Jeremy had the nickname "The Hedgehog" bestowed upon him by fellow porn actor Bill Margold in 1979 after a situation on the set of the porn film Olympic Fever. Jeremy flew in from New York to shoot the movie. Expecting warm California weather, he wore only a T-shirt and shorts and brought no additional clothing. During the long motorcycle ride to the set, located near Lake Arrowhead in the California mountains, the weather deteriorated to blizzard conditions, which chilled him to the point of near hypothermia. Upon arriving at the set, Jeremy was immediately whisked away to thaw out in a hot shower. When he finished, his skin had taken on a pinkish hue from the temperature extremes, and all the many hairs on his body were standing on end. Margold's comment upon seeing Jeremy at that moment was "You are a hedgehog, my friend. A walking, talking hedgehog."

In 1980, Jeremy competed on the game show Wheel of Fortune as Ron Hyatt. Among his winnings was a trip to Mazatlán.

Outside the adult film industry, Jeremy worked as a "special consultant" for the 1986 film 9½ Weeks. He appears in the 1996 horror film They Bite in a role making a film-within-a-film (Invasion of the Fishfuckers) – another horror film, both in the same vein as Humanoids from the Deep. He also served as a consultant on the 1997 film Boogie Nights—which chronicled the emergence of the fictional porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg, loosely based on the life of porn star and former co-worker of Jeremy's John Holmes)—and the movie The Chase, in which he has a small cameo as a news cameraman. He played the Monster "Blisterface" in ABC's children's show Bone Chillers. He also appeared in the 1999 film The Boondock Saints, played a bartender in 2002's Spun and acted in 2003's cult film Zombiegeddon. He was an extra in Ghostbusters, played a male strip-club announcer in Detroit Rock City, and had a cameo in Killing Zoe and in the porn spoof, Orgazmo. In addition, he appeared in several productions released by Troma Entertainment, such as Terror Firmer, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV and Poultrygeist.

Jeremy was seen in the Robot Chicken episode, "A Piece of the Action", in which he was voiced by Michael Benyaer. In the episode, he and several others parody The Surreal Life and Lord of the Rings. The segment lampoons his penis size by having his character unseat a knight on horseback using nothing but his erect penis. Jeremy appeared as himself in the 2001 Family Guy episode "Brian Does Hollywood", in which he is a presenter at an adult industry award show in which Brian Griffin is a nominee. Comedian Kathy Griffin went on a date with him in the third season of her reality show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. Ron Jeremy has also appeared in a part on the Comedy Central show Tosh.0

In 2003, Jeremy appeared on The Frank Skinner Show and performed a duet ("I Got You Babe") with former Cabinet minister Mo Mowlam. Jeremy appeared on Chappelle's Show as himself in a spoof called "What if the Internet was a real place?", in which he asks Dave Chappelle if he would like to see some of his films. Jeremy also appeared as a guest commentator on the Fox News Channel late-night news and comedy talk show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld in 2007. In the "Super Karate Monkey Death Car" episode of Newsradio, Jeremy can be seen sitting in the audience at Jimmy James's reading, along with Brian Posehn. Jeremy appeared in Tosh.0 as the falling prom girl's date. Jeremy appeared on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, as himself, in Bourdain's "Food Porn" (Season 5) and "Food Porn 2" (Season 6) episodes. Jeremy appeared on Silent Library in 2010. In the show, he was the "Mystery Creature" that was concealed underneath a sheet in a cage, the contestant has to feed him carrots while being blindfolded.

In 2006, Jeremy began a series of debates on pornography opposing Pastor Craig Gross, founder of anti-pornography website XXXchurch.com, visiting various U.S. and Canada college campuses as part of the "Porn Debate Tour".

Jeremy released his memoir, titled Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz, in February 2007. The book was published by Harper Collins.

As a further indication of his crossover Celebrity status, Jeremy has posed in an advertisement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to raise awareness of the overpopulation of domesticated animals. In the poster, he lies partially nude on a bed, a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. Poking fun at his notoriety, the title of the advertisement exclaims, "Too much sex can be a bad thing. Spay and neuter your cats and dogs." Jeremy also appeared in a 2008 video for PETA, explaining why in his view, more humane slaughter practices by KFC would be "not just a moral thing but also a smart Business move", quipping that "The Colonel might get a promotion and become a General" as a result.

In June 2009, Jeremy and Business partner Paul Smith opened Ron Jeremy's Club Sesso, a swingers nightclub located in the financial district of downtown Portland, Oregon.

Jeremy is the Lead Antagonist/League Owner in the Sports comedy Tetherball: The Movie and appeared in the western comedy Big Money Rustlas featuring Insane Clown Posse in 2010.

Jeremy was featured as a playable character in the Celebrity Deathmatch video game. His image was used as a fairy in the game Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, in which he gives tips and advice to the main character. Ron Jeremy also stars in Bonetown as the king of Bonetown and sex god. Jeremy appears in the 2011 video game Postal III as Raul Chomo, the mayor of the fictional town of Catharsis, Arizona.

In 2012, he appeared in Canadian rock band My Darkest Days music video for their song "Casual Sex". In 2013, he appeared in the music video for the song "This Is What It Feels Like" by famous DJ Armin van Buuren, later in the year he appeared in a music video, a parody of "Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus song)" by YouTuber Bart Baker.

On January 29, 2013, Jeremy drove himself to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after experiencing severe chest pain. Doctors discovered an aneurysm near his heart and he was operated on the following day. Three weeks later, he was released from the hospital. On September 29, 2016, he accidentally hit someone with his vehicle. The victim was hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Multiple women have accused Jeremy of sexual assault, including industry performers Ginger Lynn, Jennifer Steele, and Danica Dane. Several of the allegations relate to his appearances at fan conventions, alleging that he would grope and insert his fingers into attendees without their consent. The organizers of Exxxotica eventually banned Jeremy from their shows in October 2017 after a social media campaign by a webcam model, Ginger Banks. The Free Speech Coalition, an industry trade group, rescinded its Positive Image Award that it had originally presented to him in 2009 due to the allegations.