Gerard Damiano

Gerard Damiano (August 4, 1928 – October 25, 2008) was an American director of pornographic films and producer/director of the 1972 cult classic Deep Throat. He was born to an Italian American Catholic family in the Bronx. When he was 6, his father died; his mother never remarried. The day he turned 17, he joined the United States Navy for 4 years. Before this, he was a shoeshine boy in Times Square and worked in an automat. Afterwards, he studie... more

Gerard Damiano (August 4, 1928 – October 25, 2008) was an American director of pornographic films and producer/director of the 1972 cult classic Deep Throat. He was born to an Italian American Catholic family in the Bronx. When he was 6, his father died; his mother never remarried. The day he turned 17, he joined the United States Navy for 4 years. Before this, he was a shoeshine boy in Times Square and worked in an automat. Afterwards, he studied X-ray technology on the G.I. Bill and was an x-ray technician at Jamaica Hospital in Queens NY, then opened a hairdressing salon with a friend in New York City. Frequently overhearing sexual gossip at the salon convinced him that pornographic films made to appeal to couples would be a commercial success. Damiano took an interest in film-making after his accountant introduced him to a producer who was making a low-budget horror film. Intrigued, Damiano began helping out as he could on the set. He directed the famous film Deep Throat (1972)... less