In his near-century of life, Stanley Marks stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Larry Flynt and toe-to-toe with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Stanley Marks, an adult industry pioneer who, with his long-time partner, Harry Mohney, paved the way for the modern adult retail business, passed away on January 9th just short of his 93rd birthday. (Note: Harry Mohney is the owner/founder of the Deja Vu Showgirls chain of gentlemen’s clubs and Deja Vu Love Boutique stores.)

Stanley was born in Bronx, NY but lived on Long Island until joining the U.S. Navy at 17. After his Navy service and a variety of jobs that included vaccinating chickens, maintaining egg farms and delivering bagels and pies on the streets of Lakewood New Jersey, Stanley entered the adult business in 1969 when he seized the opportunity to peddle early 8MM porn films and magazines. That year, he drove his Pontiac station wagon from the East Coast to Durand, Michigan where Harry Mohney had a distribution company, to pitch his merchandise to Mohney. “We became good friends,” explains Mohney, who is also the grand patron of the Erotic Heritage Museum in Nevada. “He would sometimes stay at my house.”

In 1970, Mohney was in the process of opening adult stores and theatres in the Cincinnati area. He needed someone to run that operation and offered Stanley a partnership in the businesses. 

Marks and Mohney remained partners for nearly 50-years and fought several major battles together. Four of these legal battles went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, including the case of Marks v. United States, the successful appeal of their obscenity conviction for screening the legendary adult film “Deep Throat.” In Marks, the High Court disallowed retroactively subjecting adult marketers to a new, stricter standard for conduct engaged in while an older, more lenient standard was in place. The case also established the so-called “Marks constitutional interpretation rule”: When there’s no single majority opinion of the Court, its holding rests in the narrowest concurring opinion.

Stanley Marks and Harry Mohney fought several major legal battles together, including Marks v. United States, the successful appeal of their obscenity conviction for screening the legendary adult film “Deep Throat” to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Noted Cincinnati-based First Amendment attorney Louis Sirkin recalls, “There was nobody in the industry like Stanley. If you were in a really shitty mood, just talk to Stanley for five minutes. He had a magic charm and a gentle side. He would always ask, ‘How are you and how is your family?’

“Together, Stanley and Harry’s success was based on their spirit to fight and not worry about consequences,” adds Sirkin. 

Stanley was involved in numerous legal skirmishes in Cincinnati and never buckled down. He probably spent 10-15 days in jail, altogether, over minor charges. Several times, when he was in the county workhouse, he would find a way to entertain himself. He would get people to bet on basketball games.

When Stanley met Larry

In 1970, Jimmy Flynt and his brother Larry were operating a Cincinnati Gogo club when Stanley and Mohney came to town. They became fast friends. 

“Stanley had a great sense of humor, he was fun to be around,” says Jimmy Flynt. “He had a gift of gab. You never knew whether Stanley was joking or serious. He was a jovial, witty, smart, funny guy. He always made you laugh.” 

Flynt explained that the first time he ever saw porn was in Stanley’s magazines. He noted that Stanley and Mohney had by far the best reputation in the industry as honorable businessmen, compared to everyone else. 

Stanley had a great sense of humor, he was fun to be around. He had a gift of gab. You never knew whether Stanley was joking or serious. He was a jovial, witty, smart, funny guy. He always made you laugh. — Jimmy Flynt

Still, Stanley’s time in Cincinnati was limited. In 1977, Cincinnati targeted adult operators including the Flynts and Stanley, charging them with organized crime. Sirkin was involved in a plea agreement that called for Stanley to close the stores and leave town. Before Stanley could leave town, he needed to serve an outstanding 60-day jail sentence for selling a dildo. When Sirkin told him what a great deal it was and that the 60 days wouldn’t be that bad, Stanley replied, “Gentlemen, I’ve yet to find a jail suitable for a middle-class Jewish man.” Sirkin ultimately negotiated away the time, and Marks then moved to California. 

When Marks moved from Cincinnati to California, he and Mohney opened several adult video stores in Los Angeles, including one right next to the iconic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. They shot the videos at their basement production facility, down the street, at the corner of Hollywood and Vine.

On New Year’s 2000, Stanley met his second wife, Theresa. After 13 years together, they were married in 2013. 

Spearmint Rhino gentlemen’s club chain vice president Jim St. John knew Stanley well, as St. John spent almost three decades as President of the Déjà Vu chain of gentlemen’s clubs prior to joining Spearmint Rhino. “When I first came on board with Harry, Stanley was reluctant to even talk to me. He thought I was another flim-flam man Harry had brought on. After a couple of years, we started talking and eventually, became best of friends. When we traveled together, he told stories. They were always the same 8-10 stories, but he always added something to them. 

“He was a shining light on everybody he met,” St. John continues. “He had an effervescence about him. The way he carried himself and the stories he told were second to none. Stanley is a tribute to the adult industry, for sure.” 

“With Stanley’s charm and personality, when he walked in, the room lit up,” explains Mohney. “And he was a great negotiator. His word was his bond. We were all old school then, your word meant something.

“Stanley and I had two great philosophies,” Mohney adds. “‘There are a lot of things people can steal from you, but only you can give up your integrity.’ And, ‘A thief chooses you, you have to choose to be a thief.’”

When asked how his friend, Stanley Marks, would want to be remembered, Mohney says, “I think as a loving parent and someone with great family ties and an honest businessman with lifelong friendships and business associations. And those attributes are well deserved facts.”

He is survived by his widow Theresa, his son Doug, his daughters Lynn and Norine, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. 

To honor Stanley Marks, please consider a contribution in his name to The Jewish War Veterans or The American Civil Liberties Union.

Larry Kaplan is the Legal Correspondent for Storerotica Magazine. Mr. Kaplan is a broker in the sales and purchase of adult stores and adult nightclubs and the Executive Director of the ACE of Michigan adult nightclub state trade association. Contact Larry Kaplan at 313-815-3311 or e-mail larry@kaplanstoresales.com.