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Self Portrait By Ed Simmons

Posted on October 28, 2010

……….Ed Simmons recently made the 3000 mile trip from Los Angeles to Philadelphia by train to visit his mom after the recent death of his father. He and I met earlier this year in happier times while we were producing an adult film in Los Angeles. This time around our mood was more somber. We met at The Drake Tavern to reminisce about the life and times of his dad. In his own words, Ed reflects on his fathers last wishes.

Train Ride

……….My Father told my Mother this twice, during his last week with us, “something happened, something powerful”. Father Mac administered to my Dad, the Seventh Sacrament! I got a voice mail from him on September 12th, 2010; he said “Hi Eddie, how ya doing, OK, we have some ____ _____ for girls, OK, well I’m interested you know, ever since your Mother said to me, hahahaa, I am just a girlfriend, looking for someone to play house with. OK, I’ll see you around, I LOVE YOU” – TO ME!!!

On The Way Home

He was a tough old marine. References to love was something always so hard for him to express to me. This was really something. Expressions using the word love were always so hard for him to hear from me too. He gave this gift to me, his last words, to me, from Dad. I always knew he did, he knew I always loved him too, Fathers and Sons, its complex!

Road Crossing

Things were clean between us when he left 20 years ago, up in the Alaskan Bush. We worked it out. We had no choice. It felt not to much different than the two of us being locked up in a padded room. Flying back down into the lower 48, we became good friends! I wear his watch, I carry my money in his wallet now too. I know Dad got what he wanted, you know, like fine wine, he got better with time, I prayed tonight he got some time and was granted a one on one with God,

I bet he asked God if he would invite Mom in early. It just breaks my heart seeing her, watching her. In my soul, I know there is a special place in heaven for all those struck down by cancer. It has been a while for me to write anything on my blog. Its been hard. I’ve been a mess. Just too hurt to cry! I love you Mommy, don’t know where in the hell that came from. Face to face my last words to her were filled with the emotion of Love. I guess I had to tell her this once more, in those words, I felt she needed to hear it one more time from me. I probably will never see her again. Damn this trip has been hard on me. It has been even harder on my Mom.

End Of Line

Jerry And Janelle: Penthouse Magazine

Posted on October 25, 2010

……….I wasn’t very surprised when I heard that Bob Guccione died recently. I knew he was getting old. The last time I saw him in 2005, was a very memorable moment for me. I had been to his house in New York many times over the years. I usually would go there to deliver prints and meet with his ever present assistant Jane, who was like a family member to Bob and perhaps his closest associate at Penthouse. This time around Jane organized a meeting to meet with him directly to discuss a film project we were beginning to produce in Amsterdam.

I waited in the massive living room of the mansion feeling as though I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art instead of a private residence. There were priceless Picasso’s, Degas, Renoir, you name it, all over the walls.

Penthouse Magazine

Bob entered and greeted me with a smile, and he began our conversation by complimenting me about my work for the magazine and always encouraged me to continue to push the erotic envelope. I noticed right away that the once beautiful voice was reduced to barely a whisper, the result of a painful battle with throat cancer. Jane told me he had been fighting the disease for some time. Bob was always on the cutting edge of medical science and apparently found some elixir that prolonged his life for another five years. That’s typical of the kind of man he was, exploring and pushing the envelope of life to the very end. Bob may you rest in peace.

Impact On My Life

Posted By Yoko Grosshans on August 18th, 2010

………. My father has always had quite an impact on my life. I never really ” knew” him….he had a massive stroke by the time I was 5 years old….he was only 52 years old at the time. However, as he slowly made somewhat of a recovery, he and I created a strong bond. Maybe not as strong as my mother and I, but in a different way….he was the reason I became obsessed with photography, video, working in a darkroom, and creating mosaics. He relies on me, especially since my mom’s passing a year ago on July 4th, 2009. I took off 7 years of work, life and living independently to care for both of my parents’ with not a single year of regret.

No Regrets

Unfortunately, I cannot care for dad anymore considering he’s wheelchair bound and paralyzed on his right side with speech impairment and he just turned 87 the end of July, 2010. Dad was and still is a genius and I wish I would have more memories of those brief 5 years of the renaissance man I was told he was.

Lucky for me, he is a typical German who chronicled EVERYTHING; over 6 dozen photo albums, slides, reel to reel audio and video (more than I can count), including dvd and vhs memories….he also wrote over 5000 pages of memoirs of his life after teaching himself to relearn to write with his left hand.

The Cat And The Owl

…..In recent month’s a friend suggested I contact an elder agency that assesses what is best for my father and myself, and we decided it was best that dad reside in a very high standard nursing facility.

Tree Of Life

The project coordinator definitely keeps the “patient’s” occupied…his latest project was with a group of other interested artists to work on several mosaic murals that are now displayed in the serenity of the outdoor plaza.

Swan In Stream

I am so impressed with my dad’s still well maintained capabilities. I could do nothing but beam at how proud dad was to show me his work…He still never ceases to amaze me….I love you Dad!

The Mosaic Project

Photographs by Yoko Grosshans

Erotica: The Fragrance

……….The Studio is pleased to announce that Tony Ward Productions, LLC has teamed up with Martine Brand of www.BrandIllustrations.com to develop packaging for EROTICA the fragrance by Tony Ward. We look forward to publishing this creative process and look forward as always to your suggestions and comments.

Fragrance Bottle with Top Removed

A Special Day

……….According to Wikipedia, Saint Valentine’s Day, shortened to Valentine’s Day is an annual holiday held on February 14th, in celebration of Love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius 1 in AD 496. It is traditionaly a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards, commonly known as Valentines. The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the cirle of the Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of the courtly Love flourished.

On behalf of Tony Ward Studio we wish everyone a joyous and loving Valentines.

True Love

Posted by Alex Remnick

The series is called “Mike and Kate” and it depicts an actual couple, who have been dating for over a year now. While shooting, I worked with the following guidelines in mind.

•Neglect the inclination to overly display or emphasize the presence of nudity
•Attempt to realistically and objectively depict the dynamic of a relationship outside of the public eye
•Draw symbolism from the seemingly un-symbolic space in which the shoot took place

Actual Couple

Nothing in this shoot was set up, except for the fact that Mike was nude. I left for a few minutes to get more film, and when I got back, Mike was playing his guitar. Kate removed her bathrobe in the last few images because she thought she looked silly in her bathrobe.

Mike And Kate

These images are about true love, and what that term really means. Not true love in the fairy tale sense of the word where a poor young orphan meets a prince and they live happily ever after, but rather, what love truly means. Mike and Kate have definitely had their share of fights, but they can always count on being able to come back to these moments. They can always hang out half-clothed on a Sunday afternoon, do nothing, and be happy just to be together.

…….Alex Remnick is studying photography at the University of Pennsylvania.