I can’t really tell you how exactly I ended up reading a book about the most famous man in porno. I was browsing around for some ebooks on FDR for my Kindle when I found this in someone’s “Must Read Biographies” list. I was intrigued as I’ve never really read anything about the porn industry before. The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz follows the legendary Ron Jeremy and his 9 3/4″ “Equipment.”
Having done more than 1,800 adult films and slept with more than 4,000 women, I expected the book to be full of torrid stories of debauchery and excess. Given Jeremy’s penchant for comedy, I also expected to laugh my ass off.
Not really.
The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz starts out normal enough. Ron Jeremy Hyatt lays bare his life beginning with his teenage years in New York. He enraptures the reader with tales of timid sexual exploration and the glory days of the ’70s “free love” movement. Halfway through the book, I was caught up in Jeremy’s story. In addition to the roundabout manner in which he ended up in porn, the “Hedgehog” details his endless desire to be a standup comedian and to break into showbiz. The adventure had, so far, managed to keep my interest.
At this point, a photo montage broke up the middle of the book. Featuring over 20 pictures, Jeremy wanted to showcase practically every famous person he has ever met. While I understand the reasoning for this, as I possess a narcissistic streak as well, the remaining 175 pages read more like a Wikipedia article: “I did this movie. I had a role in that movie. I was cut from this movie. I met this person. I introduced these two celebrities. I opened for this band.” I am fine with someone laying out their accomplishments, but each lacked substance. When Jeremy announced Limp Bizkit, there was no amusing story about backstage antics…simply a paragraph about him doing it before moving on to another paragraph referencing how he used to hang out with Slash, followed by yet another paragraph mentioning how much Jim Carrey and Robin Williams liked him.
I will admit that the second half of the book was painful to finish. I found myself resisting the urge to skip ahead and gloss over the ridiculous amount of self-aggrandizement. Ron Jeremy claims that he likes to poke fun at himself and enjoys being an “average man” just like the rest of us. However, The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz reads more like a treatise to all those that doubted him or snubbed him in his life. Or perhaps it is just Jeremy’s way of achieving that Tom Cruise-esque celebrity status that he always pined for.
Despite its misgivings, I did enjoy the occasional nugget of Jeremy’s life. I found myself rooting for him to make his standup comedy act into something the whole world would enjoy. He seems like an honestly genuine guy that made it 90% of the way but couldn’t find the right combination of porno stardom and natural talent to complete the journey.
Rating: 4.5/10
-Chad 2
