In Memory of Carter Stevens 1944 – 2020

We’re sorry to have learned of the passing of Adult Filmmaker Carter Stevens (posted 12/30/2020 by his son Branden Frost via Facebook).

Film Historian Michael Bowen wrote in the Early Films of Carter Stevens Vol. 2 Collection insert booklet: “Carter Stevens has come to be known as one of the true pioneers of the adult film industry.

A producer, director, and cinematographer, he can also boast of a side career as a porn star (under the name “Steve Mitchell”), having “worked hard” in at least two-dozen adult features and scores of loops. After the home video revolution burst the bubble of theatrical porn in the early 1980s, Stevens reinvented himself as “Master” Carter Stevens, culling the depths of the fetish video market and publishing one of the S&M community’s most significant journals, The S&M News. “

above: Carter greeting fans and signing autographs at the 2010 Cinema Wasteland Convention. Photo by Joseph Kolbek

For the past 15 years, Alternative Cinema has worked with Carter to locate, restore, and release many of his classic films from the 1970s as a series of Deluxe DVD Collections.

above: Editor Joseph Kolbek presents Carter Stevens with a framed poster of the cover art from his first DVD Collection in 2009.

During this period, Carter was a regular guest at the offices of Alternative Cinema. Whether being interviewed for DVD extras, appearing as a guest on the Alternative Cinema Podcast, visiting fellow filmmaker Joe Sarno or traveling to Fan Conventions, it was always a fun time with Carter Stevens around. He was a modest man who appreciated the continued interest in his career and loved interacting with his fans. He will be missed. 

The children of Carter Stevens have set up a GO FUND ME page. This fundraiser will help his his children, Braden Frost and Heather Treible, pay for funeral expenses and other urgent costs related to his unexpected passing.