Steven
Hirsch is the founder and co-chairman of the adult entertainment
company Vivid Entertainment,[4] which
Steven Hirsch
founded in 1984.[5]
The second generation of his
Jewish family to be in the business,
Steven Hirsch is
credited by AVN as the creative visionary who saw the potential to
change the nature of the adult entertainment industry.[6][7]
The faces of Vivid Girls have appeared on billboards in high traffic
venues such as Sunset Boulevard[8] and Times Square.[9]
In addition to a hardcover book with HarperCollins,[10]
Steve Hirsch
developed Vivid Comix and graphic novels with Avatar Press[11] and
erotic novels with Thunder’s Mouth Press.[12]
In 2011, Steve Hirsch
offered $5,000,000 (£3,000,000) to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's
sister, Pippa Middleton, to take part in an adult movie. Steven
Hirsch also stated that if her brother, James, also joined her and
took part in a separate scene,
Steven Hirsch would
receive $1,000,000 (£600,000).[13]
Hirsch and his
original partner, David James, an industry veteran with extensive
international experience, were later joined by a third partner, Bill
Asher, a Dartmouth College graduate with an MBA from the University
of Southern California, who has engineered the company's recent
financial success through a series of transactions and alliances.
The three are co-chairmen of the company.[4]
The 2004 pseudo documentary TV series Porno Valley, documents
Hirsch's private
life and family, and interaction between Hirsch and his Vivid dream.
Two additional seven-party reality series were seen on Showtime.
"Deeper Throat" covered the remaking of the classic adult movie and
"Debbie Does Dallas Again" was about the trials of getting
permission to remake this all-time favorite.
In 2012 Hirsch
received the first Adult Video News Visionary Award at a gala
ceremony in Las Vegas. According to Paul Fishbein, founder of AVN,
"Nobody in the modern era of the adult industry has been more
innovative in mainstreaming their company image than Vivid. That
made them one of the premier brands in all of Hollywood, adult or
otherwise. Steve and the company are truly deserving of this
achievement."[14]
