Leroy Phillips 1935-2011

Last month, as I sat working on a the Ed Johnson documentary, I received an email that Leroy Phillips had died.   Leroy was the reason I began the Ed Johnson documentary and he was also the reason I continued to work on the film.  His passion for the subject was contagious.  It was something we had in common.

I liked Leroy not just because he was a great interview with a natural gift to tell a story.  He was a nice man and always willing to help out or give me encouragement just when I was about to give up.  Independent films are hard to make. Inevitably you reach a point in the project where the money is dwindling or gone and the choice to continue on or quit  is before you.  I'm sure Leroy faced similar choices when he decided to defend a client that he knew would never be able to pay the bill. I never talked with Leroy about those choices, although I wish I had.   I do know that he would encourage me to keep working on the film.  


And I will.   I just wish he could have had a chance to see it....