Reems returned to theater in the 1979 play The Office Murders and the 1981 play What the Butler Saw. Reems was cast in the 1978 musical film Grease as Coach Calhoun, but out of fear that his notoriety would jeopardize the film's box office in the Southern United States, he was replaced by Sid Caesar. His autobiography Here Comes Harry Reems was published in 1975, in which he reported extensively on his first experience as an actor in adult movies. His successful appeal was handled by Alan Dershowitz. Nicholson, Beatty, and Louise Fletcher were reportedly ready to testify on his behalf at his trial. The defense argued he was the first American actor to ever be prosecuted by the federal government merely for appearing in a film, and he received considerable support from established Hollywood and New York celebrities during his trial, including Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, Richard Dreyfuss, Colleen Dewhurst, Rod McKuen, Ben Gazzara, Mike Nichols, Julie Newmar, Dick Cavett, George Plimpton, and Stephen Sondheim.
The charges against Reems were dropped in August. California), and Reems was granted a new trial. Supreme Court ruling on obscenity in 1973 ( Miller v. His conviction was overturned on appeal in April 1977 because his activities in making the film occurred before a U.S. He was convicted in April 1976 with 11 other individuals and four corporations. Reems's appearance in Deep Throat led to his arrest by FBI agents in New York City in July 1974 and his indictment in Memphis, Tennessee, in June 1975 on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute obscenity across state lines.
Trial and later years as an actor Ī theatre in Amsterdam featuring Deep Throat Streicher said that he was unaware that the director had given him the name "Harry Reems" until he saw the movie. He was paid $250 for one day of acting work ($1,200 total). įor the production of Deep Throat in Miami, Florida in January 1972, Streicher was hired to be part of the lighting crew, but the director was unable to cast one of the roles and asked him to play the part. He also appeared in several Swedish-produced porn films, including Justine & Juliette (1975), Bel Ami (1976) and Molly (1977), as well as the mainstream SS Operation Wolf Cub (1983). He provided narration for the film Mae West (1982).
Reems also appeared in a couple of mainstream films, such as the sex comedy/horror film Case of the Full Moon Murders (1973), the drama Deadly Weapons (1974), horror films Demented (1980) and To All a Goodnight (1980), the comedy National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1982) and the TV movie The Cartier Affair (1984). In 1975 he published a memoir, Here Comes Harry Reems, in which he details the early years of his adult film career. He eventually went on to appear in approximately 140 feature-length sexploitation and hardcore films between 19 and from 1982 to 1985, with Deep Throat (1972) and The Devil in Miss Jones (1973) being the best known, as well as grindhouse roughies like Forced Entry (1973) and Sex Wish (1976) in the former he plays a sadistic Vietnam veteran hellbent on rape and murder – later described by Streicher as the one film he regretted appearing in – while in the latter he plays a husband-turned-vigilante seeking revenge over the rape and murder of his wife. Looking for ways to support himself, Streicher appeared in dozens of short silent stag films, often referred to as " loops", during the early 1970s. It was for this film that he changed his name to Peter Long. Cemano then starred him in his first 16 mm feature film, called The Weirdos and the Oddballs, which was later upgraded to 35 mm and released as Zora Knows Best. It was a body-painting sex scene that Streicher later described as his most painful sex experience because the tempera paint used began to dry and crack.
Prior to appearing in Deep Throat, Streicher was chosen by filmmaker Eduardo Cemano to do a hardcore scene in a film called The Deviates, which had been released previously as a softcore film. His early (non-porn) acting career were principally in off-Broadway theater for La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New York Theater Ensemble and National Shakespeare Company. In 1967, he moved to East Village in Manhattan where his brother and roommate were gaining experience as actors. However he later enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, from which he received an honorable discharge following hardship leave. In 1965, at age 18, he went the University of Pittsburgh to become a dentist. Harry's father later entered the printing industry and was wealthy enough to move the family to Westchester, New York. His father Don Streicher worked as a salesman before becoming a bookmaker. Reems was born Herbert John Streicher on August 27, 1947, into a Jewish family.