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RE: Doug McAllister. Doug had been a director at KOTV and came over to KTUL as a reporter. He was a reporter at KFMB-TV in San Diego throughout the 80s and into the 90s. Believe he was one of the people Jim Holtzman recruited from Channel 8 to come west; one of the others being Margaret Radford. Holtzman was news director at Channel 8 in the early 70s and came to KGTV in San Diego (one of my alma maters) as executive producer. He then went to KFMB-TV as news director. Jim still lives in SD and was doing freelance work last time I saw him. Margaret is at the NBC-owned station in San Diego, KNSD-TV, doing some anchoring and reporting. She has worked at three of the affiliate news stations and is still the same bubbly, warm person that she was in Tulsa.

A link to Margaret's web page at KNSD can be found on the Newsmen (and women) page.

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I may be off topic a bit, but I wasn't in Tulsa in the Mazeppa days, so I remember Mr. Sartain from numerous films, especially the Ernest films. What's the name of the guy who played Bobby in those? He never says anything, but he's so funny! I haven't seen him in anything else.

Here's an idea! A Mazeppa reunion show! Huh?

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Yes indeed, UFF&CM did play in Little Rock on KATV, KTUL's sister station. Just think: President Clinton probably saw Mazeppa when he and Hillary were eyeballing their future in Arkansas and elsewhere. Maybe that's when he first began to go wrong.

Yes, I was in the pilot of Walker Texas Ranger playing the part CD Parker that Noble Willingham now occupies. The producers felt I was too young to play Chuck Norris' mentor since he is actually older than me. I begged them to let me go to an aging spa, but they wouldn't spring for it. Oh well.

Yes, I did a character "Ruby the Crusher, " Benny the Crusher's sister. I thought I had burned all materials associated with her, with the exception of her bra and panties that I happen to be sporting as I type *g*

Spitfire Grill: that's what the director asked me : "what the hell kind of accent is that??" Actually, we all listened to tapes and the locals and some of us still didn't get it. A Henry Higgins nightmare.

bye ... cycle,
Your Pal,
Johnny Donut
PS: I know Mitch Schauer personally and he IS demented. (He also is a very successful creator/producer/writer/animator at Nickelodeon.)

Ruby can be seen at the end of one of the Lost Tapes of Mazeppa doing a bit of Spam carving.

Wasn't "The Spitfire Grill" a terrific movie?

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One of my ex-San Antonio friends here and I were just talking the other day about, "When was the last time you had a big steaming bowl of Wolf Brand Chili, neighbor? Well, that's too long!".

For some reason I thought that spot only played in OK but its was staple on TX TV, too.

The late "Huckleberry" West - famed TV engineer at KTUL, used to hit us with his version, "When was the last time you had a big, steaming bowl of Griffin's Syrup? Well, that's too long!".

At KTUL when I was there initially - we had Griffin's coffee to guzzle (not in the same league as Starbucks). I guess too at one time Griffin's products showed up there in other places...The old engineers used to "invent" crazy Griffin products to foist off on us young'uns in tall tales.

Still remember one Summer the engineers were in endless search of a "burpless" cucumber....

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QUESTIONS FOR M.Sartain:

Is it true your show aired in Little Rock for a while? My cousin down there said he thought it did on ch. 4 or 7. I guess the fine tuned Arkansas "wit" couldn't cope with Tulsey humor - he said it didn't last.

Were you in the pilot of "WALKER - Texas Ranger" in the role now played by Noel Willingham?

Who was your accent coach for "Spitfire Grill"? Friends here couldn't believe you were an OK escapee.

I am trying to find a shot of you at 8 in drag as the waitress (sorry I can't remember the character name) from some restaurant skit. Have a contact sheet but the neg eludes me.

Speaking of Doug McAllister - he went on to KTUL as a reporter and often writer with Bob Gregory - then left. Can't remember if he came from 6 to 8 or vice versa. Where is Dougie Mac now????

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Regarding the Mazeppa theme: Having eclectic musical taste. I purchased a re-release of "Coon-Sanders Nighthawks" circa 1966 and it has been part of my music library ever since. In fact, just three weeks ago, I bought 4 new cd's of theirs off the internet since I had long since worn out the LP. So, you are right it is the first few bars of "Alone in the Rain." The second half is from an LP I found in KOTV's record library. It's from a sound effects record that radio and television stations used for commercials, promotions, etc. The selection on the Mazeppa theme was called "Chase Music." And, yes, Gary Chew did splice it together for me. In fact, if it weren't for Gary Chew's encouragement there wouldn't have been a Mazeppa Show.

Regarding the name "Mazeppa Pompazoidi": It was the night before the first broadcast and I hadn't come up with what I considered a suitable title. I was at a friend's house and he was going through some old newspapers that he had discovered in a wall in a cabin in Colorado where they had been used for insulation. One comic strip caught my eye: its title was "The Flip Boys try in vain to play Mazeppa with Fatty Felix." Well, there you have it. The drawing was of a fat kid tied to a donkey. Intriguing and I loved the name Mazeppa. I found out afterwards that Mazeppa is a figure in a classic poem by either Shelley or Keats. In the poem, Mazeppa is tied to his horse and driven from civilization. In the 1880's a stripper used this theme in her act by being bound to a horse and riding across the stage, naked. She called the act "Mazeppa." Pompazoidi ... I just made up out of thin air.

How I came to be to KOTV: I was working on my masters at TU endeavoring to become an art professor (with not much luck). I used to go down to KOTV and fool around with my friend Doug Mcallister who was a camera operator on "Go for Dough." Through Doug, I met Gary Chew who was the host and being semi-insane himself, he allowed me to do skits with him on the show. It was pretty free form and Gary was agreeable. Doug vacated his position and I applied for and got the job.

There's plenty more to impart but je suis fatigue. I hope this fills in some blanks. Lawzee!!! P.S. Yes, I did work for Hallmark in the Contemporary Card department before going back to school.

Oui, monsieur, it does indeed fill in some blanks. Merci beaucoup!

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I must be demented for knowing this...

"Tuffy's a sweet ol' tiger,
he's as sweet as sweet can beeeeeee...
He love little toys
and loves girls and boys
Tuffy's the tiger for meeeeee."

I remember watching Mr. Zing and Tuffy running around during one of their routines and a small girl wandered out onto the stage. Tuffy accidentally bumped into the zoo cage mock up and the top fell off, hitting the little girl.

They went to cartoon.

Also, Mr. Zing and Shaggy Dog were wrestling around on one show. Finishing the skit and heated up from all that activity under the hot lights, Mr. Zing casually asked, "Boy, it's hot isn't it Shaggy?" I heard a very muffled, "It sure is."

Great stuff, Mitch! Dementia is prized on this site.

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Now that Mr. S.Artain has graced this site, let's ask him some questions!

One burning question is: what was the 2nd half of the opening theme? We know the 1st part is "Alone in the Rain" by the Coon Sanders Nighthawk Orchestra.

The derivation of the "Mazeppa" name from a 1902 comic strip is noted on the 1st Mazeppa page, and it is a quote from an interview my high school paper did with Mr. S.Artain in 1971, but I have the feeling there is more to the story...

Also, how did GS come to be working at KOTV in the first place? I believe that previous to that, he worked at a greeting card company--just as did R. Crumb, the underground comic artist.

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Awk! It must be website tele-whatever, the Shawnee Flour jingle has mysteriously been turnin' around in my head for about 2 days. I don't remember any other lyrics than - "It;s as easy as 1-2-3 and Shawnee adds the me!". Do they still run this in Tulsa? The film of the product always looked so good but the jingle sounded like it escaped from the 50's!

Do you remember Maury Ferguson who was the voice on all the Fred Jones Ford spots in both OKC and Tulsa forever? Is he still out there?

What about Joe Henderson - formerly of KELI who WAS the OTASCO man forever on TV and the voice of Safeway radio spots? That is - other than Bill Mitchell's brief foray as the OTASCO man.

Who can't forget,"Its a good good feeling, a very special feeling - in Clarke's Good Clothes..." - sorry I can't remember more of the lyrics! Maybe it's safer that way...

If I can get a VHS dub of my reel of old spots - will try to send in a b&w Griffin's coffee spot I have for posting. Can't seem to find any old KTUL 8's The Place reels but am still looking in my dusty home archives....

No, Mike, they don't run that Shawnee commercial any more. It seemed out of time even in the early 70s. Were there any other lyrics? They certainly did their job of lodging in our collective brain. That Clarke's jingle is coming back to me...

If you can get a VHS tape to me, I can convert it to RealPlayer so everyone can watch it.

By the way, there is a new picture of you at the controls at the top of the "Behind the scenes" page, and also put the more recent pic of you on the "Origin" page.

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Oh, no...it's me again! Back in the b/w days of television, I recall Don Woods weather report on KTUL starting out with a close-up of a radar dial. As a kid, I was fascinated by the radar bar going round and round the scope. There was also the tonal sound of a spinning radar along with the visual. When Don would do the current weather conditions, the camera would pan actual dials as he read the statistics. Being an aspiring artist at the time, I was completely enthralled with Don's writing temps and drawing high and low pressure cells on his map. Those front lines with arrows pointing in the direction the fronts were heading inspired me to draw my own weather maps and make up my own weather conditions and temperatures.

At one time, Channel 8 had a "Draw Gusty" contest and I excitedly drew up my Gusty ideas and dear ol' Mom sent them off to the station. The drawing that won was a little kid's version of a rainbow colored Gusty. And yet, until Don Woods retired, he used my contest entry idea of Gusty holding an umbrella and extending the other hand where a drop of rain was splashing into his palm! Despite that, I loved Don anyway!


The weather page shows Lee Woodward with one of those old weather boards drawn freehand with markers. I wish I had a Gusty (later...I got one).

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Boy, why do these songs stick in a persons head?! "It's as easy as one, two, three...and Shawnee adds the...ME." Does anyone remember a promo for KOTV'S Late Show incorporating Peter Max/Yellow Submarine-style animation and beginning with bouncy singers singing, "The Late Show, six nights a week, we watch The Late Show..." (or something along those lines?) I also recall a channel 6 movie promo that showed scenes from the Japanese sci-fi film "The Mysterians" accompanied by an instrumental version of "Windy."

By the way, did you know this site is very addictive?

Yes, now that you mention it, I do recall those promos. I even remember the melody to "The Late Show". The promo had funny little old-fashioned vaudeville-type pictures in rapid succession (like an arrow) that illustrated the lyrics ("...right in your own back yard!"?)

Another of those promos also had Sean Connery in the "Goldfinger" scene where he takes over a set of binoculars from a girl and looks through them. And "Windy"...yeah!

11/21/2003:  "Late" breaking news: click at left to hear "The Late Show", courtesy of Joe Riddle and Wayne McCombs!

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I grew up watching Fantastic Theater, Jungle Theater on Saturday mornings (with "Quiet Village" as it's theme), Lee and Lionel, Mr. Zing, Cartoon Carnival (right after the farm report) and I believe hosted by Bill Lancaster. I listened to KAKC, KELi, and KRMG. (Especially liked hearing Johnny Martin's voice right after his theme "Tenderly."

I remember a very funny TV spot promoting Don Woods and the Channel 8 weather with Don in an Italian restaurant and the owner upset because it's raining. "Hey, pal, you got a reservation-a?"

And...in closing, I enjoyed Jack Morris and "tonight's closer."

Mitch, I knew "Quiet Village" was used on SOME Tulsa TV show...thanks! Maybe it's a false memory, but I think it was on Johnny Martin's show that I picked up this idea. Cartoon Carnival, uh huh, another good one. Somehow, we've got to get some of Johnny Martin's voice on this site. Could that have been Boyce Lancaster?

I do remember that series of Don Woods commercials. Thanks for the "closer" about Jack Morris.

...I'm still reeling from the previous entry by Mr. Artain!

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What great joy to have found the TTM web site. Mike deserves major accolades for all of his work. It conjures up wonderful memories (some scary ones, too!). It astounds me that people remember the Camp Meeting so vividly and with apparent fondness.

It's great to see the names of friends and associates that I have unfortunately, over time, lost track of. The TTM site has made my hazy recollections more clear.

But apparently I'm not alone in having this affliction! Hopefully, through this site, we can fine tune some of the details of that era! I am excited about finally having a forum to communicate with kindred spirits about the fun we used to have.

Lawzee,
Your humble servant
G.Ailard S.Artain (aka Mazeppa Pompazoidi)

Well, Mr. S.Artain, we are absolutely delighted to hear from you! By far, the the most likely response to the Guestbook question "Favorite Tulsa TV show:" is "Mazeppa".

Let the fine tuning begin!

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The club card for the NBT Weather Teller reminded me that KTUL's Don Woods controlled this for years by a gizmo in the newsroom.

It had 2 telephone rotary dialers on it. I never knew it existed for years till I saw it prepping for a newscast one night and asked what it was.

Don would set it each night before leaving but a couple of times "staff members" would sneak back in and change the "forecast".

It had 2 colors on the NBT tower and at one time could be seen from all over Tulsa. Solid green meant good weather. Flashing green meant change. I think solid red meant significant negative change in the weather and I think flashing red meant - be on the alert for bad weather.

Amazingly Woodsy never mentioned this on the air. I guess old line Tulsans knew what the signals meant.

I can think of several staff members that - on a hoot - changed it to red flashing on a night of good weather and we were bombarded with calls (which the night crew had to answer) from folks saying they had missed the late news and wondering if a tornado was afoot. They had seen the tower flashing. Once I knew what was going on - I said, "Ooops - Don must have forgotten to reset the gizmo!" and went back downstairs to the newsroom to reset the gizmo.

Your commentary about this was so good, it has immediately appeared on that page.

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Alright...I'm a native Tulsan. Haven't been back in many, many years, but I saw this and *had* to contribute. I have a really funny, if a little raw, memory here.

During high school, I worked part-time at KJRH. This was early '80s. Karen Keith, who was then the noon anchor for KJRH, filled in for Sam Jones one night. For the last story of the evening, a little puff piece about the Cub Scouts was read. Everyone in the studio was winding down and, quite frankly, not really listening to the script. Karen was talking about how the boys went to Mohawk Park on an overnight and pitched their tents. Except, she said, on air, "They then went to pinch their tits." Serious. Swear to God. Only a couple of crew caught it and the atmosphere of the studio became animated. Karen herself seemed to be unaware of what she just said. Only when we reviewed the tape and listened again did we hear it clearly.


That's pretty funny. You can see a picture of Karen Keith on the "Origin" page.

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It's interesting to see all the comments about what has happened through the years on the "other side" of the state. I have to chuckle about some of the comments on people who have worked in both markets. The story about how Bob Lowwwww-zuuure got his job at KOTV makes sense - Duane Harm was one of the more clueless individuals in the business.

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Any news on the Jack Frank "Big Bill" piece airing date yet?

Guy Atchley is possibly to make a cameo appearance in it.

Need to send you a shot of Ken Broo from WUSA-TV here to update the picture files.

No word yet from Jack, but when I find out, I'll post it here.

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Leake still has the cars, not sure about the museum. He has a big car show every year at Expo Square. This most recent one a few weeks ago was supposedly the most successful. It's sponsored, surprisingly enough, by KTUL.

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Re the Griffins - they were always less flamboyant than Jimmy Leake whom I hear has fallen on hard times.

In some bio I read Jimmy was in the band at OU when an undergrad and that's why 8 winning away the rights to the OU replay show from OKC's WKY-TV/KTVY was a personal victory for him.

I also heard he was a great salesman for the Griffin family long before he was into radio & TV.

I understand thru personal family financial problems - almost all of the mega-millions Allbritton Communications paid him for KATV in Little Rock and KTUL in Tulsa - are gone. Don't know how much of this the Griffins got - it was originally Griffin-Leake TV before it became Leake TV, Inc.

At one time I heard after the major downpayment was made - Leake was to get $425,000 a year for something like 10 years. That's gone and I guess his car museum in Muskogee is gone?

Someone saw him at a Will Rogers Memorial "do" in Claremore a few years back (George Nigh appointed him the Commission) and he was driving an old beater of car - not being chauffeured in a classic Rolls or Bentley. Didn't look good.

In olden days, sometimes he came to KTUL on an infrequent visit in a classic London cab. I think Bob Gregory tried to wheedle this out of him - unsuccessfully. (One of the now departed CEO's of USA Today owned one and drove it daily to work here in Arlington, VA and folks there lusted after his restored 60's beauty.).

Most times at 8 - a classic car in the lot meant Mr. Leake was in the house and often not for good news for the staff.

During a union drive he was trying to defeat - he nearly cried that he might have to give up his beloved car collection if KTUL "went union". Old staffers said if it weren't for him doing the old car museum - KTUL would be the richest, most well-equipped station in OK.

The books supposedly listed semi-tractors and trailers and 4WD vehicles "belonging to 8" but never leaving Muskogee. Al Clauser fought forever just to get a used pick-up from there and never succeeded.

Mr. Leake had to have his cars and that was it = TV was a way to achieve his dreams.

In fact, one year KTUL sent a crew to cover "The Brighton Run" a classic antique car race in England that Jimmy Leake drove in and provided cars for "his buds" - maybe Ike Horn was a driver - I don't remember. ABC also covered this on Wide World of Sports. From the crew that went over - Leake spent a considerable fortune shipping the cars to England from Muskogee, entertaining "his buds" and bought more cars while there.

You could see why sometimes the KTUL staff was NOT that enthused about the money pit known as "Horseless Carriages Unlimited" when raises were few and far between...

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Saw in a couple week old edition of Broadcasting & Cable magazine that Jeff Rosser is an exec. VP in the Raycom Broadcast Group in Birmingham. From his picture - like all of us - he has gained weight compared to the shot on the KTUL News 8 slide. Though he has "downsized" his hair.

Raycom used to be like Mizlou Sports - whom KTUL carried. An independent acquirer of college football and basketball rights for games.

Often KTUL would buy OU away games from them or Mizlou and the telco would have to switch our ABC AT&T lines over. Often very scarey.

Raycom is now in the top 25 station group owners in TV - so those rights must have paid off!

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Correction to my earlier post. My review of the Mazeppa tapes appeared in the 9th issue of Television Chronicles, not #10.

Corrected.

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Don't worry about it, Jim. My messages wonder over to OKC on occasion. I consider myself to be the OKC branch office. ;)

I saw that article in the Oklahoman too. I knew KOMA had been KFJF years ago, but I wasn't sure what the KOMA calls stood for.

KWTV still produces the Griffin food ads. I took a tour of the station a few years back, and we were able to see one being made. I was surprised at how many commercials they produce for local companies. They have their own production company, TV9 Productions, which specializes in commericals. They do the Clubhouse Golf commercials, and I think they still OWN that company.

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Saw a comment in the Oklahoman about KOMA that I did not know. Article says the original call letters were KFJF. It was sold to the Griffin Grocery Co. of Muskogee for $10,000. The article doesn't say when that happened, but here's the interesting part: Says Griffin changed the call letters to KOMA to match their market area: K(ansas), O(klahoma), M(issouri), and A(rkansas). I always thought it was just "oma" as in "Oklahoma."

I think it's impressive that the Griffin family still owns KWTV. That's got to be one of the last remaining family owned and operated TV stations. One of the sons, David Griffin, runs the TV station, while another son runs the jelly/syrup/et.al. business. Actually, these guys may be grandsons of the original patriarch. Does anyone know?

(I know, I know. This is supposed to be TULSA TV, but hey, KTUL used to be owned by Griffin/Leake, so that's my excuse!)

That's OK...radio is interesting, too. I was thinking about putting some of this radio commentary on the page with the KAKC Big 30 list and calling it "Tulsa Radio"

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What a great web site! For years I've been tortured by the prospect of never learning what that music was on "Fantastic Theatre." Thanks for putting that one to rest, and for letting me listen to it again.

Miscellaneous memories:

Regarding "Big Bill and Oom-A-Gog," I was never on that show, but I did have my first "schoolyard" crush on Bill Blair's daughter in kindergarten and first grade.

For a friend's birthday, a bunch of us did appear on "Mr. Zing and Tuffy." I remember one kid asking John Chick if we'd be getting some Carnation ice cream during our visit, and he gracefully replied that if he did that, he'd get fired because the sponsor was Pure Milk, not Carnation. I think it was from that event that I obtained a promotional postcard touting the "Cartoon Zoo," as it was originally dubbed, when Mr. Zing wore the full-fledged zookeeper's outfit (and pre-Shaggy Dog). It's still buried somewhere in my parents' house. Next time I'm in Tulsa, I'll try to dig it out of my stored artifacts, so I can bring it back, scan it, and send it to you to use if you like.

I do wish you'd fill in the history of "Lee & Lionel" a bit more. I remember the show being on (and the opening using the "Camelot" music), but I don't really recall the origins. The quotes on the page are somewhat out of context for me.

As it happens, I've recently become acquainted with the Sartains online. Gailard will be appearing at Ray Courts' next Hollywood Collectors Show in North Hollywood the last weekend in June. Gary Busey was one of the featured celebrities at a previous HCS.

In fact, a few years ago, a partner and I (as managing editor/writer) launched our own TV-related magazine ("Television Chronicles") at Ray's show, and in our 9th issue, I reviewed "The Lost Tapes of Mazeppa." I gave Busey a copy of it when I met him at the HCS, and he got a big kick out of it. I even made my own Tulsa TV memory by appearing on KJRH's and KOTV's morning talk shows to promote the magazine during a trip back in '97. Unfortunately, we had to cease publication after 12 issues, but most of our back issues can still be ordered through my partner at the URL I've listed above, if anyone's interested.

I'd sure enjoy seeing a sports section on your site, featuring, among other things, the halcyon days of the Tulsa Roughnecks in the NASL. Another image I have somewhere is a picture I snapped of a goal by Damian Ogunsui (not sure of the spelling) during the first NASL regular indoor season game ever, between the Roughnecks and arch-rival Minnesota Kicks. Again, if you're interested, I'll be happy to dig it out, scan it, and send it to you.

Best wishes,

Bill Groves

Another satisfied Fantastic Theater listener. Bulletin: David Bagsby (see Links page) has completed his own interpretation of the music! Keep watching for further information.

Cartoon Zoo: yes, please send the pic. I'll get it out on the site immediately. Nice John Chick story!

Lee and Lionel: That's all the info I have, but I've gotten a little nervier, so I may give Lee a call and see if he can flesh the story out a bit for us.

Hey, tell Gailard and Gary to take a look at this site, if they haven't already. We'd be delighted and honored to hear from them.

We will soon have a sports page, so re the picture: bring it on.

Thanks for telling us about your magazine. I'm sure you will be hearing from some readers of this site. Glad you dropped by!

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Since we had a great visit from Dan Satterfield (hopefully we'll here more from him soon), I thought I'd provide his bio. It features his photo, which may jog some memories as to who he is. I know it's easier to place a picture to a name.

http://www.whnt.com/Global/story.asp?S=1351368&nav=1VPvWML0

9/28/2005: Fixed the above link and added Dan's weather site for kids, courtesy of Wanda Baker.

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Bill Mitchell and Dan Satterfield in one day. Old OKC TV memories are flooding back!!

Gerry Bonds left KOCO sometime in the early 90s. From what I understand, she taught some classes at OKC Community College, and was brought in by OETA in 96(?). I still remember her as Gerry Harris. It flows off the tongue easier. I think for a while she went by Gerry Harris-Bonds. In the same vein, Cindy Morrison at channel 8 went by Cindy Wall-Morrison for years at KOCO.

Incidentally, has anyone noticed how many former KOCO folks are at KTUL now? Bill, Cindy, Jon Slater (he's gone now), and I believe Carole Lambert may have been there for awhile in the early 80s.

Still eagerly waiting for Chris Lincoln to stop by...:)

Many thanks, Erick.

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IT'S BEEN A GREAT RIDE. GOT TO THANK JEFF ROSSER AND JAMES C LEAKE RECENTLY. TOLD THEM THANX FOR THE GREAT CAREER. HOPE TO DO IT A WHILE LONGER. LOVED SEEING THE OLD PICTURES. KNOW SOME OF THOSE STORIES FIRST HAND I WUZ THERE.

Bill, it's good to hear from you. You HAVE had quite a career. And I hear tell you were once the OTASCO man.

We'd love to hear some of those firsthand stories.

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Updates: e-mailed Terri Watkins at KOCO after seeing a familiar face with an unfamiliar name on the OETA webpage. OETA's anchor is Gerry Bonds - whom at one time was Gerry Harris - brought in to replace Mary Ruth Carleton at KOCO. Gerry evidently re-married and OETA hired her.

Terri also tells me Jeff Rosser of KTUL and KOCO fame is with a consulting firm in Birmingham, AL and still happily married to Barbara Allen of KTUL fame.

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Wow...great to hear from Dan Satterfield. For those who don't know, Dan used to work alongside Gary Shore and Mike Morgan at channel 2. In fact, I believe he was working the night of the 1984 Memorial Day flood. I'll bet there's a story behind that...

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I recognized quite a few of those pics! Thanks for the email. Neat site. Being a Tulsa native it was fun to see pics of people from so long ago...so who gives John Erling grief now??

Dan Satterfield
Chief Metr. WHNT TV
formerly of KJRH

We appreciate you stopping by, Dan. Glad you enjoyed the site...good to hear from you.

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This site brings back a lot of childhood things I had forgotten. Some of the music, I had not realized played such an important part of my life. My older brother was a rabid Oom-a-Gog fan, but my sister and I were Mr. Zing and Tuffy. There were strict camps in North Tulsa over who was better, Tuffy or Shaggy. I still catch myself singing songs John Chick made up on the show. "Tuffy's a mean old tiger...". Mr. Zing had a cool unicycle. And I distinctly remember being amazed; when color finally came to our house, to find that Shaggy was blue.

As for Uncle Zeb, my younger siblings adored him, and would have killed to be on that show. I remember him as being rather testy. But I loved to watch it because twice Uncle Zeb lost his temper. Once was when a monkey got on his head, and the other was some kid who was totally aggravating!! Both of those shows had cartoons in between the bits Mr. Zing or Uncle Zeb would do. I remember the live audience got bigger and bigger every year (boomers, you know) and Uncle Zeb had trouble getting everyone across the bridge near the end. "Hi, my name is Vernie Sue, and I want to say hi to my Mommy, Daddy, Johnny, .......AND EVERYBODY I KNOW!"

I used to sneak out of bed to watch the horror show on Sat nights and then had nightmares. Sometimes I wasn't sure what was so scary but knew it was bad. I learned everything I know about vampires from that show. I think the most terrifying thing was watching Bela Lugosi change forms by turning into smoke and going under a door. I stuffed my bathtowel under the door for a week. Of course, I used to hide from witch on "Wizard of Oz" too.

Mazeppa I didn't understand all the humor, but loved Laurel and Hardy.

I can't remember but in the summer about 11:30 pm there was a cooking show. I think it was sponsored by Oklahoma Natural Gas. The woman who did it had a distinctive name that tickles the edge of my mind. It was fascinating to watch her cook whatever in the time she had allotted. I think it was 5-10 minutes to start and expanded to 20 minutes.. WAIT! It was Donnell Green..where did she end up? Some of the featured products were gross and some looked good. She had one heck of a beehive (and manicure).

My grandmother loved Lewis Meyer and no one else in the house could stand him. Was in Tulsa a few years back, and he was STILL on.. and his voice still set the hairs on my neck up. I remember one station would always sign off with the Lord's prayer signed (?) acted out by an Indian chief(?).

It was great to find this site, as I am surrounded by cretins from Philadelphia who have their own TV heros from that age. Sally Starr could never match Mr. Zing!

Music really brings it back for me, too; that's why I went to so much trouble to get it on here.

Thanks for the hilarious commentary on Tulsa TV... an amazingly complete summation.

To answer your question...that was Dick West, the Indian who performed the Lord's Prayer in sign language.

Did you see that Uncle Zeb visited this site and wrote about the monkey incident, too? Glad you remembered that Tuffy song...it hadn't been mentioned here until you brought it up.

Be sure and try the search engine to see what other people have said about some of those shows. C'mon back, now, hear?

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Anyone interested in used Betacam 5 minute tapes that can be used in home Betamax recorders - please e-mail me. These will run long enough to record a 30min. show in Betamax at normal speed.

My company which runs Master Control and Uplink Services for GoodLife TV (formerly Nostalgia TV or Nostalgia Network)- a small national cable network - is switching to metal BetaSX machines and gear.

Right now we are selling the used tape at $1.25 a cassette in lots of 10 - with any buyer covering shipping; but really we just want to get these puppies out of here - so price after a while may be moot.

If you are still a Beta-phile or Beta-head, pls. respond!

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Here are some former Tulsa sportscasters that came to mind. I spent the evening hunting them down (I have no life).

We all know that former KOTV sports director Bill Teegins is now at KWTV in OKC. Here's his bio:

http://www.kwtv.com/news/talent/teegins.htm

Dwayne Parsons was at 6 for awhile in the early 90's. He's now at KBTX in Bryan, TX:

http://kbtx.tca.net/newscrew/parsons.html

Dick Pryor had a stint at KJRH in the early 80's. Although I remember him for his loooong tenure at KOCO in OKC. He's now a lawyer, and news anchor for OETA:

http://www.oeta.onenet.net/dickpryorbio.html

I also located John Anderson, who was at 6 in the early and mid 90's. He's at KPHO in Phoenix, but there's no bio for him there.

Thanks for the great research, Erick. It will soon be time for a sports page.

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This is the start of Guestbook 11.

We were just discussing former Tulsa sportscasters at the end of Guestbook 10...saw pics of Ken Broo and Steve Zabriskie...found links to Bob Stevens and Jay Berry today.

Who are some other former Tulsa sportscasters?