Debbie Does Dallas

Whatever Happened to Bambi Woods?

In the pre-video days of mid-70s Britain, an adolescent’s life was almost spectacularly porn free. The occasional magazine would do the rounds in the playground, but actual moving images were almost unheard of. Porn films kids could name? Forget it. Kids didn’t have money for stag films and there was no such thing as a famous porn star. It was a more innocent age. Then, in 1978, Debbie Does Dallas was released in the US. It was a huge hit, and rode the crest of a wave created by other ‘mainstream’ porn flicks like Deep Throat and The Devil In Miss Jones. At one point the film was making 0,000 a week, and it continued to do huge business when it was released on video in the early 80s. It rapidly became almost mythical. Even if you’d never seen it, you’d heard of Debbie Does Dallas.

Admittedly, the film itself isn’t very good: full of wooden acting and perfunctory sex scenes, unimaginatively shot. But it’s become a legend, and this legend amplified when it was reported that the
lead, Bambi Woods, had disappeared straight after the film was made. New rumours cropped up every year: Woods had been kidnapped after the film’s release. Woods had died of a drug overdose. Woods was living with a perverted religious cult. There was even an inconclusive documentary made in 2005 – Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered – which only raised more questions than it answered. It seemed nobody knew what had happened to the world’s favourite cheerleader. Until Steve Coulson was contacted after putting out a call for her whereabouts. Had he really found Bambi Woods?

Let’s begin with your real name. There’s Debbie Benson, Debbie De Santo, Barbara Woodson. And, of course, Bambi Woods. We’re guessing none of these are right. 

You’re right, none of those are right. I used Debbie as a fake name when I did porn. Nobody has come close to my real name, which is why I’ve been left alone all these years! You can call me Debbie.

Right. Is it true you were born in 1958 and you are from South Dakota?

I’ve never been to South Dakota in my life and was born in 1955, not 1958. I grew up in a town two hours flight out of New York. My family still lives there.

We’ve heard you were brought up in a strictly religious house on Long Island, but you really were a cheerleader.

My family was religious but not in an extreme way. I did go to a Catholic high school but not on Long Island. And I was never a cheerleader. In fact, the school I went to didn’t have cheerleaders!

So much for research. You were 23 when the movie came out. What happened between leaving school and the movie?

I wanted to be an actress so I went to New York. I was in New  York for 18 months before I did the movie. Some friends of mine had met a guy who was into the porn scene and they introduced me to people involved with the movie. Never in a million years did I think that it would be anything like what it became. If I had known I would never have done it! I just thought it was easy money at a time when I had none.

In the promo stuff it was claimed you tried out for the real Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

I have never been to Texas in my life! I was a complete nobody when I did that movie and was working in a grocery store in Manhattan.

So how did you first hear about the movie?

I was having a drink with my girlfriends at the time and one of them had been in a porn movie. She got for half a day. Seems like nothing now but at the time it seemed like a lot when you had no money. She introduced me to this guy and the next thing I know I had an offer to be in a movie.

Herschel Savage, one of the actors in the movie, claims he was paid 0 a day. Do you remember what they paid you?

I remember vividly. 0 in total. Pretty good money for one of the biggest movies of all time, hey?

What do you remember about the shoot?

It didn’t take long at all. We could only be in Brooklyn College [part of the film was shot in the grounds of the college without their knowledge] at certain times and we all thought it was hilarious what we were doing. The shoot was only a matter of days. It was a very low-budget movie and everything was done as fast as possible.

How did you feel about the press the film received when it came out?

I was terrified about getting in trouble somehow. Everyone wanted to know whether I had really tried out for the cheerleaders and where I was from and I just knew that what I’d thought was going to be a nothing movie was going to get back to my parents. I never thought they would see it. I rang home and that’s how I found out they knew. They read about it in the paper, along with the rest of America.

Are you still in touch with any of the cast?

I didn’t know any of the cast before that movie and don’t keep in touch with them. The only person I still talk to from those days is a girl who was in quite a few movies and went by the name of Desiree Cousteau. We met at a club in New  York and are still good friends to this day. Our kids play together.

Was that club the Melody Burlesque in New York by any chance?

That’s it! After the movie became famous I’d go to parties and meet famous people and so on. A lot of big-name porn stars would work there and celebrities would come and meet me. It made me feel special for a while. We just made enough money to get food and drugs. That was pretty much all we did. At the time nobody thought cocaine was bad for you. It really was a pretty wild time.

Did you do live appearances at clubs?

No, I worked in different clubs but never toured. There was a swinging club in Times Square called Plato’s Retreat. The guy who owned it would pay us just to turn up.

Did you ever get involved in any live shows?

We also used to hang out at a place called Show World where some of the girls did live sex shows. I didn’t. Times Square was full of places then. I remember the owner of Plato’s telling me that it used to be a gay bathhouse and Barry Manilow played there before he got famous.

Is it true you once dated John Belushi?

How did you know that?  Yes, I went out with John for a while, along with other celebrities. There were some big celebrity clubs in New York at the time and it was pretty wild. I hung out with Ace Frehley from Kiss quite a bit. He was a crazy guy and always out of it, but a lot of fun. I’m surprised he’s not dead.

It’s said that your parents rescued you from the adult business, and have helped protect your privacy since then.

I did go back and live with my parents for three years. They didn’t rescue me. I wanted to get away. I’ve never had to protect my privacy. It’s just never been an issue. I got very sick of the attention, dyed my hair and cut it all off and tried to disappear. It’s amazing how cutting your hair off and going from blonde to brunette stops people noticing you. I have never hidden, and in the past 20 years I’ve only been recognised 20 times. It’s always the same. They are never quite sure and they have to get the nerve up to ask. The older I get, the less frequent it becomes.

The Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered documentary tried to find you and failed – were they just not very thorough?

To be honest, I thought that documentary was embarrassing for them. To say I disappeared after the movie when Debbie Does Dallas 2 came out? Are they for real? Pretty embarrassing. Most of the actors I’m sure were being truthful but, to think that someone would put out a documentary saying I disappeared straight away when I clearly didn’t is just insulting to the people who bought it.

Has there ever been a temptation over the years to become a more public figure?

No, not in the slightest, but I do appreciate the interest in me, which is why I have done this for you.

So, without wishing to invade your privacy any more than we already have, what can you tell us about what you’ve been doing for the past 30 years?

Well, it’s pretty boring I’m afraid. I’ve been married for over 20 years with a couple of lovely children who are both teenagers now. My husband is involved with computer software in California.

Debbie Does Dallas is now part of popular culture. Given the chance to do it over, would you still take part?

No, definitely not. But it isn’t something that has caused me any great amounts of grief, just family grief at the time. For those of you who actually cared about what happened to me, thank you. I’m fine and happy!

Steve Coulson runs the rather wonderful www.yesbutnobutyes.com