Bill Amerson

Bill Amerson was a pioneer and mogul in the adult film industry in the late-1960s all the way to the late-1980s [LA Times Article "Specter of AIDS Triggers Deathly Fear in Pornography Industry", by Russell Kishi, dated August 16, 1987] .

Bill Amerson was the first adult film producer in the United States to produce so-called "hard core" entertainment. As reported in the award-wining documentary "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes", produced by filmmaker Cass Paley, "In these films we showed insertion. The sexual penetration and oral copulation. We actually showed it. People could not turn their money over fast enough [to see it] ." . [Reference: "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"] To Amerson's surprise the market for this product was vastly larger than he had expected.

Amerson was also one of the early pioneers in the establishment of adult film industry to be able to ply its wares in accordance with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In the early days of hard core, Amerson and his colleagues were subject to arrest for any number of charges [Ibid] which could include pimping, pandering, and an obscure felony called "conspiracy to commit oral copulation". Ultimately courts established the legality of adult film production.

While Amerson's name may seem unfamiliar, his protege, John Curtis Holmes (known to many by his screen character, Johnny Wadd), was the premiere hard core film star from 1973 until 1988, and behind his meteoric rise to stardom was Bill Amerson, his confidante and career strategist.

The early years

In the late-1960s, Amerson and a partner were running an office in Hollywood, just behind the Crossroads of the World area. They were taking still Polaroid shots for some hard core adult magazines. [Reference: Bill Amerson's statements in the 1998 documentary, "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"]

In walked a skinny, tall, scraggly young Holmes with a bush Afro-style hair-do. Amerson figured that he would take a quick picture and send Holmes on his way. [Reference: Bill Amerson's statements in the 1998 documentary, "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"] But when Holmes displayed his endowment, a star was born. From that moment, Holmes and Amerson were business partners and shared a brotherly and profitable relationship. [Reference: XXXL: The John Holmes Story"]

Amerson quickly became a mogul in the hard core industry, and soon Holmes was cast in a Bob Chinn film entitled "Johnny Wadd". [Reference: Bob Chinn's statements in the 1998 documentary, "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"] The role made Holmes unbelievably famous, and as his career manager, made Amerson (and Holmes) quite wealthy. From that time in 1971 a roller coaster ride was started, which did not end until 1988 upon Holmes' death from AIDS.

HIV testing Pioneer

After Holmes was released from the LA County Jail (after having been fully acquitted of the 1981 quadruple murder of the Wonderland Gang), Amerson and Holmes formed a business called "Penquin Productions", which was involved in adult film production. Of concern to the new proprietors was the growing threat of AIDS.

In 1985, Amerson was the first name-brand hard core producer who demanded that actors be tested for HIV. And to back up his talk, both he and Holmes were tested and came out negative. Sadly, a follow-up test six months later showed that Holmes was infected and from that point on it was all downhill. [Reference: Rolling Stone magazine article "The Devil in John Holmes", May 1989] Upon Holmes' death in 1988, Amerson felt that he no longer wanted to be in the business given the loss of his dear friend and the godfather to his son (Sean Amerson) and daughter (Denise Amerson). [Reference: 2004 documentary film "John Holmes: The Man, The Myth, The Legend"] In a 1987 interview, before Holmes' death but before Holmes' AIDS was public knowledge, Amerson complained "that the porn trade is "no longer fun," in large part because of the AIDS crisis. Despite accumulating a fortune of several million dollars" . [LA Times Article "Specter of AIDS Triggers Deathly Fear in Pornography Industry", by Russell Kishi, dated August 16, 1987]

Acting experience

In addition to managing and producing John Holmes, Amerson also had a thriving career in front of the camera, as he acted in movies as diverse as "Girls on Fire" and "The Divorcee". Often he is credited by his pseudonym, Bill Williams. [Reference: IMDb.com entry on Bill Amerson]

Legacy

Amerson's achievements are still felt throughout the world of adult film, and he is considered to be an elder statesman of the industry. He is widely believed to be the inspiration for the role of "The Colonel" in the movie Boogie NightsFact|date=March 2007. Others have opined that the Jack Horner character was more an amalgam of Amerson and Bob Chinn.

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0024662|name=Bill Amerson
*imdb name|id=0001360|name=John Holmes
*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0207195/ IMDb article on "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"
* [http://www.gettingit.com/article/214 Interview with Cass Paley]