Page 73 - AVN January 2013

Feat_1.1.13 12/28/12 4:45 PM Page 73
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Rewarding XXXcellence The AVN Awards Show celebrates 30 years of covering the uncovered
By Sherri L. Shaulis
O O
nce upon a time there were some magazine owners who decided to give out awards to the best of the best in the adult industry. And ... they were boring.
A VN CELEBRATES III DECADES
The AVN Awards, which are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, were by no means the star-studded event they are today when they started. At first, it was
simply a listing of the winners in the magazine. But it wasn’t long before AVN founder Paul Fishbein decided it needed something more.
“The first real ceremony was a wine-and-cheese reception in a small meeting room of the Aladdin Hotel,” explained Gary Miller, who has been the show producer for
the AVN Awards for almost three decades. “There was a riser, a small PA and a spotlight and that was it. Paul stood on that riser and read off every winner in every category.
Everybody liked the idea and wanted to go, but it was slow-moving and the most boring thing ever.”
Shortly after the 1987 show, which was at the Tropicana, Miller said, his partner Mark Stone went to Fishbein and asked to take over the show and make it into a real production.
“Paul said no,” Miller said. “He told us it would never work. No one would want to see a big production of an awards ceremony that had to do with porn.
“But his partner at the time, Barry Rosenblatt, thought it was a good idea,” he continued. “By the time the summer rolled around and the VSDA [Video Software Dealers
Association] show happened, Barry said he thought he had Paul talked into it.”
Jenna Jameson Tera Patrick Nina Hartley
A AV VN N A AW WA AR RD DS S M MI IL LE ES ST TO ON NE ES S
1987—AVN Awards Show moves to the Tropicana
1988—Awards added for Best Renting and Best Selling Titles of the Year
1989—Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Non-Sex Performer categories added
1990—Categories included for gay adult titles
1992—Show is held at Bally’s Grand Ballroom
1993—Female and Male Performer of the Year categories added
1995—Members are inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame for the first time
1996—Show is held at Aladdin Hotel
1997—Show moves to the ballroom at the Riviera
1998—Show moves again to the ballroom at Caeser’s Palace
1999—GayVN Awards Show now separate event; show moves to Bally’s
2000—First Reuben Sturman Award goes to David Sturman of GVA West
2000—Trophy switched from winged figure to clear block with outline of couple
2000—Show begins seven-year run at the Venetian
2003—Best Male Newcomer category added
2004—Transsexual Performer of the Year category added
2007—Show takes up residence at Mandalay Bay for a couple of years
2008—The ceremony, edited down for broadcast, begins airing on Showtime
2010—Best Parody category added; show moves to Pearl Theatre at the Palms
2011—Fan awards are introduced
2012—AVN Awards, AEE and Internext held together at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
2012—Visionary Award and Movie of the Year categories added
2013—Best Romance Release category added
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