SERENA: ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW by Dimitrios Otis

In 2006 the late Bill Margold offered to put me in touch with legendary porn goddess Serena, who had long ago retired and hadn’t done an interview in twenty years. In fact, she was so out of the loop (no pun intended) that I had to write a letter to her to introduce myself and try to set up the interview! So, on April 18, 2006, I wrote to Serena c/o a P.O. box in California, which led to this interview taped over the phone. When I later told Margold how enchanted I was by Serena’s voice, he told me “You’ve just been Serena-ized.” Originally published in a condensed format in SCREW Magazine, this is the full interview appearing for the first time.

OTIS: Most of your fans seem to think you purposely dropped out of sight.

SERENA: It’s pretty accurate…I’ve been kind of a mystery lady. I did drop out of sight! I just kinda got burnt out on the industry in the mid-80’s, then I got with a different partner for a while that didn’t like me doing porn, but he had other stuff to offer me, so I went along with that. My twenties were rebellion years, when I was actively working and having a great old time. But as I got more mature, I wanted to, uh…fuck less people (laughs).

OTIS: So, what have you been doing?

SERENA: I’m an artist and I always have been. I sold my first painting when I was four years old. I do erotic paintings now— sex and other images. Some of my paintings are of blowjobs. (Visit Serena’s official site to purchase her artwork, books, etc.)

OTIS: Why is that?

SERENA: Isn’t it self-explanatory?

OTIS: OK, that answers that. So, looking back, who is Serena the porn goddess?

SERENA: Well, my real name is Serena, to start with. Jenn Gillian, my earlier professional name, was so my parents wouldn’t find out, which lasted about one month. I got the name from my favorite singer, Ian Gillan of Deep Purple. I was a genuine babe, prettier than most of the porno women but a very natural, kind of a hippie girl. I even had hair under my arms. I started out doing pictorials, starting with Oui magazine (December 1974). They were called “pretty girl” pictorials. We didn’t even show our pussies at first. Then when I did films, I was doing softcore. I even got arrested for a film with Bill Margold when I only did softcore. Bill added up the potential jail time he could have got and it was 92 years. That was Macumba by Carlos Tobalina, a really nice man. It had a voodoo theme. But I didn’t want to just do softcore. I really, really enjoyed different partners, men and women. I always wanted to be in the spotlight and I came alive in front of the camera. In fact, I did almost all my screwing on film. After that I went home and flopped out in bed.

OTIS: What are your favorite movies you were in?

SERENA: One that stands out in a funny way is Teenage Cruisers . It’s the weirdest, weirdest movie I’ve ever made—very bizarre. But I like odd people and odd things. Teenage Cruisers was more R than X. I made another R-movie too, called Fantasm . I actually forgot about it until the company that put it on DVD—Synapse—sent me a copy (It has since been released on Blu-ray with its sequel, Fantasm Comes Again through Vinegar Syndrome). Bill Margold has the poster on his wall and I didn’t even know I was in it! The really hot ones I love are Blond in Black Silk —I was very beautiful in that—and Olympic Fever with Ron Jeremy, Candida Royalle and Lisa DeLeeuw.

OTIS : A big part of your legend is your participation in kinky material.

SERENA: It’s all Jamie Gillis’ fault! He was a real hardcore stud in those days. I went to New York in the early 70’s to do a dance gig at, not the Melody but another place [Show World]. Anyway, it was for, like, a week and I stayed two years, because I moved in with Jamie right away. We were lust at first sight, all over each other. Not really love, but lust for sure. He introduced me to S&M. He actually taught me how to be sado-masochistic. It was more of being a dominatrix… I didn’t beat him, but I would make him obey me, tell him what he couldn’t do. But then he would do things where I would have to obey him! I guess it’s easier for a woman to be submissive. We traded off.

OTIS: You spent time at SCREW magazine too. What do you remember about SCREW ?

SERENA: Mostly when I fucked Al [Goldstein]. How could I forget that? He was a big fat slob. We had one tryst. I suggested it actually just to see how I’d feel after.

OTIS: How did you feel?

SERENA: I wouldn’t do it again. I still got work from him though, doing pictorials. He was nice but he was mean too.

OTIS: You’ve been tracking down your old movies…

SERENA: I’ve been getting nostalgic about the old days. We bought some of ‘em off the web. But some are only on bootleg.

OTIS: And old fans have been helping you?

SERENA: Oh, yes. The first one that contacted us said, “Serena, I’m your very biggest fan!” He had my filmography and lots of info. We put part of his letter on my website because it was so good. But then I went to a show in Monterey and another guy came up saying he was my very biggest fan, because he went to one of my movies when he was underage and broke his cherry with a woman while watching me!

OTIS: I hope it wasn’t The Abduction of Lorelei .

SERENA: Oh god, I know that film! That was one of my first hardcore movies, made by a German guy. I didn’t want to do it, actually, I really didn’t. He either talked me into it or I desperately needed the money. I ended up really being frightened where they kidnap me and put me in the van, maybe because I’m claustrophobic in real life, and I didn’t like it. But I calmed down and kind of enjoyed myself for the rest of the film.

OTIS: What about that infamous scene with the Dr Pepper bottle?

SERENA: Did I do that?! Oh dear… Well, I love Dr Pepper—it was my favorite drink.

OTIS: Is that why the bottle was there on the set?

SERENA: That might be! I used to drink it all the time…

OTIS: What else can you share with us?

SERENA: My nipples are my trademark. I have one in and one out. No man has ever got it to come out.

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Here’s a San Francisco Examiner article from February 3, 1982 about Serena. Click for larger view: