‘Cathouse’ sheds light on Nevada prostitution

Kirk Baird

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 | 9:08 a.m.

Sure, sex sells and entertains. But sex can also provide a glimpse into the human condition.

So sex, specifically the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in Carson City, is the perfect backdrop for HBOs latest America Undercover special, "Cathouse."

"Cathouse" airs at 10 p.m. Sunday on HBO (Cox cable channel 76), following the season finale of "The Sopranos."

The idea behind "Cathouse" is simple and voyeuristic.

Ten hidden cameras were installed into two waiting rooms at the Bunny Ranch. The brothel's customers were then secretly filmed during their negotiations with its prostitutes, only to be informed later on by the madam of the house that they were recorded.

While no sexual conduct was ever taped, ultimately the customers still had to approve the recordings being aired if they were to be used in the broadcast. Among the stories:

Granted, it's not exactly wholesome family entertainment.

The subject of the one-hour, quasi-documentary became the topic of debate on both the Fox News Channel and CNN, among others.

But George Ciccarone, who conceived and produced "Cathouse," said the show's critics have been too quick to dismiss "Cathouse," forming their opinions based on misperceptions and without watching the program.

"It just surprised me how some people have closed minds about it," Ciccarone, a Henderson resident, said. "I'm not an advocate for any of this stuff, but I'm an advocate for having an open mind in general.

"What you see will surprise you. It's not all about sex."

A former reporter for "Current Affair" and "Good Morning America," Ciccarone first conceived the idea for "Cathouse" several years ago while on assignment at the Ranch.

The story aired just after the introduction of Viagra, when the miracle pill that ushered in a sort of geriatric sexual revolution in the mid-'90s. Ciccarone went to the Ranch to report on how Viagra had been a lift to Nevada brothels.

After talking with prostitutes working at the Ranch, however, Ciccarone realized there was more to their jobs than just providing sex.

"It was amazing, it wasn't what I thought at all. I found there's a lot more counseling going on than I thought. They came off as more counselors than prostitutes," Ciccarone said. "It was more theraputic than anything else. It wasn't a cheap sexfest. There were stories of these people and why they're there."

In Sunday's show, for example, a recent widower comes to the Ranch not for sex but for mere companionship.

"He just wants to be held," Ciccarone said. "It's touching. There's a lot more emotion than sometimes enters it."

Seeing how potentially compelling and interesting these stories were, Ciccarone filmed a pilot for the show four years ago and shopped it around.

The program was later picked up by Fox, which planned to air the special during Valentine's Day as counter-programming. But after the backlash caused by its "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?," the network's interest in "Cathouse" waned.

The show sat on a shelf until one of Ciccarone's friends suggested he try HBO. The cable network's executives were intrigued with what they saw and a deal was struck.

Almost a year later "Cathouse" will air just after "The Sopranos" -- "the network's Super Bowl," he said -- thereby almost guaranteeing the show will draw a large audience.

And while Ciccarone said he has no immediate plans to film another special at the moment, instead concentrating on projects for the cable network Animal Planet, he won't rule out revisiting the Bunny Ranch at some point for another behind-the-scenes look at brothels.

"Are we changing the world? No," he said. "But it's one less curiosity to wonder about."