MARIN COUNTY, Calif. - AVN Hall of Fame director Alex de Renzy's family and friends held a "celebration of life" in his memory at his home on June 16. The ceremony was held outdoors on a warm, beautiful, sunny day in a spot in de Renzy's backyard that overlooked lush, green hills and mountains. It was attended by approximately 300 family members, friends and luminaries from the adult industry. De Renzy, the director of numerous adult classics such as History of the Blue Movie, Slave to Love, Two Women and Wild Things (all of them included on AVN's 101 Greatest Adult Titles of All Time list in this issue), died on June 8 at a Los Angeles hospital after suffering from a liver disease with complications that eventually caused him to lapse into a coma. He was 65. Throughout the ceremony, de Renzy's family shared the many moments of joy and pride that they had experienced with him throughout their lives. De Renzy fathered nine children through his relationships and it was said that this was the first time that they had all been together at once. John Maniscalco, one of de Renzy's in-laws, told the assembled group that de Renzy "was a true Renaissance man who loved his family and did everything he could to make them good citizens. He mastered his world and his life. He could take any dream and make it a reality." Maniscalco recounted de Renzy's many accomplishments such as being a survival instructor in the military, learning to pilot an airplane he purchased for himself, and how he ran a cattle ranch that he bought in Northern California. The adventure that was recounted most by those in attendance was de Renzy's purchase of a converted sub chaser, the USS Marysville. De Renzy sailed his ship around the world with 20 of his friends and family on board. Not knowing how to use the ship's navigational equipment, he first taught himself to set courses by the stars. "He obviously mastered the adult film industry but he was so talented in so many other areas," Maniscalco told AVN. "You could ask him about any obscure country and he could tell you anything about it. This applied to medicine, biology, political events. It didn't matter what you asked him about but he always had an answer that was right and good. He was more crystal clear on things than anyone I ever met." At one point in his storied career, de Renzy also owned and operated an adult movie theatre called The Screening Room in San Francisco's Tenderloin district that hosted live sex shows that featured performers Desirie Cousteau, Kat Sunlove, Sharon Kane, Juliet "Aunt Peg" Anderson and George MacDonald along with many others. He made many films that were screened there first as well. Kathryn Reed, one of de Renzy's loves, told AVN how de Renzy battled local obscenity laws with the films he screened in his theatre. "Alex had me take down the badge numbers of all of the policemen who came to the theatre," she recalled. "We had 52 police checks in one week. He got a restraining order for that. He went to court and fought all of these battles and it was a really slow process. He is really a pioneer of porn because of this, the adult industry wouldn't be what it is today without him." De Renzy's son, Adrian, worked for his father taking still and box cover photographs for the anal video lines that the director helmed under the nom du plume Rex Borsky for Rosebud. "Working for my dad was nice," he said. "He knew what he wanted and he wanted exactly that. It was neat watching him, but not only watching him, but then going back and seeing how he did what he did." Joey Silvera, Jamie Gillis, John Leslie, Annette Haven, Henri Pachard, T.T. Boy, Richard Pacheco, George MacDonald and John Dough were all in attendance and openly expressed their love and admiration for de Renzy. Silvera spent time with de Renzy at the hospital in the hours leading up to his death. "I feel like I have completed a circle and I have never done that before in my life," the award-winning Evil Angel gonzo director said. "I had never been with someone as they were going. His influence on me goes way beyond whatever." Silvera told the assembled group, "I have never felt like I belonged any place at any time like I belong here right now. When Alex first met me, I was just a kid and I felt like he knew me before I knew him. He could make me laugh and laugh and laugh." "I have the life that I have now because of Alex de Renzy," former Golden Age performer Haven shared with the group. "Alex was a good man and a man you could trust. Just a marvelous human being. He was the most decent and honestly good man that I have ever met. I am going to miss him so much." Pachard, another Hall of Fame director, recounted meeting de Renzy 25 years ago. "When I met Alex, he asked me if I worked for the FBI because I was wearing a tie," Pachard recalled. "He gave me my first empowerment early on as a young executive and when we worked together making films, we made magic. I will miss him." Gillis commented, "There's nobody more admired and respected. He was sort of the father of everyone in the business. It was fun to be around him. I would not want to imagine the industry without de Renzy's heart and soul in it. He was more than revered. He was loved. What more can you say about a guy?" Also praising de Renzy were other adult industry figures who didn't attend the memorial. Gino Colbert, an award winning gay director, who once worked as de Renzy's assistant director, said his mentor "was truly one of the greatest filmmakers in the business. I was a close, close friend that worked with him for years. He was a pioneer. His movies were all character driven. He launched the careers of Sharon Kane, Aunt Peg, and Desirie Cousteau. When I was already making movies he was one of my role models, because I had grown up watching his films." Yet another Hall of Fame director, Jim Holliday, told AVN, "I hate overused terms like superstar, genius, icon and the like because they usually are falsely applied but in Alex de Renzy's case, he was beyond a legend." Former performer Sharon Mitchell, founder of AIM HealthCare, said, "He was a wonderful man. Even before Bruce Seven, you could consider him the father of girl/girl gonzo. Alex was the innovator of that style of shooting. I remember him pairing lots of girls up when he started directing girl/girl stuff, and have those orgy scenarios. I became a great friend of his. It's an incredible loss. I consider it a true privilege to have worked with Alex de Renzy, and I know that his spirit as well as his movies shall live on." Veteran performer Bill Margold told AVN, "He reminded me of a pirate. He had a total and absolute outlaw mentality. He was one of the giants. De Renzy created what is considered to be the single hottest scene in the history of the industry. That's the boiler room scene in Femmes De Sade. That scene in the boiler room is unparalleled volcanic sexuality. Wherever he is, he is entertaining people. I guarantee you, whoever runs the show up, or down, is getting a bang for his buck. He left a body of work that I don't think any other director in this business could match, because he made more." Patrick Collins, owner of Elegant Angel, said, "I knew his work before I knew him. The work that he did was groundbreaking. The quality was, in every aspect - the quality of the eroticism, as well as the production value - was unsurpassed. He was a very quiet introspective genius. He loved his family. He had a lot of kids. He was a risk taker, and I'm a better person for having known him." John Stagliano, owner of Evil Angel, in a statement posted on his website, said, "Since the beginning of hardcore porn, my favorite director by far has been Alex de Renzy. I have always gone out of my way to see his work. His work with the video camera in capturing hot sex is the best! I've learned much from him. And his stories are as weirdly erotic as ever. Alex is the first great pornographer and I'm proud to be selling his videos." De Renzy at one point was a member of Evil Angel's roster of directors. VCA owner Russell Hampshire told AVN, "He was one of the all time greatest filmmakers. I'm sorry to hear of his passing away. I own a lot of his titles. Babyface 1 and 2, Pretty Peaches, etc. My hat's off to him." At the end of the memorial, when all the tributes had been made, a moment of silence was held. A female vocalist then sang Danny Boy and 65 balloons, one for each year of de Renzy's life, were released one by one, silently into the afternoon sky. The music of Louis Prima then blasted from the PA speakers. Those attending the celebration spent the rest of the warm afternoon eating, drinking and remembering good times had with a man they admired and loved. - Heidi Pike-Johnson and Eli Dapolonia
