Georgina Spelvin

Georgina Spelvin (born March 1, 1936) is the stage name of Shelley Bob Graham,[1][6] a former American actress and pornographic performer who is 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).

For the theatre pseudonym, see George Spelvin.
Georgina Spelvin
Spelvin in 2008
Born
Shelley Bob Graham[1]

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

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

Spelvin 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 as Shelley Graham.[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 underground film scene.

"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."
(on Devil in Miss Jones)
- Georgina Spelvin[14]

Pornography

The stage name she adopted is a variation on George Spelvin, a name 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 Harry Reems, 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.

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."

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 with Claire Lumiere (AKA Judith Hamilton), met Vince Miranda and appeared in Take it Off at his Off Broadway.[16][17][18]

Spelvin appeared in over 70 adult films before retiring from the industry in 1982.[7]

Later life

Spelvin made cameo appearances in Police Academy[19] and Police Academy 3: Back in Training. She later had film roles in Bad Blood, in which she was credited as "Ruth Raymond," and Next Year in Jerusalem 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] till she retired from its staff in 2004.[6]

In 2004, she made a cameo appearance in Vivid Video's remake of The Devil in Miss Jones, which is titled The New Devil in Miss Jones.[20] Her role is not believed to have involved 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.

Personal life

Spelvin met her husband, actor John Welsh,[5] in 1983 and married January 16, 2000.

Autobiography

In May 2008, she published her autobiography, The Devil Made Me Do It,[23] and appeared on camera in a short web clip announcing its release on the internet. A self-published work, the book is available through her official website, Georgiespelvin.com.[24]

Awards

Wins

  • 1976 AFAA Best Supporting Actress for Ping Pong [25]
  • 1977 AFAA Best Actress for Desires Within Young Girls[25]
  • 1978 AFAA Best Supporting Actress for Take Off[25]
  • 1979 AFAA Best Supporting Actress for Ecstasy Girls[25]
  • 1980 AFAA Best Supporting Actress for Urban Cowgirls[25]
  • 1981 AFAA Best Actress for Dancers[25]
  • 1991 XRCO Award Lifetime Achievement Award[26]
  • AVN Hall of Fame[27]
  • XRCO Hall of Fame[28]

Nominations

  • 2006 AVN Best Non-Sex Performance for The Devil in Miss Jones[29]
gollark: Why not an enum or something?
gollark: Isn't bytecode a bit of pointless indirection for simple stuff?
gollark: ... 20 or so?
gollark: Is there a description of the stuff in your language somewhere?
gollark: Well, not constantly, but a bit.

References
  1. "Leading lady faces obscenity charges". The Morning Record. Associated Press. August 2, 1974. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. "In Trouble". people.com. People Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  3. "Spartanburg Herald Making the News 4/16/1977". Spartanburg Herald. Associated Press. April 16, 1977. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  4. The Broadway League. "Chele Graham – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB". ibdb.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  5. "John Welsh". IMDb. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  6. Georgina Spelvin. "Georgina Spelvin". glaws.org. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  7. 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. 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. '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. Corliss, Richard (29 March 2005). "That Old Feeling: When Porno Was Chic". Retrieved 29 April 2018 – via content.time.com.
  15. "The Milwaukee Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  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". XCritic.com. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  22. "Massive Attack - Paradise Circus". Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  23. results, search (20 March 2008). "The Devil Made Me Do It". Georginas World Inc. Retrieved 28 April 2018 – via Amazon.
  24. "The Devil Made Her Do It". Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  25. "rame awards list". Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  26. "Winners of XRCO Awards 1991".
  27. "AVN Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  28. "XRCO Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  29. "AVN 2006 Nominations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
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