alternatehistory.com

So, Eric Starvo Galt, the American expat who enjoyed about a controversial long run as "Mexico's Hugh Hefner", the porn mogul and producer of much of Mexico's contributions to exploitation cinema, among other things, died recently. To nobody's shock, he died of sexually-contracted hepatitis.

The man has proudly mired himself in controversy for decades, from his support for Rhodesia, to the firestorm he sparked in the late 70s when, as Martin Luther King was touring the USA as part of the Moral Majority, speaking in favor of helping the poor and needy, and speaking out against, among other things, pornography, Galt said in an interview "Somebody should have shot that n***** sonofabitch." His reputation never quite recovered, though being one of the first to take advantage of the rise of internet porn probably helped his fortune recover somewhat.

While few will mourn his passing stateside - even as someone who enjoys some of the less-pornographic shlocky exploitation films he financed, I admit I have trouble separating the fact they were paid for by an infamous bigot - he enjoys an odd reputation in Mexico and Latin America, loathed for being a perveyer of smut, loved for the money and jobs he brought to Mexico - his impact on the Mexican film industry and small tech industry is substantial, as are his investments in places like Tijuana.

Most though, will remember him as "Hugh Hefner's racist Mexican counterpart" or "the Col. Sanders of porn".

What about you guys?
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