Porn star Harry Reems has died, aged 65.

The adult actor, best known for his role opposite Linda Lovelace in X-rated classic Deep Throat, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Tuesday (19Mar13).

Reports suggest Reems, real name Herbert Streicher, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last summer (12), and was recently admitted to hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah for jaundice. He fell into a coma on Saturday (16Mar13).

In his porn heyday, Reems appeared in over 100 X-rated movies after starting out as an actor onstage in New York.

His private life became as controversial as his professional career in the mid-1970s when he was arrested for conspiracy to distribute obscenity across state lines.

His Deep Throat co-star, Linda Lovelace, testified against him, but his 1976 conviction was overturned a year later.

Reems spent the late 1980s battling financial woes and alcoholism, and had to resort to begging in Los Angeles when his life hit a real low. He cleaned himself up and turned his life around, finding religion and a career as a successful realtor in Salt Lake City.

He was the subject of a 2005 documentary, Inside Deep Throat, that chronicled the impact of the classic porn film.