HIV Testing Pioneer
In November 1982, 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 Penguin 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. But a follow-up test over six months later showed that Holmes was infected and from that point on it was all downhill.
Upon Holmes' death in March 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). 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" .
Read more about this topic: Bill Amerson
Famous quotes containing the words testing and/or pioneer:
“Traditional scientific method has always been at the very best 20-20 hindsight. It’s good for seeing where you’ve been. It’s good for testing the truth of what you think you know, but it can’t tell you where you ought to go.”
—Robert M. Pirsig (b. 1928)
“Mead had studied for the ministry, but had lost his faith and took great delight in blasphemy. Capt. Charles H. Frady, pioneer missionary, held a meeting here and brought Mead back into the fold. He then became so devout that, one Sunday, when he happened upon a swimming party, he shot at the people in the river, and threatened to kill anyone he again caught desecrating the Sabbath.”
—For the State of Nebraska, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)