Not so Psychedelic Fur...

Even the most successful people have their good days and their bad days, and this rings especially true in the world of adult entertainment, be it in the toned, wiry dancers at a strip club, the exaggerated figures of the porn industry, or simply a pinup-turned-pornstar with a knack for "showing off."

Julia Parton was Joyce Patrick and somewhere in between was Nina Alexander (did photog Ed Alexander have interest in Julia beyond their photo sessions?), and her career is textbook, or so it would seem, rise-and-fall. But in light of her prolific output, and once prolific perkiness, does the climb to prime and descent to "Consenting Adults" even matter? She burst like the young cherry she was onto the men's magazine scene in the early 1980s, and held a high position in the list of models who found it easy to appear younger, sometimes significantly younger, than their true age. Unfortunately, and even though she was posing topless and bottomless from the start, her short transformation from covergirl to pornstar was not exactly beneficial. Her measurements were 38-24-36, but this is suspected to have been early in her career, probably when making a frequent appearance in Parliament magazines, and even in German publications devoted to large bosoms.
 

Even as a consenting adult, the mystery of her gaze remained. Her body morphed into a thin frame from a cherubic powder-puff, and to some of her fans the change was apparent, however unsettling. What the shit happened to Julia Parton? Once a top-rated model of the adult industry, with particular attention paid by fetishes like large busts or youthful looks. Julia made it more than fashionable to sport a serious garden, remaining honest in an era where Less Was More, and her infamous muff in pictures may have helped in her early days to avoid any legal situations. When she got into hardcore porn, she quickly adapted many of the practices of the 1980s and early 1990s pornstars, including looks more of a disheveled nature than before, maybe even drugs, and an ever-fluctuating body weight (which seems to happen even more these days....not much has changed). Julia was not a crazy recluse though, and managed to be social despite working incessantly and publishing (early years of) High Society magazine, perhaps the first of the forward-looking adult magazines of it's time.

Any observer of the once-rounded and full-figured Kentucky sweetheart will notice a pureness that waned with blatant speed and recourse. Motivation that arose in eagerness and, honestly, in earnestness, fell by pink satin like a still-burning cigarette. Parton is still one of the all-time greats, successful as both model and mogul, just as hard-working despite a clear distinction of oncoming maturity in a business where youth is the driven snow, and always pretty in pink.

From top to bottom:
a. Star Distributors paperback, 1988. Is Julia, with lolly, showing off or being a brat? Both, purposefully. Likely an image from her early days as a pinup used for the cover, to present a younger allure.
b. "Consenting Adults," by Tanya Springs, Beeline paperback, 1992. Was cocaine still around?
c. "Pretty in Pink," calendar top circa 1985-1989. Endless curves and instant appeal.