Suze Randall (above), her husband Humphry Knipe, and her daughter Holly have been one of the most influential families in the adult industry of the last 40 years.
– Suze is a former model, who shot many photographic layouts for Playboy, Hustler, Penthouse and more.
– Humphry directed a series of acclaimed adult films in the mid 1980s, under the name Victor Nye, which starred the likes of Ginger Lynn, Harry Reems and Lisa De Leeuw.
– And Holly is one of the world’s leading adult photographers, who photographs for many sites, including her own, HollyRandall.com, as well as presenting a reality show on Playboy TV.
Together their involvement in the adult industry dates back to the early 1970s when Suze was a midwife nurse in England, who started nude modeling as a way of earning extra money. Within a few years, she was at the heart of the adult magazine industry in Los Angeles, dealing, and often fighting, with the egos of Hugh Hefner, Larry Flynt, and Bob Guccione.
Then Humphry made films for the notorious Reuben Sturman, including several movies with Traci Lords that were made just before it was revealed that Traci was in fact an underage performer.
Today Holly carries on the family tradition, in an internet age where free content is plentiful and the emphasis is often on quantity rather than quality.
On this episode of The Rialto Report, Ashley West speaks to Suze, Humphry, and Holly, to find out what the adult business was like in the golden age, and how much it has changed today. How profitable was it then – and how profitable is it now? What was it like to shoot the most famous adult film stars of the time? What really went on at the Playboy Mansion, and how crazy was Larry Flynt? And what was it like to wake up one day to the news that all the pictures of your favorite model had to be trashed immediately, and you could face decades locked up in jail?
We’re also pleased to show two collections of photographs; first a selection of images from Suze’s career as a model and photographer, and secondly we’re indebted to Suze.net for allowing us to present a collection of her photographs of golden age adult film stars from the 1980s.
Special thanks to Michael Nirenberg for assisting with this episode.
This episode running time is 67 minutes.
For more details, please visit the following sites:
Suze Randall’s website
Holly Randall’s website
Holly Randall’s blog
‘Suze: The Girl Who Clicked on Both Sides of the Playboy Camera’ (1977) – Humphry’s original account of Suze’s rise to fame
‘Lies, Love & Porn’ (2010) – Humphry’s novelized account of the Traci Lords scandal
‘Back Issues’ (2014) – Michael Nirenberg’s documentary about Larry Flynt, which features Suze, Humphry and Holly