The son of a rich couple from Winnetka, Ill., Philip Tobias, the nephew of baking queen Sara Lee, studied political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He then moved to New York, where he starred on Broadway in Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar (and the movie) before turning 22 years of age.

In 1973, Tobias signed with Hollywood's most powerful talent agency of the time, William Morris, and moved to

Los Angeles, appearing in such TV shows as Mannix and Police Story. But Phil tired of the Hollywood competition. "I didn't stick it out. I got discouraged because I wasn't used to losing out on anything."

In 1974 in San Francisco, while performing in the play Beach Blanket Bingo, Tobias met the Mitchell Brothers who eventually persuaded him to do porn. Taking on the name Paul Thomas, he did his first hardcore scenes in 1975.

"I enjoyed being a big fish in a small pond," he told the 8/83 edition of Adam Film World. "The competition was much, much less. Although I was doing well in non-X-rated films, if I was to become a star, it would have taken several years. I took the easy route."

Paul's first porn feature appeared in 1976, Autobiography of a Flea.

Working in X had long been a fantasy for Paul. "Long before I starred in them, I'd go see them in Chicago and New York. I knew it was something I wanted to do.

"I have regrets. With my family there's no overt disapproval. There's disappointment there and in myself, in that I was doing so many fine projects… There's a feeling of loss of potential that hardly anybody else in the business has - because they began in erotic films, so they don't have that disappointment.

"And that is probably the biggest disappointment of my family; what could you have done if you had stayed in the other end? I wonder myself.

"Then there's the stigma that comes with my profession. Being everything from a gigolo to a prostitute to a no-good immoral son of a bitch, means that at any time, if someone is angry at you for something totally unrelated to films, they'll grab that hook "X-rated films." It's an easy one to grab.

"On the other hand, if somebody wants to look at the films in a beneficial vein, there's a lot of wonderful things to say about them. But again, it is something that someone can jump on if they want to get on my case. And depending who it is coming from, depending on my mood, it can get to me. I'll eventually get it together and defend my work and defend the place of erotic films.

"I want to defend the films because I want to be respected and I want people to be proud of me. One of the biggest disadvantages of working in erotic films is that you constantly have to explain yourself. It's caused me problems with women. The last women I've been with are not in the business and, given their druthers, would rather that I weren't either. But I'm not about to stop for them." (AFW 8/83)

"When I've finished a sex scene, someone will come up to me and say, "Good job, Paul, good job." But what did I do? I f---ed some beautiful woman. It's the easiest thing in the world. When I act and do a scene well, then I accept and expect congratulations.

"It's difficult when a woman is still questioning her being in an erotic film and doesn't want to be there. I'll turn the whole thing into a rape scene." A comparatively good actor, Tobias with his frequently limp dick created few scenes of sexual heat. He appeared haughty, and usually came too quickly.

Paul Thomas (PT) enjoyed passionate relationships with numerous porn girls including Annette Haven and Veronica Hart. His all-time favorite on-screen sex partner was Ginger Lynn, followed by Barbara Dare and Christian Heller, his girlfriend for a few months.

"We enjoyed performing for the camera. We enjoyed taking what many people thought should remain in the privacy of the bedroom and displaying it for all to see. Like - "Look, Aren't we nasty!" And I enjoyed being in threesomes with her too, and seeing her with another man or another woman violating our love.

"Seeing her with another guy turned me on the most. Seeing your woman with another man, it reaffirms, and seeing the other man's lust for your woman, reaffirms in your eyes how desirable your own woman is."

In the early '80s, Paul briefly married performer Honey Wilder.

Because he's slept with thousands of women on and off screen, PT no longer finds conventional sex interesting. He's rumored to be a tri-sexual - he'll try anything. Including drugs. In 1982, Thomas spent a year in an American jail for smuggling cocaine from South America.

In 1988, at age 35, Paul began his directing career. "As an X-rated actor I was getting tired of the few challenging roles and the amount of money I could make was limited and it was tough establishing relationships for all those reasons. Also, I wanted to expand my horizons. Directing and producing is a far greater challenge. I wasn't tired of acting. If I were a straight actor, I would have probably loved to continue acting. But X is very limiting."

Thomas was Henri Pachard's partner for a year-and-a-half. "I produced, and he directed.... Perry Ross then called me up...'I want you to direct...RoboFox'."

Paul's made seven 'straight' films for HBO under his real name Phil Tobias. He feels most proud of Lover's Leap. "It's a much tougher business and the sexual entertainment is less than the eight-day X-rated films I'm making which are like the product we produced in the '70s. They're the best erotic entertainment in the world, far better than R-rated films... such as Showgirls."

Porn's most successful and most affluent director, he attracts much criticism for creating product with little sexual heat. Paul feuds with Hustler magazine who, like most pornographers, loathe his product. In 1991, Larry Flynt's publication wrote: "Paul Thomas is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore. When the director of Scarlet Bride, Beauty and the Beast, Phantom X, The Masseuse, Portrait of Christy, Twisted, Romeo and Juliet and all 15 of The Brat series called and said he was specifically enraged with Flynt Publications and wanted to get it on the record, we said sure. We feel we're big enough, and fair enough, to let the 6-2, 185 pound artiste have his say."

Paul Thomas: "If I was just talking my reviews, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Hustler reviews reek of people who don't like pornography...who are condescending... occasionally deign to give a left-handed compliment to a piece because they have to.

"Even if they like something, they go out of their way to find things to cut up about it... Because it's a small business, the reviewers have the privilege of knowing some of us - and they will get personal... commenting on a producer's or director's home life... which is disgusting."

Thomas particularly hates the cutting writing of Christian Shapiro, a psuedonym for Hustler editor Alan MacDonell.

Paul's favorite porn directors include John Leslie and John Stagliano. "They are more auteurs than I am. They put out a third as many films as I do, and they have their stamp on every frame. I have five writers, and I have four editors, and I think as far as someone who's putting out as many as I am, I'm putting out the most good quality product."

Thomas directs more pornos with plots than anyone.

"What Ron Jeremy, John Bone are doing are to be viewed differently from what I'm trying to do or John Leslie. They're doing loops. And they shouldn't be called anything but loops. They're not trying to tell a story. Ron Jeremy is not a director. He's a traffic cop.

"Take two good looking people and throw 'em on a mattress in a garage and tell 'em to f--- their heads off, and it might be the greatest thing ever. It all depends what you want to see. To just film sex is easy. But to try to tell a story - that's a hundred times more difficult.

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"Bruce Seven is no more of a pervert than I am. He just approaches it differently, from the outside in while I go from the inside out. My perversion doesn't manifest itself in outward things. It manifests itself inwardly. My fascination for seeing women I care for with other men, and my fascination for seeing someone psychologically destroyed before they're physically f---ed.

"Bruce has a sweet nature. He may have his finger more on the pulse of what the product should be than I do. Admittedly, I sometimes take these shows too seriously, and that might show." (Hustler 1991)

Thomas says that no porn director has gone on to mainstream success "because they lack the talent. I would love to go on to bigger and better things. And if I don't, it's probably gonna be because I didn't have the talent to do it."

Around 1990, Mark Carriere used director John Stallion to try to make about 100 quick flicks working day and night. Most of the talent and crew never got paid, but Mark got rich.

"Being a bottom-line capitalist," says Thomas, "I had to uphold their rights to give it a shot... The talent...crew got what they deserved. They knew going in how crazy this thing was, and they might get f---ed over. The talent and crew have fought long and hard to establish a certain level of pay. They charge me...John Leslie...a certain level. I don't appreciate when they go to work for someone else for a far lower level of pay. It destroys the pay structure. It puts me in the position to also give them an insultingly low level of pay - or to hope for exactly what happened. When they were going into it, I said, 'I hope this thing self-destructs'. (Hustler 1991)

Many performers resent PT's tough financial dealing. "The talent sometimes feels cheated on my sets because I give the impression of big budgets. And I expect a lot more from the talent. I give them at least 20 pages of dialogue to learn, and I don't pay a lot more."

Paul's company Vivid releases films advertised for 86 minutes, that only contain 54, and on lousy quality video tape. Trying to double his money, Vivid turns individually solid flicks into undeserving sequels. It sends different versions of films to reviewers than of those that go to the public. Thomas and Vivid promises certain pay to performers, according to ex-Vivid employees like Bud Lee, then later screw them out of several hundred dollars.

"He's not mean-spirited," explains a veteran member of Paul's crew. "He just smokes too much weed and gets the figures wrong. Many of my checks are wrong, but half the time he pays me too much. Any time I have a problem, I can just call him up and he'll make it right."

Paul has a loyal crew made up of persons who've worked for him for years.

Thomas heads production at the largest producer of shot-on-film pornography. Owner Steve Hirsch started Vivid with Welshman Dick James in the mid '80s with $20,000. Using the savviest marketing the industry has ever seen, Vivid became the porn company with the most cross-over success.

The softcore television market now accounts for the majority of Vivid's revenues which is a major reason that Paul makes features rather than loops. PT funds his own productions, then sells them to Vivid and Playboy, steadily increasing his bankroll.

"I would like to stop making sex movies and make different types of movies," says PT. "I want to keep making movies because I like to work and I love to make money.

"I've built this niche [porn features] for myself and it's easy for me. I have the biggest and best opportunities in the business. And I'm making so much money that I'll soon be financially independent and better able to make other types of movies."

Paul is a rare pornographer who tells stories. "The people who are just as good as me - John Leslie, John Stagliano, Ron Sullivan - are either crazy or bored and don't want to do it [features] any more.

"I have more of a love of telling stories than anyone else. Other people who are popular now, like Patrick Collins or Max Steiner, don't purport to be filmmakers.

"I have to turn out a certain number of movies for Playboy cable TV... though I'm down to only six a year now.

"The challenge is to keep the film consistently erotic while still telling a story. You want to involve people in your characters, but it's difficult once you've shown your audience sex. Once you've gotten a man's cock hard, it's hard to tell him to follow your story for fifteen minutes until you get his cock hard again.

"These films are best watched for five or six nights. Watch and masturbate for 15 minutes, then turn it off and come back to it again when you want to get off.

"I've always felt with the type of films I'm making that the emperor has no clothes, and no one will say it. The best erotic entertainment is 15-minute vignettes.

"The big motion pictures I make are difficult to watch for that reason. Get someone excited and then expect them to watch the whole thing.

"We at Vivid are so successful right now [12/96] that we can't make these things fast enough. We satisfy the prurient interests of the world that is not ready for hardcore. And we're the only ones making them [quality erotic features].

"I'm not saying that our product is the best pornography. The best porn is 15-minute loops. But we're the best erotic entertainment. Major network TV in Europe play our films.

"It's hard to tell a story and satisfy the porno crowd. But we must be doing that because our hardcore stuff sells."

Adam Film World gave PT's Companion: Aroused 2 a perfect five star rating. "We hope Paul Thomas writes off his Showtime and Cinemax subscriptions on his taxes; he certainly deserves to. Companion is an engaging, ably executed hardcore carbon copy of those self-consciously amoral "erotic thrillers' that litter the late-night cable landscape.

"Ralph Parfait's camera work is exceptional, and Thomas gets the most out of a cast of porn actors who, except for workhorse Ashlynn Gere, aren't generally noted for their thespian skills." (AFW 96D. p. 110)

In 1988, VCA released Beauty and the Beast, starring Tracey Adams and John Leslie. "If fairy tales and ugly kings and beautiful damsels get your sexual thermometer rising, then this wonderfully executed adaptation of the old classic is sure to please." (AFW)

Paul directed 1990's Behind Closed Doors. "Strip circuit veteran Barbara Dare tires of the temporary pleasures found in the money and spotlight and heads to a one-horse town to experience some real living." (AFW)

Paul directed The Coven 1, 2 which Vivid released in 1993. Patrick Riley writes: "You notice the #1 in the title? Well you won't notice it until you get to the end of the movie because there's nothing on the box or even the opening credits to indicate it's not complete but then that's par for the course with a PT movie. As to Janine (see Blonde Justice), if you fancy her I'm sorry for you. This ex Penthouse Pet obviously has an ego the size of a truck and I get the impression she regards both the other girls and you, the viewer, with contempt. Here, she does a lot of masturbation and girl-girl scenes but when the old six inches appear, is she quick to get out of there. Apart from Janine, the two-parter aspect, the pretentiousness of the letter-boxing at the start, the boring bible-like voice-over, the hazy video and the poor quality of the in-out, there is another reason to avoid this movie.... Every male is either an anonymous cipher (Mark Davis, Nick East and Alex Sanders) or gets unjustifiably dumped on."

Coven 2 runs 75 minutes "including some scenes from part one plus footage that looks suspiciously like outtakes or second camera shots from that first part. Does it explain part one? Don't be silly! In fact, PT probably edited both and Ice Woman 2 at the same time because there is the similar use of twinkling stars and in his one a coffin floating through space. Artistic, huh? The first scene here takes place in some sort of Forrest clearing where we see Paul Little screwing Laurie Cameron including the materialization of a park bench and its later disappearance and an anal but not including a cum shot." (The X-Rated Videotape Guide 4, p. 201-202)

House of Sleeping Beauties appeared in 1992. "Marc Wallice plays a painter who is suffering from sexually motivated visions that affect his love life with Jamie Summers. Paul Thomas returns to full-length features that aren't chopped into two parts. There is a caveat. This version (the so-called "Director's Cut") is only available for purchase through Video Mail. After suffering through a year of poorly edited, mercilessly wrecked porn movies, halved Solomon-like, Thomas shows he can make a whole movie. The look is beautiful. The sex is sensual." (X-Rated Videotape Guide 4)

Pat Riley reviews 1992's Things Change. "PT with his greed has done it again. This movie was split into two for video store release but sent to reviewers as one.

"Paul gets a good review on the whole movie and then splits it into two parts to make double the bucks. You don't remember that there missing scenes when you finally see it; you just remember the title, the concept and that the review was good. No wonder the industry has the reputation it has. But you should still see the first part." (X-Rated Videotape Guide 4, p. 564)

Mask appeared in 1993. "When a handsome and sexually active scientist Mark Davis suffers facial disfigurement during a chemical explosion in his lab, his colleague devises a mask for him to wear to hide his scars. A well paced effort from Paul Thomas who seems to excel when exploring the darker side of human nature. Mark is set to marry Lene, and we watch them make love in a tender opening scene. Their scene is passionate and highlights the gorgeous body and face of Lene. " (AFW p.260)

Paul Thomas directed Vivid's big movie of 1996 - Bobby Sox.

AFW gave the movie a Volcanic Erotic Rating. "Director Paul Thomas presents a complex tale of an alcoholic, perverted, aging actor (Gillis) who finds his last hurrah when he's paired up with a kinky and controlling mother (McCullough) and her bratty and bored young daughter (Nikki Tyler) when he stumbles into small town to promote a cheapie monster movie. ..."

In the early fall of 1996, Thomas spent nine days shooting Bad Wives for Vivid. "It's my most ambitious porno yet, telling the story of two middle class wives [Dyanna Lauren and Melissa Hill] who are slowly going mad from the tedium of their everyday lives.

"The two women get busted by the box boy [Steven St. Croix] at the super-market for eating the icing out of a box of Oreos. The women kidnap him...and he turns out to be the Devil." (AVN)

AVN awarded Paul's 1997 film Bad Wives a perfect ten stars.

"He [PT] makes real movies," says AVN publisher Paul Fishbein. "If you took the sex out of them, you'd still have interesting films."

In early 1997, Vivid Video held a showing of Wives sans explicit scenes for 'straight' critics. Steve Hirsch's company wanted to prove that their product had cinematic value beyond creating masturbatory fantasy.

Craig D. Pardey has run the Las Vegas porn shop Freedom Video since 1992. But he was unprepared for the 1997 Vivid release The Zone. "Eleven minutes into this video," he wrote to the 2-98 AVN, "there is a male/male blowjob scene lasting two minutes. The box art indicates that the video is a normal couples appeal title. I was shocked and surprised that Vivid would insert a gay scene in a straight movie… Please, no more gay/straight combos."

Paul Thomas replied that we shouldn't all be so homophobic. "There are a lot of men with homosexual fantasies and realities, and maybe it's time we started admitting to some of those and get over it. The most important point here is, all sex in a movie is not just meant for getting off, is not just meant for entertainment purposes. It's also meant to shock…"

"People in porno don't realize how abhorrent porno is to most people," says PT. "You ask the average person about a porno movie - to see some guy's dick shoved into someone's cunt - and they're not even close to accepting it. They may not want to ban it... Porno is still essentially for wankers.

"They call me the King of the Couples genre. I don't think there's enough couples to support my films to the extent that they're supported. There are a lot more men watching them alone than they want to admit it. I don't see pornography for couples or women. Maybe one out of ten women, tops, likes pornography."

PT attracts plenty of people who want to knock him off his perch such as critic Selwyn Harris: "Paul Thomas is a good example of a woman who just happens to have a penis. Pauly-sweetheart: Couples do consume pornography, and since this is the market over which you claim eminent domain, why don't you make some?

"Stagnant, stamina-destroying bloated confusion-fests are not...f--- movies."

Paul Thomas believes in a maximum of individual liberty. "Government should stay out of people's private lives.

"This industry centers me. Life is a challenge. I believe in drugs. I'm a charter member of Club f---eD - Functionally Chemically Dependent. I'll have a shot of liquor, a snort of this, a joint of that, a pill... I take my share of substances. The crazies hit me every week or every day and so I'll party at least every month and have a bachnallian orgy."

PT spends his spare time reading, exercising and "watching too much TV".

Watching Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 mainstream film Boogie Nights was a painful experience for PT. He was the only person at an advanced screening who'd live through the era of late '70s and early '80s San Fernando Valley porn. The film "rang true…. The people in Boogie Nights really thought they were making fine dramatic films. Maybe [we're] as stupid as they are, but I don't think so.

"A lot of people have called to congratulate me, thinking it was my movie. I wish it was."

Like the character Jack Horner, PT received visits from members of the Mafia. "It was great getting cash under the table. But, unfortunately, it's all done legally now." Unlike Horner, Paul went on trial (in 1991) for making and distributing obscenity. Rather than fight, Thomas copped a plea in the Mississippi court and paid a fine.

"I love what I do," Thomas told the 10-31-97 edition of Entertainment Weekly. "But if I had it to do over

again, I would have stuck it out in Hollywood.

"Walking out of the movie I felt, Am I that laughable?" Thomas says. "Then I thought, So what? Even if I'm fooling myself as much as [Jack Horner] did, who gives a f---? It's not the worst crime in the world."

"PT is wealthy," says Asia Carrera. "When his father went to jail for tax evasion, he quickly transferred millions of dollars into P.T.'s name before going away. P.T. made various investments over the next few years, and when his father came out of jail, he returned the principal but kept the profits. He is now a millionaire in his own right.

"P.T. is a complete nympho, and he dabbles extensively in recreational pharmaceuticals. He likes his women, and his drugs, which made pornoland perfectly suited to him. I suppose he made the move from talent to director when he decided it was time to start growing up, but he's definitely not getting as much nookie as a director. Sure, there's always an up-and-coming starlet on every shoot who is just cast for P.T.'s amusement, but I can assure you he doesn't get away with any reindeer games with the Vivid girls."