Bill Amerson

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Bill Amerson was a pioneer and mogul in the adult film industry in the late-1960s all the way to the late-1980s[1].

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 they showed sexual penetration and oral copulation. They actually showed it. .[2] To Amerson's surprise the market for this product was vastly larger than he had expected.


While his 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.

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[edit] 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 shots for some hard core adult magazines.[3]

In walked a skinny, tall, scraggly young Holmes. Amerson figured that he would take a quick picture and send Holmes on his way. [4] But when Holmes displayed his endowment (and Amerson likely discovered that a wide-angle lens was required), a star was born. From that moment, Holmes and Amerson were business partners and shared a brotherly and profitable relationship. [5]

Amerson quickly became a mogul in the hard core industry, and soon Holmes was cast in a Bob Chinn film entitled Johnny Wadd. [6] 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' tragic death from AIDS.

[edit] HIV testing Pioneer

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. [7]

Upon Holmes' death in 1988, Amerson felt that he no longer wanted to be in the business given the loss of his dear friend.[8] In a 1987 interview, before Holmes' death but before Homles' 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 ]].[9]

[edit] 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. [10]


[edit] Legacy

Amerson's achievements are still felt throughout the world of adult film. He is widely believed to be the inspiration for the role of "The Colonel" in the movie Boogie Nights[citation needed]. Others have opined that the Jack Horner character was more an amalgam of Amerson and Bob Chinn.


[edit] References

  1. ^ LA Times Article Specter of AIDS Triggers Deathly Fear in Pornography Industry, by Russell Kishi, dated August 16, 1987
  2. ^ Reference: "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"
  3. ^ Reference: Bill Amerson's statements in the 1998 documentary, "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"
  4. ^ Reference: Bill Amerson's statements in the 1998 documentary, "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"
  5. ^ Reference: XXXL: The John Holmes Story"
  6. ^ Reference: Bob Chinn's statements in the 1998 documentary, "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes"
  7. ^ Reference: Rolling Stone magazine article "The Devil in John Holmes", May 1989
  8. ^ Reference: 2004 documentary film "John Holmes: The Man, The Myth, The Legend"
  9. ^ LA Times Article Specter of AIDS Triggers Deathly Fear in Pornography Industry, by Russell Kishi, dated August 16, 1987
  10. ^ Reference: IMDb.com entry on Bill Amerson


[edit] External links

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