Tulsa TV Memories Guestbook 152

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Time: December 07 2003 at 15:21:52
Name: Mike Bruchas
Location: In the icebox but not up in the blizzard
Comments: We were looking at old Lowell Thomas film clips today at work. It prompted us to think of the old Kermit Schaefer "Pardon My Blooper" records of 35 years ago. I may still have 1 or 2 in my movable attic of junk. But Lowell Thomas (aka LT to his friends) evidently would break up completely if he flubbed a line...evidently he rates mention on the Blooper records...



Time: December 06 2003 at 15:01:05
Name: John Young
Pennington'sLocation: At work...wishing I was at Penningtons having a big ol' slice of Blackbottom Pie
Comments: A couple of radio memories...back when KGTO was the only "Oldies" station in town, I remember one of the DJ's...Stacy Richardson I THINK...make a couple of statements that STILL make me laugh.

Right after Robert Sutton was convicted of his oil scheme, and after Driller Stadium had been re-named "Sutton Stadium", it was announced, "...and tonight the Drillers play Midland at FELONY STADIUM." Laugh? I thought I'd die!

Another time, right after making the announcement that there was a wreck with injury at the corner of 21st and Yale, I heard the intro, "Next up, from 1964, we have Jan & Dean and 'Deadman's Curve'!"

Ahhh...memories!



Time: December 05 2003 at 21:53:13
Name: Mike Bruchas
Location: yucky snowy VA
Comments: If I recall, KOTV was first with the new generation of color cameras but KTEW owner Scripps Howard brought in 2 high-end Ikegami cameras and 1 or 2 low-end Sonys like KOTV had bought. This was all before 8 bought the TK- 76. Some explosion in downtown pressed the TK into use - maybe it was the production camera - I don't know.

The first new (then) high end color minicam was at WKY/KTVY - a Fernseh from Germany in its own van - KAKE had a bulky RCA TKP camera in a truck up there in Wichita - to both being LIVE was important but both were known as GOOD film shooting stations.

Willsey Photography in 1999, courtesy of Mike BruchasBTW KOTV still had Henry Lile and others go to Charlie Willsey's on 11th to soup film - Willsey had salvaged older gear and made money souping game films from high schools throughout OK. The KOTV processor was initially left to rot - left with chemicals inside at 6 and I remember John Bateman being mad at the waste of a good processor. I think it became a gear room after the processor was moved out.

KOTV had 3 or 4 cuts only Sony edit stations - all gear bought from Logan Wait at 3rd & Peoria, I think. Plus an early Convergence dual joystick editor which burnt out motors on Sony 2850 and 2850a decks till Sony started making heavier duty motors.



Time: December 05 2003 at 01:17:44
Name: Webmaster
Location: Tulsa
Comments: In the 70s, KTUL shot their news footage on film, KOTV on tape (correct me if I'm wrong). What were the reasons for the difference?


Jim Reid replied via email:

All I can tell you is what I always heard. Corinthian, the company that owned KOTV, used to make huge sweeping changes all at once. When they made the switch, it was immediate. On Sunday they were all film, and on Monday all tape. I'm sure the bean counters realized the cost savings of tape with no processing, quicker editing and reusable stock. Jim Reid director credit The one problem was that the quality of the early minicams were awful and it showed on the air. I can remember many tape breakups and the cameras had a horrible lag problem.

At Channel 8, I'm sure Jim Leake wasn't looking forward to shelling out for all that new equipment. I remember when we got out first minicam. It was an RCA TK-76 and didn't go to news, but production. It was used for commercial production and sports remotes. The first time I remember it being used for news was when a building exploded downtown. I think it was an old bar across the street from TJC. The news folks were amazed at how fast they had gotten footage on the air. They were positively giddy. For several years, I remember photogs bringing me film to transfer to 3/4 tape so they could edit on the tape editor.

The drop in quality on KOTV might not have been what caused it, but it was about the same time that KTUL passed them to become #1. It's always been my belief that a #2 station cannot overtake a #1 without the better station doing something self destructive.



Time: December 04 2003 at 11:11:38
Name: Frank Morrow
Location: Austin. TX
Comments: I got to know Jack Moore when I got my first full-time job working the evening shift at KAKC. Because Jack had the day shift, our times overlapped a little. He was nice and friendly, and always treated this young, green neophyte very well.

Jack was the point man in the fledgling attempt of the KAKC announcers to form a union. Jack said that when he contacted the union (probably AFRA, but it could have been IBEW, the union for the engineers) headquarters in Kansas City, he was told that they wouldn't make a move into Tulsa unless we first could organize all the announcers in Tulsa beforehand.

End of union.

Jack did have one problem, however. To be honest, he had a terrible voice and little on-air talent, qualities that seemingly are not a requirement for employment today.

I was very glad when he decided to get into the "engineering" aspect of the business. From what I ascertain from the obit, he became very successful. That is good to hear. Such a nice man deserved success in his chosen field.



Time: December 03 2003 at 18:10:08
Name: R Dubya
Comments: Anybody home?


It is a little quiet, isn't it?



Time: December 01 2003 at 09:32:31
Name: John Hillis
Location: In the cave, Fairfax, Virginia
Comments: Eddie Gallaher, the TU grad and KTUL announcer who replaced Arthur Godfrey when Godfrey left Washington to go to CBS in 1947, passed away last week.

He had been on the air doing morning drive until a couple of years ago, and his commercials for a local restaurant he dubbed "the land of the golden hot popover" were still running this year. The Washington Post obit is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16699-2003Nov26.html.



Time: December 01 2003 at 09:08:33
Name: Lowell Burch
Location: Tulsa
Comments: Just go to RiverBurch.com for Glued to the Tube. There are no taxes, shipping or handling charges. It would be the perfect stocking stuffer for the naughty boy or girl on your list.



Time: November 30 2003 at 16:45:20
Name: David Bagsby
Location: Lawrence KS
Comments: You can get any of my CDs directly from me. Go to http://bagsby.com for ordering info...or contact me via the email address.



Time: November 30 2003 at 16:32:13
Name: Mike (whar's mah 8 track, Edith?) Bruchas
Location: Swing shift in the national Capitol
Comments: Hey, TTM - re L. Burch and D. Bagsby CD's - anyway that you can get them for us directly? At a slight handling charge to the TTM coffers? Or does StarShip sell any CD online of these guys?


See notes from Lowell Burch and David Bagsby just above. I don't think Starship is online yet.

This might be a good time to remind readers about this site's Gift Shop. If you are planning to do some Christmas shopping on Amazon.com (a good idea), start from any link on those pages, and the webmaster will benefit modestly at no cost to you.

Another possible starting place is this new list of Amazon.com items that have appeared in previous Guestbooks or other pages of the site.



Time: November 28 2003 at 20:39:21
Name: John Hillis
Location: Dripping wet in Virginia
Comments: Jack Moore was a class gent, and KVOO was pound-for-pound the best radio newsroom in town in the late '70's, no small praise when you consider the calibre of KRMG in the days of Jim Back, Ed Brocksmith and Don Cummins.

KVOO in the Big Country Days would have put a commercial or promotion of personal appearances in front of the Bagsby Bros. "Talahina Hula"--a nifty piece of steel git work that makes me smile every time I play the (legally downloaded) mp3. Can't wait for the "abum" to be released.

KVOO Big Country jingle #2 KVOO Big Country jingle courtesy of Wayne McCombs and Joe Riddle.

KVOO Big Country



Time: November 27 2003 at 15:37:36
Name: Mike Bruchas
Location: Go for Dough on the Early Show memory
Comments: Question for Mr. G. Chew - did it just seem like KOTV had every action film that George Montgomery ever made (made in the Philippines that is...) - in the Go for Dough film library?

Can you imagine tryin' to do reviews of some THAT stuff today???



Time: November 27 2003 at 15:31:30
Name: Mike Bruchas
Location: Workin' monitoring network lines = did not know of GWB in Iraq till I got to work, his jaunt has me busy doing feeds today to Europe...
Comments: Big talk at work was of the surprise visit - brave or foolhardy - you make the call. We were told that he had NOT told Mrs. Bush. I am sure it was a morale boost to the troops, though.

I met Jack Moore several times way back when Wayne McCombs was working weekends and Demi Rosenthal was in News there at KVOO in the country days. Jack was a great guy to talk with and very unpretentous. Sorry to hear of his passing.....



Time: November 27 2003 at 06:29:58
Name: Alex Rivers
Location: Kansas City home of the Chiefs
Comments: Lowell, I too was at Monroe that fateful day and remember the intercom broadcast and the comments made by the parrots repeating anti-Kennedy remarks they undoubtedly learned from their parents. One of which was Dwight Orr, his name and comments will be forever burned into my brain. I wonder if we were in the same class?

Happy Thanksgiving to all the great people who are a part of this wonderful site. Peace and happiness to all. Please pray for our troops overseas, the next few weeks are tough times for those men and women, support them any way you can.

Thanks to the webmaster for bringing a little bit of home to us T-towners who have moved away from the greatest coney island paradise in the world.

Alex



Time: November 26 2003 at 19:02:26
Name: Lowell Burch
Location: Guestbook 152
Comments: Sartain's Harley commercial is hilarious. Great copy, extraordinary voice characterizations. Classic Mazep.

I just wonder why he has started wearing the white pollen mask in public all of the time now? Or is that someone else?



Time: November 26 2003 at 12:17:30
Name: Si Hawk
Location: Tulsa
Comments: I am so sorry to hear of the passing of Jack Moore. By the time I came to know him in the mid '70s he had been in the business a long time. I always got a kick out of the fact that I have records for which he was the recording engineer. He was a fine newsman and a good person. We'll miss him.



Time: November 26 2003 at 10:41:23
Name: Joel McLemore
Location: Fresno, CA
Comments: Hate to interrupt the Kennedy memories, but thought I'd say hello. First, this is a great site that I've browsed many times. I can't remember if I've contacted you before, so apologies if I've already brought any of this up.

On your 8's The Place page with the picture from the Stilwell Strawberry Festival--I was one of the Cub Scouts behind that Stanley Steamer, though I'm not in the picture. Since I was only four years old in 1976, I have to guess that the picture was taken closer to 1980 or 1981, possibly 1982 at the latest. Pretty sure it was the year that the Strawberry Festival was broadcast on KOKI, so it was probably '81 or '82.

I was such a devoted viewer of the Plenty Scary Movie, even though I was just a kid and usually fell asleep about halfway through. I remember the opening mentioned on your page, but I also recall one with a heartbeat sound and a close-up of an eye slowly opening. This was quite a while later, again, probably late 70s-early 80s. And I do remember them trying to resurrect it in the early 90s, but it was on at weird times, like one or two AM during the week and didn't seem to have a steady timeslot. They played much newer movies too. I only recall seeing it a couple of times.

As far as things being pre-empted, I remember one night when KOTV pre-empted Entertainment Tonight. I think Clayton Vaughn made some announcement beforehand about the content in that night's program being inappropriate or something like that...I think they were showing swimsuits or something. The trouble is, that same night, "48 Hours" was about the porn industry and it was probably a lot more inappropriate than some skimpy swimsuits on ET, and yet they broadcast that! This was sometime in the early to mid-90s, I think.

I grew up in Stilwell and lived in Tulsa for the last few years--I've recently left Oklahoma for CA but your page brings back a lot of memories, but also envy that I wasn't around for the great stuff that happened before my time! Thanks...


You're welcome, Joel. I added your comments to the two pages you mention.



Time: November 26 2003 at 09:22:46
Name: David Bagsby
Location: Lawrence KS
Comments: I don't recall what was going on when JFK got rubbed out. Of course, I was 4 years old at the time, so I was probably upset that Felix the Cat was pre-empted.



Time: November 26 2003 at 08:49:32
Name: Jim Ruddle
Location: Rye, NY
Comments: I always wanted to do an interview with a guy who said he didn't remember what he was doing when John Kennedy was assassinated.

Jack Moore--The same one who used to work at the record store? He also did some DJ stints at KAKC, during the Coliseum era, and I remember him fussing and fretting trying to set up remotes. It wasn't easy, then.



Time: November 25 2003 at 15:35:04
Name: Alan Lambert
Location: Claremore, OK
Comments: I remember Jack Moore well! I watched him record Charlie Daniels in the old master recording studio at KVOO on the second floor of Channel 2 (We called it KVOO Broadcast Center in those days.) Charlie was doing British rock in those days... before he went country.

Jack later joined us in news... we had quite a crew. We had one of the largest radio news staffs in Oklahoma history.

Jack gave a bunch to not only KVOO but certainly to the Tulsa Press Club and the Gridiron (his whole family has). Goodbye Jack Moore. Alan Lambert KRSC-FM and KBEZ-FM



Time: November 25 2003 at 13:44:15
Name: Mike Miller
Location: Fort Smith
Comments: I had fond memories of Warren Spahn when I was the P.A. announcer for a couple of summers out at Oiler Park. He let me get a base hit off him during a radio-TV exhibition game. He also autographed a baseball which I still have.

During a couple of long rain delays, I got a chance to get to know him over a couple of drinks in the "Foul Ball Club," before A. Ray Smith located us. He was quite a guy.

I also noted in the World obit column the passing of Jack Moore who worked for years at KVOO Radio. I'm sure someone out there remembers Jack.



Time: November 25 2003 at 09:53:10
Name: Erick
Location: Tulsa
Comments: Sad to hear of Warren Spahn's death. My uncle and I were just talking about his managerial days with the old baseball Oilers.

Gobble day is fast approaching. If you're like me, the day will consist of food, football, beer, and food. Probably some food, too. Happy Thanksgiving!


And if you are traveling, have fun and drive carefully.



Time: November 25 2003 at 08:47:55
Name: Joe
Location: inside the padded room
Comments: Heap big thanks to Tulsa TV Memories for adding the Channel 6 "Late Show" theme from '69. Wow, I haven't heard that one in 30-something years. I could recall the tune and some of the words, but it sure was great to hear the whole thing. It has made my week!!!!


Wayne McCombs sent it in, and Joe Riddle of KRMG probably had a hand in it, too.

By the way, I think the melody is from an existing song. Does anyone recognize the tune?



Time: November 25 2003 at 08:15:37
Name: Larry Truesdell
Location: Edmond, Ok
Comments: One of the things that I remember about Mazeppa's show was the spot with Coach Chuck and the reading of the lockerroom rhymes. We sent one in from Henryetta. Can anyone come up with some of the rhymes. I can quote ours.



Time: November 24 2003 at 23:35:02
Name: Lowell Burch
Location: Thawing the turkey
Comments: I remember some seventh grade students cheering and saying rude things about Kennedy at Monroe when it was announced that he was shot. I was no Kennedy fan but I was appalled at the reaction of some of the children. He was our president and the new medium, television, made him, and his family, very personal to all of us.

My first baseball glove was a Spaulding Warren Spahn autograph model. He did coach (and pitch a little) here in Tulsa. A fine gentleman and well-deserved Hall of Famer.



Time: November 24 2003 at 19:25:30
Name: John Hillis
Location: Before ESPN
Comments: In Milwaukee of the Braves lore, pre-Astrodome, the pitching rotation was Spahn and Sain and then, please dear Lord, three days of rain.



Time: November 24 2003 at 18:40:00
Name: Mike Bruchas
Location: Need to get Tulsa baseball scribe Wayne McCombs to do a "backgrounder" for TTM on the below listed story...
Comments: BROKEN ARROW, Okla. - Warren Spahn, the Hall of Fame pitcher who won more games than any other left-hander in history, died Monday. He was 82.



Time: November 24 2003 at 16:28:46
Name: John Lock
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Comments: I have posted this story before but since this is the 40th anniversary, I will do so again.

I was doing telephone work at the Channel 8 studio when Bob Gregory came on the innercom announcing to the employees that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. I went with the employees to the lobby where the TV was tuned to Channel 8, which was still doing regular progaming. It seemed that we stood there and hour but was probably only a minute, one of the employees changed the TV to Channel 6. where Walter Cronkite was broadcasting the latest news. I can not remember if the set was ever changed back to Channel 8 as long as I stood there.



Time: November 24 2003 at 09:42:15
Name: Danny Creekmore
Location: Glenpool, Oklahoma
Comments: Any info on the John Chick morning music show? I was a part it with my dad, Ted Creekmore, any pictures from that era? or anything?


Danny, there is a bit on the John Chick & company page, but try this site's Search Engine with "Creekmore"; your dad has been mentioned numerous times.



Time: November 22 2003 at 19:54:15
Name: Mike Bruchas
Location: "Monitoring network lines"
Comments: American TV is pretty crummy tonight - have been watching "CNN Presents" on the death of JFK - though peppered with too many commercials - it does talk to so many news folks in Dallas and DC that weekend. Plus shows a lot of footage that I don't remember ever seeing as a kid.

It is a truly good show and labor of love - try to catch in repeats this weekend. To several of us young dinosaurs at work - 40 years later - it still can bring tears to us watching those snippets of a sad, sad time. Just seeing again Walter Cronkite whip off his glasses and note the time when he annouced JFK's death is an image forever burned in my brain. We at school then had no idea what was on broadcast TV and the first that I saw that image was later that night - when at home.

CNN and the Newseum (in DC) has a new book on remembering 11-22-63 by the reporters and cameramen. Right now it is only available at www.newseum.org but bet TTM's partner - Amazon.com probably will shortly pick it up. This CNN show seems to be a collaboration with the Newseum.



Time: November 22 2003 at 15:46:39
Name: Rogan
Location: Soon to be in Tulsa
Comments: On November 22, 1963, I was in 6th grade, and heard the news that we were being let out of school early, following a special vigil in the church next door. Ya see, I was raised Catholic, and conveniently every Catholic school back then was located next door to a Catholic church.

I can remember the shock I felt over hearing of Kennedy's assasination, but it was my parents who really felt horrified. I was feeling shocked and confused, because I didn't really have a clear concept of what was happening.

The JFK funeral marked a new beginning for the life and security of television as a world-wide media phenomenon. Never before in history had one event been so thoroughly televised for such a length of time. And the history of America began to take a twisted, evil and somewhat bent turn as well, as LBJ began his rule. There is a very interesting documentary series "airing" on the History Channel entitled "The Men Who Killed Kennedy".

To JFK: Rest in peace....



Time: November 22 2003 at 12:07:33
Name: Gary Chew
Location: Arnoldstadt, CA
Comments: Forty years ago today, when I was told by Bill Miller (KELi's Bill Kelly) to come listen to the monitor in the control room for news I didn't want to hear, I was dubbing to cartridge a quarter inch audio tape recording of the Postmaster General reminding listeners to "Mail Early."

I was married to my first wife in 1963. She was at home watching "As The World Turns" on CBS. She saw the first bulletin.

She immediately called KELi News Director, Forrest Brokaw and told him what she had just heard. Forrest, appropriately waited for the AP Flash that came all too soon.

I walked into what might be called the record library and announcer's hanging-out area and wept harder than I had ever wept before.

But it feels good, today, to say, that when I became of legal age to cast my first vote for a president, it was for John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

For readers of this fine web site who can't recall November 22, 1963, I would just say that all the stuff you've heard through the years about how Kennedy inspired people to do good work for their country and their fellow citizens is something about JFK where there is no doubt. It's true: he really did make hope abundant and that's what magnified the tragedy of his death.

The inspiration he gave me is still very much alive in my heart and mind on this November 22, 2003. It is a very young feeling!



Time: November 21 2003 at 23:47:25
Name: Jim Reid
Location: Dallas
Comments: 40 years ago tomorrow, I was in Sister Cantalice's 2nd grade class at St. Mary's school when Mr. Wickham, the 7th grade teacher came in and told us that we would be going home soon, because the president had died and we should all pray for him. They didn't tell us how he had died and I remember thinking that I hadn't known he was sick.



Time: November 21 2003 at 19:25:17
Name: Mike Bruchas
Location: Re memories ofthe death of JFK...
Comments: I was in 7th grade in Miss Cunningham's History and Current Events class in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, IL when they announced it about 1:30pm over the p.a. system. We were stunned - no one knew what was happening in the country. Some folks cried - needless to say the next 3 periods of school went by with us all talking about this. No one could believe it.

We left school at 3pm for orchestra practice not knowing what was next.

Most of my family and my Dad's parents were still alive then. No one knew if the country would shut down (a bit like after FDR's death - my folks remembered).

My family was remodeling the house at that time and as we tore up linoleum that Sunday morning - we saw Lee Harvey Oswald on TV getting shot LIVE. Sunday night we had to go somewhere and heard that the folks in WV were thinking of changing the name of their state to honor JFK. We kids were giggling over the name change as silly - like "..what about Wheeling, Kennedy?" and other silly address options. Juvenile black humor I guess...

We continued to be in a stupor and I recall school did not open again till Wednesaday but my dad, granddad and aunt all had to work that Monday. So much for the country following any national mourning plans. I do think most had Tuesday off.

We - my mom, brother and I - had gone in to Chicago to be with grandma and watch funeral coverage that Monday. New at the time was frozen pizza available at the grocer's - long before microiwaves, you baked it in the oven and we treated grandma to that so that she did not have to cook. Her English was never that great - so the TV coverage did not capture her total attention. She knew that the President was dead but having been in the US since 1910 - it was just another American tragedy to her. My brother and I were hypnotized by all on TV.

I think we felt more and could talk about it more 1 year, 5 years and 10 years after JFK's death as we began to understand it all.

I still have a copy of the Warren Commission Report at home somewhere. Have not skimmed through it in years though...may try to dig it out.



Time: November 20 2003 at 13:40:34
Name: Mike Bruchas
Location: DC baserment sitting & monitoring network lines on supposed MJ in CA surrender....
Comments: The Oklahoma Monthly cover was part 1 of a 2 part article spread over 2 issues. From all the photo access that the stations gave OM - I guess all thought just a backgrounder on TV news - they got suckered.

I remember a loud mass of mad folks reading the article and we felt that the reporter was not only unknowing of TV but a very pissed-off jerk trying to be controversial. To us in Tulsa - the second article was nothing. I finally found that second mag at home but it does not have all the pictures that the "can cover" issue had. A lot of us felt they treated Susan Silver too harshly and wondered if it paved the way in the late Jimmy Leake's little mind - of thinking of taking Susan off air. I think a lot of TV folks in both markets "would have loved to have spent some quality time thumpin' on the author" had he ever appeared again in Tulsey or OKC. Can't remember what else he ever wrote in OM magazine...



Time: November 20 2003 at 08:56:24
Name: Kathy Schramm Rapp
Location: Texas
Comments: Jim, I, too, was young at the time of JFK's assassination, about 5 years old. I don't remember many details, except my parents were talking about it a lot and were constantly watching the news. Anyone remember where they were when it happened? Some in my generation remember being in elementary school when their teachers announced the news.



Time: November 20 2003 at 08:46:16
Name: Erick
Location: Tulsa
Comments: There was an interesting documentary on PBS last night concerning the Kennedy assassination called "Breaking The News". It told the story of how the local and national media handled the story, and had great old footage of how the story broke on KRLD. The program suggested that the coverage of the assassination was the pivotal point when television overtook radio and newspapers for the public's main news source.



Time: November 20 2003 at 06:24:23
Name: Jim Reid
Location: Dallas
Comments: With the 40th anniversary of JFK's assasination coming up, what was that time like in the Tulsa media? I was only 7 years old when it happened, so my memories are not too detailed. I do remember being glued to the tv that weekend.

I have been in Dallas for close to 20 years now, working at what used to be KRLD, the CBS affilitate. When I first started here, there were quite a few of the old-timers still around who were glad to share their stories of that time.


Mike Miller and Jim Hartz told what they did in Tulsa on Nov. 22, 1963 at the top of Guestbook 143. Mike was a reporter for KELi, and Jim was KOTV's News Director at that time.



Time: November 20 2003 at 03:36:17
Name: Webmaster
Location: Tulsa
Comments: Archived Guestbook 151...




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