BY VINCENT LAMBERT
When asked how it felt to be inducted into the prestigious AVN Hall of Fame at this year’s ceremony in March 2002, Chad Johnson cackles, “It made me feel old!” For this 42-year-old porn veteran, it was a much deserved and long-awaited promotion to porn’s upper echelon. Johnson, who began making films in the early ’80s, only recently returned to the industry that made him a star. “When I look at those old videos,” he says, “I think, Wow! I look like a baby!”
Director Gino Colbert, who presented Johnson with his award, has known the hirsute hunk for 15 years. “Chad is truly one of the great, genuine guys in the business,” says Colbert, “and he has only gotten more handsome with time.”
It has been a long climb to the top for Johnson, who hails from West Palm Beach, Florida, but now lives in Redondo Beach, California. And it all started with a chance encounter with one of porn’s premier auteurs. “I was 19 years old and walking down the street in West Hollywood,” Johnson recalls. “[Director] William Higgins pulled up in his Porsche and asked, ‘Have you thought about doing movies?’ And I said, ‘What kind of movies?’ I had no idea what he was talking about.”
Before long, Johnson found out. He was offered a role in Higgins memorable 1984 film Pipeline, but things did not go according to plan. “Higgins made me bottom,” Johnson says, “and it was not a good experience. I felt like I was raped in that movie. If you watch it, you can tell by the expression on my face.”
So after appearing in just one other film (the 1986 Catalina classic The Pizza Boy: He Delivers), Johnson decided to pack it in. But three years later, the industry beckoned once again. And this time, he followed his true calling. “When I was 23, I had a brand-new car that I needed to pay off,” Johnson says. “So I decided to do porn again for the money. But I told my agent that I would only do it if I could be a top.”
Over the next six months Johnson appeared in about a dozen films, including Perfect Ten, Delicious and Too Big for His Britches. But even though he found his niche as a top, reaching a new level of fame in the late ’80s, Johnson was never completely comfortable with the role of porn star. “I always felt like an oddball,” he says. “Everyone else was blond and young with smaller frames. I was dark and hairy. I wasn’t the norm.”
But Johnson’s return to porn proved to be short-lived. While on a movie set, he met co-star Dane Ford (supposed “brother” of late porn legend Leo Ford), and the two began an 11-year relationship. “Everyone said it wouldn’t last,” Johnson says with a laugh, “but we were together for a long time. And it was Dane who took me out of the business.”
During his next hiatus from the industry, Johnson returned to school and began a career as a hairdresser. When his relationship with Ford ended a few years ago, Johnson decided to look up agent Johnny Johnston. “I met a fan who showed me some of my old movies,” Johnson says. “I had never seen a lot of them. I thought they were pretty good. So, I wasn’t in a relationship, I was 40 and still looked okay, and I thought, If I’m gonna do it, I better do it now.”
Since his latest comeback, Johnson has done 14 movies, including Man Academy, Echoes and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. He says that the industry has changed a lot in the 20 years since he got his start, and, in his estimation, not always for the best. “In the ’80s, you were treated like a star,” he says. “Today, they use you up and spit you out. In fact, the money was better back then.”
So for now, Johnson is planning his next career as a gemologist. His future in porn remains unclear. “I might be done,” he says. “I enjoy doing the movies. They are cool, but work is work. Plus, I’m not getting any younger.” At least this veteran performer has the satisfaction of winning the AVN Hall of Fame Award, which proudly sits on a dresser in his bedroom. “It was important to me to win,” Johnson says. “I felt, finally, recognition! It felt really good.”
Reprinted from Adult Video News magazine (2002)
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