I lived downtown for a while and used to look in the windows. I could never imagine how someone could let that happen to such a magnificent building.

I think the only thing that Lynda Carter didn't do as Wonder Woman was take on Mr. Magnificent in the process of keeping us safe from Nazis and Communists. It was an interesting program, but as I remember there were only two things that essentially kept the program interesting.

Mike Bruchas told of a visit by Lynda Carter to his office in Guestbook 50.

I recently needed to get some 2" tape from the sixties transferred to Beta. I was referred to Research Video, in Burbank, California, and, while very willing to help, found they couldn't get the old stuff to lock up. They recommended another outfit, DC Video, also in Burbank, and the fellow who runs it, David Croswaite, has the equipment that does the magic. It's not terribly cheap, but when nobody else can do the job, the price is right.

His number is (818) 563-1073.

This is not a commercial plug, just a bit of information you might be able to use.

If you want a NEW one - try J&R Music in NYC - they still have them from time to time.

My brother in Wichita had several but don't know if any are for sale. Or send the tape to me in NC and next time I am home - will try to make a vhs or DV copy for you....Mike Ransom can filter any requests to me....

These have a bunch of a young Jeanne Tripplehorn, Steve Pickle and afore mentioned mother-in-law doing various walk-on's and voice overs.

I enjoyed the posts about Leon Russell; he'll be performing at a casino here in September and I plan to go. I hope, like Carlos Santana, that he finally gets another hit and the real recognition he deserves. He's an awesome talent.

BTW, I saw the note from Dave Harmon; he was my neighbor years ago on 46th St. N. in T-Town.

I had the same problem; the site's database is down for maintenance...you might try again later.

If you see Entertainment Tonight on Thurs. - the footage of the Restore America event with Hillary Rodham Clinton - I fed out. Got a bag of video/CD swag from the contract producer for ET. Presume it was give-aways from the event's performers...Sam Donaldson was hilarious, but I imagine a lot of his bites to ET may not make it to air. He and wife Jan Smith were co-emcees. Also fed Sam Waterston/Dorothy Hamill soundbites. Restore America deals with historic preservation - Sen. Clinton gave kudos to Pres. Bush's wife on her work on this too.

But then again I also fed Spanish Hillary material on her book to TV Azteca in Mexico City and a Modell Foundation on IP - a newly recognized childhood virus.

The rest of the time - like many of you - I sat on my duff watching network TV between gigs...anything for a buck these days for moi....

Here is Mike's resume, also on the Bulletin Board.

Not trying to drag anything up, but that was quite hilarious when it happened.

According to John Hamill, George Stewart resigned as Channel 8 news director over the manner in which Beth's incident was handled. Jim Reid was directing at the time. There had been a long series of frustrating technical problems that evening. Here is his account in Guestbook 49.

http://hometown.aol.com/RaeCline/index.html

I'm interested to know the names of the best sound recording studios and who are the best sound recording engineers or techs around the Tulsa area. She sings about four octaves and is a coloratura soprano. Would like to get a demo made for her Christmas present if Santa will allow.

Re: Smokehouse Band

I remember the Smokehouse Band. Have been wondering what has become of the musicians. Used to go and hear them when they were playing in Tulsey and in the burbs.

Mike Richardson's younger brother Charlie worked at night at Channel 6 when I knew them. His brother Pat was part of a two man musical comedy act that played around Tulsa back then too.

Wasn't "Confusion Hill" in SW Mo, not too far from the Eureekee Spraings area?

I can remember pulling bumper stickers for Silver Dollar City, Meramac Caverns, and Confusion Hill off the rear and front bumpers of more than a couple of different models of cars, went there as a kid, and took the tribe there after I grew up, but I'll be darned it I can remember exactly where it was located.

Like a lot of Mo. and Ark. tourist "locations", they advertised extensively, mostly in print, and must have spent a fortune on bumper stickers through the years. I think it was a requirement that anybody leaving or entering the state have at least two or three from each of the various places that us "tourists" had stopped at, either that or face one of the state's finest at the border, and get our visas revoked for not having one on the car.

There were actually 2 attractions, as the webmaster pointed out. Jesse James had some connection to it, probably camped there or lived there a short time; there was an old log cabin there that they claimed he had lived in, and then the hill that was supposed to pull you up it when you put the car in neutral, but for some reason, station wagons loaded with kids seemed to neutralize or counteract the magnetic pull everytime we tried it. Spock has yet to email me a complete explanation of that one.

With a carload o' kids, you wouldn't need any danged hill to get corn-fused.

I think the attraction was in the Branson area.

Jenk Jones was the editor, guru, and driving force behind "The Sentinel". Dave Jones continued his entertainment and review column, and ran a lot of the day to day operations. And there were a lot of familiar faces and names that formerly worked on The Trib there from time time, some working full time and others who had taken a different job still writing columns or contributing pieces.

The Sentinel was not unlike the old film stories you see where the editor sells subscriptions and space, covers the wedding and the football game and the city council meeting, and then works all night printing the paper so that he can help deliver it the next day to the various customers. Everyone did a little of everything, and most of us knew how since a lot of us had done a little of everything.

The bad part is that there is one less voice crying in the wilderness bringing people's attention to some problem, or sitting in the audience at various government meetings ready to hold somebody's feet to the fire because they are trying to get away with something, or just providing coverage of what happened.

The Observer seems to be filling a part of the gap that The Trib left behind when it folded, even it is still weekly.

Regardless of your politics, balance and another voice that has a slightly different or radically different opinion is still the best balance in the marketplace.

The King's Right Hand made reference to Brother Gaylord and his descendants. The OKC market has been a one newspaper town, with some minor variations, for well over 80 some odd years now, and many residents of the area have never been that thrilled with the fact. But there is an undeniable fact that a strong leadership in the media, even there isn't a great deal of competition, can be a great economic and moral force in building and keeping a city moral, modern, and progressive, and can make life very unpleasant for various government officials who may try to get away with something, and get called on the carpet.

I think it was similar to Casa Magnetica at Six Flags (also defunct as of 2001). They were special places where the laws of physics were distorted. Kirk Demarais' Secret Fun Spot site has a link to a similar Mystery Spot in California.

WKY in Oklahoma City used to be owned by the Gaylords (also owners of The Daily Oklahoman) as did WBAP in Fort Worth by Amon Carter (owner of The Star Telegram.) In both these instances, it was not good.

The Daily Oklahoman is arch conservative and that was the tack at WKY. Some people refer to it (the newspaper) as "The Daily Disappointment." In Fort Worth it was much the same.

I worked at WBAP during that time and I can say also that the newspaper staff did not consider the TV news people in the same league and delighted in their gaffes.

I think the Gaylords had a firm hand on what was aired at WKY AM-FM-TV as opposed to Amon Carter's influence at WBAP. I just have an uneasy feeling about the future of diverse opinion if someone has forty-five percent share of the nation's attention.

On the other hand, I have seen the Tulsa World rail against some candidate or cause and come up sucking wind, so.......what's Mother to do?

Mike is right.

The Joint Operating Agreement between The World and The Tribune was started in 1942, and was dissolved in 1992 when it expired, and was one of something like 14 or so in the nation that was authorized allowed by the Federal Trade Commission, and each JOA had to be passed by Congress.

Anybody that worked for either paper on the editorial staff knew who they worked for; there was never any doubt of that. The JOA was purely an economic tool that allowed more a more efficient means of printing the papers, as well as providing a good combo buy for advertisers, combining credit and accounting procedures, the morgue, and other areas of support.

Even though both editorial staffs were in the same building just a couple of floors apart, they might as well have been across town from each other. The Lorton family owned, and still owns The World, and the Jones family owned The Tribune.

If I remember correctly, the Tribune Foundation is still in operation, and supporting many charitable and other community programs, even some 10 years after the paper folded.

The Jones took a shot at producing a weekly paper after The Tribune folded, which was "The Tulsa Sentinel", but it unfortunately went the way of many other good papers.

If I recall correctly, Jenk Jones, Jr. was editor of the short-lived Sentinel.

Richard Lloyd Jones, father of Tribune editor Jenkin Lloyd Jones and grandfather of Jenk, Jr., owned a home designed for him by his cousin Frank Lloyd Wright, "Westhope", at 3704 South Birmingham Avenue in Tulsa.

I am happy to report that "Sea Hunt" can now be seen on the Outdoor Life Network (TCI Channel 226) at 9 pm and midnight CST, Monday-Thursday. I emailed this bulletin to Doug Dodd, another avid sport diver whose interest was originally sparked by "Sea Hunt".

Sure enough, the locals were enraged. The next day in the "Call the Editor" section of the paper, folks were complaining about the indecency of Gary Shore's remark and the general decline of Western civilization which it bespoke. Gary apologized on the air the next night and life went on. Just wondering if anyone else remembers that.

Leon Russell plays here in St Louis occasionally. I haven't caught his show but friends who have say he is in wonderful form.

As Joe Liebling said: "The only way you get a free press is to own one."

True...this site is a good example of how the internet effectively makes a free press available to everyone. I hope we don't look back in 20 years and call these the good old days.

The Tulsa Tribune ceased publication in late 1992 when its joint operating agreement with the Tulsa World ended. The Tribune's circulation had been dropping, like many evening newspapers around the country. I believe the two newspapers were independent with respect to management and editorial content.

I'll bet that was Frank McPeters, Jr.; my band director at Lewis and Clark junior high was also Frank McPeters, a trombone player (and a well-liked teacher).

If you listen to a classic rock station long enough, it's inevitable that they will play "Tightrope" at some point.

Wasn't "Tightrope" used in a SW Bell commercial a few years ago? I think as it was playing, there was a busy signal in the background, and a squirrel running across a wire. Maybe I'm losing it.

My personal favorite Leon album was/is "Leon Russell and the Shelter People". It was burned into my brain by a friend's 8-track, but I had my own copy. This is the music Leon played at Oiler Park on June 23, 1971, which was my first rock concert. His opening act, Freddie King, was also a revelation with that fat blues sound coming out of his orange Gibson ES-335 (I clearly remember the orange!) My actual ticket is in the photo.

"Rudolph the Fed hosed reigned dear!"

I first became aware of Russell Bridges in 56' when he was gigging with David Gates at kiddie gigs such as a dance at Wilson Jr. High School. I attended that school from 55' through 57'. I went to a dance in the outback enclosed basketball court that had just been built and I spent the whole night leaning on the piano watching Gates mostly because I had just begun to play guitar.

I didn't realize until 40 years later that Russell Bridges had changed his name to Leon Russell.

A couple of years ago I snuck in that basketball court and the place was very well kept.

Does anyone remember the name of the drummer that played with Gates & Russell in those days?

Or how about this one.....how many of you old geezers like me still have a copy of "Lovin' at Night" by Gates & Bridges? Man....that was a looong time ago.

There is just something about Tulsa that keeps dragging me back....dragging me back.

On this site, here is a review of David Gates' free concert (with photo) last year at Utica Square.

The staff I worked at at Infinity Press was mostly around their late-20s/early 30s; they knew who Leon Russell was, more or less, they just didn't really listen to that kind of music (Infinity was industrial/ electronic oriented). At Outline Magazine most of the staff are in their mid-20s; most of them had no idea that there was such a person as Leon Russell. I also had to explain Jethro Tull (everyone was looking forward to meeting "Jethro") Grand Funk Railroad (becuase of "Funk" most of them thought is was a George Clinton-type band), and Arlo Guthrie (who did not write "This Land is Your Land.") They all knew who Joan Baez was, but no one could name a single song by her. Todd Rundgren, John Prine, Leo Kottke,you name it; "Who?" When they hear one of us talking about Leon it must sound like our grandfathers talking about Al Jolson.

There is music they know from that era; Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Sex Pistols, The Beatles, Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, G.G. Allin, Funkadelic etc. If you think about this small list, there are really three categories; bands that are so big you can't get around them (like the Beatles,) bands that are legendary in the underground (the Sex Pistols) and bands that were either still going in the 1980s (Pink Floyd) or bands where the leader achieved success into the 1980s (Clinton of Funkadelic, or Ozzy from Black Sabbath).

Leon Russell's early albums (up to and including "Carney") are brilliant and he still produced some great music through "Will O' the Wisp," but after that there weren't any hits and critical acclaim also dried up (a lot of people don't pay attention to critics, but anyone interested in digging deeping into music from the past usually turns to guides either published, like Rolling Stone's tomes, or on online, like at the All Music Guide). Leon also seemed to fall off the face of the earth for about 20 years; he still released albums but with very little support.

When you think of the ungodly amount of records released by 1980, then triple it for the amount that has come out since then, young people today are confronted with an ocean of music. I've been fascinated with all of this for 30 years and I am still exploring (I finally heard Kooper/Bloomfield's classic "Super Sessions" a few weeks ago, and I'm just starting to explore Miles Davis' period between John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock). Another factor is the radio; it has been programmed to the point that you can not get a grasp of music history through the medium. Leon is a perfect example; his classics are seldom, if ever, played on the radio (when was the last time you heard "Home Sweet Oklahoma," "Shootout on the Plantation," or "Lady Blue" over the air?) The ONLY Leon song that has any kind of rotation is "Tightrope." The Carpenter's recording of "Superstar" is still in heavy rotation, but most people don't realize Leon co-wrote it, and "This Masquerade" has been rerecorded a few times.

Within pop culture it's all about product recognition. For all his brilliant session work that helped to shape pop and rock music (the man would be remembered as a master arranger even if he had stopped at "River Deep / Mountain High") only the historians pay that much attention to such "trivia." Leon made a name for himself before the Beatles association, but once he got in with George Harrison, he became more famous. That period of music simply imploded. The star jams that produced those albums by Harrison, Starr, Lennon, Delaney & Bonnie, Keith Moon, Leon and Joe Cocker (did the late Jesse Ed Davis play guitar on all of those records?) went from a being dream team sessions to absolute indulgence, as many of the performers were indulging heavily into more than just music at the time. Punk was a reaction to such bloated star power and classic rock turned to the faceless session bands (like Boston). Leon's crowd fell out of fashion and nome of them seemed to bother to reinvent themselves (as oppose to say David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, or even Miles Davis in jazz). In the process they lost their mainstream audience (would anyone care about the new George Harrison album if he were still alive? The last time he had a real hit was his tribute to John Lennon in the 1980s!)

So don't blame the young for not knowing about Leon Russell - today Leon is very respected in circles that know about music, but in the world of contemporary radio he is a "one-hit wonder" (the same could be said about Bo Diddley, who is a god in my book, but the oldies stations only have one of his songs, "Bo Diddley," in rotation). The great hope is that between Internet radio and satellite music stations a broader perspective of music history will get out there.

So that's a long winded way of simply saying "We're old!"

KTUL does not show Jimmy Kimmel, they show an hour of Frasier, and then Nightline. Oddly enough, our WB affiliate KWBT 19 plays Jimmy Kimmel around 11:00 PM, complete with the ABC logo in the corner.

Leon was an internationally-known rock star in the early 70s, pals with the likes of George Harrison (a former Beatle) and Eric Clapton (one of the top rock guitarists of the period), who often visited Leon in Tulsa. He grew up here, and attended Rogers High School. He lived in Midtown Tulsa and at Grand Lake during his superstar years, and was often spotted around T-town. When he made a surprise appearance on Mazeppa's show, it was a very big deal!

Those, and more in the just-archived Guestbook 133.