Jim (1943-2007) and Artie (1945-1991) Mitchell grew up in Antioch, California. Jim studied film at San Francisco State University^[1] and, while there, he and his brother Artie made 15-minute porn films that were shown in small local arcades. Wanting more financial control, the brothers bought an old Pontiac dealership at 895 O’Farrell in the Tenderloin, naming it The Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theater. Half the property was converted into a soundstage and the other half into a movie theater. The O’Farrell Theater opened on July 4, 1969, showing the Mitchell brothers’ 30 – 60 minute films. Three weeks after opening, Jim was arrested for production and distribution of obscene material. He was arrested several additional times until the first case finally went to trial. His attorney challenged the legal definition of “obscene”, and a deadlocked jury led to no conviction. The Mitchell brothers continued filming and releasing short films.

In 1972 Jim and Artie combined their assets to make their first full-length feature film. They rented a warehouse at 20th and Tennessee in Potrero Hill and converted it into a sound stage. They then hired a young actress, Marilyn Chambers (1952-2009), to play the lead. Chambers does not have a single line of dialogue in the entire movie. After filming was complete, Chambers informed Jim and Artie that she had been chosen to represent Ivory Suds laundry detergent. The brothers could not have hit on a better marketing campaign had they tried: the All-American Girl turned porn star. Proctor & Gamble quickly dropped Chambers, but the damage was done. Behind the Green Door became the second highest grossing adult film of all time. It made Jim and Artie millionaires. They opened ten additional adult theaters and continued to film and produce adult movies, though none would be as successful as the first. They made their last film in 1985.

With the introduction of movie rentals in the late 1970s, the Mitchell brothers decided to turn the O’Farrell Theater into a strip club. In 1977 they transformed the theater into three separate showrooms, one of which offered close-contact dancing, today referred to as lap dancing. Completely nude dancers would sit on the laps of patrons while other dancers performed on stage. This was a relatively new concept in the United States and certainly in the City. It was an instant sensation and the brothers gained international notoriety. Lines would form regularly outside the theater doors. The theater was open 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The west and south exteriors of the building were covered with two large murals, both with ocean themes. Inside, there were mirrored walls and velvet curtains. Male employees stood out in their white shirt with black slacks, shoes and bow ties. 

Mayor Dianne Feinstein^[2] made several unsuccessful attempts to shut the club down. In 1980 she authorized 15 officers to raid O’Farrell Theater, arresting 14 patrons, 6 performers and 7 employees for charges related to prostitution. Only one dancer was convicted and she received no fine or jail time. A compromise between the City and the brothers was reached: the lap dancers would not be completely nude.  

A final attempt by Feinstein to shut the club down was made in 1985 when thirteen vice squad officers raided the O’Farrell Theater and arrested Marilyn Chambers for lewd conduct. The District Attorney declined to press charges and the brothers were ultimately paid restitution for damages resulting from the raid. The author Hunter Thompson was a frequent guest that summer, claiming he was doing research for a possible book about pornography. He famously called the O’Farrell Theater “the Carnegie Hall of public sex in America”. 

Jim and Artie Mitchell would collectively become defendants in over 200 court cases, victorious in all of them. Jim married twice and had four children. Artie also married twice and had six children. And then in a bizarre twist, in 1991 Jim drove to Artie’s home in Marin County and fatally shot him. The District Attorney was allowed to use a computer-animated reenactment of the murder scene. It was the first time that 3 computer animation was used in a criminal trial. 

Jim’s lawyer argued that Artie had periods of psychosis resulting from heavy drug and alcohol use that made him dangerous. The jury acquitted Jim of first and second degree murder, convicting him instead of voluntary manslaughter. Jim was sentenced to 6 years and served three at San Quentin before being released. Jeff Armstrong, the theater’s business manager, ran operations while Jim was in prison. When Jim was released in 1997 he returned to managing the O’Farrell Theater. He established “The Artie Fund” to raise money for drug-abuse prevention. 

Jim died of a heart attack in 2007. His daughter Meta took over management the club. Strippers had been paid as independent contractors, but after Jim’s death they 

received a salary, workers comp and healthcare. The club stayed in business until 2020 when it shut down permanently. 

^[1] San Francisco State University: story coming July 18th

^[2] Dianne Feinstein: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4348