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ARLINGTON, Va. - Dr. Sam Stetson, 81, a premier industry historian, passed away from brain cancer earlier this week at his Arlington, Virigina home.
“Sam had been in a coma just before he passed away Tuesday afternoon at 3:15 p.m. But he was surrounded by close friends," said Paul Harless, executor of the Stetson estate.
Stetson underwent unsuccessful brain surgery last August and was moved to a nursing home where he stayed for three months. He could not move his left arm and left leg
“Sam hated the food at the nursing home and wanted to come home and he did,” Harless told AVN.com. “Sam would do anything for anyone and loved to research subjects."
With a lifelong interest in erotica, he began collecting “Tijuana bibles,” which were pornographic comic books sold under the counter in tobacco shops in the 1940s. Beginning in the 1950s, Stetson donated hundreds of classic stag movies in 8mm and 16mm, along with various objects to the Kinsey Institute.
In 1989, Stetson was named Associate Professor of Erotology at the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco.
He assisted the late adult writer/filmmaker Jim Holliday in writing his book “Only The Best: Jim Hollidays’s Adult Video Almanac and Trivia Treasure.” In the book’s acknowledgements, Holliday referred to Stetson as “my mentor.”
In the January 1999 issue of Hustler magazine, an article by Louis Panay appeared entitled “Leaders of the Crack: The 50 Most Influential People in Porn for 1999.” He cited Stetson as the “XXX Porn Historian” and said, “Sam is a reclusive Ph.D. with an extensive knowledge of the porn industry.”
There will be no funeral service for Stetson, whose remains were cremated.


12/15/04

I called Dr. Stetson Thursday afternoon at his home in Arlington, VA. He lives five miles from the Pentagon.

Sam is sad to hear the news of Jim Holliday's passing. "I'm not surprised. The last time Margold talked to me, he said he was over 300 pounds and he had diabetes and he wouldn't follow the doctor's advice. That's a tragedy.

"When I knew him [Holliday], he was a very nice guy. His personality changed.

"We were close. I did most of the background research on the films for the book Only The Best. He did the writing and the selection. He knew the people who I didn't know. It was all by telephone.

"At that time (circa 1984), he was a salesman for Wonderful World of Video (owned by Harry Mohney). Jack Gallagher ran the company at the time. Jack went over to Sydney Niekirk, but their offices were above the Cave Theater on Hollywood Blvd. You had to walk through the theater to get up to the offices.

"Jim was a telephone salesman. When I called there inquiring about a film, we got to talking and he realized that I was more interested in the research than anything. He put out a couple of small books before that.

"I had access to a private collection here of about 300 films. My interest was in identifying people. He knew the people but he didn't know what they were in. There were so many psuedonyms. Identifying women was difficult because a woman could change her hair or make-up and it would make a radical difference in her appearance.

"I was fascinated in tracking down the actresses I liked. I loved this girl. I wanted to get more movies of her. I started sending Jim the cast list of the films I viewed. They were all BETA. The big old BETA machines had no slow motion or still frame. It was a great deal of work, thousands of hours of research.

"In a page on identification, he talks more about me and how we got together."

Sam and Jim had a falling out circa 1994.

Sam: "It wasn't a falling out. He became rather paranoid. When the book came out, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get more recognition."

I remember Jim calling me in 1999 to say he had had a brief telephone conversation with Sam at Margold's house but he didn't want anything more to do with him because, according to Jim, Sam had broken his trust by giving out his phone number.

Dr. Stetson (a PhD in engineering) turns 81 next month.

Bill Caits is highly respected by his peers, and is known as a master of trivia about video porn. Dr. Sam E. Stetson introduced Holliday to him around 1984. Shortly thereafter, Holliday dropped all contact with Sam.

I got an email from somebody at Indiana University: "Thought you would like to know that Sam Stetson died this Tuesday, December 27, 2005, at his home in Arlington, Virginia. He spoke often and well of you."