Ed Phillips, Simi Valley, CA, USA. (deceased)
I did not know any
of the Pioneers personally. I shook hands with them once when I was a kid. I
must have been 10 or 11 years old. I don't know if I told you the story about
Pat Brady and my Mom, so I'll tell it anyway.
In my hometown, Williamsport, Pa, we had a Saturday Morning Radio (WRAK)
singing group named "Jim and Jane" with a back up group known as the McNutt
Brothers. Jim and Jane owned and ran a place on the outside of town called
Radio Corral. Each weekend there would be a different singing group performing.
I saw some of the Country & Western legends here.
One Sunday they booked the Sons of the Pioneers. They sang as a group and performed individual solos. Pat Brady entered into a rendition of "It Had To Be You" and was really wound up. My Mom kind sneaked down toward the stage to get a photo. Pat saw her trying to get a picture so he stopped the entire show dead and announced that there was a lady trying to take his picture and he had to pose. He said he could pose or sing and since she was such a pretty lady he would prefer to pose. He did, Mom got her picture, and Pat picked up the song exactly where he stopped. Needless to say we had a great day with the Pioneers.
Ed Phillips passed away on April 23 2008 and is survived by his wife, Teresa, and two daughters, Faye and Lisa and a son, Edward. He was 71 a few days ago. He will be sadly missed.
A great
many photographs on the Bob Nolan website were contributed by Ed. Ed was a
dedicated and meticulously accurate western film still collector who put
together a database that included tens of thousands of entries. Once word got
around about what he was doing, his friends (including writer, Packy Smith) and
others began sending or lending him their own collection of stills and his
herculean task was increased. He was generous with his collection and many
websites contain his photos.
"I started the film list back in 1998 for something to do after I retired from
Aerospace. I spent every day, except Sundays, for a little over a year at a shop
near Thousand Oaks, California pouring over movie stills looking for still
numbers. Then right after my heart operation a friend gave me his still
collection to go thru. That took another 4 months. Then as word got around I got
more stuff."
Ed attended every film festival / reunion and related gathering that he could.
His favorite star, also attending these functions, was Ruth Terry.
"I dress in black when I'm in costume. That is, a black hat, a black shirt, a
black vest, a black kerchief, black pants, black boots and no spurs. My gun belt
is black and I don't have white grips on my six-shooters. If I had a horse it
would be black and the saddle and riggings would be black with no silver. The
idea is not to be seen at night while out doing nighttime stuff...either good or
bad. And if some one was after you it would be easier to hide in the dark. Why
would anyone do what Durango did and ride a white horse?"
He was also a member of SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) and a very good
shot in his time.
