Herb was handsome enough, but it was probably that head of beautiful thick hair and those dense eyebrows that drew attention towards his way at first glance. When he grew what would become his trademark moustache, it seemed that Harry would always stand out in a crowd. Smart, easy to talk with and having a fun personality, young Herb got noticed by ladies. “I loved sex,” he said later. “I was very promiscuous. And I loved acting.”
Reems became world-famous for his role in the adult-film classic "Deep Throat," which drew middle class audiences to the theaters nationwide and became a forerunner of today's hardcore adult-entertainment industry. The production of Deep Throat began in Miami, Florida, in January 1972. Mr. Streicher was originally hired to be part of the lighting crew, but the director was unable to cast one of the stud roles and asked him to play the part. He was paid $100 for one day of work. Apparently, Streicher was unaware that the director had given him the stage name "Harry Reems" for the flick until he saw the movie credits.
It should be noted that Harry 's hairy physique was 'at the right place at the right time' in several important ways in history. A lot of culutral elements collided to make Harry a star with gay men. It was the breakout 1970s for gay liberation in major cities with adult theatres. It was the 1970s breakout for sexuality in mainstream media, a brief period of upper-middle class interest in explicit pornography, which Ralph Blumenthal of the New York Times called "porno chic." And Deep Throat displayed the young charismatic Harry at a time when he was able to capitalize on similarities in appearance to athletle Mark Spitz (the Jewish diver owned the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, winning 7 gold medals and getting mega sex-appeal publicity of him in a speedo). Both handsome, young and hairy men also sported those thick trademark mustaches.
Interestingly, Harry Reems became a draw in straight porn movies to the point where he was advertised alongside his female costars-very unusual in straight porn for that era. This point is noteworthy in that Harry stands with John Holmes in this distinction, although Harry didn't have that extra-large penis to market as a novelty like Holmes had. Reems may have received star treatment billing to sell movies in advertisements targeted to primarily heterosexual men, but perhaps discounted was the unrecognized reality that there was also a large crossover audience of gay men who were also fans of Reems.
It's reported that in an October 1975 VIVA magazine interview he was asked if "homosexuals offer themselves" to him, to which Reems replied "Yeah. When I was looking for material for my autobiography, I put an ad for "fan mail" in one of the trade papers. Ninety five percent of the mail I got was from gays."While there have been suggestions that Harry performed in gay smut, VGMH has been unable to confirm that with any specific titles. If you know of any please share that information.
