LAS VEGAS, NV — It is not uncommon to hear industry insiders observe that we “eat our own.” Fortunately, many of the bad old ways are dying, and an increasing number of professionals are motivated by a sense of social obligation and a desire to “give back” to their various communities – including classic adult producer and distributor VCX. Unfortunately, some of those who helped make the adult entertainment industry great are also dying – including multiple AVN Award winning director, Henri Pachard.“Henri is one of the greatest directors this business has seen and shot some of its finest movies, not the least of which is Taboo American Style,” VCX president David Sutton observes in a company press release. “He truly is someone who made the movies from the ‘70s and ‘80s – the Golden Age – continue to endure and sell 20-plus years later. We at VCX hope Henri will pull through and beat his cancer permanently.”
In order to help boost Pachard’s chances or surviving his latest bout with a cancer that has refused to take a graceful final bow and leave him to his pornographic duties, VCX has pledged to donate 20-percent of all June through July 15th sales related to Pachard’s groundbreaking four-part series, Taboo American Style toward the director’s cancer fund.
Although friends knew about his treatment related adventures and misadventures, it wasn’t until May of this year that it became more widely known that Pachard was grappling with throat cancer and his prognosis grave. In addition to a plea that his wife Deloras be given camera or film editor work in order to supplement the household’s income, a variety of fundraising events kicked into operation, including a June 11th We are the World XXX video project, spearheaded by friend and performer, Amber Lynn.
“I do not know Ron as well as many of my friends in the adult business,” Sutton admitted via email. “I know that he is an unpretentious, very down-to-earth guy, loved by all that know him well, and I hope that he succeeds once and for all in beating this illness.”
Pachard entered the industry in the late ‘60s, after directing an assortment of sexpoloitation films for the 42nd Street grindhouse audience under the name “Ron Sullivan,” he has directed everything from plot-driven classics to spanking and BDSM fetish titles. Although largely directing entertaining but forgettable gonzo and wall-to-wall titles until too ill to work, Pachard earned the AVN Award for Best Director Video in 1985 for Long Hard Nights, and again in 1988 for Talk Dirty to Me, Part V. In 1990, he earned the same award for Film with The Nicole Stanton Story, Parts 1 & 2 and was inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame in 1997. Some of his finest earlier work includes not only the infamous 1985 Taboo series, but also 1979’s Babylon Pink, 1980’s October Silk, and The Budding of Brie, as well as the following year’s Outlaw Ladies 1982’s The Devil in Miss Jones, Part II, and the campy but big name loincloth romp, The New Barbarians, in 1990.
Sutton hopes that other companies with titles directed by Pachard will contribute to the ailing director’s cancer fund, and points out that “If it weren’t for the directors like Henri, who give so much of themselves into everything they do, this industry would be much poorer in so many ways. As someone who has benefited from Henri Pachard’s magnificent series: Taboo American Style, my first thought was that we should step up as a company and give back to a man who is really an icon in this industry. I’m very pleased we’re able to contribute to this fund.”
Those wishing to learn more about the We are the World XXX project are encouraged to visit www.MySpace.com/wearetheworldxxx.
Those who want to participate in the VCX sales fundraiser can call 1-800-350-1931 for more information.
