Porn star Marilyn Chambers dies at 56

As the porn star who briefly did as much for lvory Snow as Liberace did for the ivories, Marilyn Chambers, with her blonde good looks, turned 1972's. Behind the Green Door into pop- culture phenomenon that stole some thunder from mainstream hits Cabaret and the Godfather. Unlike many of her peers from the porn-pioneer era, Chambers, who was found dead Sunday of an undetermined cause just 10 days before her 57th birthday,

The cause of death was not immediately known. A family friend , Peggy Mcginn said Chambers ' 17-year--old daughter found the actress' body Sunday night. Chambers and fellow actresses Linda Lovelace and Georgina Spelvin shot to fame at a time in the early 1970s when both American social mores and the quality of hard-core sex films were changing. For the first time, films like "Behind the Green Door" and "Deep Throat" had decent acting and legitimate if fairly thin plots.

"Behind the Green Door" Brought something more in Chambers, attractive young woman who had begun her career as a legitimate actress and model. While the film was still in theaters, the public learned that its star was the same young blonde smiling and holding a freshly disappeared baby on boxes of lvory Soap. The manufacturer quickly replaced her, but it was later discovered that she also had a small role in the 1970 Barbra Stresand film "The Owl and the Pussycat." Marlyn Chambers made no apologies for her work as an adult movie star.

Marilyn Chambers Pictures