This is our new feature that will appear every fourth Thursday as part of our Thursday feature that we run regularly. Each edition will feature a different year and we will give you a variety of happenings that took place in the world of porn in that year, new films, new advances in technology, new artists, stars that were born that year, debuts of different things related to porn and bits and pieces of news about the industry for that year along with some photos.

Adult Video News is a trade magazine that was started up by Paul Fishbein, Irv Slifkin, and Barry Rosenblatt in 1983 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After falling out with his partners, in 1987 Fishbein moved the magazine to the San Fernando Valley where it operates to this day. They would hold their very first AVN Awards show in 1984 in Las Vegas.

Porn Star Magazine came on the scene in 1980 and featured pictorials, interviews with adult stars, film reviews and a lot more. It was “the” magazine for lovers of porn. However, after undergoing several name changes to Skin Flicks, then Starlet and finally back to Porn Star it published it’s last issue in September 1983.

Adult Stars born in 1983 include Bridgette B,  Alektra Blue, Hillary Scott, Rachel Starr, Kayla Paige, Brooke Banner, Bobbi Starr, Penny Flame, Taylor Vixen, Kimberly Kane, Angela Sommers and Sarah Vandella.

Nurses of the 407^th was a takeoff of the popular TV show M*A*S*H and starred Jessica St. James as Hot Lips. It was one the early parodies in adult films and did very well. Parodies would go on to become a big part of the porn scene in later years.

Adult Film Association of America (AAFA) also known as the Erotic Awards. They were the very first group to honor the adult industry with awards for Best Picture, actor, actress, etc. They began in 1977 and lasted until 1986. In 1983 the award for Best Film went to “Roomates” starring Veronica Hart and Samantha Fox and Jamie Gillis.

Cameron Mitchell, mainstream and TV actor (High Chapparal TV series) also appeared in a porn classic in 1983. He was John Leslie’s police lieutenant in “Dixie Ray Hollywood Star” with Lisa de Leeuw and Juliet Anderson.

Ginger Lynn is an multi award winning Hall of Fame star. She came to prominence in the industry after her 1983 spread in “Penthouse.” For the following three years, she was the most recognizable name in adult films and today still has a huge fan following.

Kay Parker was born in the UK but made her name here in adult films. Always a classy representative of the industry, she was a major star from the late 70’s through the mid 80’s. Aside from being a member of the Hall of Fame, in 1983 she won the Best Supporting Actress award from the AFAA for role in “Sweet Young Foxes”. Ms. Parker died in October 2022 at age 78.

1983 Porn Classics included titles like Private Teacher (Honey Wilder, Kay Parker), Sexcapades (Sharon Mitchell), Hot Dreams (Sharon Kane), Midnight Heat (Tish Ambrose, Sharon Mitchell), Suzi Superstar (Shauna Grant, Mai Linn) and of course Dixie Ray Hollywood Star and Roomates.

That’s it for this debut edition of our new feature “The year in Porn…..”I hope you enjoyed our efforts and learned a few things about the industry that maybe you did not know. Please let us have your feedback and comments. Our main goal is to keep you both entertained and informed as best we can.

Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN