Where Is Larry Flynt Now?

Richy Maria Jacob of Where Is Larry Flynt Now? Richy Maria Jacob
April 22, 2020

‘Circus of Books’ has captured quite the attention since its release. The documentary, directed by Rachel Mason, explores her family’s bookstore Circus of Books and its relevance in the history of the LGBT community in the 1980s.  The narrative structure of the documentary encompasses several popular figures like Alaska Thunderfuck, Larry Flynt, and Alexei Romanoff. The various narratives and perspectives add much dimension to the documentary. The documentary, which is seemingly about a couple who owned a gay porn store, takes under its wings, several social issues as well.

Who Is Larry Flynt?

Larry Flynt is a publisher and founder of Larry Flynt Publications. He is popularly known for his magazine, Hustler. In the initial years of his life, he was raised solely by his mother as his father was serving in the US Army. He has suffered great ordeal growing up in poverty during the Great Depression and losing his sister to leukemia. His career began when he decided to buy his mother’s bar in Ohio. From the profits he made from it, he soon bought other bars. He opened Hustler Clubs across various cities that had nude hostesses.

In 1972, he started the Hustler Newsletter, a publication about his clubs. The popularity of the clubs steadily grew till he entered bankruptcy in the recession. He eventually made a come back with Hustler, a lucrative magazine. The magazine was known for featuring highly explicit content. He received criticism at various junctures as a result. His other shot to fame was when he bought pictures of the then First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, sunbathing naked on vacation. This earned him quite the fame and money. He has had to fight several numbers of legal battles in court concerning obscenity. He even went ahead to win many of them. He vocally advocated for the distribution of pornography and freedom of speech.

Caught in the thicket of such controversies, he also dabbled in politics. He was a Democrat but then later ran as a Republican for President. He has even provided $ 1 million for gathering information that soon led to the arrest of John F. Kennedy’s assassin. Flynt, who has been married five times, went on to publish his autobiography, ‘An Unseemly Man: My Life as a Pornographer, Pundit, and Social Outcast.’ He has featured in several movies, as well. In 1996, a film was made about him titled, ‘The People vs. Larry Flynt.’

Where is Larry Flynt Now?

Following the aftermath of a shooting in 1978, he remains partially paralyzed after the accident. The injury he sustained to his spinal cord has left him dealing with difficulties even today. The serial killer, a believer of white supremacy, admitted to the crime with the explanation that he did so because of an inter-racial photo in Hustler.

A documentary film on Larry Flynt titled ‘Larry Flynt for President’ is currently on its way to feature in the Hot Docs Festival this year. The film combines rare footage of Flynt from his Presidential campaign. It definitely doesn’t seem like his appearance in ‘Circus of Books’ is the only thing we’ll be seeing of him this year. Directed by Nadia Szold, this might just be the documentary to look out for. It has also speculated that the growth rate of online porn consumption in the wake of COVID-19 would mean that Larry Flynt Publishers are expected to profit substantially.

Flynt is quite active on Twitter and recently posted a tweet with the hashtag ‘isolationlife’. Though the post is quite scandalous, this is exactly the kind of thing he is known for. He doesn’t shy away from issues that others would consider twice to speak about. He currently lives in Hollywood Hills with his wife, Elizabeth Berrios.

Read More: Where is Karen Mason Now?

SPONSORED LINKS