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Downloaded from
YTS.BZ
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.BZ
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Okay, for those of you who don't know
what this is all about...
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good, we'll keep you in suspense.
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Hi, I'm Robin Byrd
and this is the Robin Byrd Show.
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And what I want everyone to do
is to get comfortable.
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You're probably with a loved one,
so snuggle up real close with them.
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And for those of you
who don't have a loved one,
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well, you always have me, Robin Byrd.
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Will you please welcome one of
New York's best-kept secrets, Robin Byrd.
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Everybody knows Robin Byrd!
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She's probably the record holder
of the most cable shows.
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That's what happens when you produce,
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direct, write, and whatever.
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She's a cultural avatar,
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and I think she loved the idea
that she was hosting
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the ultimate underground party.
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Robin was an important part
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of sex-positive feminism
and pleasure activism.
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And the more lubricated she becomes,
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the easier it is
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to insert the weenie.
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People dismissed her as camp,
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but the truth is
that Robin fought like hell
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for the gay community.
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Now, go get your rubbers while
I'm doing all this, you know.
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Meese today declared a federal crackdown
on obscene materials.
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Excuse me, but Robin...
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Robin, is this it? Fini?
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I'm putting up a big fight.
My fans are behind me 100%.
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Before you know it, we'll be censoring
everything in the United States.
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Books and what we learn in school.
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The fact is, once you speak out,
they'll come after you.
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Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!
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Being an activist is one thing,
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but when you're intentionally teaching,
it means you're an activator.
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That's what Robin was.
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Isn't it indecent?
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The human body is not indecent.
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What is indecent?
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Wow, I haven't had
anybody in this apartment
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in over 20 years.
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It's hard to find things in here.
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Oh, here's my costume.
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It's a crochet bikini
that I would wear on the show.
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Yep, it's stretched out, alright.
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Nope, doesn't smell.
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So, that's this.
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This should go in a museum.
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As you can see,
I have the decks here
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and the DV cam.
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And transferring--
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And my audio board
is underneath all of those.
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Sit with Daddy.
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Go sit with Daddy. Baby, you can hear me?
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Yeah, I hear you,
and I'm not gonna say a word.
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That's Shelly.
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He never left, no matter how crazy I am.
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And these are all our children.
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We have more than 600 tapes.
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December 27th, 1989.
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Different century.
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They're numbered.
All my shows are numbered.
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So, these are the earlier ones.
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Here's one with Heather Hunter.
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It's always fun when Heather's on.
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Julie Bond was my first transsexual.
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She was beautiful. She was beautiful.
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I always thought it would be a good idea
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to get up close and personal
with Jeff Stryker.
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So we did an interview in bed
at my hotel in Vegas,
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and then we had sex and Shelly filmed it.
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And his dick was large.
It had girth.
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This is the first-- the Hot Legs show.
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Let's put this in the box.
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That is a super classic.
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This is one of the first shows I did.
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In 1976, there was a porn producer,
Bobby Hollander.
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And he had this TV show called Hot Legs,
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hosted by two porn stars.
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Bobby had begged me
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'cause nobody was in town to do the show.
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It was a half-hour show
on Thursday nights.
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They called me and said, "Do me a favor."
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And I'm like, "What?"
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"Well, can you come down and be a host?"
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And he was like, "Oh, please,
please, please, please."
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I'm like, "Okay, Bobby,
I'm gonna do this for you."
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The format, it was a film.
Like a short.
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Like a 8-millimeter short for 15 minutes.
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And then, the next 15 minutes,
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you opened up the phone lines
to the audience.
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This was the first time
that TV was interactive.
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And everybody
took all their hostilities out
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on this poor half-hour show
where they could talk to the TV.
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But first, some phone calls.
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And I was so reluctant
to push the first call
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because they weren't screened.
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- Hello?
- Hot Legs.
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Hot Legs, this is.
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I oozed "Please love me."
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Please don't hate me.
All I want is love for everybody.
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I want to know, what makes you so hot?
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All these lights here.
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And they're like, "You're great,
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we love you, you're so beautiful."
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You've got a great show. You got a hit.
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So, I was like, "Oh, thanks.
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I'm beautiful. Oh, great!"
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You know, there's nothing
like a compliment,
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especially on television.
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Hello. Your hot legs
are absolutely very delightful.
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And I said, "Oh, thank you."
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And, "You wanna say
anything about the film?"
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"No, we just want to see more of you."
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And I didn't get paid.
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My payment was all those compliments.
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You know, this was the '70s.
We didn't do things for money.
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I continued to go back every
Thursday to fill in for them.
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And the studio that we were
doing it at said,
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"Oh, there's no show tonight."
I'm like, "Why?"
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He says, "Well, Bobby Hollander
owes me a lot of money.
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"And until he pays me,
there's not gonna be any more show."
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And I said, "Well, I wanna do a show."
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And they said, "Well, you can't
call it the Hot Legs show."
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And I said, "Well,
what am I gonna call it?"
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And I said, well, Johnny Carson
had the Johnny Carson Show.
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Tom Snyder had the Tom Snyder Show.
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I'm gonna call it the Robin Byrd Show.
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I was the first woman
to bring adult programming to television.
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Well, it was mostly a male audience
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when it started out as Hot Legs
'cause it was run by a man.
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It was more geared towards men.
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And here I am, I have
a female's point of view,
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which is a lot softer.
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- Hello?
- Hi, how are you?
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I just want to know
why the show has changed
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from the Bobby Hollander Show
to now, of course, your name?
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Well, because I'm producing it now.
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Oh, very good.
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In the beginning, they said,
"You'll have to produce it yourself."
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And I said, "Okay, I'll produce it,"
not knowing what a producer does.
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Of course, 30 years, some-odd-years later,
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I know a producer
does everything, everything.
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- Hello?
- Yes, Robin.
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- Yes?
- Yes, I'd like to know
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what do you do
when you're not on the show?
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I'm constantly thinking about the show.
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I was always told that in TV,
you can't use white, black, or red.
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And I'm like, well, I'm gonna change that.
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I got my red background paper.
I had a black rug on the floor.
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I wore a black crochet bikini.
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And you know what? All those colors
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and psychedelic looks
that I added to the show,
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well, I taught the studio
how to do video feedback.
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And that's what you see on the show.
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We're gonna do some exercises now,
and that's all part of living these days.
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Back in those days,
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it wasn't common for women
to be bodybuilding.
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Now, you breathe...
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in from your diaphragm.
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So, I'd show everybody,
this is what I do for my body.
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I do squats, I do lunges.
This is my thing.
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You can do the same.
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Do leg circles.
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This is how I got my ass.
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And then, I had a five-minute story
that I would write,
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Byrd's Book of Bedtime Stories.
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My bedtime music, perhaps?
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This was X-rated fairy tales.
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So, I would turn you on and tuck you in.
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"He had taken her out to dinner,
and then he had taken her to a disco."
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I started having guests on the show
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after the Byrd's Book
of Bedtime Stories...
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because people didn't
understand the adult industry.
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They thought that everybody
walked around with dildos
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in their mouth and their ears,
and stuck up their butts.
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And I just wanted to show people
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that these are just human beings
that have a lot of talent.
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Mix me with vodka
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And call me Bloody Mary
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Mix me with hot sauce
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And I get pretty scary
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- Thank you.
- Oh, that's great!
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That's great!
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- Thank you.
- I love that. That's super.
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We were on once a week
on Wednesday night at midnight.
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'Cause it's hump day!
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And with me is Samantha Fox.
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And I want to...
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Mm.
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Cut.
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Oh, boy.
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If that wasn't hot enough
for you, we have more.
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Then later on,
as the show got more popular,
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I had up-and-comings
and all kinds of people.
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Lie back, get comfortable.
We have a great show for you tonight.
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First on line is Annie Sprinkle.
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I did a performance piece
on Robin's show
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about my 100 worst sexual experiences.
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We'd all go and promote
our stuff on Robin's show.
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That was like the internet.
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You've been doing postmodernism.
I like to call it porn-formances.
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- Porn-formance art.
- Oh, porn-formance, yeah.
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Robin was so passionate
about people in the sex industry,
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00:12:01,262 --> 00:12:04,057
and her heart really came through.
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- How you doing?
- Oh, I'm great, how are you?
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I've been watching a long time.
I think your show is great.
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00:12:07,852 --> 00:12:09,145
- Thank you.
- The first time I've gotten through.
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00:12:09,229 --> 00:12:10,271
Oh, thank you so much.
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00:12:10,355 --> 00:12:11,731
And you know what?
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00:12:11,814 --> 00:12:16,694
My show is still on in reruns today,
even though the technology is changing.
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00:12:16,778 --> 00:12:18,988
This is my cable box.
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00:12:19,072 --> 00:12:23,451
But in the beginning,
there was a sit-top thing
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00:12:23,534 --> 00:12:26,079
where you had a dial,
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00:12:26,162 --> 00:12:28,957
and then there was one with push buttons.
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00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:33,419
And the cable box has been
keeping me on for all these years.
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00:12:35,463 --> 00:12:38,508
In the '70s, buildings were getting taller
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00:12:38,591 --> 00:12:42,136
and your rabbit ear antennas
weren't picking up as much.
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00:12:42,220 --> 00:12:45,723
And they couldn't get the reception
from the antennas,
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00:12:45,807 --> 00:12:48,476
so that's why they decided to get cable.
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00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:53,064
Instead of sending signals through the air
like they did with broadcast TV,
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00:12:53,147 --> 00:12:55,066
they put cables under the streets.
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00:12:56,276 --> 00:12:58,319
Since the streets were public property,
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politicians and advocates demanded
that cable companies set aside
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00:13:02,198 --> 00:13:04,075
some channels for public use,
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00:13:04,158 --> 00:13:07,870
which would become public access TV,
the wild wild west of the boob tube.
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00:13:07,954 --> 00:13:09,706
Hi, welcome to Speak Out.
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00:13:09,789 --> 00:13:12,583
My name is Ken Sander,
and tonight's issue is,
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00:13:12,667 --> 00:13:14,544
should New Yorkers carry handguns?
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00:13:14,627 --> 00:13:19,173
The idea was that local community members
who were not represented on broadcast TV
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would be able to put
themselves on television.
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00:13:22,260 --> 00:13:23,594
There were church groups...
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00:13:23,678 --> 00:13:24,679
Come to Jesus
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00:13:24,762 --> 00:13:26,848
...community neighborhood associations.
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00:13:28,641 --> 00:13:30,143
Artists, activists.
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00:13:30,226 --> 00:13:32,687
Reagan, Connor, and Anderson.
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00:13:32,770 --> 00:13:35,648
That's what they are.
Call them the three musketeers.
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00:13:35,732 --> 00:13:38,776
Politics, town hall rants.
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00:13:38,860 --> 00:13:40,945
Canned wine.
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00:13:41,029 --> 00:13:46,200
Manhattan Cable actually handed out
free studio time to anyone who signed up.
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00:13:46,284 --> 00:13:49,203
As you can see from the hearts,
this is our Valentine's Day show,
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00:13:49,287 --> 00:13:50,872
so we have one of the most romantic bands
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00:13:50,955 --> 00:13:52,832
in New York City with us,
the Beastie Boys.
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00:13:52,915 --> 00:13:54,751
What you do is you put your fingers here,
you put your fingers there,
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00:13:54,834 --> 00:13:56,294
and you walk like this, see?
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No gatekeepers, no auditions.
248
00:13:58,504 --> 00:14:01,674
Just show up and boom, you're on TV.
249
00:14:01,758 --> 00:14:04,677
Mm, we have an excellent Burgundy today.
250
00:14:04,761 --> 00:14:07,013
A Fixin from Hervelets.
251
00:14:09,307 --> 00:14:12,393
And then, Manhattan Cable
added another channel,
252
00:14:12,477 --> 00:14:14,312
which was Channel J.
253
00:14:14,395 --> 00:14:16,230
Getting comfortable in swinging.
254
00:14:16,314 --> 00:14:20,151
Channel J was the first
leased access channel
255
00:14:20,234 --> 00:14:24,072
where you could rent time and sell ads.
256
00:14:24,155 --> 00:14:26,699
1-900-HOT-TOOL.
257
00:14:26,783 --> 00:14:31,245
As long as it wasn't considered
legally obscene,
258
00:14:31,329 --> 00:14:33,831
you could pretty much do
anything you wanted to do.
259
00:14:33,915 --> 00:14:36,209
We have the world's only
260
00:14:36,292 --> 00:14:38,086
weekly pot report.
261
00:14:38,169 --> 00:14:42,507
Our studio was an open door.
I didn't censor you. I didn't do anything.
262
00:14:42,590 --> 00:14:44,467
Only thing you couldn't do
in the studio was start a fire.
263
00:14:45,468 --> 00:14:46,886
Jim Chladek was a rebel.
264
00:14:46,969 --> 00:14:49,889
He had an office next door to Time Warner.
265
00:14:49,972 --> 00:14:55,103
And he somehow rigged
a wire in the alleyway
266
00:14:55,186 --> 00:14:59,607
between the two buildings
to connect it for live TV.
267
00:15:10,535 --> 00:15:11,869
That's an old tape.
268
00:15:11,953 --> 00:15:14,247
Why are you holding on to all your tapes?
269
00:15:15,331 --> 00:15:16,666
It's a good question.
270
00:15:17,583 --> 00:15:19,919
I don't know why
I'm holding on to the tapes.
271
00:15:22,213 --> 00:15:24,132
I don't need all these tapes.
272
00:15:24,924 --> 00:15:28,261
But I can't see myself
getting rid of them.
273
00:15:30,221 --> 00:15:34,892
These originals are gonna stay,
or are you gonna put them in storage?
274
00:15:34,976 --> 00:15:38,229
I'm not gonna continue
paying so much money for storage.
275
00:15:38,312 --> 00:15:40,523
You know, we're living on a fixed income.
276
00:15:40,606 --> 00:15:42,525
You wanna hold on to the physical tapes?
277
00:15:42,608 --> 00:15:44,360
Yeah, the physical tapes, sure.
278
00:15:44,444 --> 00:15:45,987
What are you gonna do with it,
throw it away?
279
00:15:46,070 --> 00:15:47,864
Things don't work anymore.
280
00:15:47,947 --> 00:15:50,283
The format's not the same.
281
00:15:50,366 --> 00:15:51,742
Destroy these tapes?
282
00:15:51,826 --> 00:15:53,619
What would happen if I die?
283
00:15:53,703 --> 00:15:55,329
- You know what's gonna happen?
- Oh, you're never gonna die.
284
00:15:55,413 --> 00:15:57,415
- Says who?
- I'm not magic.
285
00:15:57,498 --> 00:16:00,126
- What's gonna happen with it?
- You're never gonna die.
286
00:16:00,209 --> 00:16:01,586
- Really?
- Yes.
287
00:16:01,669 --> 00:16:03,004
What, you think I'm Superwoman?
288
00:16:03,087 --> 00:16:05,715
Yes. I know it.
289
00:16:05,798 --> 00:16:07,300
Okay, but if I die,
290
00:16:07,383 --> 00:16:10,094
city marshal's gonna come in
here and throw everything away.
291
00:16:10,178 --> 00:16:14,056
It only means something to you and me
because we put our life into it.
292
00:16:17,435 --> 00:16:20,354
Ah, dealing with dementia.
293
00:16:21,314 --> 00:16:23,608
I'm not gonna win at this one.
294
00:16:36,162 --> 00:16:38,331
Central Park is my backyard.
295
00:16:38,414 --> 00:16:43,127
This is where I come to
get away and to have me time.
296
00:16:44,170 --> 00:16:46,297
I used to come here with Shelly, too,
297
00:16:46,380 --> 00:16:48,424
but now he has dementia.
298
00:16:49,759 --> 00:16:51,636
So, it's usually just me and Om.
299
00:16:57,308 --> 00:16:59,977
I was born and raised in Manhattan.
300
00:17:01,479 --> 00:17:03,731
I was adopted at childbirth,
301
00:17:03,814 --> 00:17:08,486
and I was taken away from my mother
right then and there at birth.
302
00:17:09,529 --> 00:17:13,241
My adopted father was an antiques dealer,
303
00:17:13,324 --> 00:17:15,284
and I would hang out
in the store with him.
304
00:17:16,244 --> 00:17:19,372
But he always loved me.
I was Daddy's little girl.
305
00:17:23,251 --> 00:17:25,461
My dad died when I was eight.
306
00:17:27,338 --> 00:17:28,881
Everything changed.
307
00:17:31,259 --> 00:17:33,970
My adopted mother,
she took a lot out on me.
308
00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:37,265
She drank and cried and screamed.
309
00:17:37,348 --> 00:17:41,185
She would always say I wasn't
going to amount to anything,
310
00:17:41,269 --> 00:17:43,938
and that I was ugly.
311
00:17:44,021 --> 00:17:47,400
And we got into a big fight,
and she said to me,
312
00:17:47,483 --> 00:17:50,945
"Well, if you don't
like it here, then get out."
313
00:17:51,028 --> 00:17:54,574
And I'm like, "Okay, bye."
314
00:17:56,951 --> 00:18:00,204
And I ran away, and I packed up
whatever I thought I needed,
315
00:18:00,288 --> 00:18:01,998
which wasn't much,
316
00:18:02,081 --> 00:18:04,292
slept in Central Park
for a couple of days.
317
00:18:05,459 --> 00:18:08,087
There were hippies everywhere.
318
00:18:08,170 --> 00:18:09,922
It was freedom.
319
00:18:11,007 --> 00:18:15,386
The '60s was the awakening
of love and sex.
320
00:18:17,763 --> 00:18:21,642
You could come out of
the closet with your sexuality.
321
00:18:21,726 --> 00:18:24,812
And that's when I realized
I really liked women, too.
322
00:18:26,355 --> 00:18:29,734
I had a girlfriend, and she
knew I needed a place to stay,
323
00:18:29,817 --> 00:18:32,903
so she suggested that I come
live with her and her family.
324
00:18:41,203 --> 00:18:46,083
Fast-forward, I took a GED
and I got into college.
325
00:18:49,587 --> 00:18:51,088
I wanted to be an art director.
326
00:18:51,172 --> 00:18:54,759
I wanted to be a creative director.
I wanted to be the director.
327
00:18:56,469 --> 00:18:59,013
So, I went to School of Visual Arts.
328
00:18:59,096 --> 00:19:01,307
I started taking some art classes.
329
00:19:01,390 --> 00:19:03,768
And I needed money.
330
00:19:03,851 --> 00:19:08,022
So, I posed for line, you know, drawing,
and I had to be naked.
331
00:19:11,150 --> 00:19:14,403
My friend said that,
"If you're already modeling nude,
332
00:19:14,487 --> 00:19:16,072
"and you're comfortable with it,
333
00:19:16,155 --> 00:19:19,075
why don't you enter this
Miss All Bare America contest?"
334
00:19:20,117 --> 00:19:24,205
Now, ladies and gentlemen,
let's take a look at Number 8.
335
00:19:24,288 --> 00:19:25,748
Here she comes.
336
00:19:26,916 --> 00:19:30,336
It was like Miss USA,
but it was all bare.
337
00:19:32,171 --> 00:19:33,506
Let's hear it.
338
00:19:35,132 --> 00:19:36,509
Aren't they something?
339
00:19:36,592 --> 00:19:39,929
All shapes, sizes, colors,
East and West...
340
00:19:40,012 --> 00:19:42,390
High Society magazine saw me
341
00:19:42,473 --> 00:19:46,560
and asked me to do a layout
for the Christmas issue.
342
00:19:49,605 --> 00:19:54,110
My whole life I was told I'm ugly,
according to my mother.
343
00:19:55,236 --> 00:19:56,570
She got that wrong.
344
00:19:57,947 --> 00:20:00,366
I realized, yeah, I have a bitchin' body.
345
00:20:01,283 --> 00:20:03,035
I got a great ass.
346
00:20:06,163 --> 00:20:07,623
'70s was fun.
347
00:20:07,707 --> 00:20:11,001
Disco, orgies.
348
00:20:11,085 --> 00:20:12,545
I was the orgy queen.
349
00:20:14,004 --> 00:20:15,464
The birth control pill
350
00:20:15,548 --> 00:20:18,384
becoming accessible changed women's lives.
351
00:20:18,467 --> 00:20:22,054
They could have lots of sex
without fear of getting pregnant.
352
00:20:22,138 --> 00:20:25,975
So, they went wild
and they started experimenting
353
00:20:26,058 --> 00:20:28,561
and having lots of sex partners.
354
00:20:28,644 --> 00:20:30,020
This age of permissiveness
355
00:20:30,104 --> 00:20:32,982
may have finally found
its ultimate expression.
356
00:20:33,065 --> 00:20:34,734
A sexual Disneyland
357
00:20:34,817 --> 00:20:37,194
where you can live out
your wildest fantasies.
358
00:20:37,278 --> 00:20:40,823
I used to go to Plato's Retreat,
which was a sex swingers club.
359
00:20:41,657 --> 00:20:44,535
And I used to love going there
because I love sex.
360
00:20:44,618 --> 00:20:46,203
I loved it.
361
00:20:47,580 --> 00:20:49,540
And I was having sex with the people
362
00:20:49,623 --> 00:20:53,419
who were in the porn films off camera.
363
00:20:53,502 --> 00:20:56,380
So, they said, "Well, if you're
gonna do it off camera...
364
00:20:57,465 --> 00:21:00,384
why don't you do it on camera
and get paid for it?"
365
00:21:00,468 --> 00:21:02,052
And I'm like, "Oh, okay."
366
00:21:04,847 --> 00:21:07,016
Is she not attractive, monsieur?
367
00:21:07,099 --> 00:21:08,225
Ah, oui, oui.
368
00:21:08,309 --> 00:21:10,186
And so, I started doing films.
369
00:21:10,269 --> 00:21:11,604
Do it, Glenna.
370
00:21:11,687 --> 00:21:13,230
Do whatever you want to me.
371
00:21:14,648 --> 00:21:19,403
My most famous film is Debbie Does Dallas.
372
00:21:20,738 --> 00:21:23,574
I was Mrs. Hardwick of the candle store.
373
00:21:26,744 --> 00:21:30,539
They premiered at
the Pussycat Theater in Times Square.
374
00:21:33,793 --> 00:21:35,211
I mean, back in the day,
375
00:21:35,294 --> 00:21:38,297
the New York Times
had ads for X-rated films.
376
00:21:38,380 --> 00:21:41,842
Deep Throat kind of launched
that golden era porn chic.
377
00:21:44,053 --> 00:21:47,306
This is Harry Reems,
and I'm interviewing Robin Byrd.
378
00:21:48,265 --> 00:21:50,518
No! And Veronica Hart?
379
00:21:50,601 --> 00:21:52,228
I'll tell you what,
you give me your autograph,
380
00:21:52,311 --> 00:21:54,313
- I'll give you my phone number.
- Oh, yeah!
381
00:21:55,564 --> 00:21:57,441
I'll go for that, sure.
382
00:21:57,525 --> 00:21:59,777
Movie theaters were showing these films,
383
00:21:59,860 --> 00:22:02,571
and you could go
with your husband or wife.
384
00:22:03,864 --> 00:22:07,993
And the porn stars all came,
and the paparazzi were there.
385
00:22:08,077 --> 00:22:10,204
And it was like
any other premiere or movie
386
00:22:10,287 --> 00:22:13,499
that you would go to like any other film.
387
00:22:13,582 --> 00:22:16,502
No fucking way do I have any regrets.
388
00:22:16,585 --> 00:22:19,129
I have done 13 films.
389
00:22:19,213 --> 00:22:21,924
I didn't set out to do these things.
390
00:22:22,007 --> 00:22:25,636
My life has been
always like I'm a pinball,
391
00:22:25,719 --> 00:22:29,890
and I hit one bumper,
and then I go to another bumper.
392
00:22:29,974 --> 00:22:31,517
I mean, that's how I met Shelly.
393
00:22:32,977 --> 00:22:34,770
I'm filming in the park,
394
00:22:34,854 --> 00:22:38,190
and I see a familiar face
sitting on the rock.
395
00:22:38,274 --> 00:22:39,733
It was Shelly.
396
00:22:39,817 --> 00:22:43,445
So, I walk over to him
and I went, "Hi, remember me?
397
00:22:43,529 --> 00:22:46,991
We met in Fire Island just last summer."
398
00:22:51,453 --> 00:22:56,417
I think it was love at first sight.
399
00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:58,043
Well, second sight.
400
00:23:03,340 --> 00:23:04,800
We had a lot in common.
401
00:23:04,884 --> 00:23:09,930
I was interested in art,
and he was the artist.
402
00:23:11,181 --> 00:23:14,894
He was a hot shit art director,
creative director.
403
00:23:14,977 --> 00:23:16,896
He had his own ad agency,
404
00:23:16,979 --> 00:23:19,648
but he worked
with all these big advertisers.
405
00:23:20,524 --> 00:23:25,613
He was, you know, a big deal,
but that didn't attract me to him.
406
00:23:25,696 --> 00:23:27,656
What attracted me to him was the fact
407
00:23:27,740 --> 00:23:30,701
that he was so sensitive and warm,
408
00:23:30,784 --> 00:23:34,580
and he was the woman
that I always wanted to marry.
409
00:23:36,332 --> 00:23:41,629
We had sex in different little places
that he would never think of having sex.
410
00:23:41,712 --> 00:23:43,297
But I was always on top.
411
00:23:46,091 --> 00:23:47,509
We moved in together,
412
00:23:47,593 --> 00:23:49,762
and we've been
in the same place since then.
413
00:24:00,272 --> 00:24:04,485
Happy birthday, dear Robin
414
00:24:04,568 --> 00:24:07,738
- Happy birthday to you
- ...to me
415
00:24:10,157 --> 00:24:12,701
Thank you! Now, everybody strip!
416
00:24:17,748 --> 00:24:21,585
Hi. My name is Shelly.
I live in a shoe.
417
00:24:21,669 --> 00:24:24,630
This is my friend Robin.
She's in there, too.
418
00:24:27,424 --> 00:24:28,884
Woo-hoo!
419
00:24:28,968 --> 00:24:32,137
This is my 69th birthday.
420
00:24:32,221 --> 00:24:34,890
A sexy number. Mm, mm, mm.
421
00:24:34,974 --> 00:24:38,644
Last year, it was 68.
You do me, I owe you one.
422
00:24:40,479 --> 00:24:41,814
Oh, this is so good.
423
00:24:41,897 --> 00:24:44,775
- Who needs real food? Mm!
- Oh, wow.
424
00:24:44,858 --> 00:24:46,318
Whipped cream.
425
00:24:46,402 --> 00:24:49,655
I was in a film where I was
covered with whipped cream once.
426
00:24:51,323 --> 00:24:52,616
It's so delicious,
427
00:24:52,700 --> 00:24:54,451
but it's so hard to get off your skin.
428
00:24:54,535 --> 00:24:55,869
Do you remember I came home,
429
00:24:55,953 --> 00:24:58,747
and I had to shower and bathe for like--
430
00:24:58,831 --> 00:25:00,582
Three weeks.
431
00:25:00,666 --> 00:25:04,086
I was a sundae,
and people ate it off my body.
432
00:25:05,504 --> 00:25:06,880
Yum!
433
00:25:08,257 --> 00:25:09,091
Ah!
434
00:25:09,174 --> 00:25:12,136
How many years have you and I
been coming here for my birthday?
435
00:25:12,219 --> 00:25:13,387
One.
436
00:25:13,470 --> 00:25:15,514
- That's not true.
- Two.
437
00:25:15,597 --> 00:25:17,683
- No.
- Three.
438
00:25:17,766 --> 00:25:22,980
We've been together almost 50--
we'll be together 50 years this July,
439
00:25:23,063 --> 00:25:26,942
so 45 years at least you and I
have been coming here.
440
00:25:27,026 --> 00:25:28,277
How did you meet me?
441
00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:30,654
Oh, I met the Byrd...
442
00:25:32,031 --> 00:25:32,865
Do you remember?
443
00:25:32,948 --> 00:25:34,700
No.
444
00:25:34,783 --> 00:25:36,118
Yes, you do.
445
00:25:37,703 --> 00:25:39,705
- You don't remember?
- Give me a hint.
446
00:25:39,788 --> 00:25:41,123
Fire Island.
447
00:25:44,334 --> 00:25:46,587
I mean, he's still a jokester
and he's still funny,
448
00:25:46,670 --> 00:25:48,422
but he's not the same.
449
00:25:50,132 --> 00:25:52,217
He was there when we signed the contract
450
00:25:52,301 --> 00:25:55,971
with Manhattan cable that
we were gonna be producers.
451
00:25:58,891 --> 00:26:01,977
And then, in the studio,
he made sure the crew
452
00:26:02,061 --> 00:26:03,395
did what they were supposed to do.
453
00:26:03,479 --> 00:26:07,149
We had a cameraman,
a sound person who was deaf,
454
00:26:07,232 --> 00:26:09,359
a technical director who was colorblind,
455
00:26:09,443 --> 00:26:10,819
and me.
456
00:26:13,238 --> 00:26:15,157
We called him Mr. Head Gopher,
457
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,869
and that was Shelly's,
Mr. Head Gopher's job,
458
00:26:18,952 --> 00:26:23,499
was to answer the phone
and tell them to hold on.
459
00:26:23,582 --> 00:26:24,750
And I would always say,
460
00:26:24,833 --> 00:26:28,212
"He gives the fastest head in the city.
Coffee, tea, and head."
461
00:26:29,296 --> 00:26:30,380
Head Gopher.
462
00:26:30,464 --> 00:26:32,591
Mr. Gopher, go back in your hole.
463
00:26:33,967 --> 00:26:36,220
I don't call him by his name.
464
00:26:36,303 --> 00:26:38,680
Well, Mr. Gopher's screening,
what can I say?
465
00:26:38,764 --> 00:26:40,349
475-1550...
466
00:26:40,432 --> 00:26:44,853
My audience has this
imagination of who I am.
467
00:26:44,937 --> 00:26:46,438
I'm their fantasy.
468
00:26:46,522 --> 00:26:48,649
I mean, nobody knew we were married.
469
00:26:48,732 --> 00:26:54,696
This is probably a complete shock
to know that I've been with him since '74.
470
00:26:54,780 --> 00:26:56,824
Me, the orgy queen?
471
00:26:57,825 --> 00:27:00,285
But he never judged me.
472
00:27:02,538 --> 00:27:05,791
I called Shelly the Head Gopher.
473
00:27:06,667 --> 00:27:09,503
But he was so much more than that.
474
00:27:09,586 --> 00:27:11,380
He's so much more than that.
475
00:27:21,390 --> 00:27:24,810
It's a whole different story
with the dementia.
476
00:27:28,188 --> 00:27:29,398
- Hi.
- Hi.
477
00:27:29,481 --> 00:27:30,941
Hello! How are you?
478
00:27:31,024 --> 00:27:32,693
Hey, you guys. Hey, you guys.
479
00:27:32,776 --> 00:27:35,737
Hey, you guys. Hey, you guys.
Hey, you guys. Hey, you guys.
480
00:27:35,821 --> 00:27:37,239
- Hello.
- Good afternoon.
481
00:27:37,322 --> 00:27:38,991
Hey, you guys.
Hey, you guys. Hey, you guys.
482
00:27:39,074 --> 00:27:40,909
Hello, travelers.
483
00:27:40,993 --> 00:27:42,828
- Hi, Robin.
- How are you?
484
00:27:42,911 --> 00:27:44,830
The Byrd, the Byrd, the Byrd!
485
00:27:45,747 --> 00:27:47,249
This is where I sit every morning.
486
00:27:47,332 --> 00:27:49,001
I know, but you're not gonna sit here now.
487
00:27:49,084 --> 00:27:50,335
No, that's for sure.
488
00:27:50,419 --> 00:27:51,628
We have to make the boat.
489
00:27:51,712 --> 00:27:53,005
You bet.
490
00:27:56,925 --> 00:27:59,011
It's our 50th anniversary.
491
00:28:01,138 --> 00:28:04,975
The first time Shelly and I crossed paths
492
00:28:05,058 --> 00:28:07,227
was right here on Fire Island.
493
00:28:09,646 --> 00:28:12,524
I wanted to see if I could
jog his memory a little.
494
00:28:14,151 --> 00:28:17,779
Just wanted to have him regain something.
495
00:28:20,782 --> 00:28:23,243
- Hey. Thanks, man.
- Happy birthday.
496
00:28:23,327 --> 00:28:25,996
Does this look familiar?
497
00:28:27,915 --> 00:28:29,666
No.
498
00:28:29,750 --> 00:28:32,002
So, why are we here?
499
00:28:32,085 --> 00:28:33,754
I'm here because I love you.
500
00:28:33,837 --> 00:28:36,340
We're not gonna be
walking all the way down there.
501
00:28:36,423 --> 00:28:38,592
Uh-huh. Yeah, come on.
502
00:28:38,675 --> 00:28:41,345
No. You don't want to do that.
503
00:28:47,142 --> 00:28:49,519
That's it. This is the end
of the line for me.
504
00:28:51,063 --> 00:28:52,814
You don't wanna go any further?
505
00:28:52,898 --> 00:28:54,358
That's right.
506
00:28:54,441 --> 00:28:56,109
Alright, maybe we can leave you
507
00:28:56,193 --> 00:28:57,819
- and I can walk further?
- Sure.
508
00:28:59,947 --> 00:29:04,201
It's really hot,
and I didn't realize how far it was.
509
00:29:04,284 --> 00:29:07,829
I mean, I was 19, 17, 18, whatever I was.
510
00:29:07,913 --> 00:29:11,166
And it's a little too much for him.
511
00:29:12,167 --> 00:29:15,504
And I don't want him, you know, he's 84.
512
00:29:35,023 --> 00:29:36,525
You know something?
513
00:29:37,567 --> 00:29:39,695
I think it was this house.
514
00:29:40,821 --> 00:29:42,572
But it's been changed.
515
00:29:42,656 --> 00:29:46,535
Oh, way, way different than 50 years ago.
516
00:29:48,495 --> 00:29:49,913
That's me. Yeah.
517
00:29:51,039 --> 00:29:52,249
Are you familiar with my--
518
00:29:53,417 --> 00:29:56,837
Hi! May I take a picture of the house?
519
00:29:57,963 --> 00:29:59,256
Thank you.
520
00:29:59,339 --> 00:30:00,632
Wow.
521
00:30:10,100 --> 00:30:12,352
I guess coming back was more for me.
522
00:30:16,023 --> 00:30:20,360
When I first met Shelly,
he was always an observer.
523
00:30:20,444 --> 00:30:24,489
And that's what his attraction to me was.
524
00:30:24,573 --> 00:30:26,366
Get the Byrd.
525
00:30:26,450 --> 00:30:27,951
Caw, caw, caw!
526
00:30:28,035 --> 00:30:30,245
Because I was what he observed.
527
00:30:42,924 --> 00:30:46,011
Do you remember when we used to go
to the health food store there?
528
00:30:46,094 --> 00:30:47,471
- Yeah, of course, yeah.
- Downstairs.
529
00:30:47,554 --> 00:30:49,139
That was the best health food store.
530
00:30:49,222 --> 00:30:50,682
Didn't it have like a--
531
00:30:50,766 --> 00:30:52,517
- I used to get my hair cut.
- Can we make a left here?
532
00:30:52,601 --> 00:30:54,478
Didn't I get my hair cut
someplace along here?
533
00:30:54,561 --> 00:30:57,606
Yeah, you got your-- the next block.
534
00:30:57,689 --> 00:30:58,774
Yeah.
535
00:30:59,983 --> 00:31:02,361
On good old 42nd Street.
536
00:31:06,073 --> 00:31:07,199
Back in the day,
537
00:31:07,282 --> 00:31:10,369
it was an adult playground, literally.
538
00:31:10,452 --> 00:31:14,164
Ah, yeah. Only one hot
sexy token does it all.
539
00:31:14,247 --> 00:31:16,083
Come on in.
We're gonna tickle your pickle,
540
00:31:16,166 --> 00:31:18,710
burn your banana and make
your liver quiver, daddy.
541
00:31:20,879 --> 00:31:23,256
Look, that's where the Gaiety was.
542
00:31:23,340 --> 00:31:26,718
The Gaiety was the male go-go place.
543
00:31:27,719 --> 00:31:32,182
And then around the corner
was Females, for straight men.
544
00:31:32,265 --> 00:31:34,309
The back door of the Gaiety,
545
00:31:34,393 --> 00:31:38,146
you'd be able to get through
to the straight one.
546
00:31:39,606 --> 00:31:41,983
The straight men
went into the straight one
547
00:31:42,067 --> 00:31:43,110
for the females,
548
00:31:43,193 --> 00:31:46,321
and then snuck in the door
to the Gaiety.
549
00:31:46,405 --> 00:31:50,742
Byrd used to walk up and down 42nd Street,
getting the guests.
550
00:31:50,826 --> 00:31:54,454
She used to go from Show World to...
551
00:31:55,997 --> 00:31:57,249
What was the other place?
552
00:31:58,208 --> 00:31:59,584
Show Palace!
553
00:31:59,668 --> 00:32:02,546
Byrd may be dancing there tonight.
Let's check it out.
554
00:32:06,675 --> 00:32:09,845
So, I was performing at Show World.
555
00:32:10,887 --> 00:32:12,681
I kept asking everybody,
556
00:32:12,764 --> 00:32:16,101
"What am I gonna have to do
to get on Robin's show?"
557
00:32:16,184 --> 00:32:17,602
And all these guys were like,
558
00:32:17,686 --> 00:32:20,355
"Well, you kinda got to be famous."
559
00:32:20,439 --> 00:32:22,816
And then she's knocking
on my dressing room door
560
00:32:22,899 --> 00:32:25,902
after our shows and she's like,
"Hi, I'm Robin Byrd!"
561
00:32:25,986 --> 00:32:29,114
So, she finally invited me on the show.
562
00:32:29,197 --> 00:32:32,868
And then of course,
I was the female adult star
563
00:32:32,951 --> 00:32:35,454
that was on the Robin Byrd Show the most.
564
00:32:35,537 --> 00:32:37,497
Ha, ha!
565
00:32:39,833 --> 00:32:43,420
Every time Mr. Gopher meets me,
566
00:32:43,503 --> 00:32:45,046
Robin's running around.
567
00:32:45,130 --> 00:32:46,673
And she's like, you know,
568
00:32:46,756 --> 00:32:49,926
shouting and barking orders at everybody.
569
00:32:50,010 --> 00:32:51,803
Shelly, do you need a filter?
570
00:32:51,887 --> 00:32:53,889
- No.
- Oh, how wonderful.
571
00:32:55,140 --> 00:32:58,852
Mr. Gopher saying, "Come in the bathroom.
You can change."
572
00:32:58,935 --> 00:33:01,646
And the bathroom's
like the size of a closet.
573
00:33:01,730 --> 00:33:05,066
It was like a little broom closet.
574
00:33:05,150 --> 00:33:07,652
I mean, we were all crammed up in there.
575
00:33:09,905 --> 00:33:12,866
Just like total strangers
just getting dressed.
576
00:33:12,949 --> 00:33:16,620
It was like no space at all.
577
00:33:16,703 --> 00:33:19,539
After getting them all down to the studio,
578
00:33:19,623 --> 00:33:21,750
I would get them together
and I would line them up
579
00:33:21,833 --> 00:33:24,085
and say, "Okay, you're on first,
you're on second."
580
00:33:24,169 --> 00:33:28,298
And sure enough, all I had
was like 10 seconds to get myself ready.
581
00:33:28,381 --> 00:33:32,636
So, that's why I would powder myself
in front of the camera all the time,
582
00:33:32,719 --> 00:33:36,598
because people like to see you
put your makeup on.
583
00:33:36,681 --> 00:33:38,433
So, I worked it into the show.
584
00:33:38,517 --> 00:33:43,396
Hi, I'm Robin Byrd,
and this is the Robin Byrd Show.
585
00:33:44,981 --> 00:33:47,817
And I usually, at this point,
get at least my powder on,
586
00:33:47,901 --> 00:33:50,987
but there's so much disarray
in the studio all the time
587
00:33:51,071 --> 00:33:53,615
that here I am doing my powder.
588
00:33:53,698 --> 00:33:57,410
I'm the director.
I direct in front of the camera.
589
00:33:57,494 --> 00:34:00,664
Like, "Mr. Cameraman, hi, how are you?
590
00:34:00,747 --> 00:34:02,832
Come over here, Mr. Cameraman."
591
00:34:02,916 --> 00:34:04,626
And I would play with the camera.
592
00:34:04,709 --> 00:34:07,879
Am I shining, Mr. Cameraman?
593
00:34:08,755 --> 00:34:10,173
No. Good.
594
00:34:10,257 --> 00:34:12,884
'Cause it's live.
There's nothing better than live.
595
00:34:12,968 --> 00:34:15,971
Live audience, live TV.
596
00:34:16,054 --> 00:34:18,181
Just one take.
597
00:34:18,265 --> 00:34:21,059
What you saw was what you got.
598
00:34:21,142 --> 00:34:23,228
This should be like a makeup class.
599
00:34:23,311 --> 00:34:24,980
Okay, and now you put the lips...
600
00:34:25,063 --> 00:34:27,190
I mean, she pretty
much did everything, right?
601
00:34:27,274 --> 00:34:30,944
So, you see her on the show
and she's kind of ditzy and bubbly.
602
00:34:31,027 --> 00:34:34,155
But when it was time to film and stuff,
she was a businesswoman.
603
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:35,448
Lie back.
604
00:34:35,532 --> 00:34:37,117
- Get comfortable.
- Get comfortable.
605
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:42,664
Here is Joey,
and he is Mr. Altar Boy.
606
00:34:49,379 --> 00:34:51,423
She suddenly jumps behind the camera.
607
00:34:52,465 --> 00:34:54,926
And she's like,
"So I'm gonna be talking to you
608
00:34:55,010 --> 00:34:57,304
"while I'm filming you, but you can look,
609
00:34:57,387 --> 00:34:59,306
but you can't respond to me."
610
00:34:59,389 --> 00:35:00,974
I'm like, "Okay."
611
00:35:01,057 --> 00:35:03,518
Don't talk to me. Just listen.
I'm the director.
612
00:35:03,602 --> 00:35:05,729
I would tell them, "I'm on your face.
613
00:35:05,812 --> 00:35:10,525
"I'm on your dick. Turn around.
Bend over. Let me see your butt.
614
00:35:10,609 --> 00:35:12,152
"Spread your ass cheeks.
615
00:35:12,235 --> 00:35:14,654
Now get down on your fours."
616
00:35:14,738 --> 00:35:19,242
That's why when people were dancing,
suddenly they just smile for no reason.
617
00:35:19,326 --> 00:35:20,744
'Cause she's, like, "Oh, you look great.
618
00:35:20,827 --> 00:35:22,704
We're gonna zoom in
on your crotch right now."
619
00:35:22,787 --> 00:35:25,081
And you couldn't say anything back to her.
620
00:35:26,583 --> 00:35:28,126
At the end of every show,
621
00:35:28,209 --> 00:35:33,173
we end the show with a song called
"Baby, Let Me Bang Your Box."
622
00:35:33,256 --> 00:35:36,092
Oh, baby, let me bang your box
623
00:35:37,093 --> 00:35:39,763
Baby, let me bang your box
624
00:35:39,846 --> 00:35:44,225
I was doing a satire,
so I would grab people's boobs
625
00:35:44,309 --> 00:35:46,394
and put my head in between them.
626
00:35:46,478 --> 00:35:49,356
Just what the audience
wanted to do themselves,
627
00:35:49,439 --> 00:35:52,317
but here I am doing it saying,
"It's okay."
628
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,361
And I'm a woman doing it.
629
00:35:54,444 --> 00:35:59,074
And I pulled out your penis
and I put it in my eye.
630
00:36:00,450 --> 00:36:04,829
And I recorded and sang the song myself.
631
00:36:04,913 --> 00:36:07,082
Oh, baby, let me bang your box
632
00:36:08,208 --> 00:36:10,126
Baby, let me bang your box
633
00:36:11,169 --> 00:36:13,630
Baby, let me play your 88
634
00:36:13,713 --> 00:36:17,175
Gonna play till the whole house rocks
635
00:36:17,258 --> 00:36:19,219
Bang, bang, bang
636
00:36:20,387 --> 00:36:22,931
Ooh, ooh, ooh, little baby
637
00:36:23,014 --> 00:36:25,016
She likes that
638
00:36:26,142 --> 00:36:28,687
Yeah, in the middle
639
00:36:28,770 --> 00:36:30,939
Bang, bang, bang
640
00:36:32,023 --> 00:36:34,734
Oh, you got rhythm
641
00:36:34,818 --> 00:36:36,027
Baby
642
00:36:36,111 --> 00:36:38,988
Baby, bang my box
643
00:36:39,072 --> 00:36:41,199
Bang, little baby...
644
00:36:41,282 --> 00:36:42,992
It was so fun at the end,
you'd always, like,
645
00:36:43,076 --> 00:36:44,911
pretend like you were
blowing me and shit like that
646
00:36:44,994 --> 00:36:46,246
at the end of the show.
647
00:36:46,329 --> 00:36:47,914
"Bang Your Box," I loved that.
648
00:36:47,997 --> 00:36:50,250
It was crazy. We would do the show...
649
00:36:50,333 --> 00:36:52,127
Hi, Heather. How are you, honey?
650
00:36:52,210 --> 00:36:53,545
...bang our box on stage.
651
00:36:54,212 --> 00:36:57,924
It was like a never-ending
circus, you know?
652
00:36:59,300 --> 00:37:00,844
Rock that, baby
653
00:37:00,927 --> 00:37:02,178
Like that
654
00:37:02,262 --> 00:37:03,638
In the middle
655
00:37:03,722 --> 00:37:05,390
All right, baby
656
00:37:05,473 --> 00:37:09,102
Hello? I just wanted to tell you
that I watch your show every week.
657
00:37:09,185 --> 00:37:10,437
Alright!
658
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:13,398
And I'm sitting here right now.
I'm gay, I'm sitting here with my lover,
659
00:37:13,481 --> 00:37:15,692
- and we really enjoy you.
- Oh, great.
660
00:37:15,775 --> 00:37:21,656
I noticed that there were a lot of gay men
that were watching my show.
661
00:37:21,740 --> 00:37:27,370
So, I started going to the gay theaters
and getting the gay performers.
662
00:37:30,290 --> 00:37:36,171
Straight from the stages
of the Show Palace Theater,
663
00:37:36,254 --> 00:37:40,049
here is the Brazilian bombshell himself,
664
00:37:40,133 --> 00:37:43,136
Vladimir Correa.
665
00:37:44,095 --> 00:37:47,557
But I had a technical director
who was homophobic,
666
00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,185
and I said, "Okay, bye-bye."
667
00:37:52,896 --> 00:37:56,691
Having male guests on the show
was really a good addition
668
00:37:56,775 --> 00:38:02,155
because I satisfied the viewers at home
that didn't want to see women.
669
00:38:04,491 --> 00:38:05,950
Ten years earlier,
670
00:38:06,034 --> 00:38:08,203
we were literally getting
arrested and thrown in jail
671
00:38:08,286 --> 00:38:10,079
for being gay.
672
00:38:10,163 --> 00:38:12,081
And now I'm, like, turning on the TV
673
00:38:12,165 --> 00:38:15,043
and I see Robin Byrd
and naked male dancers.
674
00:38:15,126 --> 00:38:16,628
It was so liberating.
675
00:38:18,046 --> 00:38:20,799
It was, you know,
some of my first memories
676
00:38:20,882 --> 00:38:24,093
of seeing naked bodies
in a semi-sexual way,
677
00:38:24,177 --> 00:38:28,973
but also just comfortable around nudity.
678
00:38:29,057 --> 00:38:31,851
Robin Byrd was the place
where you could be yourself.
679
00:38:31,935 --> 00:38:35,104
Like, it was a place
680
00:38:35,188 --> 00:38:38,817
where there was no such thing
as being taboo.
681
00:38:39,901 --> 00:38:41,486
She made no confusion about it.
682
00:38:41,569 --> 00:38:43,363
Sex was something
that was normal, natural,
683
00:38:43,446 --> 00:38:45,323
and for everybody.
684
00:38:45,406 --> 00:38:46,658
My partner and I,
685
00:38:46,741 --> 00:38:48,368
we always walked around
the Village at night.
686
00:38:48,451 --> 00:38:50,119
And we would see
these red lights in the window.
687
00:38:50,203 --> 00:38:51,955
We really couldn't
figure out what they were.
688
00:38:53,373 --> 00:38:56,209
But, we finally figured out
that it was the Robin Byrd Show
689
00:38:56,292 --> 00:38:58,294
coming on at 10 o'clock.
690
00:38:58,378 --> 00:39:01,756
And after that, we started watching it.
691
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:06,010
Everybody loved that show.
We had cable on at the bar at Julius'.
692
00:39:06,094 --> 00:39:10,098
We'd put it on and we'd all scream,
"Robin! Hey, Robin!"
693
00:39:11,808 --> 00:39:13,351
- Hi, Robin.
- Hi, Tree.
694
00:39:13,434 --> 00:39:16,396
This is Tree from Julius'.
695
00:39:16,479 --> 00:39:20,567
The gay audience really got me
in a different way.
696
00:39:20,650 --> 00:39:22,277
They really loved me.
697
00:39:25,613 --> 00:39:27,574
Are you gonna be
on the air next Wednesday,
698
00:39:27,657 --> 00:39:29,701
- Christmas night?
- Yeah, of course!
699
00:39:29,784 --> 00:39:31,494
Good, you're gonna be live,
'cause I have to work
700
00:39:31,578 --> 00:39:32,912
so we'll keep each other company.
701
00:39:32,996 --> 00:39:34,497
There you go.
702
00:39:34,581 --> 00:39:36,666
It got to a point
I had almost a special number
703
00:39:36,749 --> 00:39:40,628
that I could call, and I was always
the first one or the second or third.
704
00:39:40,712 --> 00:39:42,589
475-1550.
705
00:39:42,672 --> 00:39:44,424
- And you're live, hi!
- Hi, Robin!
706
00:39:44,507 --> 00:39:46,217
- Hi, Tree!
- How you doing, sweetheart?
707
00:39:46,301 --> 00:39:47,760
Did you see Jeff this time?
708
00:39:47,844 --> 00:39:51,431
I wanted to take off Jeff's cock ring
from the inside.
709
00:39:51,514 --> 00:39:53,349
Wait, wait, wait. But what about Keith's?
710
00:39:53,433 --> 00:39:57,353
While I'm doing that, I'm gonna reach
for the brass ring many, many times.
711
00:39:59,314 --> 00:40:00,940
Sometimes she had guys on there
712
00:40:01,024 --> 00:40:02,984
that nobody would touch
with a 10-foot pole.
713
00:40:04,569 --> 00:40:06,696
But then she had some of them
that were real hot,
714
00:40:06,779 --> 00:40:08,823
and those are the ones
I said, "Bring to Julius'."
715
00:40:10,158 --> 00:40:13,202
And then she'd always ask,
how many people are there?
716
00:40:13,286 --> 00:40:15,663
- How many people there, Tree?
- Oh, about 25.
717
00:40:15,747 --> 00:40:16,748
Hi, guys!
718
00:40:16,831 --> 00:40:20,919
Hello, everybody, wave to Tree
at Julius', 25 at one time.
719
00:40:23,254 --> 00:40:26,841
You have this wonderful window
where Robin's show emerges,
720
00:40:26,925 --> 00:40:31,012
and this is a time
between Stonewall and AIDS.
721
00:40:31,095 --> 00:40:33,932
So, this is the window
of sexual revolution,
722
00:40:34,015 --> 00:40:38,186
a lot of gay pride,
and much more openness than in the past.
723
00:40:38,269 --> 00:40:40,271
And it was so refreshing.
724
00:40:41,272 --> 00:40:43,816
I got to New York
in 1980 from Long Island.
725
00:40:44,859 --> 00:40:48,237
You could be bisexual, you could be gay,
you could be lesbian.
726
00:40:48,321 --> 00:40:53,534
Sex was something that people enjoyed,
something that people didn't frown upon.
727
00:40:53,618 --> 00:41:00,291
It was really, really very exciting.
But within two years, everything changed.
728
00:41:02,502 --> 00:41:05,129
We just got our sexual freedom.
729
00:41:06,381 --> 00:41:09,884
But it turned on a dime.
It happened so fast.
730
00:41:12,470 --> 00:41:16,182
Scientists at the National Centers
for Disease Control in Atlanta today
731
00:41:16,265 --> 00:41:18,017
released the results of a study,
732
00:41:18,101 --> 00:41:21,938
which shows that the lifestyle
of some male homosexuals
733
00:41:22,021 --> 00:41:24,816
has triggered an epidemic
of a rare form of cancer.
734
00:41:24,899 --> 00:41:27,610
Researchers know of 413 people
735
00:41:27,694 --> 00:41:30,321
who have contracted
the condition in the past year.
736
00:41:37,328 --> 00:41:39,038
I was watching my friends die.
737
00:41:41,541 --> 00:41:44,836
My friend Richie's mother and father
put him on the floor in the garage
738
00:41:44,919 --> 00:41:48,256
and would wash him with a hose
because they wouldn't let him use the tub.
739
00:41:49,841 --> 00:41:54,303
As a young gay man with HIV/AIDS,
it also forced me on disability.
740
00:41:54,387 --> 00:41:58,725
So, I no longer had a job.
I no longer had a sex life.
741
00:41:58,808 --> 00:42:01,561
The sex life I wanted was scary.
742
00:42:03,312 --> 00:42:04,856
The stigma was awful.
743
00:42:04,939 --> 00:42:08,109
Ambulance drivers have refused
to take AIDS patients.
744
00:42:08,192 --> 00:42:11,446
The person said outright,
"I'm not touching him."
745
00:42:13,364 --> 00:42:15,616
When AIDS first started in the early '80s,
746
00:42:15,700 --> 00:42:18,661
everyone thought, "Oh, my God,
you know, one encounter
747
00:42:18,745 --> 00:42:20,538
and you could die this horrible death."
748
00:42:20,621 --> 00:42:22,123
Sex became the devil.
749
00:42:22,206 --> 00:42:27,253
All this has led to a drastic change
in sexual practices and lifestyle.
750
00:42:27,336 --> 00:42:28,880
According to one study,
751
00:42:28,963 --> 00:42:33,051
8 out of 10 gay men here
have stopped all unsafe sex.
752
00:42:36,012 --> 00:42:41,684
Ronald Reagan never
even said the word HIV or AIDS.
753
00:42:41,768 --> 00:42:45,772
He never acknowledged
what was going on in the world,
754
00:42:45,855 --> 00:42:48,483
until it was too late.
755
00:42:48,566 --> 00:42:51,694
Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!
756
00:42:51,778 --> 00:42:54,113
Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!
757
00:42:54,197 --> 00:42:56,115
Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!
758
00:42:56,199 --> 00:43:02,330
Every summer I would come to Fire Island,
and more and more of my friends were gone.
759
00:43:02,413 --> 00:43:03,790
And I'm thinking,
760
00:43:03,873 --> 00:43:08,127
"Shouldn't there be more
information about safe sex?"
761
00:43:10,755 --> 00:43:12,673
Now, go scrub your teeth
762
00:43:12,757 --> 00:43:17,637
and go get those rubbers
while I put on my lip gloss.
763
00:43:18,763 --> 00:43:21,849
I had this platform
that I could speak out.
764
00:43:21,933 --> 00:43:24,018
It was community television.
765
00:43:24,102 --> 00:43:25,853
That's what it was made for.
766
00:43:27,271 --> 00:43:30,233
Just because you carry rubbers
in your wallet
767
00:43:30,316 --> 00:43:34,821
doesn't mean that it makes it safe.
768
00:43:34,904 --> 00:43:39,117
They have to come
from your wallet on your dicks
769
00:43:39,200 --> 00:43:40,827
for you to have safe sex.
770
00:43:40,910 --> 00:43:42,495
She would always have this kind of
771
00:43:42,578 --> 00:43:47,291
safe sex message on the show
where she was, like, doing these demos.
772
00:43:47,375 --> 00:43:49,502
I do have my rubber.
773
00:43:49,585 --> 00:43:51,754
Do you have yours?
774
00:43:51,838 --> 00:43:53,631
And dental dam!
775
00:43:56,467 --> 00:43:58,970
Everybody should have a dental dam.
776
00:43:59,053 --> 00:44:01,722
It was funny and it was entertaining.
777
00:44:01,806 --> 00:44:03,141
For a dental dam,
778
00:44:03,224 --> 00:44:07,603
what you do is you snip
that little rolled-up thing,
779
00:44:07,687 --> 00:44:10,148
and then you unroll it, just like this.
780
00:44:10,231 --> 00:44:13,568
Then you would have
this rectangular piece of latex
781
00:44:13,651 --> 00:44:17,155
in which you will have oral sex with.
782
00:44:17,238 --> 00:44:19,490
It really did keep me safe.
783
00:44:19,574 --> 00:44:23,661
It's so easy when
you're young, dumb, and horny
784
00:44:23,744 --> 00:44:27,165
to not practice safe sex.
785
00:44:27,248 --> 00:44:30,084
But I did end up
using condoms all the time.
786
00:44:32,211 --> 00:44:36,757
My George Sardi, Johnny Poo lube bag,
where I have my condom.
787
00:44:36,841 --> 00:44:39,427
And it's like in no small part
because of Robin.
788
00:44:39,510 --> 00:44:40,761
Do you need one?
789
00:44:40,845 --> 00:44:42,305
Do you have one?
790
00:44:42,388 --> 00:44:44,807
She really did give me this
791
00:44:44,891 --> 00:44:47,935
sense that it was our
responsibility as a community
792
00:44:48,019 --> 00:44:51,689
to keep each other healthy,
and it's really powerful.
793
00:44:51,772 --> 00:44:53,774
It's a really powerful legacy.
794
00:44:57,486 --> 00:44:59,155
People were dying,
795
00:44:59,238 --> 00:45:01,199
and they were losing their loved ones.
796
00:45:01,282 --> 00:45:06,120
So, I wanted to give them
the love that they were missing.
797
00:45:06,204 --> 00:45:08,706
What I want you to do is to lie back,
798
00:45:08,789 --> 00:45:12,627
get comfortable, snuggle up
next to your loved ones.
799
00:45:12,710 --> 00:45:15,671
What's that? You don't have a loved one?
800
00:45:16,756 --> 00:45:19,967
Well, you always have me, Robin Byrd.
801
00:45:21,135 --> 00:45:23,095
- Really.
- Quite frankly, honestly,
802
00:45:23,179 --> 00:45:27,391
there were nights when Robin
was my only person.
803
00:45:28,267 --> 00:45:29,518
I know that sounds strange,
804
00:45:29,602 --> 00:45:32,980
but I was really grateful
to have her there.
805
00:45:33,064 --> 00:45:37,193
And I was also grateful to have
some semblance of sex in my life
806
00:45:37,276 --> 00:45:41,447
because it wasn't happening
for me because of my situation.
807
00:45:43,157 --> 00:45:44,909
I didn't have a loved one.
808
00:45:46,452 --> 00:45:48,287
And I always had Robin.
809
00:45:48,371 --> 00:45:49,956
It was wonderful.
810
00:45:50,039 --> 00:45:51,916
So, the things I learned from Robin
811
00:45:51,999 --> 00:45:54,627
were really helpful to me,
as I was very broken
812
00:45:54,710 --> 00:45:56,754
and trying to fix my life.
813
00:45:56,837 --> 00:46:00,508
One was the power
of acceptance and openness
814
00:46:00,591 --> 00:46:04,512
to who I am as a gay man and how I fit in.
815
00:46:04,595 --> 00:46:06,722
Robin Byrd meant
everything for the culture.
816
00:46:07,723 --> 00:46:08,557
When I say the culture,
817
00:46:08,641 --> 00:46:14,230
I mean people that were outcasts,
818
00:46:14,313 --> 00:46:19,277
the people that were forgotten about,
the people that people wrote off.
819
00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:21,279
I think she's an accidental activist.
820
00:46:22,780 --> 00:46:24,824
AIDS was raging.
821
00:46:24,907 --> 00:46:28,119
She was trying to keep
the fun and the spark alive
822
00:46:28,202 --> 00:46:30,037
and the spontaneity of sex,
823
00:46:30,121 --> 00:46:35,668
but also remind people that one wrong move
and you were gonna be in the soup.
824
00:46:36,585 --> 00:46:39,505
I was on the beach
825
00:46:39,588 --> 00:46:43,342
at around 5 o'clock
in the morning the other day,
826
00:46:43,426 --> 00:46:48,055
and I saw three guys fucking.
827
00:46:48,139 --> 00:46:49,348
Nothing wrong with that.
828
00:46:50,349 --> 00:46:52,476
But you weren't using a rubber.
829
00:46:52,560 --> 00:46:57,898
Now, obviously, my message is
not getting across to everyone,
830
00:46:57,982 --> 00:46:59,567
and that means you!
831
00:47:01,277 --> 00:47:04,363
So, the next time you wanna butt fuck,
832
00:47:04,447 --> 00:47:06,032
use a condom.
833
00:47:08,868 --> 00:47:12,913
I did see it and pulled it, sort of.
834
00:47:14,707 --> 00:47:18,627
I can't remember the last time
we loaded these.
835
00:47:20,838 --> 00:47:25,926
Annie Sprinkle emailed me
and said I should archive my tapes.
836
00:47:28,596 --> 00:47:32,933
Annie had all her stuff
archived at Harvard.
837
00:47:34,268 --> 00:47:35,811
Here, listen.
838
00:47:35,895 --> 00:47:38,856
"Dear Robin, greetings
from San Francisco today.
839
00:47:38,939 --> 00:47:42,401
"You have this incredible
archive and legacy.
840
00:47:42,485 --> 00:47:44,528
"You have documented years and years
841
00:47:44,612 --> 00:47:48,866
"of sex-positive community,
of pleasure activists,
842
00:47:48,949 --> 00:47:51,994
"movers and shakers
of the sexual revolution,
843
00:47:52,078 --> 00:47:55,373
visionary sex educators, and more."
844
00:47:57,625 --> 00:48:00,336
I'm getting very emotional.
845
00:48:00,419 --> 00:48:01,629
This is amazing.
846
00:48:01,712 --> 00:48:04,465
"Your archive is one of a kind,
847
00:48:04,548 --> 00:48:07,468
"and it must be preserved
for decades to come
848
00:48:07,551 --> 00:48:08,844
"before it's too late.
849
00:48:12,932 --> 00:48:16,519
"If we don't share our her-stories,
850
00:48:16,602 --> 00:48:21,148
"the people who want to erase us
will write the history.
851
00:48:21,232 --> 00:48:24,777
"We can't have that. Fuck that.
852
00:48:24,860 --> 00:48:29,281
"Please start this process
of placing your archive now.
853
00:48:30,658 --> 00:48:32,368
"Time is of the essence.
854
00:48:32,451 --> 00:48:37,039
"Place your archive in a safe institution
before the fascists burn it all.
855
00:48:37,123 --> 00:48:40,167
It can happen here, sadly."
856
00:48:42,002 --> 00:48:44,296
Alright, Annie, we'll do this.
857
00:48:59,061 --> 00:49:00,229
Hello?
858
00:49:00,312 --> 00:49:03,983
Hey, day Byrd, baby!
How's it going there? Where are you now?
859
00:49:04,066 --> 00:49:05,317
I'm in Brooklyn.
860
00:49:05,401 --> 00:49:07,653
I'm going to meet
with the archivist, remember?
861
00:49:07,736 --> 00:49:11,907
Byrd, you're in Brooklyn? Oh, man.
When are you coming back here?
862
00:49:11,991 --> 00:49:13,033
Shortly.
863
00:49:14,368 --> 00:49:18,289
Do I have to give the whole library?
Do they even want my stuff?
864
00:49:18,372 --> 00:49:21,667
Do I have to have these all digitized?
865
00:49:21,750 --> 00:49:23,335
And who pays for that?
866
00:49:31,760 --> 00:49:34,138
- Hi, I'm Robin. Nice to meet you.
- Daylon. Nice to meet you.
867
00:49:34,221 --> 00:49:35,598
Nice to meet you, too.
868
00:49:37,266 --> 00:49:38,976
And see, I just wanted
to show you a few things.
869
00:49:39,059 --> 00:49:41,896
Just to give you a better sense
of like the sort of work that I'm doing.
870
00:49:41,979 --> 00:49:43,898
Right, 'cause I'm new to this,
871
00:49:43,981 --> 00:49:45,024
- you know...
- Yeah.
872
00:49:45,107 --> 00:49:47,318
It's a weird niche thing that I do.
873
00:49:47,401 --> 00:49:50,237
In my house, it's called hoarding.
874
00:49:50,321 --> 00:49:54,074
Yeah. Yeah, no.
Sometimes in my house, too.
875
00:49:54,158 --> 00:49:56,410
- Oh, Veronica. I love her.
- Yes, yeah.
876
00:49:56,494 --> 00:49:58,537
- Yeah.
- I've been working with Veronica
877
00:49:58,621 --> 00:50:00,289
- and with Annie.
- Oh, and with Annie. Yeah, yeah.
878
00:50:00,372 --> 00:50:02,124
That's actually how I--
879
00:50:02,208 --> 00:50:03,792
- we got together this way.
- Yeah.
880
00:50:03,876 --> 00:50:05,044
Wow.
881
00:50:05,127 --> 00:50:06,712
So, if we decide to work together...
882
00:50:06,795 --> 00:50:08,255
- Right.
- ...one of the next steps
883
00:50:08,339 --> 00:50:11,926
is gonna be actually seeing your stuff.
884
00:50:12,009 --> 00:50:16,013
I know we had talked--
you had mentioned tapes.
885
00:50:16,096 --> 00:50:17,765
I have three-quarter-inch tapes.
886
00:50:17,848 --> 00:50:22,728
Right. So the tapes,
some digitization will happen.
887
00:50:22,811 --> 00:50:25,564
- I mean, there's like, you know.
- I get the tapes back, correct?
888
00:50:26,524 --> 00:50:29,235
Well, no, the institutions
that I'm working with,
889
00:50:29,318 --> 00:50:31,028
they would prefer to have the tapes.
890
00:50:31,111 --> 00:50:33,572
It's worth a lot to myself and my husband.
891
00:50:33,656 --> 00:50:35,699
- Those are my babies.
- Yeah. Yeah.
892
00:50:35,783 --> 00:50:37,785
- Those are my children.
- Absolutely.
893
00:50:41,038 --> 00:50:43,082
I have to take this. This is my husband.
894
00:50:43,165 --> 00:50:44,625
Hello?
895
00:50:44,708 --> 00:50:47,044
Day Byrd, baby, where are you?
896
00:50:47,127 --> 00:50:48,754
I'm interviewing the archivist
897
00:50:48,837 --> 00:50:53,592
to investigate archiving
the Robin Byrd Show
898
00:50:53,676 --> 00:50:58,180
to be in an institution
like Harvard or Columbia.
899
00:50:58,264 --> 00:51:00,307
Or a mental institution.
900
00:51:00,391 --> 00:51:03,435
No mental institution.
901
00:51:03,519 --> 00:51:06,397
You're not giving him any tapes
or anything like that, are you?
902
00:51:06,480 --> 00:51:07,940
No, not yet.
903
00:51:08,816 --> 00:51:10,568
Not yet. Oh, boy.
904
00:51:11,443 --> 00:51:12,778
Be very careful, Byrd.
905
00:51:12,861 --> 00:51:15,072
Don't let these things
out of your possession.
906
00:51:15,155 --> 00:51:19,785
You know that I am not
going to give away our babies.
907
00:51:19,868 --> 00:51:23,706
Okay, just remember that--
908
00:51:23,789 --> 00:51:26,792
I can't forget it
'cause you keep reminding me.
909
00:51:26,875 --> 00:51:28,836
Okay, give me a call.
910
00:51:28,919 --> 00:51:31,380
Okay, sweetie,
I'll call you on the way back.
911
00:51:31,463 --> 00:51:32,631
Bye.
912
00:51:32,715 --> 00:51:35,426
How do you decide whether and how...
913
00:51:36,385 --> 00:51:37,970
that you want my stuff?
914
00:51:39,138 --> 00:51:41,140
I mean, I need to see
the archive, you know?
915
00:51:41,223 --> 00:51:42,308
- Mm-hmm.
- And know more
916
00:51:42,391 --> 00:51:43,475
about what we're actually talking about.
917
00:52:02,828 --> 00:52:04,663
Oh, shit.
918
00:52:11,587 --> 00:52:13,631
You're gonna go through all this?
919
00:52:13,714 --> 00:52:15,215
Holy shit.
920
00:52:16,050 --> 00:52:18,093
Oh, my God, they are!
921
00:52:18,177 --> 00:52:23,223
The original Robin Byrd Show T-shirts.
Always signed on my butt.
922
00:52:24,350 --> 00:52:27,811
"Bang my box, love always, Robin Byrd."
923
00:52:27,895 --> 00:52:31,231
Oh, my God.
924
00:52:31,315 --> 00:52:33,525
Hello, old friend.
925
00:52:33,609 --> 00:52:38,364
Seeing this sign makes me wanna
get back on the air and do it,
926
00:52:38,447 --> 00:52:40,991
but I guess you don't wanna see
a 70-year-old
927
00:52:41,075 --> 00:52:44,203
in front of the sign
with that crochet bikini.
928
00:52:46,789 --> 00:52:50,626
But at any age. I'm not age shaming.
929
00:52:50,709 --> 00:52:55,297
But I'm not as sexy as I was,
let's put it that way.
930
00:52:56,590 --> 00:52:59,134
This is pretty old.
931
00:53:00,260 --> 00:53:01,970
Oh! Oh, my God.
932
00:53:05,891 --> 00:53:08,018
Sandra Bernhard segments.
933
00:53:13,232 --> 00:53:15,025
I became aware of Robin Byrd
934
00:53:15,109 --> 00:53:18,278
the summer I was here
doing my show off-Broadway.
935
00:53:18,362 --> 00:53:20,239
And I was up late every single night.
936
00:53:22,991 --> 00:53:25,494
One night I came home,
and she had callers.
937
00:53:25,577 --> 00:53:26,954
So, I called in.
938
00:53:27,996 --> 00:53:34,044
Back then, that was a much more, like,
kind of like amazing revelation
939
00:53:34,128 --> 00:53:38,090
that you could be talking to somebody
while it was live on TV.
940
00:53:38,966 --> 00:53:40,509
I told her how much I love the show
941
00:53:40,592 --> 00:53:43,887
and how she was keeping me
company late at night.
942
00:53:43,971 --> 00:53:47,850
And so, we hatched a plan
for me to come on her show.
943
00:53:47,933 --> 00:53:50,269
And I co-hosted with her.
944
00:53:51,770 --> 00:53:53,230
- How are you?
- Fine, how are you?
945
00:53:53,313 --> 00:53:54,732
Great. Lie back and...
946
00:53:54,815 --> 00:53:56,066
...get comfortable.
947
00:53:56,150 --> 00:53:58,402
Put on your nylons.
948
00:53:58,485 --> 00:53:59,945
- Your rubbers.
- Rubbers.
949
00:54:02,781 --> 00:54:04,908
Your silks and satins.
950
00:54:04,992 --> 00:54:07,119
We're here with Lili Marlene, darling.
951
00:54:07,202 --> 00:54:09,580
It was really funny and really out there.
952
00:54:09,663 --> 00:54:13,375
And how many films did you make
while you were in the business?
953
00:54:13,459 --> 00:54:14,960
Somewhere between 200 and 300.
954
00:54:15,043 --> 00:54:16,420
- No!
- And in five years.
955
00:54:16,503 --> 00:54:18,797
Wait a minute,
Katharine Hepburn has a name
956
00:54:18,881 --> 00:54:20,591
for each one of your films, honey.
957
00:54:20,674 --> 00:54:22,718
- Well, she doesn't make the kind of--
- How the hell do you do it?
958
00:54:22,801 --> 00:54:24,845
We ask Lili Marlene tonight.
959
00:54:24,928 --> 00:54:28,390
Well, I'm a flaming sex maniac,
I guess, really.
960
00:54:29,975 --> 00:54:32,436
The '80s, when you could still do things
961
00:54:32,519 --> 00:54:37,107
that were totally insane,
and fun, and cutting-edge.
962
00:54:40,152 --> 00:54:43,071
The Robin Byrd Show is a hit.
963
00:54:43,155 --> 00:54:47,409
Miss Byrd is a cult figure with
her trademark crochet bikini,
964
00:54:47,493 --> 00:54:51,413
white manicured nails,
sisterly enthusiasm for her guests,
965
00:54:51,497 --> 00:54:54,166
and playful polymorphous curiosity.
966
00:54:54,249 --> 00:54:56,835
She has become
a kind of kitsch Lady Liberty
967
00:54:56,919 --> 00:54:59,630
for the city that never sleeps.
968
00:54:59,713 --> 00:55:01,924
Alright, we're back with Barry Manilow.
969
00:55:03,342 --> 00:55:06,512
Robin has a real nose for publicity.
970
00:55:06,595 --> 00:55:09,223
She's great at getting
her name in Page Six.
971
00:55:09,306 --> 00:55:13,560
I remember Barry Manilow said
he was a huge fan of hers.
972
00:55:13,644 --> 00:55:14,770
- Yeah.
- Her name is Robin Byrd,
973
00:55:14,853 --> 00:55:16,063
and she's got this cable television show.
974
00:55:16,146 --> 00:55:17,397
- And I met her at a party.
- Mm-hmm?
975
00:55:17,481 --> 00:55:19,066
And we had a very innocent photo taken.
976
00:55:19,149 --> 00:55:22,069
And the next thing I knew,
you know, I was gonna marry her, yeah.
977
00:55:22,152 --> 00:55:23,821
Robin, I saw in the paper
978
00:55:23,904 --> 00:55:26,406
that said you were gonna
marry Barry Manilow.
979
00:55:26,490 --> 00:55:28,575
- That you were engaged.
- Well, he asked me to marry him.
980
00:55:28,659 --> 00:55:30,118
You see, I don't have the ring yet.
981
00:55:30,202 --> 00:55:33,163
And she went with it,
and really got publicity out of it.
982
00:55:35,916 --> 00:55:38,252
When Robin began,
it was just a modest show
983
00:55:38,335 --> 00:55:40,170
for her neighbors.
984
00:55:40,254 --> 00:55:42,172
But when your neighborhood is New York,
985
00:55:42,256 --> 00:55:45,008
the country's biggest media stage,
986
00:55:45,092 --> 00:55:46,677
everyone ends up watching.
987
00:55:48,595 --> 00:55:49,847
Hello, there.
988
00:55:50,848 --> 00:55:54,059
I'm Robin Byrd,
989
00:55:54,142 --> 00:55:56,854
and this is the Robin Byrd Show.
990
00:55:56,937 --> 00:55:58,939
And when they did the SNL sketch,
991
00:55:59,022 --> 00:56:02,192
I couldn't believe it. I'm on national TV.
992
00:56:02,276 --> 00:56:04,570
They said, "Cheri, they want you
to do Robin Byrd."
993
00:56:04,653 --> 00:56:06,822
And I was like, "As if!
994
00:56:06,905 --> 00:56:10,701
"Yeah, I'm not putting on
a macramé bikini top
995
00:56:10,784 --> 00:56:12,536
with bottoms."
996
00:56:13,745 --> 00:56:18,584
And then I had an idea of putting, like,
big fake boobs into the macramé,
997
00:56:18,667 --> 00:56:22,337
and then we adjusted it
on top of my boobs.
998
00:56:22,421 --> 00:56:27,259
And don't forget to wear your rubbers!
See you tomorrow at midnight!
999
00:56:28,760 --> 00:56:31,680
She had called in to SNL,
1000
00:56:31,763 --> 00:56:34,933
and she said to me,
"Cheri, ask me anything."
1001
00:56:35,017 --> 00:56:38,854
I said, "Do you ever think
of maybe upping the production value?"
1002
00:56:38,937 --> 00:56:42,983
She goes, "Cheri, nobody wants
to see well-produced porn."
1003
00:56:44,151 --> 00:56:46,028
And she gave me her lip gloss.
1004
00:56:46,111 --> 00:56:50,741
I put it in a plastic bag
and I kept it in a drawer.
1005
00:56:50,824 --> 00:56:53,160
Somebody's like, "What's this?"
I go, "Robin Byrd's lip gloss."
1006
00:56:53,243 --> 00:56:54,953
Smithsonian!
1007
00:56:55,037 --> 00:56:56,747
Smithsonian!
1008
00:57:00,042 --> 00:57:03,170
After a decade, I finally started
making some money.
1009
00:57:03,253 --> 00:57:06,173
There was this woman named Betsy Superfon.
1010
00:57:07,090 --> 00:57:09,927
Betsy Superfon was out in California.
1011
00:57:10,010 --> 00:57:12,137
She was the queen of the phone lines.
1012
00:57:12,220 --> 00:57:13,805
What's your fantasy tonight?
1013
00:57:13,889 --> 00:57:18,518
She had sex lines,
she had astrology lines.
1014
00:57:18,602 --> 00:57:24,900
Betsy Superfon bought tons of air time
on my show for her phone sex lines,
1015
00:57:24,983 --> 00:57:27,569
and I would fly to California,
1016
00:57:27,653 --> 00:57:30,238
and she would drive me around
in her Rolls-Royce
1017
00:57:30,322 --> 00:57:32,699
that said "970 Girl."
1018
00:57:36,662 --> 00:57:41,249
Phone lines were like this big thing,
you know, before apps and before webcams,
1019
00:57:41,333 --> 00:57:42,751
before OnlyFans.
1020
00:57:42,834 --> 00:57:45,796
If you wanted to get off
or get connected,
1021
00:57:45,879 --> 00:57:47,172
you picked up the phone.
1022
00:57:47,255 --> 00:57:50,842
And there were actual phone numbers
in the back of magazines.
1023
00:57:52,469 --> 00:57:57,683
It was analog sexting, basically.
You never knew who you were talking to.
1024
00:57:57,766 --> 00:58:00,268
But that was part of the thrill.
1025
00:58:02,187 --> 00:58:04,356
Let your imagination run wild.
1026
00:58:04,439 --> 00:58:05,732
Just pick up the phone.
1027
00:58:05,816 --> 00:58:12,114
But I realized it was so lucrative
for everybody else, that they convinced me
1028
00:58:12,197 --> 00:58:15,117
to have my own phone lines.
1029
00:58:15,200 --> 00:58:20,247
You can always call us at 970-BYRD.
1030
00:58:20,330 --> 00:58:24,209
That's right, 970-2973.
1031
00:58:24,292 --> 00:58:28,171
So, then on my own car,
1032
00:58:28,255 --> 00:58:34,177
I went and got a license plate,
said "970 B-Y-R-D."
1033
00:58:34,261 --> 00:58:35,971
970-BYRD.
1034
00:58:36,054 --> 00:58:37,764
She was very much in the moment
1035
00:58:37,848 --> 00:58:42,144
and very much a businesswoman
and in control.
1036
00:58:43,145 --> 00:58:45,063
Well, we're gonna take some phone calls.
1037
00:58:45,147 --> 00:58:47,858
The numbers are 475-1550.
1038
00:58:47,941 --> 00:58:49,735
It's a free call.
We don't put you on hold.
1039
00:58:49,818 --> 00:58:52,362
And if we do, well,
it's a free call, you know?
1040
00:58:52,446 --> 00:58:56,616
And if you don't wanna spend no money
and you wanna spend some money,
1041
00:58:56,700 --> 00:58:58,535
you can call my 970-BYRD
1042
00:58:58,618 --> 00:59:00,620
and help support the show
and talk to my girls.
1043
00:59:00,704 --> 00:59:04,624
They're there. Hi, girls!
They're there waiting to talk to you now.
1044
00:59:04,708 --> 00:59:07,294
I had a gay advertiser,
1045
00:59:07,377 --> 00:59:12,591
and he suggested
that I do just a show for men,
1046
00:59:12,674 --> 00:59:16,678
so that the gay audience
could see only men
1047
00:59:16,762 --> 00:59:18,764
and have their own phone lines.
1048
00:59:18,847 --> 00:59:22,392
We called it "Robin Byrd's Men for Men."
1049
00:59:22,476 --> 00:59:25,604
And I said, "Well, let's do 970-BYRD.
1050
00:59:25,687 --> 00:59:28,648
Let's do 970-BEEF for the men."
1051
00:59:28,732 --> 00:59:30,233
"Where's the beef?"
1052
00:59:30,317 --> 00:59:33,361
And then, I had TVTS.
1053
00:59:33,445 --> 00:59:36,782
That was the transgender phone line.
1054
00:59:36,865 --> 00:59:39,910
So, the crazy crochet
1055
00:59:39,993 --> 00:59:42,287
bikini-wearing loon
1056
00:59:42,370 --> 00:59:45,582
also put on her business hat.
1057
00:59:50,962 --> 00:59:53,298
You're not allowed here, ha-ha!
1058
00:59:53,381 --> 00:59:55,050
Ah, little alpha.
1059
00:59:55,133 --> 00:59:57,677
Ha-ha-ha, you're such an alpha.
You won't stay on your back.
1060
00:59:57,761 --> 00:59:59,596
No, you won't. I can keep you--
1061
00:59:59,679 --> 01:00:02,933
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye!
1062
01:00:03,809 --> 01:00:06,103
What you doing?
Do you wanna get smudged?
1063
01:00:06,853 --> 01:00:08,939
Do you wanna get smudged?
1064
01:00:09,815 --> 01:00:11,066
Let's go.
1065
01:00:29,376 --> 01:00:30,710
Oh, shit!
1066
01:00:33,880 --> 01:00:35,423
Oh, shit!
1067
01:00:36,550 --> 01:00:38,426
Well, no more smudging.
1068
01:00:41,805 --> 01:00:44,474
Shelly and I would always
walk the beach to this house
1069
01:00:44,558 --> 01:00:49,938
that we're in now,
and found out one day it was for sale.
1070
01:00:50,021 --> 01:00:54,901
I had money from the phone lines
enough to get a loan. A jumbo loan.
1071
01:00:56,403 --> 01:01:00,323
And the minute the door opened,
I said to Shelly,
1072
01:01:00,407 --> 01:01:04,202
"Don't say anything, but I love it."
1073
01:01:04,286 --> 01:01:07,372
Hello!
1074
01:01:09,166 --> 01:01:13,295
Cheers, everybody. Good morning!
Welcome to Byrdland.
1075
01:01:13,378 --> 01:01:15,714
You know, everything in
this house has a little meaning.
1076
01:01:15,797 --> 01:01:18,550
You know, I love disco,
so I got my disco balls.
1077
01:01:20,177 --> 01:01:22,679
When I had this painting made for me,
1078
01:01:22,762 --> 01:01:24,973
you know, a little bondage
never hurt anybody...
1079
01:01:26,183 --> 01:01:27,684
if you're doing it right.
1080
01:01:27,767 --> 01:01:30,228
The house was a party house.
1081
01:01:37,277 --> 01:01:39,154
I love exercising.
1082
01:01:39,237 --> 01:01:42,490
It's just too bad I don't have
the body right now to show it.
1083
01:01:44,618 --> 01:01:47,829
And it is a bit rusty, but it still works.
1084
01:01:47,913 --> 01:01:52,167
I'm young at heart and in my spirit,
but my body and everybody...
1085
01:01:52,250 --> 01:01:53,668
You know, you know...
1086
01:01:54,711 --> 01:01:58,048
When you have
a 60-something-year-old car...
1087
01:01:59,758 --> 01:02:01,635
it's hard to find parts.
1088
01:02:08,934 --> 01:02:12,354
I chose Fire Island 'cause
it's a beautiful place to live.
1089
01:02:13,438 --> 01:02:17,108
It's been a haven for gay
people since the early 1900s.
1090
01:02:19,027 --> 01:02:22,948
Freedom of expression is very important
1091
01:02:23,031 --> 01:02:25,700
to everyone here in Fire Island.
1092
01:02:26,576 --> 01:02:31,081
They feel very strongly about
standing up for their rights.
1093
01:02:35,919 --> 01:02:38,004
This administration
is putting the purveyors
1094
01:02:38,088 --> 01:02:41,341
of illegal obscenity
and pornography on notice.
1095
01:02:41,424 --> 01:02:44,010
Your industry's days are numbered.
1096
01:02:45,679 --> 01:02:47,264
Thank God for a president
1097
01:02:47,347 --> 01:02:52,102
who agrees in totality with what we
morally stand for here.
1098
01:02:52,185 --> 01:02:56,856
We are committed to the pro-family,
anti-pornography perspective.
1099
01:02:58,275 --> 01:03:01,736
The free love vibe of the
'60s and '70s, that was over.
1100
01:03:01,820 --> 01:03:05,699
And suddenly, we were in
a full-swing moral panic.
1101
01:03:06,741 --> 01:03:08,827
Ed Meese and the Moral Majority,
1102
01:03:08,910 --> 01:03:11,705
they were all coming down
on people like me.
1103
01:03:11,788 --> 01:03:14,666
More controversy tonight
from the report on pornography
1104
01:03:14,749 --> 01:03:17,002
that US Attorney General Edwin Meese
put out this year.
1105
01:03:17,085 --> 01:03:21,589
Meese today declared
a federal crackdown on obscene materials.
1106
01:03:21,673 --> 01:03:25,844
They outrageously abuse the persons
who are being photographed and portrayed.
1107
01:03:25,927 --> 01:03:27,762
They do untold injury to society.
1108
01:03:27,846 --> 01:03:30,098
Meese said he'll introduce legislation
1109
01:03:30,181 --> 01:03:32,684
to ban obscene cable TV programs
1110
01:03:32,767 --> 01:03:34,686
and telephone pornography services.
1111
01:03:35,812 --> 01:03:38,481
By this point,
part of the feminist movement
1112
01:03:38,565 --> 01:03:43,820
is allying with the conservative
religious right establishment,
1113
01:03:43,903 --> 01:03:48,575
arguing that pornography
is the most serious form of harm to women.
1114
01:03:49,701 --> 01:03:52,746
And so, leased access begins
to become a social problem
1115
01:03:52,829 --> 01:03:55,832
according to some 'cause
it's a lot of sexual content.
1116
01:03:56,958 --> 01:03:58,835
So, I started getting censored.
1117
01:04:02,589 --> 01:04:04,716
Oh!
1118
01:04:05,592 --> 01:04:07,469
No, it can't be.
1119
01:04:08,428 --> 01:04:11,723
There's a box in there
that says "Byrd fan mail."
1120
01:04:11,806 --> 01:04:13,350
Oh, my God.
1121
01:04:16,019 --> 01:04:17,729
- Wow.
- Wow!
1122
01:04:17,812 --> 01:04:22,692
"Dear Robin, those scum-sucking
pigs really made me mad.
1123
01:04:22,776 --> 01:04:26,071
"Anyone who wishes you to be gone
1124
01:04:26,154 --> 01:04:29,616
can simply block the channel
and fuck themselves."
1125
01:04:29,699 --> 01:04:32,952
Time Warner was petitioning
to take me off cable,
1126
01:04:33,036 --> 01:04:39,250
and they wanted everybody
to sign a card
1127
01:04:39,334 --> 01:04:42,754
that said that they watch
indecent programming.
1128
01:04:42,837 --> 01:04:47,133
The viewers at home,
I mean, they were pissed off.
1129
01:04:49,135 --> 01:04:50,220
"Dear Robin,
1130
01:04:50,303 --> 01:04:54,516
"if they cancel your show,
I'm going to cancel my cable.
1131
01:04:54,599 --> 01:04:58,311
"Their goal is nothing less
than an Orwellian measure
1132
01:04:58,395 --> 01:05:02,065
"to control what people
can or cannot witness
1133
01:05:02,148 --> 01:05:05,151
in the privacy of their own home."
1134
01:05:06,444 --> 01:05:08,822
This one's from Sy Newhouse.
1135
01:05:08,905 --> 01:05:10,990
"As a prominent publisher and writer,
1136
01:05:11,074 --> 01:05:15,412
"I'm shocked that Manhattan Cable
is indulging in censorship.
1137
01:05:15,495 --> 01:05:19,165
"Manhattan Cable is acting
like a gang of fascists
1138
01:05:19,249 --> 01:05:21,376
"and should not be tolerated.
1139
01:05:21,459 --> 01:05:25,922
"We have considerable power of the press,
both here and nationally.
1140
01:05:26,005 --> 01:05:30,468
Sy Newhouse, Condé Nast Publications."
1141
01:05:30,552 --> 01:05:33,471
Wow, this is some hell of a sandwich.
1142
01:05:34,389 --> 01:05:35,515
Unbelievable.
1143
01:05:37,517 --> 01:05:39,936
Listen, listen to my voice!
1144
01:05:40,019 --> 01:05:42,856
Don't take away my freedom of choice!
1145
01:05:42,939 --> 01:05:48,820
Robin Byrd's program has escaped scrutiny
for more than 14 years, but no more.
1146
01:05:48,903 --> 01:05:51,114
Listen, listen to my voice!
1147
01:05:51,197 --> 01:05:53,908
Don't take away my freedom of choice!
1148
01:05:53,992 --> 01:05:55,660
Shame! Shame! Shame!
1149
01:05:55,743 --> 01:05:57,620
A bawdy and boisterous protest
1150
01:05:57,704 --> 01:06:01,040
outside the offices of
the owners of Manhattan Cable,
1151
01:06:01,124 --> 01:06:02,667
where Byrd, her viewers,
1152
01:06:02,750 --> 01:06:05,587
and other Channel J producers
are ready to fight.
1153
01:06:05,670 --> 01:06:08,047
Take back what is right today!
1154
01:06:08,131 --> 01:06:10,341
Don't take away our Channel J!
1155
01:06:10,425 --> 01:06:14,429
I don't tell you to watch or not to watch.
You have that freedom.
1156
01:06:14,512 --> 01:06:18,808
I just give you a choice,
an alternative to what's on.
1157
01:06:18,892 --> 01:06:22,937
The FCC and the politicians
started stepping up the pressure
1158
01:06:23,021 --> 01:06:25,315
on the broadcasters and cable.
1159
01:06:26,816 --> 01:06:29,736
Tightening the rules,
and that's when the lawyers
1160
01:06:29,819 --> 01:06:32,322
started screening everything that I did.
1161
01:06:34,991 --> 01:06:37,494
I think a big company like Time Warner
1162
01:06:37,577 --> 01:06:40,121
was primarily interested
in making profits,
1163
01:06:40,205 --> 01:06:43,249
and they were responding
to whatever political pressures
1164
01:06:43,333 --> 01:06:47,504
they perceived in terms
of their own business interests.
1165
01:06:49,005 --> 01:06:52,258
So, then we get to the 1992 Cable Act.
1166
01:06:52,342 --> 01:06:54,093
A lawmaker from Nebraska says
1167
01:06:54,177 --> 01:06:56,679
he wants to protect
the sanctuary of your home
1168
01:06:56,763 --> 01:06:58,848
from uninvited indecencies.
1169
01:06:58,932 --> 01:07:01,100
He's trying to ban
the Robin Byrds of the world
1170
01:07:01,184 --> 01:07:03,186
from public and leased access channels
1171
01:07:03,269 --> 01:07:05,939
by giving cable companies
the right to say no.
1172
01:07:06,022 --> 01:07:07,607
Washington lawmakers
1173
01:07:07,690 --> 01:07:10,318
are once again moaning
over this type of programming,
1174
01:07:10,401 --> 01:07:11,986
and have introduced a senate amendment.
1175
01:07:12,070 --> 01:07:13,738
Members will record their votes.
1176
01:07:13,821 --> 01:07:15,740
So, Congress passed the law.
1177
01:07:16,866 --> 01:07:19,410
Censorship was gonna be permitted.
1178
01:07:19,494 --> 01:07:24,207
They wanted to scramble my show,
which in cable terms
1179
01:07:24,290 --> 01:07:27,835
is making it so that you couldn't see it.
1180
01:07:28,836 --> 01:07:32,924
That's when I realized
that protesting wasn't enough.
1181
01:07:33,007 --> 01:07:36,469
I joined in a lawsuit to sue Time Warner
1182
01:07:36,553 --> 01:07:39,973
with Al Goldstein and Lou Maletta.
1183
01:07:40,056 --> 01:07:43,351
They both had their own shows
on Channel J.
1184
01:07:43,434 --> 01:07:46,187
We were all fighting for the same thing:
1185
01:07:46,271 --> 01:07:47,897
free speech.
1186
01:07:47,981 --> 01:07:49,857
They wanted to scramble your signal.
1187
01:07:49,941 --> 01:07:51,776
Would that have really put you off?
1188
01:07:51,859 --> 01:07:54,571
It's the fact that people had to request
1189
01:07:54,654 --> 01:07:56,573
- this channel to be put on the air.
- So, requesting.
1190
01:07:56,656 --> 01:07:59,033
- So, what's wrong with that?
- Because you come out of the closet.
1191
01:07:59,117 --> 01:08:00,535
The real reason is,
1192
01:08:00,618 --> 01:08:02,412
they think it's indecent.
1193
01:08:02,495 --> 01:08:07,000
I, for one, feel that the human body
is not indecent.
1194
01:08:07,083 --> 01:08:09,586
I show the human body,
and they're dancing.
1195
01:08:09,669 --> 01:08:10,878
It's an art form.
1196
01:08:10,962 --> 01:08:13,548
My intent is not to be indecent.
1197
01:08:13,631 --> 01:08:14,841
What is indecent?
1198
01:08:14,924 --> 01:08:16,968
I think homelessness is indecent.
1199
01:08:17,051 --> 01:08:19,220
Children who have no family,
that's indecent.
1200
01:08:19,304 --> 01:08:23,182
I don't think that the human body
dancing around to songs is indecent.
1201
01:08:25,768 --> 01:08:29,480
Once Robin joined the lawsuit
to keep her show on local TV,
1202
01:08:29,564 --> 01:08:32,692
she became national news.
1203
01:08:32,775 --> 01:08:35,862
Joan, Donahue,
they all wanted a piece of her.
1204
01:08:35,945 --> 01:08:37,322
Robin, Robin.
1205
01:08:38,281 --> 01:08:42,327
For all the Byrdwatchers,
as you call your fans in New York,
1206
01:08:42,410 --> 01:08:44,912
is this it? Fini?
1207
01:08:44,996 --> 01:08:49,417
Well, I'm putting up a big fight.
I'm not going to give up the fight.
1208
01:08:49,500 --> 01:08:53,838
My fans are behind me 100%.
They're anti-censorship.
1209
01:08:53,921 --> 01:08:55,673
- Yeah.
- It's for the freedom of speech
1210
01:08:55,757 --> 01:08:58,259
and expression. It's the American way.
1211
01:08:59,886 --> 01:09:03,222
I was fearful of losing the audience.
1212
01:09:03,306 --> 01:09:09,979
I was fearful that this negative
thought about my show
1213
01:09:10,063 --> 01:09:12,315
was going to go the wrong way.
1214
01:09:12,398 --> 01:09:15,526
I was fearful of losing my purpose.
1215
01:09:20,198 --> 01:09:21,824
A new court battle
over the First Amendment
1216
01:09:21,908 --> 01:09:23,409
and censorship, the issue...
1217
01:09:23,493 --> 01:09:27,372
The Supreme Court will have to decide
whether this is freedom of speech
1218
01:09:27,455 --> 01:09:28,915
or whether cable companies have...
1219
01:09:28,998 --> 01:09:33,044
As the decision
was being made on my lawsuit,
1220
01:09:33,127 --> 01:09:35,213
I was right here in this house.
1221
01:09:35,296 --> 01:09:37,340
Congress said it was protecting children
1222
01:09:37,423 --> 01:09:40,593
when it passed the censorship law
requiring cable operators
1223
01:09:40,677 --> 01:09:43,179
either to ban all indecent
programs or round them up...
1224
01:09:43,262 --> 01:09:44,931
I was waiting for the Supreme Court
1225
01:09:45,014 --> 01:09:47,600
to decide whether or not
I was gonna be banned
1226
01:09:47,684 --> 01:09:48,976
or not for the show.
1227
01:09:49,060 --> 01:09:51,396
- See you on the other side!
- See you.
1228
01:09:52,647 --> 01:09:54,816
And they called me and said
1229
01:09:54,899 --> 01:09:59,487
the decision was finally made
on the courts.
1230
01:10:01,197 --> 01:10:03,366
The US Supreme Court
has told the federal government
1231
01:10:03,449 --> 01:10:06,577
to stay out of the business
of banning indecent programming
1232
01:10:06,661 --> 01:10:08,413
from cable television.
1233
01:10:10,957 --> 01:10:13,209
The airing of
sexually explicit programming
1234
01:10:13,292 --> 01:10:17,505
on public access and leased cable channels
was protected today by the Supreme Court.
1235
01:10:17,588 --> 01:10:19,590
Writing for the court,
Justice Stephen Breyer
1236
01:10:19,674 --> 01:10:22,427
said the need to shield kids
doesn't justify
1237
01:10:22,510 --> 01:10:25,930
reducing the adult population's viewing
to only what is fit for children.
1238
01:10:29,809 --> 01:10:34,230
I am so relieved that there is
justice in this world,
1239
01:10:34,313 --> 01:10:36,816
and that... God bless America.
1240
01:10:41,070 --> 01:10:43,614
After Fox interviewed me in the harbor,
1241
01:10:43,698 --> 01:10:45,908
we went home and opened up
a bottle of champagne
1242
01:10:45,992 --> 01:10:47,577
and got stinking drunk.
1243
01:10:51,164 --> 01:10:55,626
I felt vindicated for my viewers.
I felt vindicated for my justice.
1244
01:11:00,923 --> 01:11:02,133
I was elated.
1245
01:11:09,015 --> 01:11:10,391
Yes.
1246
01:11:16,731 --> 01:11:18,649
The First Amendment protects
1247
01:11:18,733 --> 01:11:23,279
not only the right of Robin and others
to express themselves,
1248
01:11:23,362 --> 01:11:27,742
but also protects audience
members to choose to view it.
1249
01:11:29,494 --> 01:11:31,621
It was a very important cultural moment
1250
01:11:31,704 --> 01:11:35,666
when Robin challenged the power
of a very big company
1251
01:11:35,750 --> 01:11:39,045
to determine what
our media diet was gonna be.
1252
01:11:46,093 --> 01:11:49,430
So, she's a local hero
for having represented
1253
01:11:49,514 --> 01:11:52,975
that diversity
and that challenge to the rule
1254
01:11:53,059 --> 01:11:55,269
of the big monopolistic companies.
1255
01:12:16,999 --> 01:12:20,795
After the lawsuit,
I was overwhelmed with joy
1256
01:12:20,878 --> 01:12:24,799
that after three years,
it finally came to a close.
1257
01:12:28,886 --> 01:12:30,388
It was a relief.
1258
01:12:31,472 --> 01:12:36,477
But I felt very spent, so to speak...
1259
01:12:37,478 --> 01:12:41,858
'cause we used a lot of energy,
1260
01:12:41,941 --> 01:12:44,569
resources, money.
1261
01:12:45,695 --> 01:12:47,154
Hello, Bobby.
1262
01:12:47,238 --> 01:12:48,948
- Hi, Robin.
- How are you?
1263
01:12:49,031 --> 01:12:51,659
Hello. How are you?
1264
01:12:51,742 --> 01:12:54,912
Hi. Welcome home! Hi!
1265
01:12:54,996 --> 01:12:58,541
And then, the crochet bikini
was getting stretched out,
1266
01:12:58,624 --> 01:13:03,296
and I'm hiding my getting-older body.
1267
01:13:09,051 --> 01:13:13,306
After 25, 26 years, I'm done.
I've done it.
1268
01:13:13,389 --> 01:13:17,101
That's a quarter of a century,
so I'm gonna retire.
1269
01:13:19,770 --> 01:13:22,315
I think every success that is achieved
1270
01:13:22,398 --> 01:13:25,234
is endemic to that particular
time when it happened.
1271
01:13:26,360 --> 01:13:29,614
I guess Robin felt
the internet was too unwieldy,
1272
01:13:29,697 --> 01:13:32,366
it's global, it's scary,
it's hard to control it.
1273
01:13:32,450 --> 01:13:35,077
It's not like leased access in New York.
1274
01:13:38,539 --> 01:13:39,999
It was one of the first times
1275
01:13:40,082 --> 01:13:43,377
that I was able to put things
out of my apartment,
1276
01:13:43,461 --> 01:13:44,879
and put them into my--
1277
01:13:44,962 --> 01:13:46,839
- Into someplace else.
- Yeah.
1278
01:13:47,506 --> 01:13:49,091
Oh, my God, I don't know
what you're gonna think
1279
01:13:49,175 --> 01:13:50,509
about all of this.
1280
01:13:50,593 --> 01:13:52,136
I'm excited to see it.
1281
01:13:52,970 --> 01:13:55,097
Oh, wow. Okay, great.
1282
01:13:55,181 --> 01:13:56,307
Awesome.
1283
01:13:56,390 --> 01:13:58,601
But this is some of the...
1284
01:14:00,186 --> 01:14:05,274
stuff that I thought maybe
you'd find interesting.
1285
01:14:05,358 --> 01:14:08,486
- Yeah.
- There's lots of stuff in here.
1286
01:14:08,569 --> 01:14:11,280
We have the signs, the picket signs.
1287
01:14:12,323 --> 01:14:13,699
That's awesome.
1288
01:14:13,783 --> 01:14:16,953
"Protect your rights. Save Channel J."
1289
01:14:17,036 --> 01:14:19,246
This journal,
I don't remember this journal.
1290
01:14:20,289 --> 01:14:21,666
Wow!
1291
01:14:21,749 --> 01:14:23,668
Okay, this is great.
1292
01:14:23,751 --> 01:14:25,503
This is the sort of thing that's,
1293
01:14:25,586 --> 01:14:29,757
that's, you know,
definitely of scholarly interest.
1294
01:14:29,840 --> 01:14:33,010
There's a great sexuality collection at
1295
01:14:33,094 --> 01:14:35,846
Cornell University has some
really amazing stuff.
1296
01:14:35,930 --> 01:14:38,808
I'd love to work with you, but the fact
1297
01:14:38,891 --> 01:14:41,268
that you're even, like,
thinking about this
1298
01:14:41,352 --> 01:14:43,854
is really good and really important.
1299
01:14:43,938 --> 01:14:45,564
So, I'm thankful for that.
1300
01:14:48,275 --> 01:14:51,237
The past year opened my eyes to the point
1301
01:14:51,320 --> 01:14:54,782
where I wanna do something
with the clutter,
1302
01:14:54,865 --> 01:14:58,995
which turns out to be not so much clutter
as much as history.
1303
01:14:59,870 --> 01:15:02,081
I don't need that stuff.
1304
01:15:02,164 --> 01:15:04,542
All I need is you
1305
01:15:07,628 --> 01:15:09,422
He's my person.
1306
01:15:09,505 --> 01:15:10,631
That's true.
1307
01:15:11,465 --> 01:15:12,925
That's really all I need.
1308
01:15:13,009 --> 01:15:15,678
That's all I needed
to build what we built.
1309
01:15:18,848 --> 01:15:23,811
I would like to move forward
with archiving our stuff.
1310
01:15:23,894 --> 01:15:25,396
What do you think?
1311
01:15:25,479 --> 01:15:29,650
You're asking me,
but Robin is the one
1312
01:15:29,734 --> 01:15:34,697
that did the shows and everything else
and says yes or no.
1313
01:15:35,614 --> 01:15:37,700
And I go with her decisions.
1314
01:15:37,783 --> 01:15:39,660
Oh, we have an agreement there.
1315
01:15:39,744 --> 01:15:42,997
It's not gonna get done
if I don't make it happen.
1316
01:15:43,080 --> 01:15:46,250
- Because life isn't infinite.
- Sure.
1317
01:15:47,668 --> 01:15:50,296
- Why am I in this thing again?
- Because you're part of my life.
1318
01:15:50,379 --> 01:15:51,714
Oh, okay.
1319
01:15:51,797 --> 01:15:53,340
Wow!
1320
01:15:53,424 --> 01:15:56,260
Happy birthday, dear Robin
1321
01:15:56,343 --> 01:15:57,762
- Robin!
- Whoo!
1322
01:15:57,845 --> 01:16:01,557
Happy birthday to you
1323
01:16:01,640 --> 01:16:04,935
Whoo! Yes!
1324
01:16:05,019 --> 01:16:06,520
Not every day I turn 70.
1325
01:16:06,604 --> 01:16:08,981
Oh, my God, it's out there. I'm 70.
1326
01:16:09,065 --> 01:16:12,234
I am 70! Can you believe that?
1327
01:16:12,985 --> 01:16:15,196
No. Suck.
1328
01:16:36,258 --> 01:16:39,261
When you all wanted me
to walk down the beach naked,
1329
01:16:39,345 --> 01:16:41,514
I'm like, "Oh, no, I don't wanna do that."
1330
01:16:42,765 --> 01:16:45,476
Because I didn't want
people to see that I'm,
1331
01:16:45,559 --> 01:16:48,646
you know, older, fatter.
1332
01:16:49,855 --> 01:16:53,067
You know, I didn't want that image.
1333
01:16:53,150 --> 01:16:57,571
But then I was like, "Wait a minute.
What a hypocrite am I?"
1334
01:17:06,455 --> 01:17:10,000
I feel that we all have a mission.
1335
01:17:10,084 --> 01:17:11,544
We all have a destiny.
1336
01:17:13,379 --> 01:17:15,381
We're all given these detours.
1337
01:17:15,464 --> 01:17:20,177
Me, my detour,
was to make people happy.
1338
01:17:22,972 --> 01:17:25,724
To give them love that I wanted.