Pam & Tommy: Is Louis “Butchie” Peraino A Real Person or fictional? Is He Still Alive?

Is Louis “Butchie” Peraino Based on a Real Person

The extraordinary storey of the titular couple, whose lives are turned upside down when a private recording is stolen from their house, is told in ‘Pam & Tommy.’

The leaked tape sets in motion a complex series of events, beginning with the robbery itself, which is carried out by Rand, an ordinary carpenter.

Rand and his porn industry friend, Uncle Miltie, think they’ve discovered a gold mine and decide to launch a business selling the leaked celebrity footage.

Louis “Butchie” Peraino, a local mobster, offers to fund their project on some incredibly lucrative terms (lucrative to the mobster, that is).

Given how much of ‘Pam & Tommy‘ is based on true events, we decided to investigate who the real Louis “Butchie” Peraino might be.

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Who is Louis Butchie Peraino

Is Louis “Butchie” Peraino a fictional character or a Real Person?

Yes, Andrew Dice Clay’s Louis “Butchie” Peraino is based on a real person of the same name. The real Louis Peraino, also known as Butchie, was actually engaged in the initial transmission of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s stolen tape in a roundabout way.

According to Amanda Chicago Lewis’s Rolling Stone piece, Louis was approached by Milton Ingley to help sell the tape after a number of other companies turned it down.

Louis, who was linked to New York’s Colombo organised crime family, reportedly loaned Milton $50,000 to cover the costs of “production” (most likely referring to creating video copies) and dissemination of the tape.

When it came time to repay the debt, however, things didn’t go as planned. The initial debt was eventually repaid, but the interest was still outstanding, according to Rand Gauthier.

Milton fled the nation, presumably with the intention of waiting in Europe until Louis died of the disease that afflicted him. Rand, on the other hand, who stayed behind, was supposedly put to work by Louis collecting debts for the mob in order to repay the balance.

Though the series dramatises Louis’ involvement with the leaked recording and the events that followed, he also has a colourful backstory from previous years.

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louis “Butchie” Peraino is a real person or not

Aside from the infamous tape in question, Louis and the Peraino family were also involved in the production of ‘Deep Throat,’ which is said to be one of the most profitable pornographic films of all time.

Louis funded the project using a $22,500 loan from his father, Anthony Peraino, a well-known member of the Colombo crime family. Louis was also the CEO of Bryanston Pictures, a mob-owned company that helped finance ‘Deep Throat.’

Bryanston Pictures was also engaged in the cult film “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” later on.

Louis and his brother Joseph were also convicted of obscenity charges in Miami in the early 1980s as part of an FBI investigation into hardcore pornography and its ties to organised crime. The former appears to have received a six-year term.

Louis also formed Arrow Film & Video and owned Plymouth Distributing in addition to running a few other adult film firms.

Is Louis ‘Butchie’ Peraino Still Alive or Dead?

Louis, as it turns out, is no longer living. He died on April 26, 1999, in New York City, after being born in 1960 to Anthony Joseph Peraino. According to accounts, lung cancer was the reason of Louis “Butchie” Peraino’s death.