Robin Byrd: Difference between revisions

Robin Byrd
Robin Byrd
	Robin Byrd at a party in New York (2010)
Born	April 6, 1957 (age 67); New York City, New York, U.S.
Website	robinbyrd.com

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Robin Byrd (born April 6, 1957^[1]) is an American former pornographic film actress and the host of The Robin Byrd Show, which has appeared on leased access cable television in New York City since 1977.

Early life

Robyn Byrd in the film *Debbie Does Dallas*

Robin Byrd was born and raised in New York City. She was adopted at a young age. Byrd says she has been unable to identify her birth parents, due to sealed birth and adoption records under New York state law.^[2]

After taking college classes in marketing and advertising at Baruch College and dropping out as a senior, she attended the School of Visual Arts and worked as a nude model for art classes.^[3] She performed in pornographic films during the late 1970s and early 1980s,^[2] including a role in Debbie Does Dallas (1978).^[1]

Public access

After guest-hosting on a leased access show called Hot Legs, Byrd changed the name to The Robin Byrd Show in 1977. The show was initially broadcast on Channel J in New York City.^[4] The final show was aired in 1998; it later appeared in reruns interspersed with occasional newer segments.^[5] Each episode features Byrd in her trademark black crochet bikini and white fingernail polish, on an all-red set with a large, heart-shaped neon sign that bears the name of her show. Male and female porn stars and strippers appear as guests and perform fully nude stripteases, sometimes also taking calls from viewers. Byrd and her guests also frequently engage in onscreen sexplay by the end of the episode.^{[citation needed]} Each show customarily ends with all the guests dancing to Robin's recording of a bawdy novelty tune, "Baby, Let Me Bang Your Box".^[6]

Byrd hosted the 2004 documentary Access Nation.^[1]

Time Warner lawsuit

Byrd and her co-producer Al Goldstein were in a long-standing legal battle with Time Warner Cable (and its predecessor, Manhattan Cable), which wanted to scramble all adult-oriented content so that subscribers had to send in written requests to view it. In 1978, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals struck as unconstitutional the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandatory access regulations under which Byrd and Goldstein had challenged the cable provider's actions, but the U.S. Supreme Court disposed of the case on other grounds.

In 1995, the issue was again before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which upheld the regulations and ruled that Time Warner's requirement for written requests was a violation. As of 2007^[update], The Robin Byrd Show continues to be aired unscrambled and uncut although with disclaimers that the content is not for children to watch.

In popular culture

Byrd's show and filmography have made her a local celebrity and to some extent, a national one. She is a frequent presenter at New York City adult entertainment, gay pride, and AIDS awareness events. The Robin Byrd Show was parodied on Saturday Night Live in a series of skits airing in 1997 and 1998; Byrd was played by Cheri Oteri.^[7]

In 1999, Richard Avedon photographed Byrd for a feature in The New Yorker on famous and influential New Yorkers. Byrd has also branched out into other adult-oriented businesses, including phone sex lines and ringtones.

In 2015, Robin released "Touch Me", a dance single with recording artist Lovari.

Byrd has stated that she is bisexual.^[6]^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Forde, John (2006). "Byrd, Robin". In Gerstner, David A. (ed.). Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture. New York: Routledge. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-415-30651-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Official Robin Byrd Biography". Robinbyrd.com. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
^ Morris, Bob (23 June 1996). "Cable's First Lady Of Explicit". The New York Times. Section 1, p. 39. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 September 2024. At 17, Ms. Byrd got her graduate equivalency diploma and then pursued advertising design at Baruch College but dropped out in her senior year. By then it was the early 1970's and she was modeling at the School of Visual Arts, where she had been taking life-drawing classes.
^ Smith, Sally Bedell (5 March 1984). "Channel J Pornography Is Cause of Lockout Law". The New York Times. p. C16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
^ McKinley, Jesse (29 November 2012). "Real and Live, but Maybe Not Nude". The New York Times. p. C31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
^ ^a ^b Musto, Michael (15 January 2016). "Michael Musto's Icons: Robin Byrd". The Advocate (interview). Retrieved 24 September 2024.
^ "Saturday Night Live Alum Cheri Oteri to Join Off-Broadway's NEWSical the Musical". Broadway.com. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
^ Speiser, Lainie (2011). Confessions of the Hundred Hottest Porn Stars: Intimate, Funny, Outrageous. Beverly, Mass.: Fair Winds Press. ISBN 978-1-5923-3477-3.^{[page needed]}

External links

Official website
Robin Byrd at IMDb
Robin Byrd at the Internet Adult Film Database
Robin Byrd at the Adult Film Database

[Forde_2006-1] Forde, John (2006). "Byrd, Robin". In Gerstner, David A. (ed.). Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture. New York: Routledge. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-415-30651-5.

[Official_Biography-2] "Official Robin Byrd Biography". Robinbyrd.com. Retrieved 24 September 2024.

[Morris_1996-3] Morris, Bob (23 June 1996). "Cable's First Lady Of Explicit". The New York Times. Section 1, p. 39. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 September 2024. At 17, Ms. Byrd got her graduate equivalency diploma and then pursued advertising design at Baruch College but dropped out in her senior year. By then it was the early 1970's and she was modeling at the School of Visual Arts, where she had been taking life-drawing classes.

[Smith_1984-4] Smith, Sally Bedell (5 March 1984). "Channel J Pornography Is Cause of Lockout Law". The New York Times. p. C16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

[McKinley_2012-5] McKinley, Jesse (29 November 2012). "Real and Live, but Maybe Not Nude". The New York Times. p. C31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 September 2024.

[Musto_2016-6] Musto, Michael (15 January 2016). "Michael Musto's Icons: Robin Byrd". The Advocate (interview). Retrieved 24 September 2024.

[Broadway.com_2012-7] "Saturday Night Live Alum Cheri Oteri to Join Off-Broadway's NEWSical the Musical". Broadway.com. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2024.

[Speiser_2011-8] Speiser, Lainie (2011). Confessions of the Hundred Hottest Porn Stars: Intimate, Funny, Outrageous. Beverly, Mass.: Fair Winds Press. ISBN 978-1-5923-3477-3.^{[page needed]}

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|American pornographic actress & talk show host}}
+{{BLP sources|date=September 2024}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
 {{Infobox adult biography
 | name            = Robin Byrd
@@ Line 4: / Line 7: @@
 | caption         = Robin Byrd at a party in New York (2010)
 | birth_name      =
-| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1957|04|06}}
+| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1957|04|06}}{{r|Forde 2006|Official Biography}}
-| birth_place     = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[United States|U.S.]]
+| birth_place     = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
 | death_date      =
 | death_place     =
 | spouse          =
 | height          =
-| weight          =
-| eye_color       =
-| hair_color      =
 | alias           =
-| number_of_films =
 | website         = {{URL|robinbyrd.com}}
-| spelling        = <!-- US for color, UK for colour -->
 }}
-'''Robin Byrd''' (born 6 April 1957) is an [[United States|American]] former [[pornographic actor|pornographic actress]] and the host of ''The Robin Byrd Show'', which has appeared on [[leased access]] [[cable television]] in [[New York City]] since 1977.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2012-11-29|title=Robin Byrd Onstage - Live, but Not Nude|url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/theater/robin-byrd-onstage-live-but-not-nude.html?gwh=0AA63DF6B6B8F9FA54F4CA01FBF780BB}}</ref>
+'''Robin Byrd''' (born April 6, 1957{{r|Forde 2006}}) is an American former [[pornographic film actress]] and the host of ''The Robin Byrd Show'', which has appeared on [[leased access]] cable television in [[New York City]] since 1977.
-==Background==
+==Early life==
-[[File:RobynByrd1978.jpg|thumb|Robyn Byrd in the film ''[[Debbie Does Dallas]]''.]]
+[[File:RobynByrd1978.jpg|thumb|Robyn Byrd in the film ''[[Debbie Does Dallas]]'']]
-Robin Byrd was born and raised in [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]. A child of [[adoption]], she has never been able to identify her birth parents, due to the unwillingness of her adoptive mother to reveal that information and [[Closed adoption|sealed birth and adoption records]] under [[New York (state)|New York]] state law.
+Robin Byrd was born and raised in [[New York City]]. She was [[Adoption|adopted]] at a young age. Byrd says she has been unable to identify her birth parents, due to [[Closed adoption|sealed birth and adoption records]] under New York state law.<ref name="Official Biography">{{cite web |title=Official Robin Byrd Biography |url=http://www.robinbyrd.com/robinbyrddotcom/main.html |website=Robinbyrd.com |access-date=24 September 2024}}</ref>
-At the time of filming the porn film ''[[Debbie Does Dallas]]'', Byrd was living in New York City and was still known as '''Robin Cohen'''. After taking college classes in marketing and advertising at [[Baruch College]] and dropping out as a senior, she attended the [[School of Visual Arts]] and worked as a nude model for art classes.<ref>Morris, Bob. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CEFDB1539F930A15755C0A960958260 "Cable's First Lady Of Explicit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222053057/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CEFDB1539F930A15755C0A960958260 |date=2009-02-22 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 23, 1996. Accessed December 3, 2007. "At 17, Ms. Byrd got her graduate equivalency diploma and then pursued advertising design at Baruch College but dropped out in her senior year. By then it was the early 1970's and she was modeling at the School of Visual Arts, where she had been taking life-drawing classes."</ref> She subsequently starred in porn films during the late 1970s, including a role in the previously mentioned ''Debbie Does Dallas''.
+After taking college classes in marketing and advertising at [[Baruch College]] and dropping out as a senior, she attended the [[School of Visual Arts]] and worked as a nude model for art classes.<ref name="Morris 1996">{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Bob |title=Cable's First Lady Of Explicit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/23/style/cable-s-first-lady-of-explicit.html |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=23 June 1996 |at=Section 1, p. 39 |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=limited |quote=At 17, Ms. Byrd got her graduate equivalency diploma and then pursued advertising design at Baruch College but dropped out in her senior year. By then it was the early 1970's and she was modeling at the School of Visual Arts, where she had been taking life-drawing classes.}}</ref> She performed in pornographic films during the late 1970s and early 1980s,{{r|Official Biography}} including a role in ''[[Debbie Does Dallas]]'' (1978).<ref name="Forde 2006">{{cite book |last1=Forde |first1=John |editor1-last=Gerstner |editor1-first=David A. |title=Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-415-30651-5 |page=114 |chapter=Byrd, Robin}}</ref>
 === Public access ===
-After guest-hosting on a [[leased access]] show called ''Hot Legs'', Byrd changed the name to ''The Robin Byrd Show'' in 1977. The show has aired continuously since then, though it now shows reruns rather than live episodes. Each episode features Byrd in her trademark black crochet [[bikini]] and white fingernail polish, on an all-red set with a large, heart-shaped neon sign that bears the name of her show. Male and female porn stars and strippers appear as guests and perform fully nude stripteases, sometimes also taking calls from viewers. Byrd and her guests also frequently engage in onscreen sexplay by the end of the episode. Each show customarily ends with all the guests dancing to Robin's recording of a bawdy novelty tune, "Baby, Let Me Bang Your Box".
+After guest-hosting on a [[leased access]] show called ''Hot Legs'', Byrd changed the name to ''The Robin Byrd Show'' in 1977. The show was initially broadcast on [[Channel J]] in New York City.<ref name="Smith 1984">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Sally Bedell |date=1984-03-05 |title=Channel J Pornography Is Cause of Lockout Law |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/05/arts/channel-j-pornography-is-cause-of-lockout-law.html |access-date=2024-01-27 |work=The New York Times |page=C16 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=limited}}</ref> The final show was aired in 1998; it later appeared in reruns interspersed with occasional newer segments.<ref name="McKinley 2012">{{cite news |last1=McKinley |first1=Jesse |title=Real and Live, but Maybe Not Nude |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/theater/robin-byrd-onstage-live-but-not-nude.html |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=29 November 2012 |page=C31 |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Each episode features Byrd in her trademark black [[crochet bikini]] and white fingernail polish, on an all-red set with a large, heart-shaped neon sign that bears the name of her show. Male and female porn stars and strippers appear as guests and perform fully nude stripteases, sometimes also taking calls from viewers. Byrd and her guests also frequently engage in onscreen sexplay by the end of the episode.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} Each show customarily ends with all the guests dancing to Robin's recording of a bawdy novelty tune, "Baby, Let Me Bang Your Box".<ref name="Musto 2016">{{cite news |last1=Musto |first1=Michael |title=Michael Musto's Icons: Robin Byrd |url=https://www.advocate.com/current-issue/2016/1/15/michael-mustos-icons-robin-byrd |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=The Advocate |date=15 January 2016 |type=interview}}</ref>
+Byrd hosted the 2004 documentary ''Access Nation''.{{r|Forde 2006}}
-==== Time Warner legal issues ====
-Byrd and [[Al Goldstein]] were in a long-standing legal battle with [[Time Warner Cable]] (and its predecessor, Manhattan Cable), which wanted to scramble all adult-oriented content so that subscribers had to send in written requests to view it. In 1978, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals]] struck as unconstitutional the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) mandatory access regulations under which Byrd and Goldstein had challenged the cable provider's actions, but the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] disposed of the case on other grounds.
+==== Time Warner lawsuit ====
+Byrd and her co-producer [[Al Goldstein]] were in a long-standing legal battle with [[Time Warner Cable]] (and its predecessor, Manhattan Cable), which wanted to scramble all adult-oriented content so that subscribers had to send in written requests to view it. In 1978, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals]] struck as unconstitutional the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) mandatory access regulations under which Byrd and Goldstein had challenged the cable provider's actions, but the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] disposed of the case on other grounds.
 In 1995, the issue was again before the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]], which upheld the regulations and ruled that Time Warner's requirement for written requests was a violation. {{As of|2007}}, ''The Robin Byrd Show'' continues to be aired unscrambled and uncut although with disclaimers that the content is not for children to watch.
 === In popular culture ===
-[[File:Brian Doherty and Robin Byrd 2011 Shankbone.jpg|thumb|Byrd on [[Fire Island]] with Brian Doherty of the [[Association of Independent Commercial Producers|AICP]]]]Byrd's show and filmography have made her a local celebrity and to some extent, a national one. She is a frequent presenter at New York City adult entertainment, [[gay pride]], and [[AIDS]] awareness events. ''The Robin Byrd Show'' was parodied on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in a series of skits airing in 1997 and 1998; Byrd was played by [[Cheri Oteri]].<ref>{{cite web|work=Newsle.com|title=Saturday Night Live Alum Cheri Oteri to Join Off-Broadway’s NEWSical the Musical|date=2012-11-07|url=http://newsle.com/article/0/45552028/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219035218/http://newsle.com/article/0/45552028/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-02-19}}</ref>
+[[File:Brian Doherty and Robin Byrd 2011 Shankbone.jpg|thumb|Byrd on [[Fire Island]] with Brian Doherty of the [[Association of Independent Commercial Producers|AICP]]]]
+Byrd's show and filmography have made her a local celebrity and to some extent, a national one. She is a frequent presenter at New York City adult entertainment, [[gay pride]], and [[AIDS]] awareness events. ''The Robin Byrd Show'' was parodied on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in a series of skits airing in 1997 and 1998; Byrd was played by [[Cheri Oteri]].<ref name="Broadway.com 2012">{{cite news |author1=<!--anonymous author(s)--> |title=''Saturday Night Live Alum'' Cheri Oteri to Join Off-Broadway's ''NEWSical the Musical'' |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/165305/saturday-night-live-alum-cheri-oteri-to-join-off-broadways-newsical-the-musical/ |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Broadway.com |date=7 November 2012}}</ref>
 In 1999, [[Richard Avedon]] photographed Byrd for a feature in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' on famous and influential New Yorkers. Byrd has also branched out into other adult-oriented businesses, including [[phone sex]] lines and ringtones.
@@ Line 42: / Line 45: @@
 In 2015, Robin released "Touch Me", a dance single with recording artist [[Lovari]].
-Byrd has stated that she is bisexual.<ref>{{cite book|title=Confessions of the Hundred Hottest Porn Stars: Intimate, Funny, Outrageous|first=Lainie|last=Speiser|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdBrEZKNadkC&pg=PA180&dq=Robin+Byrd+bisexual&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ILqiUImII8-80AG5vIHwAg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Robin%20Byrd%20bisexual&f=false|year=2011}}</ref>
+Byrd has stated that she is [[bisexual]].{{r|Musto 2016}}<ref name="Speiser 2011">{{cite book |title=Confessions of the Hundred Hottest Porn Stars: Intimate, Funny, Outrageous |first=Lainie |last=Speiser |year=2011 |publisher=Fair Winds Press |location=Beverly, Mass. |isbn=978-1-5923-3477-3}}{{page needed|date=September 2024}}</ref>
 ==References==
 {{Reflist}}
+==Further reading==
+* {{cite news |author1=<!--anonymous author(s)--> |title=Robin Byrd Brings The Robin Byrd Show Live! to The Cutting Room, Beg. 12/1 |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Robin-Byrd-Brings-THE-ROBIN-BYRD-SHOW-LIVE-to-The-Cutting-Room-Beg-121-20121106 |work=BroadwayWorld |date=6 November 2012}}
 ==External links==
+{{Commons}}
 * {{Official website|http://www.robinbyrd.com}}
 * {{IMDb name|0120902|Robin Byrd}}
 * {{iafd name|id=rbyrd|gender=female|name=Robin Byrd}}
 * {{afdb name|id=4989|gender=female|name=Robin Byrd}}
-* [http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/theater/robin-byrd-onstage-live-but-not-nude.html?_r=0 "Real and Live, but Maybe Not Nude" - NY Times article]
-* [http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Robin-Byrd-Brings-THE-ROBIN-BYRD-SHOW-LIVE-to-The-Cutting-Room-Beg-121-20121106 "Robin Byrd Brings THE ROBIN BYRD SHOW LIVE! to The Cutting Room, Beg. 12/1" article]
 {{authority control}}
@@ Line 66: / Line 71: @@
 [[Category:Bisexual pornographic film actresses]]
 [[Category:American television talk show hosts]]
-[[Category:LGBT history in New York City]]
+[[Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)]]
 [[Category:Actresses from New York City]]
-[[Category:LGBT entertainers from the United States]]
+[[Category:American bisexual actresses]]
 [[Category:School of Visual Arts alumni]]
 [[Category:Pornographic film actors from New York (state)]]
 [[Category:American public access television personalities]]
+[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]