The American Flag, Hustler and Amorica

It is July 4th and we are celebrating our independence and showing our patriotism. In honor of the fourth, I am penning this blog post. It is about "The American Flag, Hustler and Amorica." A rather interesting and perhaps strange combination.

Hustler Cover July 1976 - American Flag Panty
Panty design by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

THE BACKGROUND STORY

In March 1976, I was working in Columbus, Ohio and living off Morse Road on the Northside. I happened to know the Art Director for Hustler Magazine, Bob Flora. I got to know Bob and Kathy in 1973 when I moved to Columbus. At that time, he was attending Columbus College of Art and Design [CCAD] with my sister Diane.

Looking through my scrapbook, I found a picture of Bob Flora when he won a prize for his entry in the "Meet the Pros" advertising contest. That was April, 1974.

Bob Flora wins prize for his entry in the "Meet the Pros" advertising contest
April, 1974 - Columbus, Ohio

I got a phone call one weekday afternoon in March 1976 from Bob Flora. He said that Hustler magazine wanted to have a patriotic cover for our bicentennial in July 1976. Would I be able to design some panties that would capture the theme of patriotism? I told Bob that as soon as I got home from work, I would see what I could come up with. I knew I wanted to try and capture the essence of the American Flag with fabric.

THE WHITE BACKGROUND FABRIC

When I went to my sewing supply closet, I found that I had plenty of white fabric. I also had red and blue colored bias tape that I would use along with elastic for the sides. Bob and Kathy found some white star with blue background fabric. The curious thing about that white fabric is that it was surplus from my wedding dress that I had sewn in 1971. I don't think Larry Flynt ever knew that the fabric was from my wedding dress!!

JaguarJulie Ann Brady Bridal Party - December 1971

There it is - my wedding dress. I also made the veil and sewed my two sisters' dresses and the purple velvet outfit that my mom wore that day.

The evening Bob and Kathy Flora dropped by, I had sewn three different pairs of patriotic panties for his photo shoot. They were airing the panties to Miami, Florida for the shoot. A few days later, Bob asked me to sew three more panties as those that I made were a bit too snug on the model. I wished we had digital cameras back then so that I would have had a record of the six different designs that I created. I do know that my first three designs weren't so rushed and probably were stitched a bit better. When it came to the redo, and the patriotic panty made the cover of Hustler Magazine, it wasn't my best sew job!

HUSTLER COVER - JULY 1976

Hustler Cover July 1976 - American Flag Panty
Panty design by JaguarJulie Ann Brady

Flipping through my scrapbook I found the Hustler Cover of July 1976. Written above the cover, "Designed 6 panties in March, '76, for Bob Flora, art director. This one was for the Bicentennial Cover. Another pair on Sept. cover." Gosh, I had forgotten that another pair of panties that I designed made another Hustler Cover in 1976!!

I don't remember what Bob Flora paid me for my panty designs. Maybe $50 or $100. It wasn't much.

So, that was pretty cool way back then that my panty design made the cover of Hustler. I might have mentioned it through the years to some coworkers and friends. It was in my scrapbook for posterity!

THE BLACK CROWES AMORICA - 1994

1976 to 1994 - how many years is that? Eighteen years? Holy Smokes, that is a long time. So, it was 1994 and I was now living in Jacksonville, Florida and working for SCM Glidco Organics on the Northside. Late in the afternoon at work a fellow worker named Pat came in from the plant. He came up behind me in my office and planted something in front of my face.

The Black Crowes Amorica Cover - 1994

"Holy crap, that's my design!" That's kind of what I said. Pat had just bought the cassette of The Black Crowes Amorica album and knew that was my design. I had previously told Pat about a panty design of mine that appeared on Hustler Magazine.

The first cassette cover was the actual cover from Hustler Magazine in July 1976 - that is the cassette on the right. A little later, a second cover was released, with the background blacked out to obscure the model's body and her pubic hair. For an interesting read on the two different covers, you must check out the Wikipedia reference on the Amorica picture!!! It says, "The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, American Recordings, or the graphic artist(s)."

And, why not do an image search on Google to see all those patriotic panties!! Wow. It sure is crazy to see my design like that.

What was rather funny was the story Pat was sharing, claiming that I was the model in that photo. Not true! It was just my panty design made from my white wedding dress material.

WARNER BROS. COMMUNICATION

In 1994, I was in communication with American Recordings and then Warner Bros. legal department where we went back and forth on their use of the panty design that I created for Hustler Magazine. I simply must dig up that correspondence and share it here! As it has been twenty years since that exchange, I don't really remember that I got any satisfactory response from them. I was the little designer gal without legal representation. All I really wanted was design credits for my patriotic panties!

THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT

In 1996, along comes the movie about Hustler Magazine and Larry Flynt, The People vs. Larry Flynt. Would you believe, that there is a scene in the movie where Woody Harrelson, who is playing Larry Flynt, is giving a speech in Cincinnati, Ohio. As he stands on the stage talking about freedom of speech, there are images projected on the screen behind him.

The People vs. Larry Flynt - Hustler Cover July 1976

On the screen projected is a giant image of the Hustler Cover of July 1976! Wow! If I knew my patriotic panty design was going to appear on more than just Hustler Magazine, I surely would have done a better job of sewing it! Can you see all the stitches? No, I guess the public hair probably overshadowed those loose stitches!!

THE END OF THE STORY

P.S. So, over the years, I have chatted with my sister Diane about this story. She was also an Art Director, but for a major advertising agency in Columbus, Ohio. She told me to "get over it!" That my panty design probably became the property of Larry Flynt and Hustler. A few years later she apologized for her abrupt assertion. After all, it was her right under freedom of speech.

Bob Flora left Hustler Magazine in 1977 to become the Associate Art Director for Harper's Bazaar. In May, 1979 he became the Art Director for Harper's Bazaar. I don't know what Bob was doing after that. When we chatted about Bob Flora, she told me that he had died of AIDS many years ago. But, what about Kathy Flora? We had both lost touch with her over the years. Now, what was her maiden name? I thought it was something like Korman, but I am not sure. Hold the phone! April 15, 2023 I seem to have found the correct spelling of Kathy's maiden name ... not Korman but Chorman ... Kathy Chorman!

Bob and Kathy Flora at Wedding of Doug and Diane Hay
Photo Taken December 29, 1973

Oh, I just wanted to share a cool photo from December 29, 1973. Bob Flora was the best man at my sister Diane's wedding to Doug Hay. Kathy Chorman [not Korman] Flora was also there. You can find Kathy on the far right and Bob is in the last row on the right.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!

Have a safe and festive fourth of July. Maybe you are doing a barbecue or a trip to the beach and surely fireworks later. You may want to give The Black Crowes Amorica a listen or perhaps catch the movie, The People vs. Larry Flynt!