Harrison Marks

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George Harrison Marks (6 August 1926 - 27 June 1997) was a British glamour photographer at the height of his productivity from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s.

He founded the Kamera group of magazines with his then 'supposed' wife, the model and actress Pamela Green.

They were never married, which put her at a disadvantge when they split, financially and regarding copyright and possession of photos, even of herself.

Besides Pamela Green, his most popular models were probably June Palmer and Vicky Kennedy, who under her birth name of Margaret Nolan, went on to be an actress, in Carry On, Bond and other films, in the theatre and on TV, notably in Steptoe and Son. He also made a number of short films and the full length Naked - as Nature Intended.

Marks endured a partially turbulent time in the early seventies after an obscenity trial left him bankrupt and his drinking began to become more heavy. Marks made ends meet by shooting short sex films for the 8mm market and releasing them via his Maximus Films company. Based out of Marks’ Farringdon studio, Maximus was run on a ‘film club’ basis, meaning that punters would have to sign up for membership before purchasing the films, mirroring the way membership only sex cinemas were run at the time. Marks also filmed hardcore versions of his Maximus short films which were released overseas on the Color Climax label. In later years Marks was reluctant to discuss these hardcore short films and claimed ‘not to remember’ their titles, some however have resurfaced including Dolly Mixture (1973) - a horror film spoof starring his 1970s discovery Clyda Rosen- , The Customs, Duty Free, Bistro Bordello and Busty Baller (1979).

Marks also published erotic spanking material such as Kane magazine, and a number of spanking films.

He was the photographic consultant for the film Peeping Tom, which also featured Pamela Green in a cameo role.

Marks was in many ways the British equivalent of Russ Meyer. While Marks was never the filmmaker that Meyer was, both made their names as photographers, both had an obsession for large breasted women (though this isn’t quite as all consuming in Marks films), and both would eventually become a byword for a certain form of erotica that has since passed into history.