Top 5 Porn Mustaches Of The Golden Age

There's a theory that the reason why porn's Golden Age turned out so many memorable movies in the '70s and early '80s — "Behind the Green Door," "Deep Throat," and "The Devil in Miss Jones" among others — was because American popular culture at the time was drowning in cheese. Disco, bell bottoms and cocaine meshed perfectly with the tacky chic of porn movies at the time.

While some male performers in the present day sport facial hair, it's few and far between and usually a pair of mutton chops or a soul patch. But if there's anything that defined that brief, brilliant moment of adult entertainment history, it's the prevalence of the mustache on male performers.

Here's a reflection of five of the most famous mustaches and their owners from porn's heyday and the heyday of these hairy soup strainers.

1. John Holmes
If you lived in the '70s, and I've only been there in time traveling Delorians, you'd notice just how much John Holmes fit in. His lanky, gangly frame was indicative of the kind of men that filled the dance floor on weekends (his freakishly large dick and notoriously larger coke problem aside) asking women "Hey baby, what's your sign?" But what really made John a man of his decade (aside from being the biggest porn star of his time and, arguably, of all time) was the thin, scraggly thing that sat on his upper lip. Only in the '70s would that be considered a good idea.

2. Johnnie Keyes
Known as one of the first notable black male performers, Keyes and the Mitchell Brothers caused a small controversy when he performed with a very young and very new Marilyn Chambers in "Behind the Green Door." Unlike the other John on the list, Keyes and his much fuller and manly mustache just adds to his mystique. With an active career that spanned the '70s and '80s, Keyes has about 60 titles to his name. While that's nothing compared to the number of movies guys do nowadays, consider that there's a lot of untitled loops that Keyes performed in that easily makes him as prolific as his contemporaries.

3. Harry Reems
Best remembered as the doctor who discovers why Linda Lovelace loves to suck cock so much in "Deep Throat," Reems was in some ways the antithesis of John Holmes with his fit and built body. More importantly, for the purposes of this list, his 'stache is of a Tom Selleck/"Magnum P.I." gloriousness that really sets him off from Holmes. But well defined mustaches may also be indicative of voting Republican — in the same way Selleck is an outspoken conservative, Reems is now a Mormon.

4. Sasha Gabor
Looking uncannily like Burt Reynolds with a mustache of nearly Fu Manchu proportions at times, the late Sasha Gabor's performing career came in at the tail end of the Golden Age with credits in "Every Woman Has a Fantasy" and "Ginger." Hungarian by birth and Hungarian in the adult industry long before anyone would associate Budapest with a ready supply of blondes who are ready and willing to do anything, Gabor's probably known by most today as the owner of Heatwave.

5. Ron Jeremy
You knew Ron would make this list. Ron makes EVERY list that has anything to do with male porn stars. But I digress. The story passed down from set to set in hushed tones says Ron Jeremy's claim to fame when he got into the industry was that he could suck his own dick. In fact, there's a few movies where you can see him do it. When you do see him pleasuring his own knob and wondering if it's gay or not, you'll also see the same mustache he sports today, albeit with a few less pounds and fewer hairs on his head.

This post is a part of Fleshbot's Bobbi Starr Week.