Margold generated considerable controversy in January 1981, telling journalist Rona Barrett in an interview aired during the initial broadcast of NBC's Tomorrow Coast-to-Coast with Tom Snyder, that he would consider performing a sex scene with his own daughter.

Ever the provocateur, Margold made similar statements on at least one previous occasion, during the taping of the adult film documentary What Would Your Mother Say?

In the wake of the Barrett controversy, Margold ran an advertisement in Variety apologizing for the comments.

[3] An outspoken activist for industry reforms, Margold supported initiatives at the state level to raise the legal age of performers from 18 to 21 in the wake of the Traci Lords incident.

[4] Margold died of a heart attack whilst hosting a radio show on 17 January 2017, at the age of 73.