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Gary Chew via email, 7/25/2008: "This photo shows my good, old friend
and cameraman, Buddy Allison, with his butt plunked down in THE VERY CHAIR
used in the infamous 'Creager Finger Incident'."
Photo by Mike Bruchas. Buddy's cohort Leon Meier
was opposite in an orange chair that day. |
For years I worked with a lot of Buddy's - (including) cameraman & philosopher Buddy Allison at KOTV (whom I wish had e-mail for his Tulsa radio & TV stories and corny jokes).
A message for Mike "Britches" from Buddy Allison: He is doing great. All the guys you and he worked with are retired. He wouldn't have a computer!
Hooray for Buddy Allison! He's still kicking and ticking! Buddy worked in radio before KOTV, doing store displays and product displays for I think KTUL radio. This must be a lost promotional tool that most folks forgot. Wish I could remember more. I think Buddy also told me that the West end of the KOTV parking lot used to be the old Tulsa Police Station. Does anyone remember this? KOTV was in what I heard was originally an International Harvester dealership. I think they were across the street at one time (the IH dealer). If we can connect with Buddy again - he could give us the scoop!
Saw this in this morning's paper. Don't know the gentleman, but many of you probably do:
Harold M. "Buddy" Allison , 76, KOTV production manager, died Wednesday.
Services pending. Mobley-Dodson Sand Springs. He was a nice guy. Before the KOTV reunion, I talked with him about his wartime experiences with landing craft, "spitkits". He was wondering where that term came from after all these years. I did some research and found out this was old navy lingo for a spittoon, in other words, an unseaworthy craft. I passed on to him a letter to this effect from the Naval Historical Society at the reunion, which he appreciated. He was deeply affected by what he saw in the Pacific, and still had trouble talking about it.
Today, I get to do the gasp that so many others had recently. Buddy Allison was one of the happy parts of the years I spent in Tulsa, and my time there was brief. I know how much his passing will be felt by those who were his friends for a much longer period of time. I don't think Buddy had anything but friends. My sympathy, prayers, and warm wishes to his family and everyone who was close to him. A true broadcaster.
Ah, Buddy. Last time I talked to him was before the reunion for 6. He was on my list of people I "need to see the next time I get to Tulsa"... He was funny, philosophical, and a good egg. Buddy said he had had a problem with demon drink in the '50's and found God, but you know I can never see Buddy as anything but the way he presented himself at 6. Everyone loved him. He got started in the biz doing window displays for sponsors - for I think KTUL radio - a job of the old radio days now long since gone.
To paraphrase him, "Son, you won't be forgotten".... We are installing gear here in DC in our Master Control room and airing now is "Cookin' Cheap" - a show done by Blue Ridge Public TV. One of the co-hosts - Laban Johnson - died last year so this is a re-run today with him on it. Buddy Allison would have chuckled at Laban's patter. Watching this show so reminds of the Coffee Break show on 6 that aired at 10:55am for so many years. With Donnell Green for ONG. Also of the good times of working with Leon Meier and Buddy Allison. We had fun. You need to have fun in TV work. Can't ever see another small market cookin' show and not think of Buddy making wise-cracks on headset during all those shows I did at 6.
At one point when I worked at KOTV, I anchored the early morning news cut-ins and sometimes (because of staying up too late the night before) would arrive seconds before air time. Buddy Allison would have ripped the AP wire and have the copy on the set for me to attempt to read, cold! He used to call me “Lou Groza.” As Buddy put it: “You can really boot ‘em.” (For you youngsters, Lou Groza was a place kicker for the Cleveland Browns.) Buddy Allison was so much more than a camera operator. He was an unofficial part of the news department. Buddy was family as well.
Remembering Buddy Allison brings back a lot of wonderful memories. One of the best for me was the day that I was told by Clayton Vaughn, KOTV, to rush over and do the quick 5-minute afternoon news update. (Actual time was 4 minutes.) Waiting until the last minute I grabbed some copy and headed for the main studio. Clayton asked if I was sure I had enough copy: "Hell, yes," I replied with about 7 strips of wire copy that looked like 4 minutes to me. When I got on set, Buddy, the lone cameraman, and no dummy when it came to spotting obvious problems, and neophyte newspersons, calmly asked: "Ah, Larry, don't mean to be nosey, but do you think you got enough copy there?" Slightly irritated I replied: "Yes, Buddy, now let's get this over with."
Well, I finished the last story, looked up, and Buddy, grinning from ear-to-ear and proud as a peacock, held up 2 fingers. Without missing a beat I reached to my side, pulled the copy back over and said: "Reviewing today's top stories," re-reading the same copy over. It came out exactly 4 minutes. (Not bad for 2 minutes worth of copy.) When I signed off, Buddy was sitting on the floor laughing so hard he almost threw up. I got up, walked past him as nonchalantly as I could, looked down and said: "Good job, Buddy, we'll have to do this again someday."
While I was writing my piece Saturday on the World War Two roundup of west coast Japanese, I remembered something very few people are around to remember these days--certainly not the "young gang" at KOTV. "Buddy" Allison would remember, but he's being buried in Sand Springs today (Rest in Peace, "Buddy," you were a heckuva nice guy and you saved a lot of people's bacon).... |
