Eric Edwards (actor)

Eric Edwards (born Robert Everett on November 30, 1945) is an American pornographic actor, photographer, and director. Everett started in mainstream theater and transitioned into porn, starting in the late 1960s. Everett had a long career in the adult entertainment industry – over 40 years, making him the only actor in the world to appear in porn films in every decade through the 2000s since the porn industry started in the 1960s. Everett starred in and directed many films and photo shoots, including co-starring in the iconic film Debbie Does Dallas. He is a member of both the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. Bill Margold called Everett "one of the legends of the business" and "the Babe Ruth of porn."

Edwards was born Robert Everett on November 30, 1945 in Michigan. He was raised near Waco, Texas. He was studying theater at Baylor University in 1965 when he and a group of friends auditioned in Dallas, Texas, to win scholarships to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Everett performed a scene from The Taming of the Shrew. Out of 24,000 people, Everett received three callbacks and was one of sixteen people selected. He left Baylor and moved to New York City to attend the academy, a decision he says "changed my life."

After relocating to New York, he lived in an apartment on the Upper West Side. He met Kathie Fitch, who was also attending the academy, in a movement class. They started dating. Fitch left the academy, and eventually moved in with Everett. Everett graduated from the academy in 1967 and that same year, the couple married in 1967 in Norwalk, Connecticut, near where Fitch's family lived. They acted together, performing in low budget plays throughout the country. They also used illegal drugs, including using LSD regularly.

Eventually, they relocated to Los Angeles, where Everett signed a three-year contract with the William Morris Agency, acting in commercials for Colgate, Gillette and Coleco. When the contract ended, he struggled to get work in Los Angeles, and Everett and Fitch returned to low budget theater. They moved to Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1971. The couple struggled to remain sexually compatible without the aid of drugs and they started swinging, which Everett credits with helping their relationship. Everett and Fitch had roles in the comedy, Is There Sex After Death?. It was the first time Everett went by a pseudonym, Robb Everett. The following year, in 1972, Everett starred in Boeing-Boeing, using the pseudonym that would be his adult film stage name: Eric Edwards. He would act steadily in summer stock and touring theatrical productions until the late 70s before deciding to pursue a career in porn full-time.

Everett is the only porn actor to have worked in each decade of the porn film industry. In 1969, Everett answered a want ad for Screw for nude models and he and Fitch modeled for the magazine. Eventually, he was asked by Ted Snyder to perform in 8 mm film loops. While filming, they met Chuck Traynor and Linda Lovelace. Soon thereafter, Everett filmed his first scene, with Lovelace, and eventually a threesome with Fitch and Lovelace. Everett and Lovelace filmed over two dozen films together, including the controversial short Dogarama. He was noted for being able to confidently play a variety of characters, ranging from street punks to middle-aged businessmen.

After the release of Deep Throat, Everett began regularly filming pornographic films. His first film was Blue Summer, directed by Chuck Vincent, in 1973. Early films Everett starred in include three films in 1973 (Maxines' Dating Service, Organ Juice, and Revolving Teens, the latter by Harry Reems) and Lady on the Couch in 1974. As a result of his busy film schedule, Everett was able to move back to New York City with Fitch, who was working under the name Chris Jordan. Everett began dating another woman named Kathy, and eventually, she moved in with Fitch and Everett, with Everett splitting his romantic time between the two women.

Everett introduced the second Kathy (nicknamed by Everett "Kathy 2") to the porn industry and they filmed one movie together, Fringe Benefits, which was Kathy 2's (who used the stage name Susie Mathews) only film. In 1975, Everett was hired by Joe Sarno to film two movies in Sweden: Butterfly and Laura's Toys. He had a brief romance with Laura's Toys co-star, Marie Forså. When he returned to New York, Fitch had moved out of their apartment. Everett went back to live with Kathy 2. By 1976, she had moved out and Everett and Fitch had divorced.

Everett continued to live in New York City and starred regularly in adult films. In 1977, he met Arcadia Lake. She was working at Show World, an adult theater run by Richard Basciano, when Everett was invited to perform a live show with Lake. The two visited Jamaica, where they photographed a series of scenes together, which were published in High Society. Everett and Lake moved in together. He co-starred alongside Lake in the iconic Debbie Does Dallas in 1978. Then in 1983, the couple filmed a mainstream, horror film titled The Prey.