BERIGAN Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Fallen U.S. Porn King Goldstein Rebuilds With Bagels By John Zawadzinski NEW YORK (Reuters) - He spent a lifetime peddling smut and once had an $11 million fortune, but after losing everything and becoming just another homeless New Yorker, Al Goldstein is now happy pushing bagels instead of porn. Goldstein, a founding father of America's porn industry, now hustles bagels and white fish at a New York-based deli and catering establishment. "I've always loved food more than sex, so this is really my first love," said Goldstein, 69, now a cold-calling salesman for New York City Bagels. "I've gone from broads to bagels." Goldstein has good reason to feel good about his new career, however mundane, after becoming homeless last year when the porn empire he began building in 1968 collapsed. The former owner of Milky Way Productions, home of Screw magazine and the now defunct X-rated cult show "Midnight Blue," went bankrupt over a year ago after amassing an $11 million fortune. Screw once sold over 140,000 copies weekly and was a cash cow thanks to ads for call girls and prostitutes before it fell victim to Internet porn and sagging circulation. "The Internet made pornography available for free and I couldn't compete," said Goldstein, who now lives on Staten Island, with his fifth wife, Christine, 28. Those he befriended in the porn business, a billion-dollar industry he helped pioneer, turned their backs to him. Even his own son, Jordan, a Harvard graduate who works for a New York-based law firm, refuses to speak to him. "My life has turned to crap," Goldstein said. "To go from a being a millionaire and then living in a homeless shelter and being rejecting by 98 percent of your friends is horrendous, but I'm a survivor." PASSION FOR BAGELS Goldstein was hired late last year as a greeter at New York's 2nd Avenue Deli, paid $10 an hour to welcome customers and show them to their tables. He held the position for a few months but was fired when it was discovered he was sleeping in the restaurant. Now he works at New York City Bagels on commission, cold calling customers to generate corporate accounts. "Al is very passionate about the work and he brings a lot to the table," said Glenn Teyf, one of the owners of New York City Bagels, who hired Goldstein more than a month ago on a referral. "Al Goldstein by far has increased our business." Goldstein's current occupation and lifestyle are worlds apart from where he once was. He lost his $2.5 million Pompano Beach, Florida, mansion and his townhouse on New York's East 61st Street, which were both sold to pay of his debts. As a result, he was reduced to sleeping at his in-laws' house and homeless shelters. He slept in Central Park and last year was arrested for allegedly shoplifting books from the Barnes and Noble near Lincoln Center. Gone are the chauffeur, his collection of wine, the Cuban cigars and the parties at New York's legendary Plato's Retreat and Studio 54. He now travels to and from Manhattan via the Staten Island Ferry, shops at thrift stores and is perfectly content with staying home and watching the History Channel and Court TV. "I don't live in yesterday and I don't live in tomorrow. I live in today," he said. "Just when you think you're done, life becomes different." COOK THE HAWK Goldstein's fall from grace brought a fresh round of press coverage, including a New Yorker article that called him one of New York's two most famous homeless citizens -- the other being the famed hawk Pale Male whose nest was destroyed by a Fifth Avenue apartment building co-op board. Always good for a lively quote, the former porn king told the New Yorker, "If the hawk can't cut it, if it can't carry its own weight, cook the damn thing." "There are thousands of homeless people around, sleeping in hallways, and nobody cares. But one hawk living on Fifth Avenue gets all the publicity," he said. Despite his hardships, Goldstein is thankful for those who have stuck by him and supported him including his lawyer Charles C. DeStefano, who met Goldstein five years ago and began representing him on a pro-bono basis during his trial for harassing a former secretary as well as an ex-wife. Like Pale Male, who was allowed to nest again on Fifth Avenue after protests by bird lovers and residents including actress Mary Tyler Moore, Goldstein is no longer homeless. He now lives in a Staten Island apartment after magician Penn Jillette, of the duo Penn and Teller, helped him out financially to get him back on his feet. "I think Al's had an epiphany and is on an upswing," DeStefano said. "He is such a resilient character. He's bounced back like a rubber ball." Goldstein, who works at New York City Bagels five days a week, is enthusiastic about his latest venture and the potential for him to make big bucks on commission. "I'm in a business that to me, is more dynamic than pornography," he said. "I could do many things, but people who typecast me as just a pornographer, they're just stupid." http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp...=20050124NYK803 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMX Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 ... including his lawyer Charles C. DeStefano, who met Goldstein five years ago and began representing him on a pro-bono basis... Shouldn't that be "pro-boner"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man with the Golden Arm Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 I see nothing anti-semetic about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 John Hammond never missed a copy of Screw. Known for carrying several Newspapers under his arm (NY Times always being the most visible), he often had Goldstein's paper tucked inside. Once, when coming to work, someone called his name in the lobby of the CBS (Blackrock) building. John turned around and stuck out his hand for a shake--in the process, the papers slid to the floor and there, for all to see, was Screw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Meloy Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 I don't suppose four divorces could have done this guys finances much good either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 John Hammond never missed a copy of Screw. Known for carrying several Newspapers under his arm (NY Times always being the most visible), he often had Goldstein's paper tucked inside. Once, when coming to work, someone called his name in the lobby of the CBS (Blackrock) building. John turned around and stuck out his hand for a shake--in the process, the papers slid to the floor and there, for all to see, was Screw. I wonder if that was that the basis for the great scene in the early Woody Allen film, pretty sure it was Bananas when Woody is hiding his interest in the porno mags by also picking up Time and other high-brow publications, but when he gets to the cash register, his cover is blown when the man asks the other guy, in a very loud voice, "How much is Screw?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 What a lovely little fairy book tale about a despicable low life reinventing himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Yeah, next thing you know, he'll be president! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Well that might be a bit difficult to pull off.....but that's not to say that he couldn't ooze into a PM or political party chair slot in any number of prime locations in Africa, So. Europe or the Transcaucuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Something tells me that he's an old hand at pulling things off. Ya' know, you can't say anything about this guy w/o it being a double-entendre... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Well, just be careful what you say in this open forum lest he get all yanked off over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Come on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Well, Weizen, Goldstein was indeed a despicable low-life, but I don't believe he ever sent anyone to his/her death, nor do I think he ever robbed the poor to enhance the bank accounts of the rich, and he wasn't a chronic liar--in fact, one might say that he was a straight-shooter, eh Jim?. Frankly, I would rather see Goldstein eat the candy pants off a guest on his show than see an incompetent lightweight appointed to the highest office in the land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 I think I'll just order the plain bagel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Come on... I tried......but I still can't comprehend the thrust of Chris's idle musings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 ... including his lawyer Charles C. DeStefano, who met Goldstein five years ago and began representing him on a pro-bono basis... Shouldn't that be "pro-boner"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownian Motion Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 John Hammond never missed a copy of Screw. Known for carrying several Newspapers under his arm (NY Times always being the most visible), he often had Goldstein's paper tucked inside. Once, when coming to work, someone called his name in the lobby of the CBS (Blackrock) building. John turned around and stuck out his hand for a shake--in the process, the papers slid to the floor and there, for all to see, was Screw. Lovely story, Chris. Thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 "The Internet made pornography available for free and I couldn't compete" Hard to compete with "free". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 Except in jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 BAGEL PEDDLER!!! I just had to get that off my chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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