Seka (actress)
Seka, born Dorothiea Hundley Patton on Thursday, April 15, 1954, is a legendary U.S. pornographic actress, or "sex performer", as she prefers, who, between 1974 and 1993, appeared in more than 100 XXX-rated movies.
Born in Radford, Virginia, Patton attended high school in Hopewell, where as a teenager she won several beauty pageants, including "Miss Hopewell High School" and "Miss Southside Virginia". Under the influence of the Elvis look-a-like Ken Yontz, her "controlling" and "obsessive" second husband to be, young Dottie ran several adult bookstores in the 1970s, until the "heat" forced her to flee to Las Vegas. While there she did her first nude layout before eventually returning to Virginia. The layout brought Dorothiea immediate attention along with an offer to shoot her first short film in Baltimore while still a teenager. With these early escapades, Dorothy and Ken moved to Los Angeles, where she devoted herself to the pursuit of her career, initially using the name Sweet Alice.
She adopted the screen name Seka, which means "symbol" in the South African Sesotho language, [1] an appropriate name for an icon and sex symbol. She exploded onto the scene just as porn was making the switch to video, and consequently became a major star at a time of maximum exposure. Shortly after receiving her big break in 1978 (Dracula Sucks, a.k.a. "Lust At First Bite", and "Blonde Fire"), roles starring opposite the infamous John C. Holmes, the collaboration which would propel Seka to fame while forming the most well known couple in porn history, the notorious lifestyle of her industry began to take its toll, with a year long stint at an unknown detox facility (1978). A true believer in what she did, she also spent time in prison in San Diego for "lewd conduct and obscene behavior". Back on her feet, Seka appeared in 24 films in 1980 and another 37 films in 1981, the most important and prolific years of her career, which were capped by another struggle with drug addiction and the messy dissolution of her volatile marriage to Yontz, which brought about her move to Chicago, the city that became her home for nearly twenty-five years.
With her southern drawl, perfect figure, and gracious down-to-earth personality, by the early eighties Seka had arguably become the number one pornstar of all time, despite having been taken advantage of not just by Yontz, but by her Chicago manager, who she now calls "Dead Fred". After 1982, at the height of her fame, she mysteriously took a step back from her film career, claiming "they wouldn't pay her what she wanted", and turned to stripping and nude modeling while running her own lucrative fan club, with only scant subsequent film performances. A woman possessing significant charisma with her fans, Seka had achieved a kind of underground cult celebrity status, as she appeared on many popular television talk shows as an advocate and spokesperson in defense of her industry.
As reported in a Chicago newspaper, Jerry Butler and Seka had appeared on the TV show 330 hosted by Chuck Henry. Seka talked about how much she enjoyed doing porn and that money was no object. Jerry interrupted her. "Oh really? Then why is your fee between $15-$30,000 dollars per movie?" Seka smiled at him, not knowing what to say. Chuck then asked Jerry about the use of drugs in the adult film industry. He admitted that many actors, actresses, producers and directors use drugs because they are under a lot of pressure. Then Seka broke in: "I can't imagine why people in the business need drugs". "What about 1978?", Butler asked her. "I heard you were in drug rehabilitation for a whole year." Maturity may have made Miss Patton realize what she had done in the past was a mistake, and was speaking in the present. Jealousy of her great success may have played a part in the contentiousness of the interview, for there is no doubt that Dorothiea H. Patton was the object of great envy throughout her career.
A natural brunette of Cherokee Indian and Irish descent, Dorothiea Patton created the mythical platinum blonde persona known as Seka, who was admired by her fans for the authenticity and versatility of her perfomances, and is regarded by many as the most beautiful porn star ever. Her films are among the most popular erotica of all time. Jamie Gillis, who performed with Seka in numerous films, believed that she was "a cross between royalty and white trash." Eighties star Ginger Lynn described Seka as, "the only woman that I was ever intimidated by." Another eighties legend, Amber Lynn, remembers being impressed with Seka's white hair, for being "so tall and amazing," and that she wanted to "be like her!" Seka later reflected, "Why did I stop doing films? I got too old. I love to eat." Seka later admitted that: "The plain fact was that I had reached a plateau that terrifies every woman in the film business, inside or outside porn: I was 40! I have to admit it - I slept a great deal during this period . . . . Can it be any plainer that I had sunk into a funk?"
In April of 2005 Seka moved to her home near Kansas City, Mo. She operates her fan club through her own web site.
Trivia
- Seka is a member of the AVN Hall of Fame, and the X-Rated Critics Organization Hall of Fame.
- She lists Mike Ranger and John C. Holmes as her favorites.
- In the late 80s Seka was linked romantically with the comedian Sam Kinison and made an appearance during the sign-off at the end of an episode of Saturday Night Live that Sam was hosting.
- During the time she lived in Chicago Seka showed her enthusiasm for sports as an avid baseball fan, supporting the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox.
- Seka on her past: "If I changed anything about my past, I wouldn't be the same person I am today, and I like Me today." (CNBC Interview)
- Her screen name was used in many bad puns, such as "Seka my cock."
- The character "Amber Waves" played by Julianne Moore in the film "Boogie Nights", a fictional girlfriend of John Holmes that was a composite of several women in his life, was partly based on Seka, according to the film's director, Paul Thomas Anderson.
- Seka stands 5'-8" tall.
Select filmography
- Teenage Desires (1978) (footage from 1974)
- Dracula Sucks (1978)
- Blonde Fire (1978) (opposite John Holmes)
- Inside Seka (1980)
- Rockin' With Seka (1980)
- Ultra Flesh (1980)
- Prisoner of Paradise (1980)
- Swedish Erotica Vol. 31 (1981) (featuring John Holmes)
- Exhausted: John C. Holmes, the Real Story (1981)
- Careful, He May Be Watching (1987)
- American Garter (1993)
- Desperately Seeking Seka (2002)
Many of her films are now available on DVD.
Notable TV Appearances
- The Montel Williams Show, 13th of May (2003)
- Saturday Night Live, 15th of November (1986)
- The Oprah Winfrey Show, 8th of September (1986)
- Larry King Live, 15th of July (1985)
- The Phil Donahue Show, 21st of September (1981)
External links
- Official Site Warning: contains explicit pornographic content
- Filmography Warning: contains explicit pornographic content
- Seka at IMDb
- Seka at Vintage Porn Encyclopedia Warning: contains explicit pornographic content