- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRadley Henry Metzger
- One of the pioneers of American adult cinema, Radley Metzger was born in New York. He first made a name in erotic cinema by importing and distributing European erotic films, including the Danish sex film I, a Woman (1965). At around the same time Metzger decided to direct his own features, which quickly became renowned for their strong sense of composition, high-tone locations and edgy, erotic subject matter. Among his best-known softcore features are Therese and Isabelle (1968), Carmen, Baby (1967) and Camille 2000 (1969), all of which were shot in Europe. Other notable Metzger films of the period include The Lickerish Quartet (1970), Woman of the Year (1972) and Score (1973). Once hardcore porn came to dominate the US adult film market after Deep Throat (1972), Metzger directed several highly-regard explicit features using the pseudonym "Henry Paris," including The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann (1974), Naked Came the Stranger (1975), The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976) and Barbara Broadcast (1977).
- IMDb mini biography by: A. Nonymous
- Spouse? (1 child)
- Co-founder, with Ava Leighton, of Audubon Films.
- Served as a photographer in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950's.
- Received a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from the City College of New York.
- Radley Metzger was born in the Bronx and raised in Washington Hts, but many people thought he was European, simply because most of his films were made overseas.
- [on why he started his own production/distribution company] Ordinarily a producer sees possibly 10% of what his pictures bring in, because the income has to be cut into so many small pieces. In my case I didn't have to realize as much on my pictures because I saw 100% of what was coming in, and I didn't have an enormous bureaucratic structure to support.
- [on why he used the pseudonym Henry Paris for his hardcore films] I'd always say that the reason for changing my name was too esoteric for anyone to understand. The truth is that I was terrified of going to jail.
- Erotic movies are like musicals. They're judged on what happens between the numbers, not just during. So every scene has to be approached the same.
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