Harry Reems, whose starring role in “Deep Throat” in 1972 made him America’s first bona fide male porn star — and whose life, more than most, embodied the time-honored American narrative of fame, failure and redemption — died on Tuesday in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was 65.

The cause had not been determined, but Mr. Reems had been in declining health for some years, his wife, Jeanne, said.

The arc of Mr. Reems’s life — which took him from Marine to “Deep Throat” to mendicant to successful real estate broker — came to renewed attention in 2005 with the release of “Inside Deep Throat,” a documentary about the film’s legacy for which he was interviewed on camera.

The scheduled release this July of “Lovelace,” a biographical film starring Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace and Adam Brody as Mr. Reems, seems likely to ensure his continued place in public memory.