'DEEP THROAT' CREATOR GONE

Gerard Damiano, the former hairdresser who directed the classic porn flick "Deep Throat" has died at the age of 80.

Damiano was a hairdresser who came up with the idea for a woman whose pleasure center was not where it should be. He made the film in 6 days for $25,000 and made a star of talented topliner, Linda Lovelace. Lovelace later became an anti-porn activist. She died in a car crash in 2002.

"The movie made over a half-a-billion dollars," an industry insider told RADAR. "But Gerard didn't get that money. People were pirating prints and showing them around the world, and then the mob moved in and took the lion's share. Plus, there were legal fees as Gerard and star Harry Reems fought off government censorship."

Damiano was retired and lived in the Miami area.