In November 1973, the controversial sex film “Deep Throat” was on trial in Tucson. Well, actually the owner and manager of the theater where it had been shown were on trial. The jury had already watched the movie. But, one of the government’s witnesses, the star of the movie Linda Lovelace, was a no show at the trial.
[photo moved to image asset]
1973 Star photo
Linda Lovelace was here to testify.
The movie played here for seven months and approximately 54,000 people saw it. But after several months the original film wore out and a replacement was ordered. The legal problems followed.
The two men were charged with transporting an obscene film across state lines. “Deep Throat” had been sent from Michigan to Tucson. The manager of the Cine Plaza Theater, John A. Jacobs, had picked up the package.
People are also reading…
The government called Lovelace to testify, but she never took the stand. When it was time for her scheduled appearance in Judge James A. Walsh’s courtroom, she was drying her hair. The judge did not want to wait for her, so the U.S. attorneys dismissed her as a witness.
The theater’s owner, William B. Stidham, was acquitted of the charges. Jacobs was convicted, fined $5,000 and sentenced to six months. The conviction was later overturned.
[photo moved to image asset]
1974 AP photo
Linda Lovelace at the Academy Awards 1974.
In an interview in the Star, Lovelace told a reporter that she was interested in breaking out of the X-rated movie business, but she was finding that very difficult. She had offered to help raise funds for a charity, but the group turned her down. She was scheduled to appear in a skit with Sammy Davis Jr., but the appearance was canceled and she was refused admission to the event.
So, she began taking acting lessons and had already done a shoe commercial. But, it was slow going for the newly divorced actress. For her role in “Deep Throat,” she received a $1,200 check.
Lovelace died in 2002 of injuries from a car crash.

