Page 74 - AVN January 2013

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ishbein had reason to be skeptical. The AVN Awards were not the only celebration
of the adult industry at the time, and there was no reason to think one magazine’s
recognition of performers, directors, scenes and studios would stand out and last longer
than any other.
The Adult Film Association of America hosted one of the first shows, with its Erotica
Awards starting in 1977 and running for 10 years. For a time, the AFAA Erotica Awards were
the most notable of all the awards ceremonies. Mainstream celebrities like Francis Ford Coppola
AVN CELEBRATES III DECADES
and Hunter S. Thompson were attendees.
Other shows during the porno chic era included Adam Film World’s X-Caliber awards, which
were first given out in 1975 and based on fan votes; Hustler magazine’s Erotic Movie Awards,
first presented in 1977; and the Critics Adult Film Awards, awarded by East Coast adult sex film
critics from 1981 to 1987. Criticism of the Erotica Awards spawned the founding of the
X-Rated Critics Organization and its Heart-On Awards. And while some of those shows
continue today, and new awards shows have come on the scene, none have seemed to reach the
stature of the AVN Awards.
The first several AVN Awards shows were nonprofit events, with any proceeds donated to the
Free Speech Coalition.
“We never made any money on the shows,” Miller said. “Which I still find funny when people
say that companies or people bought their awards.”
Tom Byron, who started in the industry in 1982, was an attendee at that first show.
“It was a little, tiny thing,” said Byron, who has only missed a handful of AVN Awards shows
in his career. “No one really paid attention, though. It was just a meeting room with a bunch of
chairs.”
When Miller took over production, he knew some changes were needed. The first time Miller
produced the show, a live band was added. But it was still just a live band playing while Fishbein
read off a long list of winners. More than 100 categories were honored, and every winner was read
aloud and afforded the opportunity to come up onstage to accept their trophy—which was soon
dubbed the “Woody.”
The next change was to bring the stars up on the stage with Fishbein as presenters.
“There was a time when Gene Ross [former AVN editor], Mark Stone, Paul and myself were
walking the floor of the [Consumer Electronics Show] and trying to hand out tickets, begging
people to come to the awards show,” he said. “Christian Mann was working with Paul Norman at
Catalina Video back then, and they had the Catalina Twins, who were signing at their booth.
“In those days we were making shit up as we went along, so we begged Christian to see if we
could get the Catalina Twins to walk Paul up onto the stage,” Miller continued. “We figured if we
made a big deal out of it and had them walk down the aisle of the ballroom, people might get
interested and come to the show. Everybody did like it ... except Paul.”
Miller said Fishbein was never comfortable hosting the awards, so they decided to open it up to
the industry. In the early years, many of the big names would share the hosting duties. Everyone
from Nina Hartley to Chi Chi LaRue were staples as hosts. Byron said he even hosted one year,
and performed the opening number, singing Foghat’s I Just Want to Make Love to You. (“I just
cringe thinking about it,” he said.)
Another addition was to add a comedian into the mix. Some of the top comics ever have
graced the stage, doing a short routine during the show through the years: the late Bill Hicks,
Bobby Slayton, Greg Fitzsimmons, Dave Attell and more. The announcement of the comedic
host each year is sometimes as anticipated as the nominees list.
>>
Golden Moments Director Jonathan Morgan (top), Julia Ann and
Janine Lindemulder (middle), Shane (bottom right) and Missy,
posing with a trio of awards atop a limo at the Riviera.
A Am mb be er r L Ly yn nn n | | P Pe er rf fo or rm me er r, , C Cl la as ss s o of f 1 19 98 83 3
W Wh ha at t w wa as s y yo ou ur r f fi ir rs st t m mo ov vi ie e? ? Personal Touch 3 , for Bobby Hollander in 1983
F Fa av vo or ri it te e m me em mo or ry y o of f A AV VN N A Aw wa ar rd ds s/ /A AE EE E: : “I remember being at the very early AVN/CES shows, signing autographs for fans and posing for photo ops. It was such an amazing time.
Ginger Lynn and I used to be side by side because Vidco and Vivid shared a booth and our lines were so long. We would go to the restroom and would literally be followed
into the stall.
We all used to hang out after the show and party together and wind up in each other’s rooms. Come show floor time, if one wasn’t on the floor they’d have to fish us out of each other’s
rooms. One night we were all up partying in my room and someone got the bright idea to call in a bomb threat. About five minutes afterwards the phone rang and it was my minder saying,
“You guys and your bomb threat better all get your asses on the floor within a half-hour or you’re gonna have more than a bomb to worry about.” … We got in a lot of trouble and I think
had to change hotels.
FEATURE
D De eb bi i D Di ia am mo on nd d | | P Pe er rf fo or rm me er r, , C Cl la as ss s o of f 1 19 98 83 3
W Wh ha at t w wa as s y yo ou ur r f fi ir rs st t m mo ov vi ie e? ? A 30-minute scene with the one and only Ron Jeremy. … It was shot by Mike Carpenter. The following week I was off to Hawaii with All American Girls in Heat
(my first time with a girl—Shauna Grant) and then Bad Girls 2 . All in ’83, at the wonderful age of 18—and many firsts for me ...
W Wh ha at t j jo ob bs s h ha av ve e y yo ou u d do on ne e? ? Other than performing, upon my return in 2008 I started a femdom company [Amazing Women Pegging Boys], Debi Diamond Films, and found my love of radio
with Playboy Radio/SiriusXM.
F Fa av vo or ri it te e m me em mo or ry y o of f A AV VN N A Aw wa ar rd ds s S Sh ho ow w: : I was never really good at dealing with the public, so I didn’t attend too many AVN shows, but I must say, in 1994 when I did go, it was amazing, and
walking out with an armful of awards was EPIC! I really felt the love. … Also we did our radio show live from Vegas last year—so much fun.
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