Toddy Picture's,
My Godfather & the Bonnie & Clyde Car
I can tell you that whoever wrote the
article on the
Bonnie and Clyde
car are all wet. I knew Ted Toddy personally and I can tell
you the history of this car as written is wrong. The reason
I know is my father who is now deceased worked for Ted Toddy
from 1951 through 1954 and remained very close to Ted until
he died in circa 1980. That was my father's job is he took
Toddy Picture's "Killer's All" on tour.
Ted had a
studio where my father would make head's of the famous
murder's of that time. And he would drive the large
tractor trailer to small towns with the car and all
inside. Many, many times it was nothing to have the car
parked outside our front porch. My dad as a young boy
ran away and joined the carnival's and was a lover of
show business and later for while put on show's himself.
It was
nothing in those years to have a Sat. matinee at the
theatre's that was live and people thronged to see these
strange and sometimes haunting and scary objects de'
art.
And I can
also tell you that Ted Toddy used a company in Atlanta
for his posters.
Ted Toddy
was Jewish (unreligious) but a true and kind man however
as far as my dad's work, he had little compassion for
the hours my father had to put in traveling with
"Killer's All" and of course Ted made most of the
profit...and with my dad having a pregnant wife and one
small baby, plus me and my brother who was around 7 and
me 6, he only was able to do that kind of work for about
3 years.
Also,
television was getting big and Elvis Presley had arrived
so people wanted to watch television or see movies of
star's like Elvis on Sat. matinee's and the carnie,
amusement
type of entertainment fell off. For many years Ted
garaged the car.......I still remember the blood stains,
and brain matter that was in the top of the car however
the bullet holes showed rust on the exterior and the
inside of the vehicle had a malodorous odor.
My dad Lacy
Simmons, or Bill as Ted called him was the one who did
the work, Ted owned the car and was the investor for the
project.
My dad
became famous on his own after that and became very
wealthy and his work and patents are still viable and
his corporation is alive today.
I still have
the original speakers that Ted gave to my dad that were
used for the matinee viewing of "Killer's All".
After my dad
left, he found a man who was single who was fitted to
the position of the carnival atmosphere however it
really just lost it's flare for people searching for
entertainment.
The car was
in the movie, "Bonnie and Clyde" with Warren Beatty and
then not long ago it was in a recent movie of which at
present I can't remember.
Ted finally
got married to a divorcée who was approximately in her
50's when they married. Her name was Connie. She had a
son that had cerebral palsy and Ted loved him but Connie
and Ted were getting old and they have all been deceased
since the 80's.
I had to
correct you on your history as the car could not have
belonged to anyone as even when Killers All stopped Ted
kept the car in an ole garage out back of him and
Connie's home located off Howell Mill Road in Atlanta
where they resided until there death's. I personally
visited Ted Toddy all through out until he died and I
personally saw the car.
I'm not sure
of the year he bought it but it had to be circa 1948 to
1950.
Cindy
(Ted's God daughter)
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