McIlvenna, Ted

Las Vegas Erotic Heritage Museum co-founder and United Methodist minister Robert Theodore “Ted” McIlvenna was born March 15, 1932, in Epping, New Hampshire. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and philosophy from Willamette College in 1954 and attending theological school for a year, McIlvenna traveled to Europe to study theology and philosophy of religion. Upon returning to the United States in 1957, he received his certification for ordination as a Methodist minister and became a pastor at Wesley Methodist Church in Hayward, California.

In 1963, McIlvenna began working with the Glide Foundation to perform community outreach in San Francisco, California. This work led him to witness societal issues that faced the gay community in San Francisco and inspired his first study into human sexuality in 1964. This research led to the formation of the Council on Religion and the Homosexual. In 1976, McIlvenna helped to found the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, serving as the organization’s first president and working as professor of forensic sexology. In addition to these roles, McIlvenna served as curator and trustee of the Exodus Trust International Archives of the Erotic Arts, collecting erotic art, objects, and ephemera. In 2006, McIlvenna co-founded the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada with Déjà Vu founder Harry Mohney. Reverend Dr. Ted McIlvenna passed away on August 22, 2018 at his home in Walnut Creek, California.

Sources:

Erotic Heritage Museum. “Erotic Heritage Museum Mourns Passing of the Reverend Dr. Ted McIlvenna.” August 23, 2018. https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/media/profile/ted-mcilvenna/Ted%20McIlvenna%20obituary.pdf

LBGTQ Religious Archives Network. “Dr. Ted McIlvenna Biography.” Accessed December 29, 2025. https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/ted-mcilvenna