Tom DeSimone, ‘Chatterbox’ and ‘Reform School Girls’ Director, Dies

Tom DeSimone died on Oct. 17 in Cathedral City, California, at 87, his brother Bob confirmed. Bob said DeSimone had chosen medically assisted death after a terminal cancer diagnosis.

The director built a career crossing adult films, B-movies, cult comedy and genre television, a range that complicates any single description of him as an exploitation filmmaker. His credits included “Reform School Girls” and “Chatterbox,” the 1977 talking-vagina comedy about a woman who discovers that her vagina can talk.

DeSimone’s route into film began in Massachusetts. He was born in Revere and raised in Newton and Weston. He earned a master’s in film at UCLA. In 1968, he directed the low-budget adventure “Terror in the Jungle,” an early marker for the prolific production work that followed.

He then directed numerous adult films, including “Lust in the Afternoon,” “Gay Guide to Hawaii” and “Prison Girls.” DeSimone often worked under pseudonyms, among them Lancer Brooks. In 1977, “Chatterbox” marked a move toward a somewhat more mainstream phase in his career.

From “Chatterbox” to cult genre films

Candice Rialson played Penny in “Chatterbox,” a beautician who discovers that her vagina can talk and that it is not always tactful.

The Passionate Moviegoer described the comedy in unusually direct terms: “A genuinely funny comedy, ‘Chatterbox’ is about a vagina that spouts the most politically incorrect things at the most inopportune times, much to the chagrin of the dubious assortment of men who want to bed Penny.”

The review identified the film’s comic engine: the unwanted opinions emitted by Penny’s body arrive at the worst moments for the men around her. Its judgment of the premise as genuinely funny supports the account of “Chatterbox” as a move into broader comedy.

DeSimone went on to direct “Hell Night” and “Savage Streets,” both starring Linda Blair. He left “Savage Streets” early and moved on to “Angel III: The Final Chapter.”

He then helmed “Concrete Jungle,” with Jill St. John and Tracey E. Bregman. In 1986, he directed the campy women-behind-the-bars film “Reform School Girls.” It became a cult classic in that genre.

DeSimone’s television work included:

• “Freddy’s Nightmares”: four episodes directed in the later 1980s.
• “Swamp Thing,” “Super Force,” “Dark Justice” and “The Big Easy”: further directing credits.
• “Acapulco Bay”: all episodes of the soap opera.

DeSimone is survived by his brother Bob, sister-in-law Lisa DeSimone, nieces Amanda and Gianna DeSimone, and grandnephew Ori DeSimone.

What does DeSimone’s death change for his film legacy?

It changes no film, credit or family fact in the record. It shifts attention toward the full chronology. That chronology runs from “Terror in the Jungle” in 1968 through adult features, pseudonyms and “Chatterbox” in 1977 to “Reform School Girls” in 1986 and television work in the later 1980s.

For viewers, the practical consequence is a clearer route into his work: “Chatterbox” demonstrates his command of broad comedy, while “Reform School Girls” demonstrates his role in cult genre cinema. With attention now focused on his death, the adult-film credits, cult features and television episodes together offer a fuller test of a director whose range was broader than any one label.