NEW YORK — Golden Age male performer Ron Hudd has passed away, according to his friends at The Rialto Report.
No details are available at this time about the time or place of his passing; in his later years, Hudd was reportedly conflicted about his adult work. His age has been listed by online sources as 68.
The news was revealed by The Rialto Report in the intro to a reminiscence by fellow performer Lisa Be.
“Ron Hudd, a prolific New York adult film actor in the early 1980s, passed away recently,” the introduction read. “The Rialto Report lost a friend. He spoke with reserved amusement about the people with whom he worked, like Radley Metzger, Roberta Findlay and Larry Revene, but preferred to remain in the shadows. To mark his passing, The Rialto Report spoke with Lisa Be about her unique relationship with Ron.”
Acording to his IAFD entry, Hudd was active in the industry between 1976 and 1985, with over 100 film credits for top studios of the era like Caballero, VCA and VCR.
Be wrote about meeting Hudd on the set of “A Scent of Heather” (1980).
“The day I shot my second scene for the film,” she wrote, “remains one of the most beautiful of my life. It was with Ron, who I had just met for the first time. He was striking, intense and serious, as well as introverted and taciturn. He had a deep voice that commanded attention, and a tattoo of Pegasus on his arm. I found him instantly attractive, but wondered if we would have any chemistry. After all, we looked like the Midwestern kids that we were, Ron from Indiana, me from Michigan, so would it be like two cousins having sex?”
“My doubts disappeared the moment we came together for the camera. I had just emerged from makeup in my period costume. Ron looked at me and his eyes grew wide in schoolboy incredulity. I stared back at him in awe, returning the same gaze. The instant sexual attraction was mutual, real and intense.”
“Our scene started on a grand staircase, and ended on a four-poster bed. Ron was to deliver the line: ‘You are the most beautiful girl in the world,’ which he changed to ‘You are the most beautiful woman in the world.’ He said it with immense vulnerability and shyness, looking at me with the same intimate and penetrating stare.”
“The director shouted, ‘Cut!’ and asked Ron to revert to the original dialogue line.”
“Ron looked embarrassed, taken aback. He snapped out of the moment, clearly fearing that he had been too sincere and romantic in delivering his line. The concern he had for being too authentic and not macho enough was etched over his face.”
“I soon learned, that was Ron. He disliked his own best qualities, such as the gentleness that he tried to keep hidden behind a gruff exterior.”
Be said Hudd was an artist at the time they met and he lived in a studio on West Broadway.
Through a shared interest in art, Be and Hudd bonded. He told her his art career “meant everything to him. Certainly more than relationships. That was the reason he made adult films. The movies provided enough money to support his art endeavors, and meant he could have sex with a variety of women without the need for any commitment.”
A few years ago, Be reconnected with Hudd, by then “a successful painter whose work appeared in exhibitions across the country and was sold through major auction houses. (It was, however, sad to see that he had abandoned his earlier, wistful style in favor of modern, colorful abstract images.)”
To read the entire reminiscence of Ron Hudd by Lisa Be, visit TheRialtoReport.com.