DENVER, April 23, 2002

'Linda Lovelace' Dies

Ex-Porn Star Was In Auto Crash Earlier This Month

  • At the Academy Awards in 1974

    At the Academy Awards in 1974  (AP)

(AP)  Linda Boreman, who starred as Linda Lovelace in the 1972 pornographic film "Deep Throat" and later became an anti-porn advocate, died Monday from injuries she suffered in a car crash. She was 53.

Boreman was taken to Denver Health Medical Center with massive trauma and internal injuries after the April 3 accident, hospital spokeswoman Sara Spaulding said. She was taken off life support Monday, Spaulding said.

Boreman's ex-husband, Larry Marchiano, said he and their two adult children were at the hospital when she died.

"Everyone might know her as something else, but we knew her as mom and as Linda," Marchiano said. "We divorced five years ago, but she was still my best friend."

The family moved to Colorado in 1990 and the two divorced in 1996 after 22 years of marriage.

Boreman claimed her first husband forced her into pornography at gunpoint. They divorced in 1973.

Their relationship disintegrated into a life of violence, rape, prostitution and pornography, according to her 1980 autobiography, "Ordeal" and her testimony before congressional committees investigating pornography.

Boreman said she was never paid a penny for "Deep Throat" and her husband only was paid $1,250, though the film grossed a reported $600 million.

After leaving the industry, she traveled the lecture circuit on a crusade against pornography, speaking at colleges and with prominent feminists.

"I look in the mirror and I look the happiest I've ever looked in my entire life," she said in a 1997 interview. "I'm not ashamed of my past or sad about it. And what people might think of me, well, that's not real. I look in the mirror and I know that I've survived."

Boreman was born Jan. 10, 1949, in the Bronx borough of New York City.


By Colleen Long
İMMII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

60 Minutes

The secrets of tennis legend Andre Agassi; the growing threat of cyber wars; and more.
Read More

Latest News
News in Pictures
Scroll Left Scroll Right
  • The Fall Of The Berlin Wall The Fall Of The Berlin Wall

    Looking Back at the Wall that Once Divided Germany On the 20th Anniversary of Its Collapse

  • Patricia Clarkson Patricia Clarkson

    Television and Film Actress, Yale School of Drama Graduate and Academy Award Nominee

  • Day in Pictures Day in Pictures

    A Glimpse at the Day's News as Seen Through a Camera Lens

  • Andre Agassi Andre Agassi

    Former Top-Seeded Tennis Star, Gossip Column Favorite and Philanthropist

  • Yankees Victory Parade Yankees Victory Parade

    The Yankees Celebrate Their 27th World Series Championship with a Ticker-Tape Parade Up Broadway

  • Orlando Office Shooting Orlando Office Shooting

    A Gunman Opens Fire at the Offices of an Engineering Firm Where He Once Worked

Connect with CBS News

Stay connected with the CBS News using your favorite social networks and online news applications: