Kristine DeBell

Those of you who best-remember Kristine DeBell as the titular innocent-but-quick-learning lass in the 1976 adult feature film Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy (arguably one of her best-know roles), and expect to hear some of the lowdown on it from her in this interview, may be disappointed. Kristine agreed to do this interview for Idol Features under the condition she wouldn't be asked any questions regarding that film. However, you can get the answers to pretty much all the questions I would have asked her about Alice and the film, from the March 22, 2015 article at The Rialto Report.

After "Alice," which was her first film role, Kristine went on to have a successful mainstream acting career, that included both film and television. Her long list of big screen credits includes Blood Brothers, The Main Event, and Meatballs, alongside such names as Richard Gere, Ryan O'Neal, and Billy Murray, respectively. Her TV credits include prominent guest roles on Barnaby Jones, CHiPs, Night Court, and a stint on the long-running daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Of course, there were some parts she narrowly missed getting during her heyday, such as the part of Vickie La Motta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull, but those at least lend themselves to some good audition stories.

After pretty much retiring from show biz in 1990 to raise a family, Kristine returned to acting a few years ago, and after the 20-plus year hiatus, took on the new challenge of playing characters quite unlike those she played when she was in her 20s and early 30s. In this recent interview, she talks about what that's been like. We also touch on what Hollywood was like for her back in her 70s and 80s heyday, and drop a few names along the way. Above photos, circa 1978 and 2016, courtesy of Kristine, herself.

June 27, 2016 interview with Kristine DeBell

Nadia White

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Whatever Happened to Ryu Mi-oh?

The name Ryu Mi-oh won't mean anything to those unfamiliar with Korean nude models who were popular from the mid-90s to early 2000s, but those who know who she is/was (a group that will mainly consist of expats in Korea during that time) will surly appreciate this article.

Ryu Mi-oh was one of the ladies featured here in this 2010 piece on the most notable names ever in Korean adult entertainment. She started her career in front of the camera as a nude model. Her voluptuous image not only graced magazines, she was also featured on such things as advertisement posters and nightclub flyers. She first appeared on the scene in the mid-90s, when the Internet was in its formative years. Even so, it's surprising there's so little information about her online (and I say this after searching Korean sites for her), seeing that she was arguably the most popular nude model in Korea when the Internet became commonplace a few years later.

Whatever Happened to the Texas Cowgirls, Inc.?

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are arguably the most famous cheerleading squad in the NFL and have been since the early 1970s. They debuted in 1960 as a co-ed squad called the "CowBelles & Beaux," and by the late 60s, the Cowboys' then-general manager decided an image makeover for their cheerleaders was needed to boost game attendance. The male cheerleaders were dropped in 1969 and in 1970, the outfits were redesigned. Two years later, another outfit modification was made and that design is pretty much what is worn by the ladies today, save for a few minor alterations over the years.

Besides cheering on the Cowboys on game days, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders make personal appearances at shows and events all over the world. Yours truly has caught some of their abbreviated touring squads during their USO tours of military bases in South Korea and Japan. I could go on at length about the DCC, but this article isn't about them. This is about the Texas Cowgirls, Inc., a long-defunct Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' faction formed by ex-Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Tina Jimenez, that first gained (in)famy in the late 1970s. Above is the (in)famous shot for their poster, that ran in the December 1978 issue of Playboy magazine.

JAV Idol Mana Aoki Makes the Cover of Basic Mathmatics

Earlier this month, Thai publishing company Muangthai Book released a public school math textbook featuring a shot of JAV Idol Mana Aoki as their “cover girl.” The photo is originally from the promo shoot for Costume Play Working Girl, in which Miss Aoki (naturally) stars as the costume play working girl. The authors’ names on the image of the cover (at right) that’s been floating around the net to accompany this story, have been blurred out to protect the embarrassed.

Of course, Muangthai Book didn’t know who Miss Aoki was when her photo was found on the net and selected by one of their employees, but when they found out, they stopped publication of the book until a new cover is chosen. As for the reported 3,000 copies that had been released, it’s a good bet that they’re already collectors’ items, so some astute math students and teachers will probably hang on to theirs, despite a recall.

This has been all over the net for a couple of weeks now, so for more details, a simple Google search will take you to many other articles covering this, such as this one at Rocket News 24.

May Ling Su Revisited

It was hard for me to believe it had been so long, especially since she doesn't look a day older now than she did then, but the first time I wrote about May Ling Su was over seven years ago. That brief article I did on the lovely "Internet exhibitionist," was actually for another site and I shared it here.

Keeping in loose touch with May Ling through Facebook over the last several years, I knew she was somewhat of a nomad. She's lived on both coasts of the US as well as her native Philippines, since I first met her. Currently living in Maine, she still has several unique websites that she personally operates. Super Spy Chick and Strip Karaoke being two of the more humorous and milder examples.

In addition to her work in front of the camera, May Ling has recently lent her voice to the audio book version of Anthony Pacheco's Armageddon's Princess. Also making a name for herself as a photographer, she's had works displayed in galleries in the US and Europe. She tells me that her Maine location and the winter months have made it difficult for her to find models, but she plans on meeting with some this spring and for those interested, "fierce and fearless" is the type she says she's looking to shoot. 

Hye-kyoung Lee

Choreographer and dance instructor Hye-kyoung Lee doesn't look old enough to have played a company secretary over 20 years ago, but that small role on a then-popular Korean TV drama was her acting debut. Four years after that, she began performing in the Korean adult entertainment industry, where she became one of its most popular stars, working with other top actresses in the business, such as Mi-oh Ryu, Se-hee Jung, and Do-hee Jin. Names so relatively unknown outside of Korea, only those who have spent a significant amount of time in Korea, may recognize them.

Known in Korea as "ero" movies (short for "erotic"), Korean adult films are mild by Western standards, as lower-frontal nudity isn't shown, nor are the many "variants" that are produced by the US adult film industry. Even though there's a bit of a social stigma attached to eroticism in Korea, where Confucianism is a fundamental part of its society, Hye-kyoung doesn't feel any need to hide her adult film past, not that she should. She was willing to speak with me candidly about her past vocation, as well as her life these days, where she spends many hours a week in the dance studio, motivating her students to realize their dreams of performing on stage. The above, and very recent, photo is courtesy of Hye-kyoung, herself.

Susan Kiger - Never Before Seen Photos

In response to my piece on whatever happened to former Playboy Playmate and actress Susan Lynn Kiger, I've had several readers post comments and send me messages telling me of times they spent with the lovely Miss January 1977. Some said they had the pleasure of knowing Susan personally, while others shared their recollections of meeting her at promotional events and fan signings during her all-too-brief modeling and acting heyday.

Tony M., a reader who met Susan a little more than a year after her Playmate issue hit the stands, sent me the photo scans you see here. He took the photos during Susan's appearance at the 1978 Sacramento Autorama car show, which is an annual event still held to this day. Tony's also been gracious enough to allow me to publish these photos here, for the first time anywhere.

The Girls of the "Rape Zombie: Lust of the Dead" Trilogy

What could be a better piece for Halloween than a feature on the female cast of another zombie splatter movie from Japan? A feature on the the female cast of a zombie splatter movie trilogy* from Japan. Naoyuki Tomomatsu's Rape Zombie: Lust of the Dead trilogy, the first part of which was featured at the 2012 Yubari Fantastic Film Festival, is as wonderfully gory and tasteless as the title implies and it should go without saying that the cast is chock-full of JAV (Japanese Adult Video) alumnae.

There are over a dozen former and current gravure, pink film, and JAV idols who appear in this 2012-2013 three-part splatterfest (some in "blink-and-you'll-miss-her" parts), but the focus here will be on the four ladies in the more prominent roles and a few honorable mentions. The "nurse" at the forefront of all three of the above posters for the films, is the trilogy's main heroine, played by JAV idol Alice (Arisu) Ozawa.

*So far, this is a trilogy. There could be a part 4 in the works and possibly an intent to make this a franchise, but as of this writing, the "Rape Zombie" movie count stands at three.

Japanese Female Celebs' Final Acts

There have been many comparisons made between Japanese and Korean cultures. One such comparison is the how changes, pressures, and social stigmas of modern life has effected the two, and who are more prone to commit suicide due to the aforementioned factors. In recent years, several top Korean entertainers have committed suicide when it seemed like they had everything to live for. Money, fame, family, friends. Yet, they still felt like they needed to end it all and checked out at young ages. I wrote this piece on that Korean "cultural phenomenon" back in October of 2008 and have updated it several times since, every time another Korean female celeb has taken her own life.

In the almost four years since I wrote that entry, I've been asked how the celebrity (more specifically female celebrity) suicide rate in Japan compares with that of Korea. I'm, in no way, going to present any analogies or official statistics of this, but since it's news whenever a famous person dies (by whatever means), all it took for me to find out how female celeb suicide rates compare between Korea and Japan, was some Internet research. In short, Korean female celebs have been more prone to take their own lives in recent years (the "trend" beginning in February, 2005 with actress Lee Eun-joo's death) but the suicides of Japanese female celebs started two decades earlier. Also, the Japanese ladies seem to be a bit more creative than their Korean counterparts when it comes to the method to end it all, sometimes employing the use of toxic chemicals while the Koreans overwhelmingly favor hanging as the preferred means.

In my initial search for Japanese female celeb suicides in recent decades, I came up with six names. However, I later found out that one lady, whose cause of death was reported by most sources as heart attack, was actually a suicide, so that made the count seven. Of those names, the suicide of the one who was best-known occurred 26 years ago and the ones since weren't all exactly household names in Japan (as Choi Jin-sil was in Korea). The most recent being gravure idol Miyu Uehara (above), who was found hanged in her apartment on May 12, 2011. She left no note but was apparently unhappy with her chosen career, despite becoming quite popular in her field, and with over 400 television appearances to her credit.

Annie Cruz

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The Girls of Attack Girls Swim Team vs. The Undead

Carrying on in the spirit of the Halloween season, here are the ladies of another Japanese horror-comedy, the 2007 gorefest Attack Girls Swim Team vs. The Undead (aka The Girls Rebel Force of Competitive Swimmers and Undead Pool). The poster at left features star and former JAV idol (of course) Sasa Handa at center with the chainsaw, which is misleading because she wasn't the one who used a chain saw in this movie. Anyway, to the left of Sasa is her fellow JAV veteran and co-star Yuria Hidaka, who is also given plenty of room to shine (if not swim) in this movie.

In a nutshell (since this isn't a really review of the movie as it is a feature on the ladies who appear in it); an inoculation that's supposed to prevent a virus that's going around the school, turns those that get the shot into flesh-eating zombies. However, the members of the swim team aren't affected and it's later discovered that the chlorine in the pool seems to make them immune to the effects of the tainted vaccine. So, we have the swim team vs. the undead. If you have a collection of Japanese gore movies with gratuitous female nudity, this one is definitely worth adding to it. That is, if you don't already have it.

The Girls of the Horny House of Horror

The 2010 comedy-splatterfest Horny House of Horor is another low budget gem from Japan that's full of spurting blood, cheap titillation, and lowbrow humor. But what really makes this one a must-have, is that the entire female cast is composed of JAV alumnae. What more could you expect or want from director Jun Tsugita (Mutant Girls Squad), and splatter master Yoshihiro Nishimiru? The latter of whom was also responsible for most of the blood and gore in the films mentioned in this entry.

Gracing the film's poster at right, are (left to right) Mint Suzuki, Saori Hara (known as "Mai Nanami" in her pre-AV days), and Asami Sugiura (credited in the movie as just "Asami"). The ladies play a trio of castrating cuties employed at the Shogun Massage Parlor, a "fashion health" establishment, which is actually (as the Japanese title implies) a fashion hell establishment for the men who patronize it. Highly recommended if you like a lot of blood with your comedy and with your T&A.

Asian Women in Prison Movies

Arguably the most popular sub-genre of exploitation films, women in prison movies (regardless of where they were made) generally have three main elements, which are; sadistic guards, sadistic inmates, and at least one innocent new convict who was unjustly convicted and is now confronted with the first two aforementioned elements.

The majority of Asian WIP ("Women-In-Prison" for those not yet with the program) movies come from Hong Kong and Japan. I've caught a few notable ones from other Asian countries, such as Taiwan and Thailand, but not really from South Korea, which is disappointing considering the lovely talent pool they have always had there.

At right is Mina Asami gracing the video box cover of the 1983 film Female Prisoner: Caged! from Japan's Nikkatsu Studios. As covered in this entry, Nikkatsu was the leading producer of pink films during the "roman" porn era.

Japanese Santa's Helpers

For this year's Christmas-themed piece, here are a bevy of Japanese beauties appropriately attired for the season, beginning with JAV idol Kirara Asuka (above) shown here on the DVD cover of Chri Chri Merry Christmas. Definitely not a holiday movie for the kids. 

Japanese AV and Gravure Idols do Horror

Halloween is horror movie time and if you've watched a low-budget Japanese horror/gore flick in the last few years and wanted more info on the sexy actress in the lead role, finding it shouldn't be difficult. Chances are, a simple Google search is all it will take to see a lot more of her because most of the ladies seen in such gems were chosen from the very large talent pool of AV and gravure idols Japan has to offer. Above, we see how nicely JAV alumnae Sora Aoi, Risa Kasumi, and Mari Sakurai fill out their roles in Big Tits Zombie (in 3D!).

Korean Ero Icons

Of all the ladies who've set foot in the Korean soft core porn or "ero" (short for "erotic") video industry over the past 20 years, whether as a stepping (or stumbling) stone to other avenues of show biz or just to carve a niche for themselves as an ero actress before fading into obscurity, there are only a handful who have arguably earned icon status in the field.

One who can certainly be considered an ero icon is Jin Do-hee, who made her mark in the classic Milk Cow Lady's Love Affairs series. Pictured above is Do-hee adorning the video box cover for the 1995 original.

Pastor Melissa Scott née Barbie Bridges

The unusually-sexy-for-her-occupation pastor Melissa Scott was once known as adult video star Barbie Bridges. In fact, I met Melissa/Barbie at the Deja Vu Showgirls in Nashville, Tennessee in late 1994. I'd never heard of her before then. She just happened to be appearing there when I visited. She was billed as a former Playboy Playmate in one of their foreign editions. I got a chance to briefly speak with her there after one of her performances and when I did, I asked which issue she'd appeared in. I remember she replied in a stereotypical dumb blonde voice; "all of 'em." As I thanked her for the signed photo (above right), she said, "Sure hon. Can I have a hug?" Of course, I obliged.

Motivational Posters

Since the original "hang in there, baby" image of a kitten struggling to hold on to a tree branch, started appearing on walls over 40 years ago, motivational posters have been created to inspire us to persevere when the going gets tough. Demotivational posters have since shown up as a parody.

Either way, I've noticed that quite a few photos of well-known Asian ladies have appeared on Internet versions over the last several years, such as this famous shot of Sunghi Lee (above) from her 1996 milk photo shoot that she did for Playboy's Book of Lingerie.

Whatever Happened to Susan Kiger?

Most red-blooded American males remember our first time gazing at the pages of Playboy magazine and of course, that issue's Playmate of the Month. She's a girl we'll never forget. Some went on to further their careers in the spotlight, (such as Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy) while most others seem to have faded away into obscurity.

I was far too young to buy a copy of the January 1977 issue of Playboy at the time it hit the newsstands, so I creatively acquired it with the help of a friend's older brother. Miss January 1977 was Susan Lynn Kiger, who went on to have a brief acting career after her gatefold appearance, as well as being featured in and on the covers of a few subsequent issues of Playboy.

Susan (pictured at right from a 1977 Playboy cover shoot) also holds the distinction of being the only Playmate to have appeared in an adult film before becoming a Playmate. (The film was 1976's Deadly Love and those of you thinking Susan wasn't the only one, I'll correctly inform you here and now: No, Miss April 1986 Teri Weigel did porn after she became a Playmate.) Susan's post-Playmate acting credits consisted of several TV shows and low-budget movies, most notably the 1979 T&A comedy H.O.T.S., alongside fellow Playmates Pamela Bryant and Sandy Johnson. She also had a small part in the 1980 film Galaxina, which starred another of her fellow Playmates, the ill-fated Dorothy Stratten. Oh, and I'm refraining from using the term "former" Playmates here because according to Playboy (meaning Hugh Hefner); "once a Playmate, always a Playmate."