Another journey to visit our soft spoken pal, Eric Edwards!
It was about 3 years ago that I had gone up to the mountains, about an hour north of Los Angeles, to visit legendary adult actor and all around gentlemen, Eric Edwards or Rob Everett(his real name). In 2010, I had wanted to go and visit Rob to meet him, as well as be able to talk to him about some of his adult roles as well as his life in general. I have been been around the adult industry in one form or another for much of my life, even as a youngster. I brought a professional camera crew and we were able to capture some amazing HD footage, some of which can be seen as extra bonus footage on the release of The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann, in the form of an interview. The remaining footage, much of which has not yet been seen, has been set aside and is reserved for upcoming projects, as well as video doc clips!
When we initially posted the pics and clips from our first visit in 2010, so many of Rob’s fans came out of the woodwork, the Distribpix Blog lit up and people were happy to hear from him. This made Rob happy. We had kept in touch, but I have not made it back out to California, since I saw him. So you can imagine how happy I was, when I realized that I had to be back on the west coast for business reasons. It was the perfect opportunity and I would make sure to never go out there again, without visiting him. He is such a legend and sweetheart, for real. He is only about an hour and a half outside of L.A. and it really is quite beautiful in the mountains, the air is clean, fresh. There is a sense of calmness where he lives, almost a cross between the desert and Big Bear Mtns.
I would never want to feel like I am bothering anyone, nor do I make it a habit to knee-jerk retired adult stars or directors, so that I can get them on film or for certain DVD extras. Rob, genuinely wanted me to come and visit.
I was already going to be meeting with several of my colleagues in the Los Angeles area, but as usual I had the pleasure of chilling and traveling with close friend Joe Rubin, for much of my time in that great city. His love for L.A. is infectious and he loves to be there. Considering he is an archivist and one of the most astute minds on sexploitation films in the country today, he was more than thrilled to be visiting Rob, and I was happy to have him along for the ride!
Legendary adult director, Cass Paley( Wesley Emerson) was also going to visit Rob with his crew- for his own film project, and it was planned that way. We all know each other and we had set it up, so that we can see him at once, to not make things so invasive, as Rob has settled into a quiet lifestyle. They had arrived a few hours before us and had gotten some early morning footage of Rob feeding the ducks in his local park, which happens to be a tradition for Rob…….The park itself is gorgeous as well, and a great place to shoot pics and enjoy some good old mother nature.
Myself and Joe arrived about 2 hours after they had already started shooting, and I was greeted by Rob. We embraced each other and he gave me a warm hug, a big- warm hug. It felt great. I had introduced Joe to Rob and instantly we all hit it off. It was like, I never left. I mean we are both 3 years older than the last time we saw each other, but besides that, I think he looked great. He was smiling, but he always does. He was so cordial, but he always is. He is such a joy to be around. For hours we all spoke and it was wonderful to hear many different stories, and ones that I had never heard before.
An interesting aspect of this visit, is that Joe is a virtual encyclopedia of Erotic films and the film genre as a whole, and at one point, Joe got into the interviewer’s chair, to give Cass a breather, and it was really exciting. Joe was able to cite specific scenes, exact dialog -on a dime, and geographical locations where Rob’s films were even shot, and it truly helped to bring Rob back to the golden age. I mean, I had never known about Rob’s beloved bed, his amazing bed, that he had custom made in every way, the story is amazing and sad(HINT-future clip). He also opened up to us in even more detail about his battles with cancer, his treatments, the loves of his life, his children and how he is doing today.
Our day was running out and eventually we all had to head back toward L.A. But we decided to have a nice meal together on our way down the mountain and went to Rob’s favorite Chinese Restaurant, with a great view. Rob ordered some saki with his meal, we all relaxed and enjoyed some very soft conversation.
Rob is such a wonderful person, with a great sense of humor. In my opinion, Rob( Eric Edwards) has found a place in his life where he has solace. He has been through the meat grinder, to hell and back, from his battles with cancer, to lost loves. But, even since the last time we saw each other, he seems to have grown even more, and of course I am saying that from a distance and I am far removed from his day to day life. I just sensed during our day together that he truly speaks his heart, he is an absolute romantic, a lover and had just opened himself up, like I had not seen years ago.
He went into detail about his past loves, both with Arcadia Lake and Renee Summers. He went into an almost play by play of his entire career, including his occasional perusal to his coffee table where he had arranged stick em tabs, complete with penciled notes. From his loop days with Bob Wolf and Wolf Productions, to his mainstream acting career and commercials, through his adult industry tenure.
He really was prepared, even allowing us to view his treasured portfolio, complete with baby pics and head shots! Much of what we spoke about off camera is off the record, I mean we have a genuine friendship and that is something I would not want to jeopardize. But, he was very open about the majority of things we spoke about, and it was in front of the camera, and I think he is happy to let the world know that he is doing alright. I am more than happy to have Rob on board to work on any future projects, but I am more excited that I will be back in Los Angles much sooner than expected, and that will give me another chance to get together with the great Rob Everett( Eric Edwards).
In a huge sense, I am very thankful to Rob, for it was his sincere and candid conversation with us, detailing his battles with cancer, and what he dealt with on a daily basis for several years. He talks about the details of his treatments and why he decided to make those life changing decisions. His words are inspirational, they are truly from the heart and from the hip. I was so touched that he allowed us to record this very intimate look at his personal life, that I wanted to share some of the outtake footage from the B roll camera. I think it is a really special clip, and for those of you who want to see what Rob (Eric Edwards), looks like today, please enjoy this exclusive clip from our recent interview. And please feel free to send a note to Rob, he gets all of his messages thru the Distribpix Blog and or the The Distribpix Inc Facebook page. He is always happy to hear from his fans.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78v3I_PAHF4&w=420&h=315]All in all, I am very thankful that we saw each other. It was a very mellow and low key event, we really just hung out, talked and enjoyed each other’s company. I will see you again very soon, Your a legend of the adult industry, an absolute survivor of many hardships and possibly one of the most gentle and soft spoken souls that has come out of the golden age of adult filmmaking.
THANK YOU so much Steven, Cass and Joe for this tremendous and candid interview with one of the greatest human beings on the planet; The great man, Father, Friend and Goose-Whisperer, our friend, Rob “Eric Edwards” Everett.
Thanks Denise for your continued support. BTW–to all those interested, Denise is a fantastic painter. Not only does she do landscapes, but she has also done my own personal portrait, among others in the Adult Business. It not only was fun doing this interview with my old friends, Cass, Steven, and a new friend– Joe, but they were able to dig deep into my past memories. I hope you all will enjoy future editions of this–perhaps my final–interview.
–Eric Edwards
Thanks darlin’ for mentioning my painting skills. Commissions always welcome!
You were a delight to paint … and such a handsome subject^^
xo
Denise