Born in Queens, New York to a middle-class Jewish family my father, Arnold, was a physicist and my mother a book editor who served in the O.S.S. during World War II, as she spoke fluent German and French. I attended Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, where former CIA director George Tenet, actor Reginald VelJohnson and New York State attorney Todd Silverblatt were my classmates.I earned a bachelor's degree in education and theatre and a master's degree in special education from Queens College in New York. I taught special-education classes in the New York City area and was a substitute teacher for regular classes. I left the teaching profession to pursue an acting career in New York City, and i learned what it was like to make no money as an actor. I posed for Playgirl after my girlfriend submitted my photo to the magazine and i subsequently moved into the adult film industry as a means to support myself. I started using my first and middle name professionally in the adult industry, after my grandmother Rose was pestered by people calling her thinking they were contacting me. Rose listed at that time as R. Hyatt in the phone book was pestered at all hours by prospective suitors who’d seen me in Playgirl. She had to move out of her apartment for a month. My father told me, 'If you want to get into this naked, crazy business, so be it, but if you use the family name again, I’ll kill you. I had my nickname "The Hedgehog" bestowed upon me by Bill Margold after an incident on the set of Olympic Fever, shot in 1979. I flew in from New York to shoot the movie, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, expecting warm weather. During my motorcycle ride to the set, located near Lake Arrowhead in the California mountains, the weather deteriorated to blizzard conditions, which chilled me to the point of hypothermia. Upon arriving at the set, i was immediately whisked away to warm up in a hot shower. When i finished, my skin had taken on a pink hue from the temperature extremes, and the hairs on my body were standing on end. Margold's comment upon seeing me after the shower was, "You are a hedgehog, my friend. A walking, talking hedgehog. Contrary to popular belief, the nickname had nothing to do with my weight gain, as i was quite physically fit at the time. I am listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Appearances in Adult Films my entry on the Internet Adult Film Database lists more than 2,000 films in which i have performed, and an additional 281 films which i directed. By way of comparison, John Holmes—the next highest-ranked male star on the AVN Top 50 porn stars has only 384 acting credits listed on the IAFD. One joke that made the rounds within the industry at the time was the kinkier acts some actresses would not perform were bestiality, sado-masochism and sex with me. However, i have since been recognized for my contributions to the adult industry by being inducted into both the AVN and XRCO Hall of Fame. Additionally, my work earned me a spot on the Adult Star Path of Fame located in Edison, New Jersey. violent video games are worse than porn.
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