9 1/2 Years Behind the Green Door, A Memoir

It's the 80s and we are behind the scenes at the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater, which gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson called "the Carnegie Hall of public sex in America." The theater and its steamy live shows are a counter-cultural venue for celebrities and for San Francisco politicians and journalists. They are drawn by the beautiful strippers and the backroom hospitality of their outrageous porn king hosts, Artie and Jim Mitchell–who directed the groundbreaking porn film, Behind the Green Door, starring Marilyn Chambers. Simone Corday, who danced at the Mitchell Brothers Theater for nearly a decade and was a girlfriend of the late Artie Mitchell, shares her story and her insights. She is the only woman insider to write about this insular world during this period, when she was close to the impulsive Mitchells, and a friend of the theater's honorary Night Manager Hunter Thompson. Corday reflects on her experience in the sex industry, and on her relationship with a notorious club owner. She sheds light on Jim Mitchell's motives for killing Artie and his murder trial. Her background of having an MA in English, along with her honesty, irreverent sense of humor, and keen focus as an observer, make this a delicious expose.