Editing Marilyn Chambers (section)

=== Mainstream crossover ===

==== Hollywood ====
Chambers dreamed of having a career in mainstream films and believed her celebrity as the star of ''Behind the Green Door'' and the Ivory Snow girl would be a stepping stone to other endeavors. "The paradox was that, as a result of ''Green Door'', Hollywood blackballed me," she said later. "[''Green Door''] became a very high-grossing film&nbsp;... But, to a lot of people, it was still a dirty movie; for me to do anything else, as an ''actress'', was totally out of the question. I became known as a porno star, and that type of labeling really hurt me. It hurt my chances of doing anything else."<ref name="Femme Fatales">"Marilyn Chambers: Softcore & Sci-Fi," Dan Scapperotti, ''Femme Fatales'', September 1997, pp. 54–60</ref>

Throughout the 1970s, producers of several Hollywood films considered casting her. Her biggest opportunity came in 1976 when it was announced in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' that she was to star alongside [[Rip Torn]] in ''City Blues'', a film about a young hooker defended by a seedy lawyer. The film was to be directed by [[Nicholas Ray]]. Ray had never seen ''Behind the Green Door'' or even screen-tested Chambers. Instead, the two met and Ray was impressed. "I have a camera in my head," he said, adding that Chambers would "eventually be able to handle anything that the young [[Katharine Hepburn|Katie Hepburn]] or [[Bette Davis]] could." However, the project never came to fruition, in large part due to Ray's alcohol and drug abuse. Ray died in 1979.<ref>''Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director'', Patrick McGilligan, HarperCollins, Jul 12, 2011, p. 484</ref>

Chambers claimed that [[Jack Nicholson]] and [[Art Garfunkel]] brought her in to talk about a role in the 1978 film ''[[Goin' south|Goin' South]]'', then asked her for cocaine and grilled her about whether her orgasms in ''Behind the Green Door'' were real; she was angered to the point where she stormed out of the interview.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2001-06-06/news/porn-again/4/ |title=Bruce Rushton, "Porn Again", ''The Riverfront Times'', June 6, 2011 |access-date=December 28, 2011 |archive-date=May 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521042547/http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2001-06-06/news/porn-again/4/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She was going to be cast in the film ''[[Hardcore (1979 film)|Hardcore]]'', opposite [[George C. Scott]], but the casting director took one look at her and said she was too wholesome to be cast as a porn queen. "The ''Hardcore'' people wanted a woman with orange hair who chews gum, swings a big purse, and wears stiletto heels. That's such a cliche," Chambers said years later.<ref name="Hubner" /> [[Season Hubley]] was cast instead.

==== ''Rabid'' ====
Chambers won the starring role in [[film director]] [[David Cronenberg]]'s low-budget [[Cinema of Canada|Canadian movie]], ''[[Rabid (1977 film)|Rabid]]'', which was released in 1977.<ref name=nytobit/> Cronenberg stated that he wanted to cast [[Sissy Spacek]] in the film lead, but the studio vetoed his choice because of her accent.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} The director says that the idea of casting Chambers came from producer [[Ivan Reitman]], who had heard that Chambers was looking for a mainstream role. Reitman felt that it would be easier to market the film in different territories if the well-known porn star portrayed the main character. Cronenberg stated that Chambers put in a lot of hard work on the film and that he was impressed with her. Cronenberg further states he had not seen ''Behind the Green Door'' prior to casting her.<ref>{{cite video|people=Cronenberg, David
  | title = Rabid
  | medium = DVD
  | publisher = Somerville House
  |date=2004}}</ref>

"It was great working with David," Chambers said in a 1997 interview. "He taught me a lot of things that were very valuable as an actress, especially in horror films. I found it useful in sex films, too!"<ref name="Femme Fatales" />

==== Theater work ====
In 1974, she starred in the dinner theater production of ''[[The Mind With the Dirty Man]]'' in Las Vegas and received favorable reviews for her work.<ref name="LVS75">{{cite news|title='Ivory Snow' Girl Returning To Plaza|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/anonymous-celebrity-clipping-jul-20-1975-432679|access-date=24 October 2017|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|date=20 July 1975}}</ref> The play ran for 52 weeks which, at the time, was the longest-running play in Vegas history, and the mayor gave Chambers the key to the city.<ref name="Hubner" />  In 1976, she starred in a short-lived musical revue off-Broadway called ''Le Bellybutton''.<ref name="AJ">{{cite news|last1=Glover|first1=William|title=Marilyn Chambers Savors Work Before Live Audience|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/anonymous-celebrity-clipping-apr-12-1976-432673|access-date=24 October 2017|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Albuquerque Journal|date=12 April 1976}}</ref> In 1977, she starred in [[Neil Simon]]'s ''Last of the Red Hot Lovers'' in Vegas.<ref name="LVS77">{{cite news|title=Red Hot Lovers' Debuts At Plaza|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/anonymous-celebrity-clipping-oct-11-1977-432680|access-date=24 October 2017|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|date=11 October 1977}}</ref> The one-woman show ''Sex Surrogate'', in 1979, caused controversy in Las Vegas as it featured full-frontal nudity, which was banned from all major hotel casino showrooms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/42937007.html |title=Adult film star Marilyn Chambers dies at 56; Las Vegas ties numerous|author=JOHN ROGERS|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|access-date=April 25, 2016}}</ref><ref name="ADB">{{cite news|title=Mayor says actress should cover up|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/anonymous-celebrity-clipping-may-11-1979-432677|access-date=24 October 2017|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Anderson Daily Bulletin|date=11 May 1979}}</ref> In 1983, the play was spun off into a 26-part syndicated soap opera called ''Love Ya, Florence Nightingale''. It was broadcast on cable television channels such as the [[Playboy Channel]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1697&dat=19830506&id=EjUqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RUcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4164,1437320 "Chambers doing TV series"], ''Park City Daily News'', May 6, 1983</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20087285,00.html |title=Heroes & Villains: a Postscript|website=People.com|access-date=April 25, 2016}}</ref>

==== Singing career ====
Chambers had some chart success with the disco single "Benihana" in 1976, produced by [[Michael Zager]] on the [[Roulette Records]] label.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2009/scene/markets-festivals/porn-star-marilyn-chambers-dies-1118002368/|title="Porn star Marilyn Chambers dies"|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=April 13, 2009|access-date=August 6, 2023}}</ref> ''Billboard'' magazine said, "She... sings quite nicely in a sexy little voice in this catchy disco tribute to an oriental lover man."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22marilyn+chambers%22&pg=PT83 |title=Billboard|date=February 5, 1977|access-date=April 25, 2016}}</ref> The song is played in the background of one scene in the film ''[[Rabid (1977 film)|Rabid]]''. In ''[[Insatiable (1980 film)|Insatiable]]'', she sang the theme song, "Shame On You," which plays over the opening credits. She did the same for the song, "Still Insatiable", which was used in her comeback in the 1999 adult film of the same name. She also sang vocals in the 1983 X-rated film, ''Up 'n' Coming'', in which she plays a rising country music star. In the early 1980s, she was the lead singer of a country and western band called Haywire.<ref name="Hubner" />

==== Published works ====
Chambers wrote an autobiography, ''My Story'', in 1975, and co-authored ''Xaviera Meets Marilyn Chambers'' with [[Xaviera Hollander]] in 1977. Both were published by Warner Communications. She also wrote a sex advice column in the mid-to-late 1970's for ''Genesis'' magazine called "Private Chambers", and one for ''Club'' magazine throughout the 1980s called "State of the Nation". In 1981, she released a book of sex positions and tips called ''Sensual Secrets''. One of the male models featured in the photos with Marilyn was a young [[Ron Jeremy]]. The same year, she released another sex manual called ''The Illustrated Kama Sutra''.<ref>{{cite book | title = The Illustrated Kama Sutra: The Marilyn Chambers Kama Sutra Guide to the Sensual Secrets of Making Love and Sex | date = January 1981 | publisher = Amazon | isbn = 9780931550737 | url = https://www.amazon.co.uk/Illustrated-KAMA-SUTRA-Marilyn-Chambers/dp/B003U47NSU | access-date = August 24, 2017}}</ref>

==== ''Insatiable'' and return to porn ====
[[File:Marilyn Chambers Sin City Party 1999.jpg|thumb|Chambers attending a [[Sin City (studio)|Sin City]] film studio party, 1999]]
Although she had tried for several years to shed her image as a porn star, Chambers returned to the adult film industry with 1980's ''[[Insatiable (1980 film)|Insatiable]]''. In the film, she played actress, model, and heiress Sandra Chase, whose appetite for sex is, as the title suggests, insatiable. Sandra is getting ready to make a movie and her manager, played by [[Jessie St. James]], is working on getting some big names to appear alongside Sandra. The story is told in a series of flashbacks which detail Sandra's sexual encounters.

"My manager had never really wanted me to do X-rated film[s]," she said in 1997. "He tried to move me out of that, but—seeing as things didn't go that way, and I wasn't getting any legitimate projects—it was something that we needed to do. I was known in the X-rated business, and it was the right time. It was a cool story and the budget was going to be a lot higher; there were going to be helicopters and Ferraris. It was going to be very classy. There were some names in it that would be good for the box office, [including [[John Holmes (pornographic actor)|John Holmes]]] and that was at a time when X-films were still playing in theaters."<ref name="Femme Fatales" />

The bet paid off. ''Insatiable'' was the top-selling adult video in the U.S. from 1980 to 1982<ref>Williams (1999), p.175</ref> and it was inducted in the [[XRCO]] Hall of Fame.<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=http://www.bwdl.net/XRCO-2/hall.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007005528/http://www.bwdl.net/XRCO-2/hall.htm | archive-date=October 7, 2007 | title=BWDL }}</ref> It was followed by a sequel, ''Insatiable II'' in 1984. Another X-rated film, ''Up 'n' Coming'', was released in 1983. She also released six direct-to-video features in the early 1980s called ''Marilyn Chambers' Private Fantasies'', in which she acted out her own sexual fantasies alongside some of the biggest names in the industry. The scenarios and dialogue for the series were written by Chambers. Despite her return to the adult-film world, Chambers dreamed of launching a successful mainstream acting career, but was unable to do so.<ref name=nytobit/>

Chambers left the pornography business because of the increasing fear of [[AIDS]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/07/25/NEWS12352.dtl&ao=2 |title=The return of Marilyn Chambers|author=Michael Dougan|date=July 25, 1999|work=SFGate|access-date=April 25, 2016}}</ref> In 1999, Chambers returned to San Francisco to perform at the Mitchell Brothers' [[Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre|O'Farrell Theatre]]. Mayor [[Willie Brown (politician)|Willie Brown]] proclaimed a "Marilyn Chambers Day" for her unique place in San Francisco history, and praised her for her "artistic presence", her "vision", and her "energy".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/14/BAQ7171NB7.DTL|title=Sam Whiting, "Porn star Marilyn Chambers dies at 56", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', April 14, 2009|website=Sfgate.com|access-date=August 6, 2023}}</ref> That same year Chambers returned to adult features with a trio of films made for [[VCA Pictures]] called ''Still Insatiable'' (1999), ''Dark Chambers'' (2000), and ''Edge Play'' (2000), each directed by [[Veronica Hart]].

Near the end of her career, Chambers appeared primarily in [[independent film]]s, including her last role in ''[[Solitaire (2008 film)|Solitaire]]''. Chambers claimed that the more laid-back pace of these roles suited her as "there's a lot less pressure on you to perform [and] you don't have to be young and skinny".<ref>{{cite web|author=Foster, Rick|title=Ex-porn star Marilyn Chambers in local indie film|url=http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/07/24/news/news1.txt|access-date=2007-07-24|date=2007-07-23|publisher=[[The Sun Chronicle]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928061738/http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/07/24/news/news1.txt|archive-date=September 28, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Among these were ''Bikini Bistro'', ''Angel of H.E.A.T.'' (with [[Mary Woronov]]), ''Party Incorporated'', and ''Breakfast in Bed''.

In a 2004 interview, Chambers said, "My advice to somebody who wants to go into adult films is: absolutely not! It's heart-breaking. It leaves you kind of empty. So have a day job and don't quit it".<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120709043340/http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/C/Chambers_Marilyn/2004/06/05/757225.html Kirkland, Bruce, "Inside Chambers"]}}, Jam! Showbiz, June 5, 2004</ref>