Pornographer Larry Flynt’s bizarre day in Anchorage

part of the continuation weekly series On the history of Alaska by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about the history of Anchorage or Alaska, or ideas for future articles? Go to the form at the bottom of this story.

In his own words, he was a “super rich white male porn publisher.” At his best, he was a vigorous and principled defender of free speech. At his more general worst, as even some of his supporters have let go, he is also capricious, misogynistic, vulgar, slimy, tasteless, and cactus-like. In December 1983, porn mogul Larry Flynt visited Anchorage. This short bizarre trip fascinated locals and the press, but worried the State Department, FAA, and FBI.

The son of a Kentucky sharecropper, Flint (1965-2021) grew up poor and quickly developed a healthy disregard for the subtleties of society that got in the way of profit. After a series of itinerant careers, including unrelated Navy service and a stint as a bootlegger, he dabbled in running a bar in Ohio. That one bar grew into several bars, a series of strip clubs, and eventually, Hustler’s first issue of his magazine was published in 1974, marking the beginning of a veritable porn empire. rice field.

His publications were more blatant than competitors like Playboy, taking risks and stances that other publishers could not. In 1975, he released a paparazzi-obtained nude photo of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, eight years later he suggests the Reverend Jerry Falwell lost his virginity to his mother. I posted a cartoon. Falwell sued Flint but lost. The First Amendment was his coherence that true free speech allows offensive and vile material to exist. As he said, “If the First Amendment protects scum like me, it’s going to protect all of you because I’m the worst.”

In 1978, serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin shot Flint in Georgia. The biracial spread in Hustler angered Franklin, a militant white supremacist. Flint survived, but was partially paralyzed, often in extreme pain, causing an addiction to painkillers. I didn’t want to execute him because I didn’t believe in him.

[From 2021: Larry Flynt, who built a porn empire before becoming a First Amendment champion, dies at 78]

On September 1, 1983, a Soviet interceptor shot down a Boeing 747 airliner, Flight 007 of Korean Air. The plane, en route to Seoul, South Korea, refueled in Anchorage, drifted into Soviet airspace, and was suddenly destroyed. 269 ​​passengers and crew were killed, including Rep. Larry MacDonald of Georgia. The Soviet Union claimed that the passengers were actually wearing window make-up on a spy mission.

When it comes to Flint, Flight KAL 007 seems to be out of context, except that the porn mogul has decided to get involved in the proceedings, fitting in with his life of deviant behavior. . He believed a conspiracy was at work, and the flight deliberately entered restricted airspace to provoke a Soviet reaction and possibly cover other American espionage. He also flew to Alaska, refueled at Anchorage, and flew into Soviet airspace.

He provided a few more details in his ad. This was actually an open letter to the Soviet Union, submitted to the Anchorage Times, but never published. “I am trying to make a claim that will be heard internationally,” Flint wrote. Do… (and) release hundreds of pigeons — a common bird that should be on this occasion a symbol of compassion for humanity and our common need for peace on earth. ‘ The letter began and ended with ‘Don’t shoot me down.

FAA and U.S. State Department officials believed Flint would carry out his plan, an action that would spark a new international incident and increase tensions with the Soviet Union. His FBI office in Anchorage filed a lawsuit to investigate that possibility. In a memo dated November 24, an agent there wrote: I’m actually on a spy mission. “

At least that’s one reason Flint arrived in Anchorage in the early hours of December 1st. Given time, Marilyn wanted to investigate rumors that Monroe was alive and she lived in the Yukon. He also said he would continue the flight to Moscow, where he would deliver the algae pills to the elderly and ailing Soviet Prime Minister Yuri Andropov. The pill manufacturer claimed to have cured everything from blindness to herpes. By this time, the FDA had already raided the company and the tablets were quickly banned. During the visit, Flint announced that he would exit the plane over the Soviet Union without a parachute. On top of that, Flint was running for president as a Republican, and he may have hoped to raise money in Alaska.

Three limousines specially equipped for Flint’s wheelchair were waiting for him in Anchorage. Transferred from the airport to the Sheraton Hotel and settled into the Presidential his suite. There he held court for his three television stations in Anchorage, two newspaper offices, and his one-camera crew hired by Flynt to document the proceedings.

As the press conference began, the center of attention was speaking from his bed and the slight politeness offered by his fox-skin blanket. ) accompanied Flint on his trip north. As the interview dragged on, her two women, former Hustler magazine centerfolds, undressed and slipped under blankets. Her third woman, dressed as a nun, eventually joined. In the background of the TV, a grainy video played that Flint claimed was Ronald his Reagan sex his tape. His spokesman disappeared and inexplicably returned with dog food, pineapple and watermelon. There were no dogs.

The whole incident was a farce, a joke for Flint’s amusement. I write like Sometimes he first tarred and feathered. Both are too tame for this strange visitor. ” This attitude did not prevent him from posting articles at the top of the front page.

[What was Anchorage like a century ago? A city with stark differences, but plenty of familiarities too]

Flint’s stay in Alaska was short, lasting less than a day. He arrived in the morning, but was in a California prison by that evening. In one of his many ongoing legal troubles, he wore an American flag as a diaper in court and cursed a judge who understandably disrespected Flint. Staying in California was a condition of his release. An attempted flight to Moscow set an unofficial record for how far such requirements could be breached.

When the Marshals arrived to arrest him, Flint went into a private room to change. When he appeared he was wearing a Santa Claus suit. He tells the news: Flint was still wearing his Santa suit when he appeared before U.S. Justice John Roberts in Anchorage.

As for the documentary crew hired to document the visit, Flint paid only $1,000 of the $10,500 service billed. Image Makers filed a lawsuit in 1985 with little hope of recovering lost revenue. Somewhere, perhaps buried in a closet, there may be a tape with a film of Flint’s Anchorage antics that has been forgotten for many years. If you have this video or know someone who has it, please let me know. Without the video, all that remains are fading memories and the lesson that anything can happen in Alaska. Even a combination of dog food, Santa Claus and porn mogul.

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Main sources of information:

Alaskan ear. “Flint Hustle in ‘Strange Games,'” Anchorage Daily News, 4 Dec. 1983, B3.

Berliner, Jeff. “Hustler Publishers Pledge Invasion of Soviet Air Force.” Anchorage Times, 23 Nov. 1983, A1.

Kerr, Terry. “Larry Flint Performs For Camera On Arrest, Strange Route To Court.” Anchorage Daily News, Dec. 2, 1983, A1, A12.

Dehnke, Kim. “When Larry Flynt Came to Anchorage,” Anchorage Press, December 17, 2021.

“Flight Back to Los Angeles After a Strange Trip to Anchorage.” Anchorage Times, 2 Dec 1983, B1.

“Flint Postpones Soviet ‘Invasion’,” Anchorage Times, Nov. 24, 1983, A8.

“Persona Nongrata,” Anchorage Times, Dec. 2, 1983, A10.

Rich, Kim. “Film company claims Flint owes him $11,495.” Anchorage Daily News, 9 Feb. 1985, C2.

Virtue, Carey. “Fly Here to Save the Soviet Chieftain and Find Marilyn Monroe’s Lair.” Anchorage Times, Dec. 1, 1983, A1, A16.