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Robin Byrd

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Robin Byrd
Robin-byrd filtered.jpg
Robin Byrd at a party in New York (2010)
Born (1957-04-06) April 6, 1957 (age 65)
Websiterobinbyrd.com

Robin Byrd (born April 6, 1957) is an American former pornographic actress and the host of The Robin Byrd Show, which has appeared on leased access cable television in New York City since 1977.[1]

Discover more about Robin Byrd related topics

Leased access

Leased access

Leased access is airtime that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates must be provided by cable operators for use by independent cable programmers and producers who are not owned by the operators. Leased access airtime may be purchased on specialty channels by individuals or groups with E&O insurance for the purposes of airing television programming content, usually local programming.

Cable television

Cable television

Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadcast television, in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television; or satellite television, in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by radio waves from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth, and received by a satellite dish antenna on the roof. FM radio programming, high-speed Internet, telephone services, and similar non-television services may also be provided through these cables. Analog television was standard in the 20th century, but since the 2000s, cable systems have been upgraded to digital cable operation.

New York City

New York City

New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is the most densely populated major city in the United States and more than twice as populous as Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest city. New York City is located at the southern tip of New York State. It constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, entertainment, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world.

Background

Robyn Byrd in the film Debbie Does Dallas.
Robyn Byrd in the film Debbie Does Dallas.

Robin Byrd was born and raised in New York City, New York. A child of adoption, she has never been able to identify her birth parents, due to the unwillingness of her adoptive mother to reveal that information and sealed birth and adoption records under New York state law.

At the time of filming the porn film Debbie Does Dallas, Byrd was living in New York City and was still known as Robin Cohen. After taking college classes in marketing and advertising at Baruch College and dropping out as a senior, she attended the School of Visual Arts and worked as a nude model for art classes.[2] She subsequently starred in porn films during the late 1970s, including a role in the previously mentioned Debbie Does Dallas.

Public access

After guest-hosting on a leased access show called Hot Legs, Byrd changed the name to The Robin Byrd Show in 1977. The show has aired continuously since then, though it now shows reruns rather than live episodes. Each episode features Byrd in her trademark black crochet bikini and white fingernail polish, on an all-red set with a large, heart-shaped neon sign that bears the name of her show. Male and female porn stars and strippers appear as guests and perform fully nude stripteases, sometimes also taking calls from viewers. Byrd and her guests also frequently engage in onscreen sexplay by the end of the episode. Each show customarily ends with all the guests dancing to Robin's recording of a bawdy novelty tune, "Baby, Let Me Bang Your Box".

Time Warner legal issues

Byrd and Al Goldstein were in a long-standing legal battle with Time Warner Cable (and its predecessor, Manhattan Cable), which wanted to scramble all adult-oriented content so that subscribers had to send in written requests to view it. In 1978, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals struck as unconstitutional the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandatory access regulations under which Byrd and Goldstein had challenged the cable provider's actions, but the U.S. Supreme Court disposed of the case on other grounds.

In 1995, the issue was again before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which upheld the regulations and ruled that Time Warner's requirement for written requests was a violation. As of 2007, The Robin Byrd Show continues to be aired unscrambled and uncut although with disclaimers that the content is not for children to watch.

In popular culture

Byrd on Fire Island with Brian Doherty of the AICP
Byrd on Fire Island with Brian Doherty of the AICP

Byrd's show and filmography have made her a local celebrity and to some extent, a national one. She is a frequent presenter at New York City adult entertainment, gay pride, and AIDS awareness events. The Robin Byrd Show was parodied on Saturday Night Live in a series of skits airing in 1997 and 1998; Byrd was played by Cheri Oteri.[3]

In 1999, Richard Avedon photographed Byrd for a feature in The New Yorker on famous and influential New Yorkers. Byrd has also branched out into other adult-oriented businesses, including phone sex lines and ringtones.

In 2015, Robin released "Touch Me", a dance single with recording artist Lovari.

Byrd has stated that she is bisexual.[4]

Discover more about Background related topics

Debbie Does Dallas

Debbie Does Dallas

Debbie Does Dallas is a 1978 pornographic film starring Bambi Woods. The plot of the film focuses on a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send the title character to Dallas, Texas to try out for the famous "Texas Cowgirls" cheerleading squad. The fictional name "Texas Cowgirls" was seen as an allusion to the real-life Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Woods had previously tried out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in real life, but was cut during auditions.

New York City

New York City

New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is the most densely populated major city in the United States and more than twice as populous as Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest city. New York City is located at the southern tip of New York State. It constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, entertainment, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world.

New York (state)

New York (state)

New York, often called New York state to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City, is a state in the Northeastern United States. With 20.2 million people enumerated at the 2020 United States census, its highest decennial count ever, it is the fourth-most populous state in the United States as of 2021, approximately 44% of the state's population lives in New York City, including 25% in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens; and 15% of the state's population is on the remainder of Long Island, the most populous island in the United States. With a total area of 54,556 square miles (141,300 km2), New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state by area. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to its south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to its east; it shares a maritime border with Rhode Island, east of Long Island; and an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to its north and Ontario to its northwest.

Adoption

Adoption

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents.

Closed adoption

Closed adoption

Closed adoption is a process by which an infant is adopted by another family, and the record of the biological parent(s) is kept sealed. Often, the biological father is not recorded—even on the original birth certificate. An adoption of an older child who already knows his or her biological parent(s) cannot be made closed or secret. This used to be the most traditional and popular type of adoption, peaking in the decades of the post-World War II Baby Scoop Era. It still exists today, but it exists alongside the practice of open adoption. The sealed records effectively prevent the adoptee and the biological parents from finding, or even knowing anything about each other. However, the emergence of non-profit organizations and private companies to assist individuals with their sealed records has been effective in helping people who want to connect with biological relatives to do so.

Baruch College

Baruch College

Baruch College is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates undergraduate and postgraduate programs through the Zicklin School of Business, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.

Leased access

Leased access

Leased access is airtime that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates must be provided by cable operators for use by independent cable programmers and producers who are not owned by the operators. Leased access airtime may be purchased on specialty channels by individuals or groups with E&O insurance for the purposes of airing television programming content, usually local programming.

Crochet bikini

Crochet bikini

The crochet bikini or crocheted bikini is a knitted swimwear or bikini that has been worn since at least the 1970s. The style gained attention in the late 2010s as a form of boho-chic style and as new brands emerged.

Al Goldstein

Al Goldstein

Alvin "Al" Goldstein was an American pornographer. He is known for helping normalize hardcore pornography in the United States.

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access, fair competition, radio frequency use, media responsibility, public safety, and homeland security.

Fire Island

Fire Island

Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.

Association of Independent Commercial Producers

Association of Independent Commercial Producers

The Association of Independent Commercial Producers, or AICP, is an American not for profit organization that represents the interests of United States companies that specialize in commercial production. Its members work in various media—film, video, digital—for advertisers and agencies. Founded in 1972, the association has national offices in New York City and Los Angeles as well as regional chapters.

Source: "Robin Byrd", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, November 1st), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Byrd.

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References
  1. ^ "Robin Byrd Onstage - Live, but Not Nude". The New York Times. 2012-11-29.
  2. ^ Morris, Bob. "Cable's First Lady Of Explicit" Archived 2009-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, June 23, 1996. Accessed December 3, 2007. "At 17, Ms. Byrd got her graduate equivalency diploma and then pursued advertising design at Baruch College but dropped out in her senior year. By then it was the early 1970's and she was modeling at the School of Visual Arts, where she had been taking life-drawing classes."
  3. ^ "Saturday Night Live Alum Cheri Oteri to Join Off-Broadway's NEWSical the Musical". Newsle.com. 2012-11-07. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  4. ^ Speiser, Lainie (2011). Confessions of the Hundred Hottest Porn Stars: Intimate, Funny, Outrageous. ISBN 9781592334773.

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