US porn star Ron Jeremy hospitalized with aneurysm

Veteran pornography actor Ron Jeremy, one of the industry's biggest stars, was in intensive care and undergoing surgery for an aneurysm near his heart in Los Angeles, his manager said today.

Jeremy, 59, the star of more than 2,000 adult films, drove himself to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles early today after suffering from chest pains.

"He just felt chest pains, like a very heavy weight," Jeremy's manager Mike Esterman told reporters.

"He is being worked on for an aneurysm near his heart," Esterman added.

Jeremy, nicknamed the "Hedgehog" for his short and hirsute body and known for his large mustache, parlayed his porn star fame into mainstream celebrity status by appearing on the American reality television series "The Surreal Life" in 2004, and by being featured in an advertisement by animal-rights advocates PETA.

His memoir, "The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz," was published in 2007 by HarperCollins, a division of News Corp.