing the advertised length. In mid 1974, he was billed as being 14.5", then for over a year at 13.5", then as 13.0" for another year after that. Eventually, after a three-year decline, the shrinkage eventually stopped, with the "official" measurement being 12.5".

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In 1976, a sexual aid manufacturing company that was partnered with the major "Sweedish Erotica" distributor in North America, a company called "Eric Imports", licensed Holmes' name, image and penis as part of a line of dildos. One particular model was cast from Holmes' entire set of genetalia, from the head to the scrotum. The length of the dildo from uretrhal tip to shaft base was only ~12.5" (32cm). When this device became available for sale, all of the advertisements for Holmes' loops and films began billing him as being that length, and always having been that length. This led to some humorous mentions in some of the porn industry news circles as having been more the result of Holmes "wearing down his dick from too much screwing" than avoiding any sort of false advertising lawsuit.

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Penis length wasn't the only statistic that was questionable. In 1981, Holmes began to spread the rumour that he had sex with 14,000 women. However, more realistic estimates, such as that of Luke Ford, put the figure at around 3,000. If you assume Holmes' first experience with a woman occurred at 16 as he claimed, then he would have had to have made love to ~666 different women a year - ~1.8 women a day - for the 21 years that had passed. Quick estimates based on the number of loops where Holmes did in fact perform a sexual act with at least one woman, taking into account the age Holmes lost his virginity at +/= 1 year from the age he claims, allowing for sexual encounters not performed before a camera, and further mitigated by counting a performing partner only once - again, some actresses, such as Dorothea "Seka" Patton, Connie "Little French Maid" Peterson, Eileen Welles, Victoria Waters, Linda McDowell, Juliet "Aunt Peg" Anderson, and Desiree Cousteau, made numerous loops with Holmes in the 70's - Ford's estimates of 3000 by 1981 is closer to being realistic.

Related Topics:
Luke Ford - Seka - Aunt Peg - Desiree Cousteau

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On a side note, it should be pointed out that two other media personalities have made similar claims regarding their sexual activities. Both KISS bassist Gene Simmons and Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain have claimed to have slept with "thousands" of women during their careers, with "Wilt the Stilt" quoting the 14,000 figure live on an episode of Geraldo Rivera's syndicated talk show in 1990. Again, doing the same math as Luke Ford, dividing the claimed number by three may produce more believable results.

Related Topics:
Gene Simmons - Wilt Chamberlain

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