Roberta Pedon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roberta Pedon | |
---|---|
Birthdate: | 1954 |
Birth location: | Ohio, USA |
Birth name: | Rosma Grantoviskis |
Date of death: | 1982 |
Measurements: | 42-26-36 |
Ethnicity: | Caucasian |
Alias(es): | Mooschi, Sadie Schultz |
Roberta Pedon at IMDb | |
Roberta Pedon at IAFD |
Roberta Pedon (born Rosma Laila Grantoviskis in Ohio on May 2nd 1954[1] ) was a big-bust American glamour model who appeared in men's magazines in the 1970s.*
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Roberta Pedon was born in Ohio on May 2, 1954. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area with her family shortly thereafter. Roberta seldom spoke to friends about her personal background and sometimes claimed to be an “only child”, it is now known she had both a brother and a half sister. Although it is popularly believed that Roberta's ethnicity was Italian or Argentinian, her parents were actually Latvian emigres. The Italian/Argentinian rumors originate from the fact that she plays a foreign character in the sexploitation film Delinquent Schoolgirls. According to people who met her, Roberta spoke with a normal American accent, yet was also fluent in Portuguese.
[edit] Modeling Career
In 1973, Roberta relocated from San Francisco to Venice, California where she started her modeling career. Bob Ellison and John Kirk, both well known glamour photographers in Los Angeles have been credited with discovering Roberta. She was known by many pseudonyms (Roberta Pedon, Melody O'Hare, Roberta Baird and Roberta Weaver). "Roberta Pedon" was the name she had fully adopted by 1973. The "Melody O'Hare" moniker supposedly came from the name of one of her best friends in Junior High. Pedon's nickname was "Mooschi".
Due to her extremely large breasts, Roberta's photographs frequently appeared in men's magazines that catered to breast fetishists. The earliest verifiable publication of her modeling photos was in a men's magazine called "The Swinger" in the February, 1974, edition which would have gone to press the prior November. She invariably dressed (and then undressed) as a hippie during most of her photo shoots.
Roberta’s appearance in the sexploitation film Carnal Madness aka Delinquent Schoolgirls resulted from her contacts at American Art Enterprises (AAE) a Los Angeles company that specialized in pornographic shoots and loops. AAE's modeling roster provided the producer of Delinquent Schoolgirls with busty female talent like Roberta and Nika Movenka to act in the film. After appearing in Delinquent Schoolgirls, Roberta caught the acting bug and auditioned for the lead female role in the Jan-Michael Vincent film Buster and Billie.
However, Roberta's personal problems and poor career management meant Delinquent Schoolgirls would be her only "legitimate" film appearance. In September 1975, she was imprisoned in San Francisco for drug and prostitution offenses. Upon her release she was ostracized by many of her previous employers, including her employers at American Art Enterprises. Roberta would eventually become homeless while also suffering from alcoholism, drug abuse and chronic bulimia. Her modeling career was short-lived, lasting only 2 1/2 years. Her last photo shoot took place in 1976.
[edit] Personal Life
Roberta’s relationships with men were of a brief and turbulent nature, characterized by a repeated pattern of seeking deep emotional attachment with men who merely used and discarded her. She claimed to have had affairs with an actor from the film Planet of the Apes and a faded television star who was to later die in mysterious circumstances in 1978. While few of her relationships lasted more than a couple of months, she did enjoy a longer one with the writer Gustav Hasford, author of The Short-Timers and inspiration for the film Full Metal Jacket.
[edit] Death
Roberta Pedon died at the Alameda Hospital in Alameda County, California on July 30th 1982[2] at the age of 28. On Pedon's death certificate, the examining physician recorded her death as a result of "shock" due to lactic acidosis caused by "alcoholic liver disease". Pedon's remains were cremated at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland.
[edit] Legacy
In Dian Hanson's book, "The History of Men's Magazines Vol.5", Roberta Pedon is listed as one of the top five American covergirls from 1968-1980.
The "Big Book of Breasts", by Dian Hanson features several nude modeling photographs of Roberta Pedon.
Two books about Roberta are currently being written, one a traditional biography written by Charles L Smith (due in 2009), the other a fictional narrative in which one of the main characters is heavily based on Roberta.
Delinquent Schoolgirls was released on DVD in Feb 2008.
[edit] Identity Mystery
- Recent information about the name "Rosma Grantovskis" has emerged which casts doubt or entirely nullifies the theory that this name was the true identity of Roberta Pedon.
[edit] References
[edit] Selected Magazine Appearances
- Fling (May 1973)
- Casanova (No.1, 1974
- The Swinger (Feb 1974)
- Gem (May 1974)
- Night and Day: Supermamas (Spring, 1974)
- Adam (Vol.18, No.6, 1974)
- Adam (Vol.18, No.7, August, 1974)
- Nacht Express (Vol. 1. No. 5, 1974, Germany)
- Showpiece (Vol.2 No.4, 1974)
- Hamburger Sex Illustrierte (No.40, 1974, Germany)
- Mayfair (Vol.9, No.5, 1974, UK, as "Roberta Baird")
- Showpiece (Vol.3, No.1, 1974)
- Cavalcade Galacolorama (Summer, 1974)
- Sam (197?)
- The Best of Sam (1974)
- Cavalier (November 1974)
- Torrid Teens (Vol.6, No.2, Winter 1974)
- Gent (Dec, 1974)
- Fabulous Females (1975)
- Candid (1975)
- Juicy (Vol.1, No.1 1975)
- Climax (Janurary 1975)
- Man’s Pleasure (Vol.5, No.3 Feb 1975)
- Modern Man (Vol.25, No.3 March 1975)
- Gent (Vol.16, No.3 June 1975)
- Cavalcade Galacolorama (Spring 1975)
- Cavalcade Galacolorama (September, 1975)
- 38-26-34 -"the way out magazine" (Vol.13, No.1, 1975)
- Jallu (1975, Finnish)
- Peaches (No.8, 1975, UK)
- Big Tits (Vol.10,No.1, 197?)
- Bounce -"real life exeriences of big breasted women" (197?)
- St. Pauli Nachtrichen (197?, German)
- Big Boobs Superbusen Ballons (No.8, 197?, German)
- Big Boobs Superbusen Ballons (No.12, 197?, German)
- Blockbusters (197?)
- Scoop Magazine (No.10, 197?)
- Jaguar (197?)
- Teenage Tits (197?)
- Swingle (197?)
- O.K. (No.2, 197?)
- Mingo (No.1 197?)
- International Sex Stars: Robin (197?)
- Fascination (197?)
- King Size (197?)
- Pornoboy (No.22, 197?)
- X-otica (No.6, 197?)
- Fling (May 1977)
- Peaches (No.29, 1977, UK)
- Pushovers (1977, Annual)
- Hookers (No.3, 1977)
- Peaches special (No.13, 1978, UK)
- Fling (Vol.20, No.5 March 1978 as "Melody O'Hare")
- Fling (September, 1978)
- Happy Girls (No.4, 1979, German)
- Busen Revue (No.12, 1979, German)
- Gem (archive pictures, Dec 1979)
- Scoop Magazine (archive pictures, 1980)
- Busen Girls (archive pictures, 198?, German)
- Gent (archive pictures, Feb 1981)
- BUF- Big Up Front Swinger (archive pictures, 1982)
- Adam Choice (Vol.3, No.1, archive pictures, Jan 1984)
- Velvet Touch (archive pictures, Feb 1984)
[edit] External links
- Roberta Pedon at the Internet Movie Database
- Roberta Pedon "loop" #1
- Delinquent Schoolgirls film clip #1
- Delinquent Schoolgirls film clip #2
- Delinquent Schoolgirls film clip #3
- Charles L. Smith's recollections of Roberta Pedon
- Biographer Charles L. Smith’s myspace page
- Reality-based Roberta Pedon website
- Roberta Pedon Gallery at MyArchives.net (listed alphabetically by first name under Pre-1980 Vintage and Retro)
- Roberta on the cover of 'Adam' magazine