Gene e-mailed me Christmas Eve just to say hello. I'm terrible about checking my e-mail so I didn't read it until after I found out he'd gone. Wish I could have gotten one last note to him. Gonna miss our e-mail chats. Worked with him for many years at KTUL. Had the same schedule for a long time, same days off. We still quote some of the funny stuff he use to say about the "news monkeys" and such (no offense to you news monkeys). He helped me a lot when I first started working at KTUL, especially with the dratted two inch machines that needed some sort of magic incantation to make them work ... Gene of course was the wizard of two inch. Now two inch machines are gone-I'm not going to miss them. Gene is gone too but I will miss him very much.

I went to school with Don Woods' son from first grade through 12. Lived in Tulsa for 25 years. Still have a place up at Grand Lake. Love Lee and Lionel and want them to know that they still have fans out there. Miss the weather with Don, always wanted a Gusty, but never got one. Great site.

Thanks, Eme. If you click on Gusty on the main page (or the link on the Weather page), you can visit Don Woods' web pages, where you can still get a Gusty drawn by Don.

I'm listening to Ken Broo on the internet right now. The Bulletin Board has the link.

Was looking at old guestbooks... Movie notes - "The Stewardesses" and I think "Debbie Does Dallas". Both were 70's "sex" films on a grand scale - but didn't these show initially at the CONTINENTAL? Which always surprised me since that was a "road show" house designed for epics like Sound of Music or Lawrence of Arabia....Also fare that I figured would not make a "mainstream" theatre.

Is the Boman Twin still in existence?

I believe that Debbie did only the "art" theaters in Tulsa, but "The Stewardesses" (see the distinctive poster on this site) had an extended layover at the Continental around 1970.

(Did you know that "stewardesses" is the longest word in the English language that is typed entirely by the left hand?)

Speaking of movies, check out the new "UHF" pages!

The Boman Twin is now "Laser Quest" a high-tech playground for kids.

I think someone told me Greg Sherrill had passed. I knew him and also his wife Marti. I "inherited" his bachelor pad walk-up penthouse apt. at 520 W.14th Street when they got married - he put a good word in with the landlord.

Robert Billings is still there in Tulsa - I talked to him last year re a client whose Native American shoot did not come together - he recommended Amos Postoak to help on it. As mentioned here earlier - Amos died last year too.

I have not seen Robert in 20 years - he did do a rental to KOCO way back when for a "5 Who Care" show. When I talked to him last year the voice sounded a lot older and I did not recognize him and I think my name over the phone did not click with him. Duh been 20 years....Glad he is still alive and kicking in Tulsa - he was one of several good film shooters at 8 when I was there...

I do TV...the show must go on....

I put together a page Remembering Gene Tincher.

What a day. I find out that Geno's no longer with us, after establishing contact with him after a 16 year gap. Very sad am I. I'll miss him once again, this time until I'm up there shootin the you know what with him and Huck. If they let me in.

Greg Sherrill. That was a hard hit too. I spent a lot of time with him. He was too young to die. One of the truly giving people at KTUL. He was a film guy, and I was a Video guy. When I was a projectionist, he and Robert Billings were the news editing gods. I've always missed him since I left, but now that it's a finality, I'll miss him more. Rest in peace, my friend.

When I first found this place, I was afraid, very afraid that I'd find out that nobody I knew when was still around, or MIA. It has been an amazing journey through all the guestbooks, and with so many people still showing up day after day, I've been overwhelmed with memories.

The transitions - people no longer with us, people that have been gone for a while - It's all a part of life. These things happen all the time.

But before I discovered this place, I had no clue. The people that meant so much to me then, and the people who remembered me, well, We all kinda drifted away from each other.

In the time since I left, I've been all over the world, almost filled up a passport twice, and have been to most of the major cities in the US several times over.

I never got back to Tulsa. And I never understood why, unless you want to blame United, later TCI for having such a bastardized cable system. I always told the company I worked for that if there was a gig in Tulsa, I'm da man. But I digress. Again.

I'll return to Tulsa. I promise. Hide yer Daughters, etc. But. I loved the place, I liked the town, and will always have the memories of my time there.

I Shall return.

To Michael Ransom:

I don't remember you, although we probably bumped into each other a few times, but no matter. This Site has had a major impact on my life, and the lives of the folks I knew, and the folks I now know.

For the rest of us.

My Catharsis is simple, and already spoken for. There's a song on the James Taylor CD, "HourGlass" Track 2. "It's Enough To Be On Your Way" I played this for the long deceased. I played it when My Daddy died, I played when my dog died in my arms.

I'll play it again tonight. I'll use the guitar, I'll use the B-3. I'm not good at expressing things out loud. I 'm not a loud person. But I think If I play the music, they'll hear it.

I hope so.

Thanks to all the people that have corresponded. (I Meant to mispell that on porpoise)

Regards,

Peter D Abrams,

Jax Fl.

Just another example of why Armegeddon is swiftly approaching, I begin a daily, two hour radio sports talk show Monday, 1/8/01.

I'm sure all TTM readers have better things to do. However, should those things simultaneously fail to occur, you can pass the time tuning me in, via web streaming, from 9am--11am Tulsa time at:

http://www.espn1160.com

Perhaps the voice will ring a familiar bell.

I knew Greg Sherill from Ch.8 and am very sorry to hear of his passing. He was a great guy. A big part of his job as Head Photog was to make everyone's life easier and he was very good at that. He even liked producers. He was pretty young too, for a guy his age. Too young for this anyway. I never remember seeing Greg when he wasn't smiling, or trying to help someone. Thanks for sharing the sad news, but I hate hearing it.

Thanks M B. If you get your e-mail from me & answer it - I will give all more info.

Does everyone know that Greg Sherrill died of a heart attack about 1 & 1/2 years ago? Head photog. at 8 in early days. Was Tulsa Public Schools TV manager for 'bout 8 years. TPS has 2 channels on the air 7 days-24 hrs. (I KNOW the following info. as fact) He went out to shoot TPS kids watching firemen putting out fake fires, came back to the studio, felt odd, decided to go home for a bit and rest. Next thing was- (when I called 'bout him) his number 1 son said "we think he's dead. His son found him upstairs in the tub with the water over flowing down the stairs....it looked like h...(this portion somehow got dropped. Email me the rest and I'll put it in...webmaster)

Small world here - Edwin Fincher joins us - was Lighting Director at 8, 6 and has done a lot in video around town.

His MAINTAIN show came on late night on Saturdays - in fact Gene Tincher may have been the tape man on it.

I remember it having a lot of video feedback manipulated by Edwin to music. Engineers were scared about damaging tubes by burning in images so sometimes his creativity might have been limited by the technology then at 8. He will have to tell us how many weeks it was on air. I know it was on after the late movie.

At 6 with our Hitachi toy camera or a Sony he had more control over playing with images. He was still experimenting then though without a show on the air at 6. Mazeppa then may have been on-air at 8 by then or on to Hollywood.

At 8 Edwin was everywhere, many a time scaring management as he hung off a grid to get a light set. Never fell once! He ran a mean camera too!

Gene Tincher was a good engineer (people like me need them) and a fine man indeed. At 8 we both had similar last names. When I got his calls it was no biggy (fine man as he was)....BUT, when he got my calls it caused him much perplextion (strange creature as I was/am)

He cared for his craft.

There was an obit in today's Tulsa World for Gene Arwood, former pgm mgr of KOME:

J.P. "Gene" Arwood would have been 75 in February. Gene was a native Tulsan, the son of Mr. and Mrs. John P. Arwood, who preceded him in death. He went from Tulsa's Central High School to the U.S. Navy, serving 3 years during and after World War II. Later, at Oklahoma A&M College, he earned a business degree while working -- and singing -- at the college radio station. There he also met another student, Ann Stinnett, who would become his wife of 48 years. Gene is survived by Ann and their daughter, Debbie. In his early career he was Program Manager at KOME radio station, then Advertising Manager for Ross-Martin Co.

Gene Tincher's funeral service is now 2pm Monday at the Nick Reynolds Funeral Home, 1916 S. Sheridan in Tulsa, 74112.

918 838-1332

Interment site TBA. Geno had family in So. Illinois but has been an Okie so long - I am sure it will be in Tulsa or at a military cemetery.

If anyone hears anything else or anything from Geno's family - please post it here....

Thanks, Sonny.

Here's to Geno! He made quite an impression on so many of us.

Last time I saw him was at OETA/Tulsa with Jack Maynard and Leon Holland about 8-10 years ago. He was looking great and the same old Gene.

Since Xmas when he found TTM - have e-mailed him several times and geezervated.

Yep - he rates up there with "Huck" Findlay West in my book of great engineers that I have been lucky to have worked with.

Yep, it's okay to shed a tear about someone you knew and loved as a mentor - when they are gone....

Folks, this is really sad news. Many of us lost a dear personal friend and co-worker on Wednesday.

Gene Tincher has passed away in Tulsa at age 73. Over the last 15 years or so he has suffered with lung disease, which left him short of breath. In the past few months it was real hard for Gene to get around.

Services are pending with Nick Reynolds Funeral Home here in Tulsa.

Following WWII, Gene was an audio operator for the trials of Nazi war criminals. Following the service, he worked at and then owned a television repair shop before joining KTUL in 1969. He left KTUL for a short time to work for Seismograph Service Corp., then rejoined KTUL until his retirement a few years ago.

Many of us have already provided enough memories of Gene to fill many guestbook pages.

A side note...I'm sure he'll say Hi to Huck for us...

INDEED-that was a program I just had to do. It WAS '73 after all. Any questions about it please go ahead. Also, I started studio work in T-Town running cams on the Dance Party (in B&W), so I was about in the VERY olden days. At 6 (twice) at 8 (twice) & built cables studios. I work (as in studio) most of the shows you all have mentioned-so, any studio questions say '66 to late '70's order UP.

Anyone here remember the program that took Mazeppa's place on 8 in '73? (MAINTAIN-A concert of video realizations)

Is that the one that played music such as Yes' "Close to the Edge" (in its entirety), while showing abstract visual patterns? It was often used as an assist to those in a state of "expanded consciousness" in the audience. I was hoping someone else would remember that one.

JMB? You kiddin? It was the most amazing thing that 23 obtained major coverage on all 3 of the *real* stations. It was like they all were laughing silently while these "hicks" put up another Stick. Not only did they (we) sell the antenners for free, The other alternative, as explained by Bob Hardie on all 3 of the local newscasts, was to get a coathanger and use it instead. The length? As it so happened, at 525 MHZ, it worked out to be real close to 23". Go and figure.

Right about that same time, I remember sitting at the Boston Avenue Market with Jim Hill, Ace salesguy at KTUL, mentioned here previously. He and I (mostly he) lamented the oncoming death of VHF television, due to all of the upstarts and cable channels that were coming on line. He was still makin a pile, I'm sure, But I admired and respected his ability to see the writing on the wall.

And 19 years later, I guess he was right after all.

later,

pda

PS - I'm still tryin to get Bob aware of this site. All of the addresses I have for him are kaputski. If any one has a valid address, email me. He was here for 2 separate decades of T-Town Telebision, so I'd like to see his stories online as well. He's a good storyteller. Trust me.

Do ya'all remember when Tulsa 23 gave away UHF antennas or sold them at 7-11 and Radio Shack? We did it first at KGMC in OKC. First as a give away then I think at $1 each to get the unwashed in OK to watch UHF television in the 80's.

As for rabbit ears -love 'em! With Texas Pete sauce that is!

Believe it or not, the webmaster has a functioning set of rabbit ears on his computer monitor...there is a TV tuner built into the PC!

Wanna buy a cable network or 2?

Cablevision Systems is considering selling Rainbow Media - their programming group that gives us Bravo and American Movie Classics. Barry Diller of Studios USA and formerly HSN - after selling off his share of TV stations for $1.1 BILLION is looking to buy it OR NBC which owns 26% of it may buy it outright.

Anyone here have any pocket change to buy it and move all to Tulsey???

Need to hear from Jim Back on what the implication of this sale may mean....

When I lived in Tulsey and visited OKC while a TU student in the early '70's - I thought - what a cowtown. (Really what a sh*tkicker town!). Like a bad copy of Ft. Worth.

When I was dating Demi Rosenthal in the mid '70's and she hired on at KOCY doing news and moved to OKC I got to see a bit more of the town but folks there seemingly lived in quadrants. Some NEVER went South of Downtown or I-44, some never left Norman excpt to fly out of WRWA. You had those eggheads/jocks/college kids at OU in Norman, the state workers, folks from El Reno afraid of the next prison escape and afraid of losing their jobs on the failing Rock Island railroad, the average folks in Bethany, rich folks in Nichols Hills with their private cops and middle class in Warr Acres.

OKC was for a while actually geographically LARGER than Los Angeles.

When I moved there from "scenic" Amarillo in the early '80's - my expectations were just of a better job. Later I began to appreciate the "Crapitol" City more and found restaurants and neighborhhods to carouse/explore in.

Kids - it's okay now to like OKC - it has grown up. Never as stylish as Tulsey, but it has come a long way. If I ever move back to OK, OKC would be my second choice after Tulsey as a place to live.....Hey it is NOW a bigger market to work in while sadly Tulsa has shrunk...And TV news is on par with Tulsey - radio I can't speak for but Clear Channel owns a lot of it in OKC, too.

Saw a Page/Plant concert in OKC a few years ago near Bricktown...OKC has gotten a lot cooler. Tulsa could take a lesson from its big brother down the pike.

WABBIT EARS!!

I remember seeing all kinds of indoor TV antennas. They ranged from a simple black ball with two rods, to alien hood ornaments.

OK class, how many of you put tin foil on your wabbit ears?

My remark about "red-mud pasture", though possibly uncalled for, was not meant to slam any OK city stations or staff. It just happens that I don't care for OK City, at all. That's allowed by law, isn't it. I suppose Tulsa to OK city may have been a promotion, I never thought of it that way. I went from Tulsa to San Diego, CA.

Those Norelco Cameras y'all had at 6. I worked for VCI (Video Communications, Inc) off of S. Sheridan for a couple of years before going to 23. The other notable that worked there (and the guy whom hired me) was J. Scott Blaker. Several others passed through there, but the one I remember of course was Doug McDuffie, the Bass Player/Singer/Songwriter for many of the musical happenstances I was involved with at the time.

One of the things that happened at VCI was we done *bought* those PC70's, 2 70F's and 1 70S, replete with dolly's and ugh, Cam Heads. I was the engineer responsible for bringing them back to life. Cam 3 (the S) had a green tube in it with 28000 hours, the filament innit finally gave out, and I subbed it with a spare red. I still have the dead tube here somewhere. What I saw, the first time we fired it up, was the burn of Clay's wire rimmed glasses. on that poor green toob.

I spent many *many* hours making those cams match, much less come up in the first place. We also obtained one of the original VR1000's, it arrived as an empty console frame and 2 hampers fulla parts.

It was double-allen'ised, as it had the major tube components replaced as part of an Allen Avionics package, and then it had the typical Chan Allen mods as well. The Cameras all had the Nuvistor preamps replaced by a Chanism FET device.

Between the 2 Allens and their respective workings, plus a lot of late night manual reading, I obtained my Quad and PC70 chops. I accepted a job at Tulsa23. It just so happened they had just bought KHOU's Norelcos (another Corinthian outpost), and needed somebody with ampex and pc70f/s experience. Whoa.

Talk about bein in the right place at the right time. My first real TV job was with WLFI Ch18 in W. Lafayette (Laffalot) Indiana. The chief engineer was a young buck by the name of Bob Hardie. He had worked at KTUL a few jobs earlier, and here I was in Tulsa, and here he was back too, CE of KOKI. Hey.

I somehow began to work there. FM is everywhere. This *is* a small world, and it will always amaze me How many of us still remember the goings on, past present and future.

Y'all take care. Thanks to Mike R and Mike B, and everyone else that spends their time up here remembering. Collectively, we might even get it right.

Maybe.

later,

pda

I had hoped to have a Larry White pointer for you by now. We were high school buddies (Tulsa McLain), co-drum majors, etc., and I figured I could find him quick, but it's dragging out. I fired off an email to our class reunion chairfolk, too see if they had a handle on him, and will let you know when I hear something.

Soon, I'll bet.

Mike Bruchas, how in the world did I miss you? You're so entertaining, with your remarks. Nothing like; "saying it, like it is." lol

I think a lot of us went to OKC as the next bigger market and we were "not ready for Dallas yet". It was an easy move & affordable via U-Haul or somebody's pick-em-up truck.

WKY-TV aka KTVY now KFOR was still the hot sh*t TV station in the market then. NO ONE wanted to go to 9 or 5 for years then 5 became #1 in the market for 6-7 years and 4 lost numbers. We at 5 still respected all at 4 - maybe NOT Jerry Adams though.

Though I "suffered for my art(?)" for a year +1 week of hell at KVII in Amarillo in between going from Tulsey to OKC. This was after I had been out of TV for about 11 mos. - could not get on at 2/did not really want to THEN.

I still like Amarillo - just some of the managers and lesser newsies I worked for there (other than the great Production Manager + former Engineer Toby Tucker, maint. supv. Dick Stafford, ex-Tulsan John McKissack, numerous great tape guys, Bedford Forrest - farm DI-rector, weathermen Len Slesick + Paul Matney and a great Chief Engineer whose name I now forget...) were pretty bad/nasty/destined to burn-in-hell individuals. The aforementioned folks in parenthesise were the GOOD GUYS.

Seemed like radio folks though might go to KC, ABQ, Colorado Springs, New Orleans or elsewhere from Tulseytown more easily than us TV "gypsies". Only good country & western folks went in radio to Wichita - for TV folks - it seemed a demotion.

Wait a minute I WAS in the "minors" in Amarillo - what am I talking about! When I interviewed in AMA it was like the 100th market but by the time I moved there it was down to like 134th market. Bad news to get below MARKET #100 in TV back then and now!

Bill Tietgins (now Teegins) was at KAMR-TV in Amarillo whenI was there and doing a good job - maybe had I signed on at THAT channel 4.....Funny thing -whole time I was there - Bill and I talked only on the phone other than *1* tour of KAMR - our schedules never meshed....

In answer to someone's note - regarding OKC being a place with "red mud pastures" - Many of us, former TV personalities, as well as technicians, moved from T-town, to a bigger market like OKC. Certainly, they turned out fabulous production.

WKY-TV in those days, now KFOR-TV was the first with color. Still ahead of their time in many areas.

It's nice to include people who've worked elsewhere. I got my feet wet, years ago in Tulsa TV. No one knew what the heck they were doing (especially the "front office").

Happy New Year, everyone!

Yes, we welcome OKC folks writing in. I have heard from someone who may be doing an OKC TV site. If that comes about, I'll pass the word.

Thanks, this site made my day today. As a kid in the 60's, Don Woods, Lee Woodward and Clayton Vaughn and many others brought me everyday a world of information I couldn't have gotten anywhere else. Please tell them "thanks very much." P.S., I was on the Don Woods Search trying to prove to my children that Gusty existed and thanks to you, I can!

Gusty happens to be the lead picture today!

Wow! Names names names....

Where is Geo. LeMaster - still acknowledged by anyone who worked with him as a genius. Stu Odell - formerly of 6 then 8- has been trying to find him for years - I met him in person so many years ago in OKC when Grass Valley was polling directors on switcher design. At KTVY but they invited folks from 5,9,25 and 34 for a brainstorm session. Modest but yep a genius.

Where is John Bateman? Still in Arkysaw? He was Bob Brown's photog on so much at 6 in the '70's.

The Larry White I asked about was a newsman/dj/announcer - may have been at KFMJ then KMOD or KRAV.

Anyone had any Sasha Foo sightings?

E-mailed to Larry Burnett at KLAC in L.A. last week - has heard about TTM - hopefully he will be dropping by with a story or 2.

Any Ed Dumit sightings here yet?

Need Gene Tincher to drop a line on his Nuremberg Trial work after WWII - also if Jack Maynard is on-line. They were a good team at 8 AND OETA. Jack is/was known in Tulsa for his work in the 70's of re-habbing teletypes and gizmos for the deaf - to communicate via phone lines -- this long before the development of those tiny keyboard devices now used by the hearing impaired.

Does the "OK relay network" still exist? There were really 2 "networks". 1.) were hams relaying radio to phone line patches for troops in Viet Nam to call home; 2.) I think was a SW Bell set-up for deaf to communicate with the hearing via phone lines. Can anyone here tell us more about either?

Also learned Williams Companies has a new streaming studio in Tulsey for (I think I have it right) "Energy News Today" - a daily webcast on "da oil bidness" - fed from Tulsey but I don't know when it starts...

Lastly- is Curtis Mathis still in bidness - making "working man's friend" TV sets? Often sub-par performance but they had "contracts" for folsk with small paychecks to buy "big" tv sets. They had a plant in Arkansas for years but moved plants around the South, I guess getting tax breaks from states to set up factories then moving on to elsewhere. Someone said at 1 time they had moved to Puerto Rico. Who sold their boxes in Tulsa? Or did they have "showrooms"? Not the Reeves boys - all RCA stuff....

What a wonderful site! Thank you for creating this!

I was KOTV summer-help in engineering in 68 and 69, and worked with Wayne #1, Dick Schaan, Gil Fellini, Clark ? and George Lemaster for Chan Allen. What a wonderful bunch of guys, and Chan was brilliant and hilarious.

Like the rest of us, I learned a lot in those days, in engineering and in life. I was young and wide-eyed and impressionable, and I'll never forget the tales that were spun and the events that I witnessed. It was a regular carnival with an amazing set of side-show stars.

One of my summers was spent building, cabling and installing the homemade switcher of guestbook fame. Sorry guys, but it wasn't my fault. And I really hope nobody noticed that I ran out of yellow wire while building the cable that ran to the director's board and spliced green to it, so it went into the heatshrink yellow and came out green.

I really loved Gary Chew and Lee Woodward. They were gracious, smart, and funny and simply marvelous to watch. I was sad when Chan built them their own production booth in the back of the news room, and they therefore wouldn't be hanging out with us in audio.

Bob Brown, Mike Miller and Bob Losure were clearly going to make it big, and drove each other to polish their skills and talents.

Things I learned:

Gary Chew taught me to RUN if The Moose comes after you.

Gil Fellini taught me to use cheap microphones, and mount broken AKG mics next to them so the customer won't feel cheated. (Honest, the Radio Shack ones are for my monitor)

John Bateman taught me to pull all the cables from the VTR before playing that tape the news department made at their party.

There are enough good stories from KOTV to fill quite a large book. Just following directors Ralph (Bardgett) and Pat "I'm a team" Moran around would keep a transcriptionist busy. I'm thrilled that so many of the stories are being collected here. I'll contribute just one for now.

We had the new Norelco cameras, and they were great, except that we were having an awful time matching two of them on anything with much red. We finally figured out what was wrong when we noticed that one of the cameras could see through Georgia Jones' sweater. A call to Norelco provided the answer. They had accidentally shipped us a plumbicon without the infrared suppression filter in place. Turns out any light-sensitive device made of lead is very very sensitive to infrared. They promptly shipped a replacement, and Georgia was safe again.

I just chatted with George Lemaster, telling him about this site. I'll let him tell tales of his own. He had an amazing nose for smoke.

My best wishes to you all, and have a prosperous New Year!

Funny stuff! Thanks for the story and comments, Les. We will look forward to hearing more from you and George.

Archived Guestbook 67.

In #67, TTM celebrated its 2nd anniversary (12/29/00). There were musings on the threshold of the 3rd millennium. We heard from several veterans of Tulsa and OKC TV/radio for the 1st time: Louise Bland, Dick John, Greg Leslie and Patrick Bryant. Carl "Uncle Zeb" Bartholomew and other regular contributors weighed in. There was more about Weird Al's "UHF", soon to have its own page here. Several other newcomers arrived...welcome.

Would you believe that only 1/2 the allotted storage for this site has been used?...and there is promise of more for the asking!

Looking forward to another year of fun on the site!