As a fan of cult cinema, I’m always looking to catch up on obscure films – because there are so many to discover…I appreciate the Facebook fan pages that celebrate these movies, and the stars who appeared in them!
Time To Celebrate Rene Bond!
In the history of sexploitation cinema, the early 70’s were the “golden age”, and one Actress in particular became iconic – Rene Bond!
Rene was born on October 11 1950 in San Diego, and got into the business in a 1969 film called “Spread The Action” – from there it was a whirlwind 100 additional films!
Here are some of the best drive-in and sexploitation films she appeared in – like this #WIP classic:
Here how I found “Fugitive Girls” described:
Perhaps the most accomplished film from Ed Wood collaborator A.C. Stephen (aka Stephen C. Apostolof), FUGITIVE GIRLS is a quick hybrid of action and sexploitation, co-starring Rene Bond and Tallie Cochran, and featuring a typically singular screenplay from Ed Wood himself (who also appears in the film.)
Yes, THE Ed Wood!
Here is the trailer:
This film actually had several titles, like “Five Loose Women” and “Hot on Their Trail” – but “Fugitive Girls” is the most explicit version.
Bond made more than 100 films of all kinds, but her specialty was XXX-rated films – and she was an active and eager participant!
Rene also moved into adult films – XXX-rated hardcore movies – and she was an eager participant. As she said in an interview:
“There’s something about the way I work, I guess. I’ve studied myself on screen, watched what I do. I don’t think my body is exquisite and I don’t think I’m beautiful. I think I’m very attractive. I think I’m appreciated, but I don’t think I’m exquisite.”
Here are some of her most provocative roles:
For example, here’s “The Cocktail Hostesses”:
Toni is a secretary who is tired of not making much money, even though she is sleeping with her boss. Her girlfriend convinces her to take a job as a cocktail hostess, where she can make a lot of money in tips, and meet a lot of men.
Bond was unique in many ways, as she acted in films that were “R” rated as well as explicit “X” rated work as well.
As IMDB notes in her biography, Rene entered porn in the late 1960s for the usual reason–money. In her own words:
“I had some friends who were working in porno, and I needed the money. So they said they’d introduce me to some people, and they did. I got used to the money”.
She worked with her boyfriend in many of the more explicit films – and she took roles in everything from action to comedy and more!
Here are more examples:
Bond’s crossover success into “R” rated movies was based, in part, on her terrific screen presence! Check this one out:
Bond was willing to bare all in her films, and she quickly gained a loyal crowd to followed her anywhere she went – because she always seemed to be having a blast!
You can see more of Rene’s “hillbilly” film and other “hicksploitation” classics as well by clicking on my story here:
As I said, she was a great cult movie star.
An industry observer described her as:
“a sinfully sexy and youthful-looking little strumpet whose well-rounded acting skills and vivacious approach to on-screen sexing made her an instant favorite.”
Check Out Rene’s “Runaway Hormones”!
This 1972 exploitation comedy was something she excelled at. She popped on camera and always had a sexy smile with a hint of innocence…
IMDB notes:
She also had a deft touch with comedy. Her landmark linking segments in “Teen-age Fantasies: An Adult Documentary” (1973) epitomize her knack for coming across as sweet and winsome in even the raunchiest material.
Rene was also incredibly candid – she was one of the first “Adult” stars to have breast implants to cater to what she called the “North American Breast Fetish”.
In 1977 she stated honestly:
“That’s obviously not all from growing. I did have surgery, but that was because I was told there’s a North American Breast Fetish, and that men only like women with big boobs, which is not the case anymore, but then it was. And so I had it done and it changed a lot of things. I did get more work after that.”
Rene Was A Burlesque Star Too!
Rene sang, danced and stripped at Hollywood’s Ivar Burlesque Theater – and legend has it she often brought her father on stage and sang “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” to him!
There are a number of compilations out there that can give you a chance to see more of this cult movie Queen…
Sadly, her story took a dark turn…
Rene Bond’s Mysterious Disappearance!
As I said, Rene acted mostly with her longtime boyfriend Ric Lutze. They were a regular pair in both softcore and hardcore films for most of the 1970s. Then, Rene and Ric vanished from the film scene in 1978.
Rene bizarrely showed up a few years later – in 1984 on a TV Game Show! Rene was introduced as a bankruptcy specialist and had a new husband next to her – oh, and she won over $9,000 in cash and prizes!
Here is that clip!
Rene was seen around Las Vegas throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.
Then, tragedy struck: Rene She died of cirrhosis of the liver on June 2, 1996. She was just 45 years old…
What a sad end to a wildly successful 70’s acting career…for many, working in pornography closes the door to any “regular” film work, but she managed to cross over, thanks to Producers like Harry Novak and Ed Wood.
As Bond herself said about the adult films she made:
“There’s something about the way I work, I guess. I’ve studied myself on screen, watched what I do. I don’t think my body is exquisite and I don’t think I’m beautiful. I think I’m very attractive. I think I’m appreciated, but I don’t think I’m exquisite.”
Some of her “R” rated films are a blast to watch, like this one:
Yes, Rene was in “Invasion Of The Bee Girls!”
The star of this film also had a wild life:
Victoria Vetri went from the moon – to prison!
You can see much more about her life here:
Here’s another Actress that Bond starred with:
Cyndee Summers was another terrific Adult Movie Queen from that era…click here for the story of Cyndee Summers!
Actress Annette Michael also appeared in a number of adult film at that time:
She wasn’t a super star, but I was surprised to find out virtually nothing about her – click here for the mystery of XXX-rated star Annette Michael:
This Actress also appeared in many classic adult films of that era:
Terri Johnson was a “bored housewife” and so much more!
You can click on her story to see all of the Actresses she worked with in the era!
Well, there’s nothing to help find out who Annette is, but there are plenty of adult films that show her off, so we can live with that I guess!
If you like these stories, and want to keep up with the great cult Actresses from past and present, click my main page and sign up to have these stories delivered directly to your email!
Let me know if you know Rene’s work!
Categories: 70's Films, Camp Cult Classics, Cult Classics, Exploitation Films, Extreme Cinema, Grindhouse, JRsploitation, Nudity
JR-Sploitation! 
Rene Bond reminds me a bit of Gia Derza. This is a good thing.
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I really love her ‘cute and innocent’ cheeky face. And what a body to go with that! I wish I had known about her in her heyday, she would have been a big crush for me then, just my type.
Best wishes, Pete.
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She was a popular Actress of that era to be sure – thanks as always for reading and commenting!
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