Porn Valley- I spoke today with Rhonda Jo Petty who’ll be in Las Vegas next week for the Legends of Erotica induction at Ray Pistol’s, www.xxxdeepthroat.com Showgirl Video, https://www.adultfyi.com/read.aspx?ID=7568.

Petty will induct Johnny Keyes. Our chat covered a lot of topics including the fact that Petty is learning about webmasters. She’s gone through three of them already in an exasperating attempt to launch her website. But now that she’s got things under personal control, she hopes to be launched in time for next week.

Petty tells me a story about her first webmaster and the fact that she discovered he was a child molester. And after that, the drama grew accordingly. And, of, course we talked about her career in porn, Petty telling me she got out of the business around 1986.

In talking to her, one thing that’s pretty obvious from the get go is the fact that Petty will call you “honey” more often than a waitress.

“I worked through 1986 and left the industry at the beginning of 1987,” Petty tells me. “I was back in New York during that time period. I made my last film for Caballero. That was Satisfaction.” Asked why she decided to leave, Petty says, “What? After 12 years? I was burnt out. I was on the road for six years prior to that making appearances. And then I had a break up with a boyfriend. I was just pretty burnt out. After 12 years, how long can you do it. I was turning 30 years old, 31, really. I started when I was 19. That was a long time and it was a good time to go do something else. Within two years I had met my husband and we’ve been married ever since.” Petty explains that she met her husband through her sister and her husband.

“My husband and my sister’s husband had done business together. They introduced us. I’m from the Valley, originally. I was born in North Hollywood and raised in Chatsworth. I went to Chatsworth High School, honey. I’m a Valley Girl- second generation.”

Before she came back to California, Petty spent most of her time living in New York. “From 1979 on,” she says. “I was shooting movies in New York but making appearances at strip clubs all over the country- mostly the east coast, Canada. I was making very good money. It was better money than making films. It was more consistent and I could count on it. I would work six days a week and on Sunday fly to my next appearance. I would work a month or more at a time then take two weeks off and then just go again. Doing that for six years was pretty tough. I was always a hard worker and money was always a big motivator for me. But I ended up having my knees give out. I had problems with that and doing five shows a day, 12 hour days, six days a week.

“I liked it because of the money and could take off when I wanted to,” she continues. “I could make up to five grand a week. Back then it was very good money. The money very much motivated me back then. And back then I was shooting films in New York with Vanessa Del Rio and all the people back there. I got to experience the west coast and the east coast.”

Petty was very candid about the fact that the money literally went through her fingers. “It was a very fast lane life,” she says. “There was a lot of drugs, a lot of drinking, a lot of partying. And then I’d take vacations down to the Bahamas. I lived very high on the hog. I had a good time, honey. I had my own place, my own car. I did what I wanted. I was a free spirit.”

Prior to getting married, Petty did have a boyfriend for four or five years. “But I didn’t see him that much. I was on the road most the time, so we were kind of on and off. But I was the type that I did what I wanted to do.”

As most performers usually do, Petty got her start by answering a World Modeling ad. “I first started doing magazines and he approached me about doing movies. I said okay, I’ll try it. I started doing 8mm loops and then of course I did Little Orphan Dusty. That was really the film that took off, even though I had been in magazines for awhile. I started being promoted as the Farrah Fawcett lookalike.”

I asked Petty if that was already by design on her part. She says Farrah Fawcett was the last person she wanted to look like, she was not fascinated with her and that she had no clue that the director of Little Orphan Dusty, Jake Jacoby, was going to do that type of promo.

“He’s the one that came up with that during the filming but I had no idea he was going to promote it that way afterwards,” she says. “In fact when that movie came out I was not expecting it. It scared me so bad that I went into hiding for over a year. Because of my family finding out. And I used my real name. It was kind of devastating to me. At that time the industry, and the theaters were getting real big and I was a little naive about it. I thought my family would never find out. But guess what. That movie came out and got busted all over the United States. It was highly p.r.’ed and my family finally did find out. My dad knows a lot of people in the Valley and a lot of people in the legit film industry that I was raised with. My dad’s pretty well known. And it was pretty upsetting.”

Petty explains that she used her real name, never knowing for the better not to use her real name. “I was also naive about how far this was getting out there,” she states. “Jacob Jacoby said what name do you want to use and I said let’s use my name. What’s the big deal? Little did I know that the film was going to do what it did.” Petty then decided to roll with the punches and maintained using her real name throughout the rest of her career.

Petty then for a period of time got away from the industry and kept company with a sugar daddy who was into black marketing X rated films. “I was even naive about that,” she says. “I found out later that was what he was doing when the FBI showed up at my door. I didn’t see my family for almost a year. Then he got arrested and sent to prison. He couldn’t take care of me any more so I went back to the business. I made a big deal with Armand [Weston] the producer. They gave me a huge contract to do three films with John Holmes. I got almost $20,000 for that. That’s when I started shooting again and I was off and running until I ended up quitting.”

Petty figures she might have done close to 500 movies. “There was so much out there that wasn’t taken care of and got lost.” Petty also recalls a time when she worked for Gourmet Video and shot movies for Bobby Hollander and Gloria Leonard. “I even went to [trade] shows for them,” she recalls. “I also did a lot of Swedish Erotica and 8mm loops and all that stuff.”

Petty says she was real good friends with John Holmes. “I even lived with John for awhile. There was a lot of stories there.”

“You must have been devastated when you learned that he had AIDS,” I said.

“Thank God I lived in New York when all that happened,” says Petty, noting that Holmes had done gay porn in San Francisco. “When you abuse things, you play, you pay. To tell you the truth it was probably the best thing that ever happened that I did move back to New York at that time. Who knows how involved I might have been. Because I did run with John. The drugs were the heaviest in my life when I was around John. When we shot a movie together we’d have two or three ounces of cocaine. That’s for a day. I don’t know how I did it. I’m surprised I didn’t kill myself.”

“Or else you may have wound up in Wonderland,” I tell Petty.

“And I was very fortunate that I didn’t get AIDS,” she answers. “I don’t know. Somebody was really looking over me. And I never got mugged in New York and I’d stay out at all hours.”

Neither can Petty relate an instance of ever having an STD. “I never had a problem,” she said. “But I was working with all the top guys- John Leslie, Jerry Butler, Ron Jeremy. Those guys were pretty careful. We didn’t have a lot of problems like that and I don’t remember anyone having problems with that back then.” Petty also remembers instances of working two weeks, three weeks on a film. As far as favorite performers go, Petty says she got along with everyone in the business.

“I became very close with Vanessa Del Rio in New York. We hung out together a lot. I also hung out with Ron Jeremy. And I became friends with all the girls. But when I went home, I went home. I didn’t take work home with me. I would go out and party, yes. But I would only be with the people that were really party-heavy. Like John Holmes. But I would keep myself very isolated when it came to my home life.”

Petty says she was a wild child growing up, noting that her father rode motorcycles and was a partier. “But he was also a heavy worker. I was around a lot of parties growing up. My life was very full and out there. By the time I was 16 I was hanging out in Hollywood. I did a lot. Cruising, Jesus Christ. I’d go to motorcycle races. Oh my god when I think about it.”

Asked what turn her life might have taken had she not gotten into the industry, Petty says she doesn’t want to sound conceited but she always knew things were supposed to happen for her. Consequently, she carried herself in the industry with pride and class. “This all kind of happened and when it happened it was meant to be and it fell in place for me.”

Petty also mentions how at the age of 16 her parents weren’t there for her like they were for her younger sister. “So I was lost and floating out there by the time I turned 18 and left home at 18.”

“So, if I play the analyst, was going into porn your way of gaining that attention? I ask her.

Petty agrees wholeheartedly. “Porn gave me the attention I didn’t get at home. It gave me the pat on the back. They were very good to me, telling me how wonderful and great I was. Porn was there for me. I got treated wonderfully. This became my family. I think you hit the nail on the head.”

Petty then touches on some of the problems she’s had with webmasters. “It’s been a total nightmare.” Petty, as many others, has discovered a common denominator. “They lie. They steal. They’re lazy. They don’t do what they say they’re going to do. So, guess what? We brought it home. We have our own business and have out web guy at our company. I said that’s it. I’m not dealing with these guys any more. I’m bringing it home to our office.”

“And they don’t return phone calls, right?” I ask Petty

“Oh yeah,” she said. “It’s just ridiculous. And they tell you they’re going to do things and they don’t come through. They’re no better than prostitutes.” Petty’s new website is called Classic Exotic Stars, www.classicexoticstars.net

“The web guy we fired a couple of weeks ago is holding my dot.com name hostage, she explains. “He’s just screwing with me right now.”