I was in Hal Adams' sixth grade English class in Newton, Massachusetts, when I first saw the 73 inch bustline of Chesty Morgan. The internationally renowned stripper was coming to Boston and some kid had smuggled in an ad for her appearance. Debate raged as to whether or not they could possibly be real until Mr. Adams confiscated the piece of paper.

But the ad had burned an indelible image in my mind, and the name Chesty Morgan would forever bring a smile to my face. She appeared again shortly after that first episode, in a story from my oldest brother. He and some of his friends had gone to see what was then considered to be a dirty movie, Deadly Weapons, starring Chesty.

The movie was taking off of the then current popularity of the first Godfather picture, with the addition of a humongous set of breasts. The story begins with the assassination of the old Godfather by a rival family. Chesty is heartbroken and swears out revenge. One by one she finds the men responsible and suffocates them in her massive mammaries.

I would later learn that Deadly Weapons was the twenty-first picture directed by the "Queen of the Nudies", Doris Wishman. She'd been at it since Hideout in the Sun (1960), and had made such classics as Nude on the Moon, Keyholes are for Peeping, Bad Girls Go To Hell, Blaze Starr Goes Wild, Gentlemen Prefer Nature Girls, and Passion Fever. Many of these were made under a variety of assumed names, including Luigi Manicottale, Kenyon Wintel, Louis Silverman, and Anthony Brooks.

The "Nudies" were the forerunners of modern adult pictures and, as shocking as they seemed when they came out, are hardly more than late night cable fodder today. Around the time Deadly Weapons was released, in 1973, the pornography world was about to be turned upside down by such movies as Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones. The new hardcore left nothing to the imagination, making the old Nudies seem almost naive in their innocence. The Doris Wishman movies that were once viewed for their sexual content were now mere camp, to be viewed for comic amusement only.

I had the opportunity to meet Doris at a screening of two of her movies in Los Angeles in 1988 (see ticket below). In the theatre lobby was the poster for Deadly Weapons, featuring a shot of Chesty. Across her breasts was the legend "73-32-36." The headline of poster screamed,

"Watch the mob get busted when Chesty takes her revenge"

Next up was the film I'd waited more than a decade to see, Deadly Weapons, starring Chesty Morgan. Morgan, whose real name is Lillian Wilczkowsky, did not disappoint. A wonderfully funny movie, even if it wasn't intended to be. Each time Chesty's shirt would come unbuttoned the sound effects of a bowling ball hitting a strike would announce the appearance of her greatest assets. Acting was certainly not the Polish immigrant's strongest point.

And then, Doris came out to answer questions from those assembled. She was rather confused, and perhaps even a little upset, that she had been invited to speak as part of an "in-person film-makers" series. She let us know that these pictures were not meant to be studied. There's nothing for film students to learn from them. They're merely commerce, and dated commerce at that, as far as she was concerned.

Asked what her primary motivation was for her particular oeuvre, she wasted no time in answering,

"Tits sell."

For more information, please see:

• The Internet Movie Database: Doris Wishman Filmography
• The Internet Movie Database: Chesty Morgan Filmography
• Doris Wishman, Sexploitation Sinema

UPDATE: Doris Wishman died on August 10, 2002, of complications from lymphoma. Doris refused to divulge her age, but she was estimated to be from 77 to 90. She made her home in Coral Gables, Florida.

Doris was a show-biz original: part Lina Wertmuler and part Russ Meyers. She'll be missed, but will never be replaced. Her final movie, "Each Time I Kill," is expected to be released later this year.

L.A. Times obituary

ticket courtesy of the Bill Kent Collection