I would like to thank Otto’s family for inviting me here today, on the somber occasion of his passing, to say a few words about his professional life. Otto was a modest man, who didn’t talk a lot about his accomplishments, so there may be some of you who are unfamiliar with his career. Otto composed incidental music for films—the music you hear in the background, while the story unfolds on the screen. It may seem like a small thing, but this music contributes mightily to the tone and feel of a film. And, at this niche aspect of the movie business, Otto was an absolute genius. The best in his field—bar none.
That Otto chose to apply his talents exclusively to pornographic films in no way diminishes his brilliance. He devoted a 50-year career pairing grunts, groans and screams, with music that audiences everywhere could be heard whistling, as they zipped up and left the theater.
We should remember that before Otto, porno movies pretty much ignored incidental music, concentrating instead on the images of the actors and actresses, and the storyline...okay, maybe not the storyline so much, but you get the idea. Background music was usually thrown in as an afterthought, if at all. That all changed, when Otto arrived on the scene. He singlehandedly added a whole new dimension to these films, making works of art out of what would otherwise have been forgettable little fuck flicks.
Otto captured the attention of the industry with his very first film, A Trip Down Mammary Lane. His score consisted entirely of percussion instruments, pairing cowbell taps with itty-bitty titty jiggles, tomtoms with C-cuppers and kettle drums with flailing double-D jugs. That was many years ago, but the industry is still talking about it.
Film budgets were tight back then. So, in addition to incidental music, Otto was tasked to do sound effects, and he proved just as innovative at this as with background music—listen to his work in The Legend Of Poppa Hymen. You’ll never hear a champagne cork pop the same way again. Or, his half-empty, plastic ketchup bottle squeezes in The African Queef.
It wasn’t long before Otto was asked to write complete songs for films. He stepped up to the challenge, with original tunes for the golden shower-themed Pissed Off, including "That Certain Tinkle In Your Eye" and "Wee Wee Wee Wee All the Way Home."
But, Otto’s masterpiece was his awardwinning score for The Wet Waltz. You see, people have sex in 2/4 time; in-out-in-out, up-down-up-down, etc. But, Otto’s gamechanging 3/4 time background music was revolutionary in the history of stag films. He commanded such respect from the cast that they agreed to perform all of the fuck scenes with one accented deep thrust, followed by two partial withdrawal strokes—blowjobs, too. Just like a waltz, except with dicks and heads, instead of dancing. It won him that year’s prestigious Woody Throbber Award for Best Film Score. The voting wasn’t even close.
If I listed all of Otto’s influential works, we’d be here all day and never get to the free lunch, so here’s a quick sampling: he wrote the smash hit, "Twat Do I Owe This Pleasure?" for the movie Facial And A Nail Job. S&M fans can sing you his "Boobies And Boo Boos" like they know "Happy Birthday." Toward the end of his career, he contributed songs for films made all over the world—in the "Middle East With Head In The Sand," in India, with "Cal-Cunt-A" and in the cult Japanese hit, "That Not Sushi— That My Pooo-See!"
Recently, when his health began to fail, I visited him at the assisted living facility where he spent his last days. I asked him what the driving force behind his success was. He looked off in the distance for a moment, then looked me in the eye and said, "I wanted to make films that would give a blind guy a hard-on." Mission accomplished, my friend. Mission accomplished!
