October 09 2009 at 00:13:04 Name: Mike (forgetful) Bruchas Topic: MIKE MILLER
Comments: Happy (REDACTED) Birthday, Mike Miller.
You "age" slowly like a fine cheese!!!
October 08 2009 at 23:36:11 Name: Webmaster Topic: Beef Baloney Blast From The Past Comments:
Matt Zaller was a member of the Beef Baloney comedy
troupe on Tulsa TV five years ago.
He has been working for National Lampoon on "The ZAZ! Report" for the past
three years. Yesterday, he posted on the ZAZ! site Beef Baloney's
Top
5 funniest local commercials. Check them out!
October 08 2009 at 13:56:21 Name: Erick Topic: Tulsa State Fair
Comments: ANY fair theme song has to be better than the horrible
song that has been filling the radio waves this year: "Flying high, the Tulsa
State Fair...flying high, flying high!"
Went to the fair yesterday, and here is my yearly list of foods consumed.
Sadly, I was unable to locate the chocolate covered bacon or the deep fried
butter on a stick. I may go back this weekend for those delicacies.
Cheese On a Stick
Gator On a Stick
Fried Green Tomatoes
Spiral Cut Potatoes with Sour Cream, Chili, and Cheese
Ribeye Sandwich
Deep Fried Cheese Curds
Fried Brownie
Spaghetti Ice Cream
Cinnamon Roll
And washed it all down with enough Orangeades to keep a small orchard running
for another year.
I also sampled numerous dips and sauces, wines, and sampled Nitro Ice Cream!
I took a travel-sized bottle of Tums Smoothies, but it wasn't needed. I've
mistreated my stomach so much over the years, it has no problem handling
these kind of foods.
October 08 2009 at 12:59:27 Name: Scott Linder Topic: Thanks to our Fair Webmaster Comments: Thanks to our Webmaster for the Fair Jingle
info. I feel very foolish to have not realized that the jingle was already
included on the Tulsa State Fair page on TTM.
My memory was obviously a bit off on the versions we recorded. The recording
on TTM is a full one minute donut, although we did do a few other versions,
as I recall.
By the way, the recording on the Fair page really sounds quite good, considering
its vintage.
October 08 2009 at 12:07:09 Name: Webmaster Topic: Very trivial Comments:
Last night at Fat Daddy's Pub and Grille over a burger and beer, "TTM" competed
in a
NTN>Buzztime
network trivia game, edging out SQLAPS and TRIDOCS in a come-from-behind
Cinderella story.
October 07 2009 at 23:16:36 Name: Gary Chew Topic: Fair Jingle Email: Northeast of Eden Comments: Scott: I remember the jingle. Don't know any of
the words, but didn't it have a march feel to it at the top, then swung for
the rest of the way out? That's what I remember.
October 07 2009 at 16:28:49 Name: Scott Linder Topic: A very Fair jingle Comments: In the mid 60s, I recall recording a jingle
for The Tulsa State Fair at KVOO which aired on every Tulsa station.
It was written by Mo Billington and scored for vocalists and a big-band with
percussion. Jack Moore mixed it, and we did the session down in the KVOO
television studio, as the radio studio on the second floor was too small.
I clearly remember the melody, but can't recall the lyrics, except for the
opening "Here's to the Fair... the Tulsa State Fair..." opening line. We
did a 15 sec full version, a 30 sec donut and a bed without vocals.
Jack Moore gave me a dub, but I can't find it now. Plus, it was on 1/4" and
the oxide would have long-since turned to dust.
Does anyone else remember this jingle? I haven't thought of it in 40 years!!
Could it be this one right here, at the top of the
Tulsa State Fair page?
Mo' about Mo and the Sleepwalkers Serenade theme in
GB 255.
October 07 2009 at 15:55:13 Name: Scott Linder Topic: The Tulsa State
Fair Comments: I have many memories of attending the Tulsa State
Fair back in the 50s and 60s, although they are a bit fuzzy, now.
The midway was provided by W.T. Collins Shows. Collins was second only to
Royal American Shows, which was the gem of all midways in the U.S. and Canada.
Both are now gone.
Ice Capades always ran at the Fairgrounds Pavillion during the Fair. Every
performance was packed, and your Capades ticket gave you admittance to the
entire Fairgrounds before or after you saw the show.
Bell's Amusement Park spliced well with the Collins Midway and the rides
always seemed to be packed.
In addition to the Collins vendors, many local restaurants had spots on the
midway and I remember the aroma of chicken and burgers from
Johnny Harden's place which was always on
the west end, close to the Pavilion.
I also clearly recall a vendor who sold ice-cold watermelon. The melons floated
in large galvanized water-troughs along with blocks of ice. You got a really
large slice for 25 cents, and consumed it on picnic-style tables that were
painted glossy-white, each of which had several salt shakers. It tasted mighty
good, especially when fall temperatures had not yet blessed Tulsa.
October 07 2009 at 10:50:07 Name: Tulsa Area Music Archives Topic: Volume 4 podcast available to
download Email: info at preservemusic dot
org Comments: Volume 4 of the Tulsa Area Music Archives podcast
series, Leon Russell: The Solo Years Part 1, is now available for downloading.
Early Leon w/ David Gates & The Accents, The Starlighters, David &
Lee, C.J. Russell, The Daughters of Albion, The Asylum Choir, Delaney &
Bonnie.
October 07 2009 at 08:17:16 Name: Mitch Gray Topic: Fair Stuff Email: North Of You Comments: One particularly hot freebie at the fair were
..stickers! KELI stickers, STP stickers, Zingo stickers, etc. However, most
of those stickers never made it off the fairgrounds. You would see them plastered
almost everywhere! Even in places some of us considered physically impossible
to get to.
I don't know what year it was, but the fair board, due to the enormous job
of cleaning up that adhesive litter, banned giving out stickers for free.
I did notice that a few of the vendors this year were selling stickers of
all kinds. I'm certain they are priced according to their value. Kinda like
that five dollar butter on a stick.
October 06 2009 at 22:05:14 Name: John K. Young Topic: Re: Band Foods Email:
johnk662561atyahoodotcom Comments: Maybe it's just me, but "Deep Fried Butter on a
Stick" sounds like an AWESOME name for a band. Or maybe I'm just hungry for
some fair food.
Regarding "Favorite Fair Freebies"...I used to love to get the frisbees that
some of the exhibitors would give away. I'd try to get them to spin on the
yardsticks (also fair freebies) but my attempts were always less than
spectacular. Usually, the dogs would grab the frisbees and, at some point
down the road, the yardsticks would get broken across my posterior for the
usual childhood "lapses of parental respect".
The lamest Fair Freebies? Ink pens. As a kid, they were lame. Now that I'm
a bigger kid (I eschew the term "adult"), they're still lame but in a different
way. I'll put the pen in the glove compartment of the car and the first time
I go to use it, it'll be dry as Death Valley in August. So, I do the only
honorable thing...I take them to work and try to stick them into the ceiling
tiles. The area above my cubicle looks like a Ball Point Pen Stalactite
Convention. This has led to my boss thinking I'm somehow "unstable" so he
has adjusted my work load accordingly. Life is good. :)
October 06 2009
at 21:55:06 Name: Robert Walker Topic: The
HMITW Comments: May I just say that Lee Woodward must be the hippest
man in the world? Gawd, he slays me. For years and years, Tulsa's secrete
sauce. Now back to my Hollywood night, already in progress.
October 06 2009 at 15:18:15 Name: Rex Brown Topic: Two Wheel Oklahoma Email: maduko (at) yahoo.com Comments: File this under "Future Memories" category.
Brad Mathison and myself have put together a travel show called Two Wheel
Oklahoma. It airs on My 41 in Tulsa on Saturdays at 9 AM. The first episode
premiered last week and followed us on our motorcycles as we traveled a stretch
of Route 66 between Sapulpa and Arcadia.
I'm really excited about the possibilities, and so far we've been getting
really great feedback. If you're in the Tulsa area we hope you'll spend a
half hour with us and come ride along!
Mailing list, blog and more fun and entertaining info available at
TwoWheelOK.com.
October 06 2009 at 14:25:41 Name: Steve Bagsby Topic: Stuff at the
Fair Comments: My wife and I always have a laugh about going to
the Fair to get freebies, goodies and general stuff toted home in a plastic
bag. Rulers, yardsticks, pencils, pens, calenders, pot holders and other
"what-nots" Anyone have a favorite "hand-out" they remember?
October 06 2009 at 14:17:14 Name: Mike Bruchas Topic: KKUL = KORU's
frequency Comments: Wasn't KKUL originally the frequency assigned to
KORU - but ORU got rid of the FM station and had an on-campus station only
for a while?
In the early '70's - before KCMA (fashioned after WFMT in Chicago) - Tulsa
had classical music on KAKC-FM, KWGS and KORU at one point in the
evening.
October 06 2009 at 13:43:00 Name: DolfanBob Topic: KKUL Email: DolfanBob@lycos.com Comments: Back in '76 when I was at the bright green little
building next to a mobile home in a field just west of 129th and north of
Admiral. The call letters were still KKUL or as we liked to say K-Kool.
It had just changed formats from Funk to top 40 and we had tried to get the
call letters changed to KFOX but that was already taken and the closest that
we could get was KTFX and the Superfox was born.
I worked with Cousin Lee Walker and Don Landy. That was when radio was really
off the wall fun. Cueing up vinyl LPs and commercial carts, playing the A
thru D hits (I sure got burned out on the Bee Gees).
Went to Dallas to get my 3rd class Radio Broadcast license. Remember those,
old timers?
After I was gone they relocated downstairs over at 61st and Memorial on the
NW corner (same building as Varsity Bar). And then long,long after I was
gone they moved to Admiral and Memorial and had went Country.
And that's about all I know. It was great times getting in early and cutting
your commercial spots and picking your filler songs from a huge library of
LPs.
October 06 2009 at 11:36:32 Name: Wilhelm Murg Topic: Radio Email: wilhelmurg@yahoo.com Comments: I don't know much about KKUL, but if I remember
correctly, it started off as a competitor to KMOD, then changed over to funk
around 1974(?) They also put out hit music lists like KELI, only more
sporadic.
October 06 2009 at 07:38:33 Name: David Bagsby Topic:
Radio Comments: In case I missed it here, anybody know the story
behind KKUL...used to be the Funk station?
October 05 2009 at 18:42:16 Name: Webmster Topic: KOME-AM then and now Comments:
Tulsa Gal has posted photos from
Radio
Station KOME, where her dad had a show in the late 1940s. I sent her
the link to Jim Hartz' recent Flickr tour of the same building, which she
linked to in her item. You can find it here by clicking the Flickr icon in
the TTM Photo/video briefcase.
October 05 2009 at 14:28:22 Name: Mitch Gray Topic: Band Food Email: North Of You Comments: Don't forget Strawberry Alarm clock on pound cake
with Incense and Peppermints.
October 05 2009 at 12:27:47 Name: Erick Topic: Bands
Comments: A better band for dessert: Cake!
I'm going to the fair Wednesday. I'm eager to try the deep fried butter on
a stick and the chocolate covered bacon.
October 04 2009 at 11:03:41 Name: David Bagsby Topic: Fair Comments: Is Sugarloaf playing at the Fair? Seems like
those guys and Bread did every year for a while.
Those bands seems kind of high carb. Better add some of the other food
groups:
Meat Loaf
Phish
Cream / Korn
Hall and Oates
Red Hot Chili Peppers
and for dessert:
The Jam
The Cranberries
Vanilla Fudge
October 02 2009 at 15:58:04 Name: Jim Porter Topic: Gusty! Email: jimininola@yahoo.com Comments: I currently live in Madison, Wisconsin and came
home to see family, and just so happens the fair is on! I was disappointed
with Bell's being gone and the midway looked almost empty of rides. But,
walking through the IPE building (guess they call it the QT Center now),
I saw Don Woods and Gusty!
After 40 some odd years of wanting my own Gusty, I have one! I hate to admit
it, but as Don handed me my Gusty, I almost cried. I now have my very own
Gusty and his 'Fraidy Hole! Thank you Don!
October 02 2009 at 15:52:17 Name: Webmaster Topic: Local TV / Route 66 Playhouse
Comments: In today's Tulsa World by Jay Cronley:
TV
news missing its local luster.
In the previous GroupBlog, JW mentioned that Sam Jones is hosting a live
show, Route
66 Playhouse, at RSU tomorrow, Oct. 3. Sonny Gray is the musical director.
My appearance on Sam's KRSC-TV show, Green Country Perspectives, was delayed,
but may happen next week.
October 02 2009 at 09:36:28 Name: Jeff Todd Topic: "Boo Roo" The Phantom Kangaroo Email: acrossstick3@cox.net Comments: Remember the kangaroo sightings in Tulsa/Owasso
Oklahoma around 1981-1982?
Sightings were reported by newspaper delivery people, the Hammacks, in and
around the area of 56th St N around Utica & Lewis.
As the story goes, on Aug 31 1981, a man pulls in to a diner/bar joint, nerves
are jangled,and starts telling the story to the locals in the cafe that he
just hit and killed a kangaroo. Well anyhoo, he drives off with a dead kangaroo
in his truck.
The rest is history, making it into two books.
Mysterious
America and
Mysterious
Oklahoma. A friend of mine who worked for the Tulsa World actually gave
me the original picture laserphoto of the cavy nicknamed "Tripod" that was
caught in a trap by Tulsa animal control officers on 56th & Utica.
You can still get a copy of the newspaper clipping at the Tulsa library,
just tell them a litte history of it. I have also posted about four YOUTUBE
clips on the Phantom Kangaroo of Tulsa:
(More of
Jeff's videos
at YouTube: the vanishing hitchhiker
called the "basketball boy", the Hex House of 1944...)
The mystery ended when they caught the cavy. But the newspaper delivery guy,
Mr Hammack, said the animal he saw in the field had a tail. Patagonia cavies
do not. Oh well, this is the stuff urban legends are made of.
October 02 2009 at 00:07:17 Name: Mike Bruchas Topic: Pat Lopez Comments: Former KOCO artist and long time Southwest
courtroom artist, Pat Lopez, has a
section
in FineArtViews - a web site for artists.
It's rainin' cats n dawgs in Chicago tonight.
October 01 2009 at 19:32:38 Name: Rose Bowl Bunker Commander Topic: Henry Bellmon Comments: Henry Bellmon's papers are at the OSU Library.
When I was an archivist there in late '70s, I processed the materials from
his first term as governor. My favorite correspondence files were labeled
"Nutz". Indeed they were.
While his politics were emphatically not mine, I admired the courage of his
convictions. Took real guts for an Oklahoma Republican Senator to vote for
the Panama Canal Treaty, "simply" because that's what his conscience told
him. I remember the sign the John Birch Society awarded him, near the OKC
entrance to the Turner Turnpike: "Bye Bye Benedict Bellmon".
Always a gracious gentleman in person.
October 01 2009 at 11:47:31 Name: Patrick Bryant Topic: Jay Spivey, Henry Bellmon Email:
patdotbryantatgmaildotcom Comments: Too often we are reminded of our mortality.
Though I didn't work directly under Jay Spivey at Channel 4, I saw and spoke
with him almost every day during my time there. He was always very tolerant
and patient with the "kid engineer" which I was in the early days. He'll
be missed.
I grew up in Billings, so I knew Henry Bellmon; his first wife Shirley; his
daughters Pat, Gail, and Ann; his brother, cousins, nieces, nephews, etc.
They were all great people and I share their loss at this time. Henry always
leavened his ambition with a large dose of humility and a sharp intellect.
RIP.
September 29 2009 at 14:12:33 Name:
Mike Miller Topic: Henry Bellmon Comments:
The Tulsa World is reporting the death of Henry Bellmon, former Oklahoma
Governor and Senator. No details as of this moment.
(Tulsa
World article)
Bellmon was an extremely likeable politician. I covered him in both offices.
Always accessible and with straight answers. RIP.
Mike Miller interviewing Henry Bellmon
September 28 2009 at 20:05:19 Name:
Mike Miller Topic: Anchors or Actors? Email:
michaelmmillerathotmail.com Comments: I was watching a 1955 film on TCM recently, "The
Phenix City Story" (correct spelling), and a during a documentary-style preface
I noticed the reporter doing interviews looked familiar. When he signed off,
"This is Clete Roberts" I remembered that he was something of a pioneer TV
anchor in Los Angeles.
Roberts had national exposure. Looked him up on IMDb and was surprised at
the number of screen (film, but mostly television) credits. (About thirty.)
He usually played a newsman or himself in various programs right up until
his death 1984. Clete Roberts appeared in several episodes of MASH, Columbo,
Cannon, and McCloud.
I worked with another former Los Angeles television personality, John Willis
at WTTG-TV in Washington around 1969-70. He co-hosted a noon show, "Panorama"
with Maury Povich. Years later I saw Willis in a similar situation where
he was interviewing celebrities at a movie premier, way back when. It was
black and white short subject and obviously shot years before he came to
WTTG.
I got to wondering if anyone out there remembers seeing either Willis or
Roberts when they were local TV celebrities in LA.
September 28 2009 at 09:42:03 Name:
King
Lionel Topic: The King and The General
Comments: Since my "Right Hand Man" suggested
earlier reasons for the plight of Radio/Television's demise from a geriatric
point of view; I, being eternally young, due to good genes (Latex), offer
the real reason: THE INTERNET and PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES
When one can watch, communicate or listen to anything in the World, free
for the most part, at whatever time one wishes, that medium wins, Paws down.
It has caused me to have to install claw protection on my keyboard... as
the TV remote is mostly idle.
September 28 2009 at 07:34:37 Name: Wilhelm Murg Topic: Keaton and HELTER SKELTER Email: wilhelmurg at yahoo dot
com Comments: Here, here on Steamboat Bill Jr. I first saw the
amazing scene - where he "goes into" the movie screen and reacts to the different
scenes cut into the film - on the PBS GREAT PERFORMANCES documentary about
him in the 1980s. I've watched the film a few times since then and it still
astonishes me. He was a true innovator, on top of being one of the great
comedians of all time.
I'm getting concerned with my mentioning HELTER SKELTER on these pages; it
seems every time I mention it something happens in the case. The first time,
mentioning the anniversary, Squeaky Fromm was released from prison. Last
time Susan Atkins died and Polanski has become a political football between
the Swiss and the French, over unrelated charges.
So Squeaky is free and Polanski is in prison - somehow that doesn't make
me feel more secure.
September 28 2009 at 01:20:13 Name: Jim Reid Topic: Buster Keaton Comments: I have most of Keaton's extant films on video
and many of them on 16mm film. I'm not one to pick favorites, but if I did,
it would be hard not to pick Keaton. He did films that were wonderful comedies,
but also great films. The General, Our Hospitality or Hospitality as Buster
always called it. These were epic scale films that also happened to be funny
as hell. Then there is what I consider his funniest, Steamboat Bill, Jr.
The special effects are mind-blowing, especially the house front falling
on Buster, who is only saved because the open upstairs window fell around
him.
When I was in high school, I used to go to the classic film series that Bob
Bethel ran at Gilcrease every Sunday afternoon. This is where I saw many
classics for the first time. I'm trying to get a series like that started
here in Dallas using my own collection. Hopefully I can get some high school-aged
kid as hooked on classic films as I was.
September 27 2009 at 19:51:24 Name: JAC Topic: Avalon - RIP Email: Joetul ta xoc.ten Comments: Drove by and saw Avalon (new location) is closed.
Sign blamed the economy.
Not sure thats the exact reason.
September 27 2009 at 01:57:03 Name: Jim Reid Topic: Keaton Celebration
Comments: Mike, I too would love to be in Iola (for the
Buster
Keaton Celebration this weekend). I was at Cinecon in LA a few weeks
ago and I ran into David Shepard, who is supplying most of the film they
watched in KS. He wanted to know if I was going to be there, but I can only
afford a few film festivals a year. There's a great silent film festival
in Topeka at the end of February. I will definitely be there.
Iola has been a topic of conversation here; start just under the pic of
Johnny Martin in GB 205 then scroll down to Agent
Hillis' report 3/4 down the page (it's in reverse time order as usual).
Trivia: The makers of the recent Pixar hit movie WALL-E watched every
single Keaton and Chaplin silent movie to inform themselves about pure visual
storytelling, as the principal characters are robots who use very little
spoken language.
September 26 2009 at 22:43:12 Name:
George Tomek Topic: Jay Spivey Email: mranchor@cox.net Comments: I concur wholeheartedly with the comments by Greg
Leslie concerning former WKY-TV/KTVY Stage Manager Jay Spivey. Though confined
to a wheel chair for many years, Jay always had a positive attitude and
personality which he never lost. He was a consummate professional through
and through - like many others who worked at Channel 4 down through the years.
RIP Jay.....you earned it.
Webmaster: George sent an email with these photos yesterday.
Cy Tuma was also confined to a wheelchair for many years.
I found three old pics that you might like to use. One is a dour me doing
the Noon News probably in 1961. One is a shot my
Dad took of Sid Lasher
doing the weather. Sid was a great guy to work with. The other is the
"Great" Cy Tuma. What a prince of a man and one helluva
news anchor.
September 26 2009 at 19:07:30 Name: Mike Bruchas Topic: Keaton Celebration Comments: I wish that I were in Iola, KS this weekend:
Buster
Keaton Celebration
September 26 2009 at 16:10:21 Name: Greg Leslie Topic: Dannysday organist Email: gregleslie at yahoo dot
com Comments: Close, but not quite: Dannysday's "Man of Music"
was JOHN Spivey (no relation). Here's a clip from a 1974 show where John
gets about three seconds onscreen.
Thanks to Randy Richardson for putting up a wealth of Channel 4 vintage clips.
I was the last director of Dannysday before it was cancelled, and it was
probably the most fun (and best education) I've ever had.
September 26 2009 at 01:06:31 Name: Mike Bruchas Topic: Jay Spivey
- R.I.P.
Comments: I met him and saw him at some TV lighting demos and
once watched him directing the lighting of a set at 4 in OKC.
A special part of OKC and Channel 4 history.
Tony Sellars told us in GB 17 (over ten years ago) that Jay Spivey
was also the organist on "Dannysday" (see above for correction).
September 25 2009 at 22:57:14 Name:
Lee Woodward Topic: Radio Email: Dall-Ass.com Comments: The downfall of radio began when
Gordon McLendon gained control of a sizable number
of stations in Texas, particularly Dallas. He created Disk Jockeys with synthetic
names, so he could fire them if they got too popular and wanted more money.
He also was responsible for "Top Forty" music charts, which of course would
preclude any Jock from playing something not on the charts. Would one suggest
that this started "Payola"? That's why, when you turn on the radio today,
it's pure crap for the most part.
There are a few FM stations that play some listenable music and I'm not just
talking about pop or classical. I have no idea if there's anyone really there.
Everyone is narrowcasting now and I don't know how they sell any time. As
has been mentioned before, I know that some of these stations have NO listeners.
When I listen, it's to this non-commercial jazz
station that changes its call every few months. Many times, I just click
over to my Cox Cable music line-up and run it through my stereo system. All
this would not add up to thirty minutes a week. Where I really run up the
time, is in my car when I'm running errands. I listen to cassettes that I
have made using vinyl and CDs of my favorite stuff. It is not uncommon to
go through eight, 90 minute tapes a week. So for me...radio is no longer
thought of.
I will add; that I always liked the idea of radio better than TV. I wish
that I had had the opportunity for a slot on a good frequency, to do my version
of the Johnny Martin show. I guess you could say,
that in reality, when Johnny and his peers went away, that's when the music
died. What are we left with? Blather! Oh...I mean Talk Radio....with Jiminy
Glick, er I mean Russ Lumbar or whatever.
By the way, "It's case night in the city." "I'll leave a light on."
September 25 2009 at 22:22:49 Name: Webmaster Topic: Previous GroupBlog link
Comments:
October 06 2009
at 21:55:06
Mike Miller
King
Lionel
Lee Woodward