PHILADELPIA—Doug Sakmann, best known in the adult industry for having directed several of Joanna Angel's landmark horror parodies—including her breakout featurette "Re-Penetrator"—died early Thursday in his hometown of Philadelphia after suffering a sudden "medical emergency," according to various online reports. He was 43.
Having grown up in Queens, New York, Sakmann had an eclectic and colorful career as a director, producer, special effects guru and occasional actor who since about the year 2000 worked in all manner of capacities for legendary cult horror studio Troma Entertainment. Aside from playing the character numerous times on screen, he made many appearances over the years on the AVN Awards Red Carpet interviewing stars in character as iconic Troma superhero Sgt. Kabukiman.
Some of Sakmann's other notable non-adult endeavors include having trained in improv under Amy Poehler at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York, worked with Stephen Colbert and Amy Sedaris on the Comedy Central program Strangers With Candy, served as the art director and production coordinator for Netflix's reboot of Unsolved Mysteries, co-founded Philadelphia production company Backseat Conceptions and the affiliated Backseat Film Festival, and created the NYC Zombie Crawl.
Sakmann's foray into adult with 2005's "Re-Penetrator" would end up being an almost seismic event in the industry annals, not just because it in many ways put Joanna Angel on the map, but it also served as one of the earliest examples of what would more than a decade later become known as the now commonplace release format of the featurette; introduced Angel—and the world—for the first time to now AVN Hall of Famer Tommy Pistol; and won the pair of them their first AVN Award (Most Outrageous Sex Scene, 2006).
Sakmann would go on to collaborate with Angel on two more projects—2006's The XXXorcist and 2012's Evil Head—the latter of which would earn him an AVN nomination for Best Director – Parody and win Pistol his first Best Actor AVN Award.
"Doug was a very big part—if not comepletely responsible—for most of the big Joanna Angel milestones in my early career," Angel told AVN. "'Re-Penetrator' yielded myself and Tommy Pistol our very first AVN Award, and beyond that, it's a cult classic that has become a piece of pop culture—like something that went viral before viral was invented.
"In 2003 (I think) I asked Doug to 'help me find a guy to shoot my first sex scene with' and he introduced me to Tommy ... who was a janitor at the time," she continued. "And well ... the rest is history.
"Doug connected so many people from so many different places, and brought everyone together—and covered us all in blood. He ate, slept and breathed indie filmmmaking. He could make any idea, big or small, come to life. Or death! And he did it in ... neon orange pants. RIP Doug. Thank you."
For his part, Pistol offered the following thoughts on Sakmann:
"The loss of Doug Sakmann, who I have held in my heart with so much love for so many years, feels like a literal limb has been torn from my body with no anesthesia. My heart feels like piles of weighted blankets are sitting on my chest. Doug was one of my best friends. I knew that, I can say that with ease. But it's the feeling I have at this moment that is making me see how much he truly meant to me.
"The amout of inspiration this Evil Carrot has given me, and hundreds if not thousands of people throughout his life, to just do it, because there's always a way, will never be matched again. He was always there to talk. He would let me know when he was in town. He was a consistent friend. And more than anyone else I have ever known, I can definitely say that Doug lived his life like there might be no tomorrow. I truly believe that. And so being around him had an energy. For me it was the energy of someone who truly cared about our friendship. You only get a few people in your life like that. And then only if you're lucky. The magic of this man was that he had that with hundreds of people. We were all connected to Doug Sakmann. Everyone knew him. Liked him or not, you knew who Doug Sakmann was. The tall, carrot top, lanky, seems unfit but had this insane amount of endurance to just go go go, dude bounding through the room like no one had told him how tall he was.
"I think he might've been the only person I know who truly loved being in front of crowds of people. Doug had the ability to hype up a crowd in an instant like no other. And never stay butt hurt if it didn't go as planned. Doug always moved on. By the end of the night he'd probably hugged and thanked everyone in the crowd. He appreciated you and you felt it. You wanted to give back that same amount of appreciation to him. If he said he was gonna do something, he always found a way. And you followed him because he made you feel included. An instant buddy. Like a big towering silly orange tree, Doug was the base and had connections to so many weirdos—like myself. If you were a fucking weirdo, who could also stay efficient at doing their job, you were probably a friend of Doug's.
"I envied this man, I swear. He was hilariously funny, holy fuck that was dangerous, but exciting, very dark, while also being very loving, always inviting, caring, friendly, chaotic in a good way kind of guy. He was my perfect hype man, made me a better person, and because of that I pursued my dreams. That's what he did for me. He inspired me to live life like there's no tomorrow. To live my life in a way that made me happy. I will never meet another human on this earth like him. I will never forget everything he's done for me. I am happy to have known Doug and will always be sad he's gone. That I can't change.
"To his family and all of his friends: My heart is truly broken along with yours. I won't forget that watching him make people smile and come out of their shells was a life lesson. Let's not let Doug's energy burn out. Use it. Inspire yourself, the people you love, everyone. Inspiring a stranger might've been Doug's best magic trick. Somehow Doug figured out how to be the perfect socially mutated half orangutan/half butterfly. In any situation, he'd make it work, and be friends with everyone by the end. If we at least try to live by his example every once in a while, we might get a sip of the life Doug Sakmann lived. Because from what I've seen, it was a little bit of everything."
Troma Entertainment also paid homage to Sakmann on social media, posting to Instagram and Facebook: "You were everything that embodied independent cinema and will always be cherished in our hearts. Your spirit and love for the craft of film and art will carry on within Tromaville forever. This is a truly great loss for everyone, but your impact will endure for eternity. You will be heavily missed. Thank you for everything Doug Sakmann. Rest in peace."
Horror magazine Fangoria, as well, posted its own tribute on X, writing: "Fango is saddened to hear of the passing of Doug Sakmann. Doug was an award-winning producer, director, production designer and SPFX makeup artist and Troma veteran whose work and life touched many horror fans and creators. Our thoughts go out to his loved ones."
Photo of Doug Sakmann (left) with Troma Entertainment founder Lloyd Kaufman from Sakmann's Facebook page.
