The name of chelly wilson It is unknown to most viewers, but this femme fatale managed to carve out a relevant niche in American society at a time when machismo was the prevailing norm. In the 1960s, the Greek company came to own up to six X movie theaters in New York City, after fleeing as a Jew from a Holocaust in which almost her entire family was murdered.
The queen of porn (Queen of the Deuce), he Filmin’s new documentaryaddresses the story of this pioneering woman, in whose memoirs the search for freedom prevails, helping the most disadvantaged and her good work in business, above the doubtful relations with the mafia and the critics who point her out as antithesis of feminism.
“Except for the fact that she was a Jew celebrating Christmas in a porn theater, there is nothing weirder in her life”jokingly point out in the footage the Wilson grandchildren, who came from the Sephardic population in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.
The documentary directed by Valerie Kontakos, the documentary filmmaker who worked as a ticket clerk at one of Wilson’s theatersaddresses the story of a survivor who fought tooth and nail, but whose image divided those around her to the point that many acquaintances have not wanted to participate in this project.
From victim of the Holocaust to entrepreneur of the porn industry
Married in an arranged marriage to a man she loathed (“every kiss made me vomit”), a divorced Chelly fled to the US at the start of World War II. He left behind his two children.: one ended up enlisted in the Israeli army after they all died in Auschwitz; the other would have to hide with a Christian family before the Nazi invasion.
With very little money and a desire to conquer the world, Wilson had different jobs in NY, starting with some as unrewarding as hot dog vendor A professional career that took a turn when he met the movie projectionist Rex Wilson, whom she married and began to build his empire in the film world.
Pointed out in the film by her relatives as a captivating woman, with a lot of temperament, foul-mouthed, intelligent, a chain smoker and an incredible business vision. Chelly soon took over six New York movie theaters: the Cameo, Adonis, Venus, Lido West, Lido Est, and Eros theaters. (the gay venue on whose steep stairs his home was).
His beginnings in porn movies
His sociable character caused him to become friend of film producers and distributors, beginning to project different films in its rooms. But, the money didn’t start coming in until he released adult movies there, with the release in their title rooms as Flesh and Lace (Joseph W. Sarno, 1965), which could currently be broadcast on any afternoon television session.
His good business managed to stabilize his life. A time when he conceived his third daughter and brought the older ones to the United States. The city of New York would become a real home for the Greek, who would get used to being the owner of the roost with numerous men under her orders and unusual power for a female at that time.
The success of X theaters in New York
The 42nd street, the cradle of erotic cinema, It continued for years dragging a faithful legion of morbid spectators, in search of a snatched freedom. Thus, Chelly realized that the business was increasing and with it created the company Chelee Films, with which he produced titles such as Scarf of Mist Thigh of Satin (Mist Scarf-Satin Thigh). A school of impoverished actors, musicians and artists, who agreed to fake sex on camera in order to earn a living.
In the late 1960s, Wilson also distributed horrorporn title Scare their pants off!, realizing that the erotic scenes were increasingly explicit. In this way, the boss began to make the leap from softcore to hardcore porn, a term coined in 1969 for the cinema that openly showed all kinds of sexual practices. This is also how his new production company was born: Variety Films.
Similarly, Chelly was one of the first Americans to import gay films into New York, while continuing to produce and distribute erotic films for all audiences. “It was a forbidden fruit for many years and at that time it was available. People just wanted to see it,” says one of his regular collaborators in the documentary.
Sapphism and porn movies
Wilson’s sexuality was always questioned from his own youth. Even his own relatives never knew when they were facing a lover or an exam, among all the people who crowded their home daily. And it is that Chelly herself confessed, in a series of interviews, that when she was young she was called “Salomón Serero, because he was a tomboy”.
Despite her marriage to Rex, who was fully aware of her sexual orientation, Chelly always lived out of the closet and with unusual affection towards her husband until the last day. Meanwhile, her love for the singer Noni Kantaraki It caused him to open the famous Mykonos restaurant, where he met actresses such as Shirley MacLaine. A place whose design she was responsible for Vasilis Fotopoulos, the Oscar winner for best artistic direction for Zorba, the Greek.
Chelly gradually moved away from the porn movie business, leaving his daughter Bondi in command. However, things got increasingly complicated for the Variety Films company, at a time when porn was associated with prostitution and drugs. bondi came to be arrested for film distribution Illusions of a Lady, a title accused of obscene material and conspiracy against the United States.
The heir to this empire narrowly escaped jail. Finally, the Greek they stopped producing porn in the 80s and were forced to close the rooms in the 90sdue to the arrival to the mayoralty of New York of Rudy Giuliani, who cleaned the streets of all activity that he considered immoral.
Thus ended the legacy of Chelly Wilson, who would continue to enjoy her good name and wealth to her last day, transferring his love for cinema and business to one of his grandchildren, who today is trying to carve out a career as a filmmaker.
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