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Does anybody remember all the details to one of the greatest news miscues I ever say on KTUL Channel 8? I'm referring to the lady newscaster back in the mid-to-late 1970s who introduced the "newest additions to the Tulsa Zoo" (supposedly polar bear cubs.) WHILE she's reading the script you saw on Roll B a black man being escorted out of a court house and a whole mess of "county mounties" or sheriffs billy-clubbing this poor man while he's being led down the stairs. The lady newscaster never wavered from her script and the footage failed to identify where the scene was shot.

Ray L. Rivera - 04/06/99 02:08:11
My Email:rlrivera@worldnet.att.net
Location: Louisville, KY
Favorite Tulsa TV show: Mazeppa!
Stupidest local commercial: "If You Didn't Buy It At Reeves, You Probably Paid Too Much!"
How did you find TTM?: just surfin' again

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I hacked off Brad Holbrook (and had Bob Goodman in stitches on the news set) and got myself fired from KJRH "TV 2 - Tulsa!" when Brad and Bob mercilessly teased me about being depressed from breaking up with some girl. About ten seconds before going on the air, I half-threw Brad's news script onto his desk. Of course the stack hit the edge of the set and all his scripts just slid onto the floor in front of and underneath the camera. I quickly picked up the stack and plopped it onto his desk. His expression when he saw the stack fall onto the floor was priceless (and worth getting fired over.) I also did weekend ENG camera work and I hacked 'em off both when I missed shooting footage of the space shuttle and its 747 ferry aircraft during a brief stop at Tulsa International. Never mind they originally sent me out to cover something else and then changed their mind while I was out. They radioed the van and had me detour to the airport.) I also remember the year KJRH's "Snow Patrol" debuted--mostly because there was hardly ANY snow that winter and Channel 2 kept running that silly promo with director Josef Hardt saying (in his thick German accent) "Shtant By SHNO Patrol."

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OK. Here's more than you wanted to know about WKY-TV. I am pasting this from an article in the Daily Oklahoman archive. I know it's a little long, but I thought it was interesting:

WKY Television

After World War II, E.K. Gaylord announced he wanted Oklahoma City to have its own television station.

When Gaylord dedicated the new WKY radio studios and office in 1936, he announced, "When television and facsimile transmission are ready for the public, WKY expects to serve you."

He lived up to his promise. On April 14, 1948, The Oklahoma Publishing Co. filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C., to build Oklahoma's first television station in Oklahoma City and operate on Channel 4.

About 25 years later, E.K. Gaylord recalled that the government was begging people to apply for permits. "We were the only one to apply for one in Oklahoma City."

Gaylord added: "We knew we'd lose money.... I expected it would take at least 90 days of red tape up there in Washington, but we got approval almost by return mail."

By mid-October 1948, a public television demonstration was conducted during the "Made In Oklahoma" exposition. Other demonstrations followed to explain what television was.

In early April 1949, a television antenna was installed on the WKY radio tower. By the end of April, the new television station was transmitting its test pattern. The station's switchboard was flooded with calls from all parts of Oklahoma and from viewers in bordering states reporting reception.

WKY-TV went on the air officially with live and film programming on June 6, 1949. The station was on the air from 7 to 9:30 p.m., Sunday through Friday. On June 17, WKY-TV carried its first NBC television network program, "Who Said That?" It was on film since the station was not yet directly linked to NBC.

In August 1949, WKY-TV signed a contract to provide coverage of the University of Oklahoma home football games for the coming season. The first game was televised Oct. 1, 1949.

Late in 1949, WKY-TV placed its first order for color equipment. When it finally arrived, the station became the first independently owned TV station in the United States to broadcast in color.

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Just saw your website today after Don Lundy told me about it. I'm in OKC (actually Edmond) now, but still have fond memories of T-town. I haven't read all the notes posted on your page yet, so it's possible some of this info is already there, but I thought I'd contribute a little before I finish reading.

A note asked what happened to Barbara Allen. She married the news director of KTUL at the time, Jeff Rosser. They showed up in OKC a couple of years ago when he became GM of KOCO-TV. After they left Tulsa one went to Washington, and the other went to Dallas (I think). Yet I ran into Jeff shortly after he came here and he said their marriage survived the geographic split. I heard the other day that he is no longer at KOCO. Don't know where he went.

Someone mentioned Jude & Jody furniture. They're still in operation over here (in OKC) and still use the slogan "We love folks."

Who remembers Linda Soundtrak? I am Marketing Director for Multimedia Cablevision and I tracked her down last fall and got her to come to OKC to make a series of campy commercials for us (along the lines of "I sold a lot of TVs in my day, but if we'd have had cable back then I could have sold even MORE TVs!"). Got lots of feedback on putting her on TV, most of it positive. Anyway, she is currently working for a "Thrifty Nickle"-type paper in Birmingham, Alabama.

One more thing, then I'll go: How about a thread dealing with old radio personalities? Anyone remember Johnny Martin? How about his catch-phrase "It's Friday night, case night in the city." Here's a trivia question: Why did he say that?

I've only scratched the surface of your home page but am looking forward to exploring the rest ASAP.

Welcome to TTM, Jim. I remember you from KRMG. I think we have another Tulsa media powerhouse here, folks.

Did Johnny Martin mean a case of beer, maybe? He has been been discussed in the previous guestbooks (I am thinking about ways to organize the info in the guestbooks...any ideas? I hate to interrupt their conversational flow. Maybe I should occasionally create a new page topic and copy the relevant guestbook items to the page...)

I'm sure many here will breathe easier knowing that Jude and Jody are still kickin' and luvvin' folks.

There have been many mentions of Linda Soundtrak here...appreciate the update.

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Help! WKY was the first TV station in OK. They beat KOTV by 1 year or 8 months I think. KOTV was the second TV station to go on the air in OK. But I'd swear that was in 1948.

Anyone have access to a Broadcasting & Cable Factbook thru a library? WKY-TV became KTVY-TV that begat KFOR-TV while KOTV has always been KOTV. Anyway, this should be our source on clearing up the anniversary/sign-on dates.

The Factbook might also have ALL the Tulsa surviving TV and Radio station start-up dates - which would add to our trivia!

WKY-TV was the first station in OK (and in the nation for a certain model early camera)to have a color camera for use on news and programming and it used to be displayed in the studio hallway. But who in Tulsey had color local programming first? I was told KVOO-TV/KTEW/KJRH-TV. Any one know? KOTV was the first station to have 2 color cameras I know.....

Mike, I'll look for such a fact book when I visit the library later this week, and check out these questions.

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Although it may not be important, I'll take any chance I have to show superior knowledge to Mike Bruchas! ;-)

If KOTV premiered in 1949, that would make this year it's 50th year. That's why we see those cheesy Millineum Moment spots all the time. I would love to see an hour (or longer!) show on KOTV's 50 years. Let's hope that happens.

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I worked at 6 from mid '76-Fall '77 as a director. Cooking with Donnell Green was sponsored by PSO forever at 10:55 weekday mornings on 6 - they pre-empted Douglas Edwards with the news, stole any new network video for the KOTV Midday Report. I think Donnell's assistant was named Gladys - we often wondered if she did the cooking. Donnell could never say Torillas as tor-TEE-yas, always called them tor-TILL-yas. We ate very very well once a week when she taped at KOTV.....

Former KOTV/KTUL photog Carlos Hernandez is the new Chief Photog at WTTG/Fox in Washington. He said he was in Tulsa for the KOTV 50th anniversary party a few years back and had a great time. Seeing Lee Woodward was special he said.

I also learned that Wayne TUFFY Johnson of KTUL fame may be back at KTUL again directing. Can anyone there confirm this?? If so this may make him the longest working producer/director in Tulseytown these days!

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Has anyone mentioned KELI radio yet? AM radio, I believe, and they had that "space-ship" shaped station on the State Fairgrounds....my sister had a crush on Steve Kelly, one of the DJ's. I hadn't seen it mentioned in any of the guestbooks, so I thought I'd check.

KELi Klimbers on the Top 30 chart, 1430 on the dial, Rock of Tulsa, that KELi?

In 1964, I was once the 2nd caller, which earned me a chance on the KELi wheel. It spun, and made me a KELi Dollar richer!

Big hits I liked that year: "Old Rivers" by Walter "Gol' durn it, Little Luke!" Brennan, and the bathetic "Mr. Lonely" by Bobby Vinton.

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OK, here's one for you.... Does anyone remember the cooking show on the noon news on KOTV? I think it was called "Cooking with Donnell Green".

Talking about Uncle Zeb, my sister was one the show back in ... '74 or '75 maybe. She won a can of Beanie Weeniers!

Man, I love this stuff! I've always been interested in Tulsa history. I didn't realize how much I like Tulsa television & radio nostalgia until I came across an old TV Guide in a shop in Jenks. I think it's from May of 1978 or '79. It has ads for the local news and sports, it's "neat-o"

Tim S.

I will soon be visiting the library to get copies of old local TV schedules over the years for everyone's reading pleasure.

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This is "Tim S." who made the comments quoted on your site. I had almost forgot your comment about putting this stuff on a website! Man, am I glad you did. This is amazing! It's even more amazing how much of this stuff I had forgotten.

You really have yourself a treasure.. no, I take that back TULSA has itself a real treasure in your website. I'm looking forward to checking out all of it and to future updates. I'm sorry I don't have much material to add but you have a faithful fan! I'll keep coming back Tim S.

The long lost Tim S.!

I'm glad you found the site, and like it. Your original comment on the newsgroup suggested the idea of the web site to me.

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Oooohh! KAUT! Thanks for playing right into my hands, Mike! Good ole NewsWatch 43. They used to run ads in the TV News showing "normal" folks giving a thumbs up, with the quote "TV 43's For Me!" It was actually a pretty good concept. It was about the time CNN started up, and also about the time the entire OKC area was saturated with cable. I remember they did some very interesting investigative reports such as how pigs are fed. It lasted about a year, then they switched over to ooollllddd movies all the time basically!

I remember being a young buck of about 17 when STV debuted in OKC. I believe they called it QTV. I can recall waiting for my parents to go to bed so I could try to pull in the "Adult Theatre" films. But, I'm off topic.

Being a weather freak for many years, I remember listening to KRMG growing up. I believe their transmitter is in Mannford, making it very listenable in OKC. They have always had great weather coverage.

My girlfriend's sister and brother-in-law live within spitting distance of KRMG's towers near Mannford. It's so strong, their PC receives KRMG through the PC speaker. And instead of using a grill, they just stick an antenna in the meat.

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I had forgotten about KTFO! It was a poorer clone of Gene Autrey's KAUT/Ch. 41 in OKC. KAUT was a hell of a great station & the feed point for STV - Subscription TV, a fad before that failed when cable finally got in most places. You had a descrambler box on your set-top that let you see all perfectly. Folks without the box may have heard an audio recording saying - call such & such a number to see the real descrambled thing. The sync signal was messed up in the video or you saw sillouettes of video briefly. The WB station here in DC and WBFF/Fox in Baltimore were 2 big city STV stations. They were turned around when the WB and UPN came on the scene. Maybe if KTFO had deeper pockets - they could have done so in Tulseytown.

As for Karen Keith? I think she was a weekend intern from OSU called Karen Gard or Garde when I knew at KTUL in the 70's before KTFO or KJRH. She has come a long way! Local gal makes good.

As for Dave Jones the weatherman - wasn't he also Chief Engineer there? He had a long career in engineering management with Sony, Disney and TV stations in Atlanta as Chief Engineer. Not bad for a guy who did TV weather on KVOO-TV and was a DJ at KRAV. I think he is in NC now.

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I worked the afternoon news drive with Jim Back (and Lynn Steifel, Pat Freeman, Richard Dowdell, Ann Williams) at KRMG Radio 74 back in the early 1980s. I also worked as a news "gofer" at KTEW TV 2 before it switched call letters to KJRH Newscenter 2. The actual news set had a small fake plastic ceiling (no more than a foot or so wide) that dangled in front and above the "middle" camera (Camera # 2) used for the long range closing shot. I often joked that I would end up gluing a small plastic fly underneath the fake ceiling, within the shot angle of the camera, so it would look like a giant 10-foot fly just above the newscaster's heads. Needless to say Brad Holbrook (and others at Newscenter 2 like Bob Goodman and Bob Stevens) were not amused with my joke (I never summoned the courage to do it.)

Richard Dowdell is still at KRMG, as is John Erling.

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Wonderful work here! I have a homepage, which has a few Tulsa Links, but your page is excellant, and we will return! Please visit our page! I grew up here in Tulsa. I am 26. I attended McKinley Elementary. Remember Utotems?!?

I used to hang out at Willie's #3, and Utotem, and play PacMan all day. I met Jim Giles' daughters when we were all little...I had a crush on him,, lol. My sisters went to school with LeAnne Taylor, and I went to Lamaze class with Yvonne Harris and her husband Judge Harris (he couldnt even change a diaper on a doll.. haha)

Would you happen to remember Mikki & Rikki's TV and Pet Shop? Please think hard...let me know if you do. The owners were my parents, John and Judy. The shop was located on E.King St. I am proud to be a Tulsan, and intend to stay here for the rest of my life. Where else can you complain about the weather one minute, and love it the next? Sincerely, Debbie

I grew up between McKinley and Mitchell Elementary on Jasper...one street over from King. I went to McKinley for kindergarten and 1st grade. There was a little convenience store on King near McKinley where I bought all my baseball cards, and a drug store close by, too. Where was the pet/TV shop?

Thanks for your comments.

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What a great site! Here are a few memories:

As a high school senior I had to spend a month as an unpaid intern at a local business. About that time (spring of 1981), KTFO 41 went on the air, and they were happy to have a few volunteers to help out at the station, which got me an internship with a minimum of effort. KTFO's studios were on the Main Mall, just northeast of Bartlett Square. It was mainly locally produced news from 7 am - 7 pm, then scrambled movies from 7 pm into the wee hours.

The on-air talent was an amazing collection of refugees from other Tulsa stations: Beth Rengel ended up there after her firing; Gloria Strickland, who, I seem to recall, was fired from KOTV after allowing a news story to air in which a homeless man said "sh*t" and she repeated the word; John Hudson and Karen Keith, who had been at KTEW (don't recall why they left 2). John Erling had a show which he did out on the Main Mall. (Never could figure out who the target audience was for that program -- housewives who wanted to see what their husbands were up to?) David L. Jones (of the Tribune) did movie reviews, while David R. Jones (no relation) was the weatherman. Beth Rengel and John Hudson had the evening newscast.

The weathermaps were set up like window sashes -- with ropes, pulleys, and sandbags for counterbalances, manually operated. Once just before air, a rope snapped and the wooden map board and sandbags came crashing down, just missing David R. Jones, who let fly with a stream of expletives about this cheap station.

Unfortunately for the interns, the station was still getting its act together, and we were given extremely trivial tasks to complete, while classmates interning at other stations were editing film and writing copy. Not that we had any complaints: The place must have seemed like TV purgatory to the staff and talent. (Not TV hell -- at least they were getting paid.)

I did get to go on a couple of stories with Karen Keith, who was and is a lovely person.

Don't recall how long the news format lasted, but it had to have been a handicap to be going off the air at 7 pm just as primetime began. The pay TV broadcasts continued at least into the mid-80s.

Hey, you are the first to mention the Christina's ads about the gorgeous South American jungle girls... oops, what a giveaway! The girls always seem a lot nicer than the guys...they usually had some pretty good-sounding job. I wonder why they were so anxious to get to the U.S.?

I also remember the beginning of Channel 41, with John Erling's show on the mall. He once covered one of those Chippendale's shows. Women were attending to make the point that what was good for the goose was good for the gander.

Someone else was asking recently, where is Bob Gregory?

Yes, Karen Keith is a first-class act. That reminds me, I have a picture of her and me "co-anchoring" a broadcast...I'll get it out here pretty soon.

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Frank Lilly's post got me to wondering how Tulsa TV handled severe weather coverage back in the 60s and 70s, particularly during the 1974 and 75 tornadoes here in Tulsa. I remember OKC's coverage revolved (and still revolves) almost directly around Gary England. And, to a lesser extent, Jim Williams at WKY (now KFOR). KOCO had great weatherguys in Fred Norman and Ross Dixon (he's currently on OETA's news), but they never let them do anything. I remember one night in 1981, after a mile wide tornado went within spitting distance of Binger, Oklahoma. The same storm moved NE, and was begining to move into OKC. The powers that be at KOCO wouldn't let the weather folks interrupt their broadcast of Robert DeNiro's "The Deer Hunter". Fortunately, OKC missed out on the tornado. I'll close this before it becomes Oklahoma City TV Memories. =-)

Frank is now a CPA in Carmel. Of course, this is his busiest season right now. He will get back with us later on those stories.

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The Webmaster wrote:
Who was our local Romper Room hostess? I watched the show too, but I can't quite remember. Anyone?

She went by the name of "Miss Lynn." I'm pretty sure that was her first name, but I don't remember what her last name was.

My brother was on the show for a whole week. When I was growing up, our next-door neighbor was Saidie Adwon, who later became GM of KTUL. At the time, "Romper Room" was kind of slow taking off, and Saidie was quite anxious to find kids who would appear on the show. So my little bro' got the duty. :-)

Thanks, Robert, for naming Miss Lynn.

There have been other nominations of Linda Soundtrak in the commercial category...

I now have the full Fantastic Theater (not Theatre) theme available for your listening pleasure.

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I was the weatherman on the NBC affiliate in Tulsa from 1974-1978, and remember Mazeppa Pompazoidi well. In fact, partied with Busey and company, but that's another life/another story. Enjoyed a trip down memory lane through your website. Those were my happiest days. Thanks for the page.

Yes, I remember you, Frank! Thanks for dropping in.

What have you been doing since you left Tulsa? Carmel sounds like a great place to live.

We'd like to hear that "party" story---or at least the parts you can tell.

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Good site, brings back old times. The guy that owned SEVCO was Joe Pierre and had a French accent. I a daughter of his was a friend of mine.

Thanks for clearing up this question.

You must get a lot of electromagnetic waves there in Oneta.

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Jeanne Tripplehorn was also a KMOD personality in the mid 80's going mainly under the "Jean Summers" moniker, among others.

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Speaking of KOKI, when they showed a movie, they had a great shot of downtown Tulsa at night. You could see the Atlas Life Building with the neon sign. It was down for repair last time I was downtown.

And we haven't yet mentioned "Creature Feature" on Channel 23, with Pickle and Jeanne Tripplehorn (yet another star launched from Tulsa TV).

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Current KOTV meteorlogist Jim Giles served in Nam. It won't be too long before we start seeing the Gulf War generation all over the airwaves.

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Vets and Tulsa broadcasting. Several Tulsa talents of note were WWII and there are Nam conflict veterans of note. Who else can you think of? Bob Hower - an actual bomber pilot in WWII. Dr. Rod Jones - retired from TU but was talent in radio & local productions was also a flyer I was told once in WWII and one of his plane-mates was Skitch Henderson! Gene Tincher - long-time KTUL/OETA engineer was a US Army audio tech at the Nuremberg Trials after WWII. Long time talent/director/personality Josef Hardt of Sevco/KTEW fame I heard was a German submarine sailor POW interned in OK who stayed on in our great state.

The Nam generation, KOTV then ABC great Bob Brown worked for AFRTS in Nam. Muskogee-born former KOTV/KTUL national award-winning photographer Carlos Hernandez was an Air Force combat photographer.

Who else can you think of?

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I sent Tulsa icon, Betty Boyd, an e-mail at her OK House e-mail address, hope she drops in via e-mail to this site. I said she needs to do a year 2000 update on her book on Tulsa TV!

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Oh. My. God.

I thought I was the only one who remembered any of this. I've been telling people for years that Gary Busey was a local tv personality when I was a kid. No one believed me. HA! (Gawd, have I bookmarked this page yet?)

Gailard Sartain spoke at my 10th grade English class at my invitation. We all worshipped them both. I vividly recall the shade of red Gailard turned when a classmate asked him, "Just exactly what does 'Somebody smells like tuna fish' mean?" Gailard, choking with laughter, asked the boy if he had ever heard of "red-light seafood?" Those who hadn't gotten it before, got it then. *grin*

Like a lot of Tulsa kids, I got to be on the Mr Zing & Tuffy show for my 6th birthday. It was so cool (cause Mr Zing was pretty cute!), and I got to bring along, like, 5 kids from my class. I wore a yellow sweatshirt that said "I'm the Boss," and when John asked me, the boss of what, I got so tongue tied, I don't remember now if I actually said anything or not!

And finally, I cannot believe, after all these years, I got a chance to hear the Fantastic Theater theme again. I remember at about age 5, that song scared the crap outta me! I made my bro and sis let me watch it with them (the power of the tantrum) but they had to help me hold my ears shut and hum during the theme. They wouldn't turn it down, and I was too terrified to listen!

Man, thank you thank you thank you for this page. It brought back so many memories. Like the King Biscuit Flour Hour concerts on "Commode"....er, KMOD, every sunday night. Skateland on Sheridan Blvd... The Admiral Twin drive-in.... The State Fair......

BTW, anyone go to Nathan Hale, 1974 to 1977? Just thought I'd ask.

Yeah, thanks. You've made my year!

Great response! You're welcome. I wondered about that Fantastic Theater music for years before the magic of the internet made it possible for me to track it down. It WAS scary, wasn't it?

How did you like Tuffy up close?

The Admiral Twin. I try to go every year, because it may not be around for too many more. King Biscuit Flower Hours are now being released on CD.

The State Fair hasn't changed much over the years. Remember Gary Busey in "Carny"? He played the insulting "Bozo" very well---the Teddy Jack Eddy in him came out for that role.

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This is a really GREAT page. I was away from T-Town for several years and when I returned, with my family in tow, I was hard pressed to remember some of the great things and shows I'd experienced while growing up here. The material on Mazeppa brought tears to my eyes I remembered it so vividly funny. Kudos, man, kudos!!!

This site is fulfilling its purpose when people are moved to send notes like yours. Thanks for writing.

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Got this reply from Frank to my query: "Would you please forward this message to Ed Dumit if possible?"

Mike,

Forwarded.

Edward Dumit and Ben Henneke are not yet CyberCitizens, but we're working on that.

Best regards,

Frank Christel General Manager / Public Radio 89.5 KWGS, Tulsa

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I will NOT reveal the real story behind the call letters for KFMJ - that's for you to learn via another source. Friends at TU who worked there part time in the 70's - desparate for a part-time income while students, used to joke it stood for Keep Feeding Me, Jesus...

Har har! Good one!

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How about some radio memories? The call letters for radio stations, in some cases, stood for a slogan or ownership. For instance, WLS in Chicago stood for "World's Largest Store"( was owned by Sears, Roebuck and Company); WGN,also in the Windy City, stood for "World's Greatest Newspaper" (it was owned by the Tribune).

Do you know the derivation of these Tulsa radio call letters?:
1) KRMG
2) KAKC
3) KOME
4) KFMJ
5) KRAV
6) Bonus: KTUL

Disclaimer: Michael Bruchas or members of his immediate family are not eligible to enter.

OK, I'm game. KRMG=KeRr McGee. KRAV=George KRAVis. KTUL=TULsa. KFMJ is religious, I think, but I forget what it means. KAKC?

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Great page!! Wow! I have always wanted someone to make a page about news stations. I am going to start one at angelfire soon! You have done a great job!! ~Ryan~

Thanks, Ryan.

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Here's something about 23. Remember their logo in the early 80's? They implemented the "23" into the word Tulsa, and it looked like TU23A. Although, it actually looked better then that. If I recall correctly, that logo won a design award. Man, I miss the days of the independent station.

Yeah, the UHF antennas were available at Quik Trip. I remember KOKI playing a 3-D movie in the early days, too, and the special glasses were at QT as well. Could the movie have been "Gorilla At Large" with Raymond Burr?

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I worked with Lewis Meyer at KOTV for a year - we all loved him! I also think Lewis popped up on either CBS or ABC network morning shows a couple of times. He was Tulsa's best small bookstore owner.

Before I met Lewis and worked at 8, the late Cy Tuma (who had worked at 6 with him) once whispered to me that Lewis had the largest collection of pornography in Tulsa over headset to me - very conspiratorial like. I found out later it was banned books for literature (I presume like Henry Miller) not pictures! It would have seemed out of character to have been other-wise.

To your note on radio stations - KWGS-FM could have been KVOO-FM but the Skelly family helped TU pioneer this new radio band. As I recall from my KWGS history it was an outgrowth of the classroom of the air type programming on KVOO I think. Find Ben Henneke or Ed Dumit for the real story on KWGS-FM's early years.

The FM station in Bartlesville (can't remember the call letters!) and KWGS were 2 of the first in the state and both stayed MONO long after the FM stereo boom hit.

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This site needs more representation for Channel 2, 6 and 23! If you know anyone - have them contribute. If anyone has links to Scott Comstock at KFOR in OKC, he might be a good source on KTEW in the 70's from when he worked there. How about ex-TU prof. Ed Dumit - he must have a million Tulsa TV/radio stories from having lived and worked as talent in this market. Anyone know his e-mail address?

I posted a message on KFOR's bulletin board, and sent an email to the webmaster. I also sent an email to KWGS asking to be forwarded to Ed Dumit.

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Oooohhh!! Lewis Meyer's Bookshelf! Sunday's were good for 3 things, praising God, watching sports (preferrably football), and checking out Lewis. I could've cared less what books he was reviewing, I just thought he was too awesome. I had the pleasure of meeting Lewis in 1992 at a bookfair in Muskogee. He was obviously not feeling well, but had a big smile on his face, and seemed to get a kick out of meeting all of those people. Now there's a Tulsa TV icon I can relate to!

I found a book to buy at Lewis Meyer's store one time in the 80s, and took it to the counter with my VISA card. The clerk told me, "Oh, Mr. Meyer doesn't like credit cards. Just send a check tomorrow." So I did, but that was a unusually trustful way of doing business.

And do you remember his slogan, "The more books you read, the taller you grow"? When I met him at the store another time, I told him I was the embodiment of that slogan. I am 6'6".

I believe Lewis got his start selling books at Vandever's. Does anyone know when his Sunday morning show on KOTV began?

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I thought I would kick off the 3rd guestbook myself.

I once visited the library to make a copy of the local newspaper on the day of my birth. I am looking at the TV schedule for that Saturday in July, 1953. The only station was KOTV Channel 6. The first program listed is "It's News To Me" from CBS at 5:30 p.m. At 6:00 is "The Larry Storch Show". Larry Storch is best known as Corporal Agarn in "F Troop" from the mid-60s. He's been around awhile! In 1953, he was a young nightclub comic. His show was a live summer replacement for "The Jackie Gleason Show", featuring comedy sketches with his guest stars.

Next up is the perennial "This Is Your Life" with Ralph Edwards from NBC. Interestingly, KOTV carried programs from CBS, NBC, ABC and the long-defunct Dumont network. I guess it was too early in the TV game to have an affiliation with only one network.

At 8:30 p.m. was "Private Secretary" with Ann Sothern as Susie McNamara. She was private secretary to a successful New York talent agent. One of the regulars was Jesse White as Cagey Calhoun, her boss' main competitor. Jesse White is best remembered as the original Maytag repairman. Here's a picture of him (and some other commercial icons): http://www.timvp.com/commercials.html

For night owls, there was "Wrestling From Hollywood" followed by "Late Date Theater", then "Sign Off".

Sunday morning featured the test pattern from 9:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. If you had a brand-new TV, you might not mind watching this.

The early afternoon was filled with religious programs until 2:00 p.m., "Name That Tune" from NBC. It was followed by "Beulah" - ABC. According to "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network Shows", Beulah was a black maid who came to the aid of her ever-bumbling employers. Singer/actress Ethel Waters played the role for a time, followed by Louise Beavers in 1953. Other notables in the cast were Butterfly McQueen from "Gone With The Wind" ("I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies, Miss Scarlett!") and Dooley Wilson, "Sam" from "Casablanca".

Nothing is listed after 6:00 p.m.

The radio stations of the day were KTUL(CBS) 1430, KVOO(NBC) 1170, KAKC(MBS - Mutual Broadcast Stations?) 970, KRMG(ABC) 740, KOME 1300, KFMJ 1050, and one FM station, KWGS 90.5 Megacycles. On KOME, Mack Creager was doing play-by-play for the Tulsa Oilers AA baseball team. Johnnie Lee Wills was on KVOO. Leon McAuliffe (former Bob Wills steel guitar player) had a show on KRMG. "Gunsmoke" with William Conrad (TV's "Cannon") as Matt Dillon was playing over on KTUL.

Sunday on KAKC: Milwaukee Braves vs. Brooklyn Dodgers with Dizzy Dean.

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