Monday 07/02/2007 9:50:25am Name: DolfanBob Topic: Casey Norton E-Mail: MiamiPhin@yahoo.com Comments: A little inside info: I was told that Casey Norton will be following his friend, James Aydelott, to the Dallas television market. It will be a good fit since he is from Texas and a huge Longhorn fan. Good luck and best wishes, Casey.

Monday 07/02/2007 5:24:46am Name: Webmaster Topic: 1969 Three Dog Night afterparty Comments: Added a postcard of the Tulsa downtown Holiday Inn to a GB 161 story about rude happenings there in 1969.

Monday 07/02/2007 4:32:29am Name: Webmaster Topic: Pete Kelly's Shoes Comments: I found an insult to Gary Chew in an item for sale on eBay. The flip side of a 1964 KELi survey says: In answer to a letter from C.F. from Claremore: "Does PETE KELLY really have big feet?" I happen to know he takes a size FIVE kyack (sic) with no trouble at all. (Pete Kelly was Gary's on-air name at that time.)

Sunday 07/01/2007 11:57:03pm Name: Scotty Comstock Topic: Harold Stuart E-Mail: scottycomstock@yahoo.com Comments: (1966-1974 at KVOO-TV/KTEW) In 1969 there was much interest in the newly discovered oil reserves at Prudhoe Bay. This was of great importance to Mr Stuart. A promotional video was produced explaining why it was important for America to take advantage of this great find. I made about 20 copies of this video for distribution. When finished, I took them to Mr. Stuart’s office. I had never been in his office. I was carrying as many of the 2" tapes in their boxes as I could to reduce the number of trips I would have to make. I stepped on the very plush carpeting and lost my balance. I fell to the floor. The tapes went in every direction and all I could see was the open mouth and teeth of a polar bear rug. Mr. Stuart's comment (with a smile) was "Don’t hurt my bear". Scotty, glad you found us. Someone mentioned you in GB #3, over 8 years ago: "This site needs more representation for Channel 2, 6 and 23! If you know anyone - have them contribute. If anyone has links to Scott Comstock at KFOR in OKC, he might be a good source on KTEW in the 70s from when he worked there."

Thursday 06/28/2007 5:02:54pm Name: Rick Alan West Topic: Harold Stuart's passing E-Mail: rickwest@clearchannel.com Comments: Harold Stuart was a real piece of work. At times during my stint at KVOO radio, he would wander thru the studios, touching base with the employees (with the firmest handshake I'd ever received), taking time to chat. On one occasion, he took a group to a plot of land on the median near the airport to work on an "Up With Trees" project. With shovel in hand, dressed in hunting overalls, he proceeded to work circles around a bunch of 20 and 30 somethings. When we needed a break from the digging and planting, he kept right on going. He was a vibrant, dynamic and energetic individual, and certainly one of my most unforgettable characters. They don't make 'em like Harold Stuart anymore.

Wednesday 06/27/2007 6:35:32pm Name: Mike Bruchas Topic: Harold Stuart Comments: When us TU folks did a tour of KVOO radio & TV - Mr. Stuart was there and say hi! in the hallway to us turistas. We were of interest to him. I think I saw him again after 2 gave their old b&w TV gear and old sound gear to TU for use in the basement of Kendall Hall. I was impressed to see a GM that approachable. But Mr. Stuart and his late father-in-law, the famous Mr. Skelly, were good to TU. When friends worked at KVOO radio - the mantra was BE PROFESSIONAL AT ALL TIMES - Mr. Stuart might drop in! He gets my vote as a "Great Tulsan".

Wednesday 06/27/2007 3:08:32pm Name: W. Rogers Topic: Route 66 Comments: On this sad day, 27 June in 1985, U.S. Route 66 was deemed "no longer relevant" and removed from the U.S. highway system.

Wednesday 06/27/2007 1:15:03pm Name: Wilhelm Murg Topic: Stolen Music Equipment E-Mail: wilhelmurg at Yahoo dot com Comments: Local Singer Rusti Love is battling cancer and just had most of her equipment stolen. The following is a list she's made and she has asked for this message to be forwarded.-WM Rusti Love wrote: I just found that my Gibson acoustic/electric is gone as well as my Gibson mini jumbo, flame maple ebony fretboard w/mother of pearl inlay in the fret board, ebony saddle, slight convex on back, abalone around sound hole; 5 Grover tuning pegs with one silver Fender peg... this has made me SICK they took the guitar and left the case. The other items stolen are a Kustom Vintage bass amp w/cover casters and handles, Peavey SR 2012 powered mixer/sound board, no cover, mono/stereo. I have filed a police reported I am currently looking for their serial numbers I NEED ALL YOUR HELP IN THE RECOVERY OF THESE ITEMS. The Kustom amp is the only thing I have left of my Dad's and my Gibson was my livelihood. I have been ill and people know when I am gone. I am sickened to think that someone would take these things at the lowest time of my life. Again I appreciate you forwarding this info and getting in touch with your local pawn shop THANK YOU!! --- Rusti Love (rustilove@hotmail.com)

Wednesday 06/27/2007 9:09:28am Name: Louise Bland Topic: JT - Vandevers E-Mail: l.bland@sbcglobal.net Comments: The good ole days! It was the late 50s when I worked at Vandevers. Gary Vandever, the father who first opened the stores, hired me as their model, later to move me into his son's job as the stores Fashion Coordinator. In my day, the city hummed with oil people over the world running in and out, big fashion designers were just as busy. It moved with wealth, beautifully dressed people. I remember doing the Cinderella Ball, with the late Mrs. Harold Stuart, Joan riding in the carriage as our Cinderella. Yes, many people used this wonderful store as their stepping-stone. Mr. Bill Fisher, the Merchandise Manager, purchased Miss Jackson's and I moved into television. So it goes!

Tuesday 06/26/2007 8:26:27pm Name: JT Topic: Vandevers E-Mail: TheComedyClinic.com Comments: Louise, when did you work at Vandevers? My brother worked there for several years selling shoes in the summer between '80-83.

Tuesday 06/26/2007 8:06:41pm Name: JT Topic: Misc. E-Mail: TheComedyClinic.com Comments: YES! The Dick West sign off, I remember it. And I believe the Eliot program either replaced that or ran in a rotation with it. Maybe I should try to reach Carl B. or K. Doll. If I find it, I'll let you know. Also, I've been catching up on the guestbooks and here are some things that popped in my head: -The Tulsa Shopping Channel - Remember this Tulsa Cable/United Artists/TCI (can't recall who owned it at the time) station that was on Channel 34 or something? I remember it was on the third row of the box about in the middle of the old style cable box (the smaller brown version, not the bigger white version. I remember there was a dark haired young lady named Darci, maybe, she sure was cute. Anybody remember the details on this? -JW Weeks, an ad guy that used to be the obnoxious country voice standing in front of all the used cars with the girls in bikinis and say, "And now back to our movie starring..." and then he would go through a list of funny names. He was an ad buyer in the late 90s last I heard. Is he still in the biz? -FORE Tulsa. Remember this? Put on by the Jr. League. What a cool event. I can’t recall why they quit doing it. -Heidi Browning, she used to be on Channel 2 and then moved to Channel 9. I think she went to OSU and she was a H-O-T-T-Y! Can't seem to find her on the web. Just curious to see if she is still in the biz. -Deidre Davis, I know she went into PR or something in the NE when she left Tulsa with her Pharma Sales Hubby, but just wondering if she every dove back into TV or anything. She used to live down the street from my wife and me. -Speaking of Time Capsules... Edison High School buried a time capsule by the flag pole, I believe in the 60s and I am wondering when they added the new library up front if they considered looking for it first or is it buried under the new library forever, now? I know they didn't care about pulling out some of the trees buried in memory of the 7 astronauts lost on the Challenger when they built it, so I imagine a time capsule would not be considered either. -Cars rusting when they are buried... the reason why cars don’t rust as they did in the case of say, oh, a '57 Plymouth, is because now auto makers use a system called e-coat which is electro-statically charged to the undercarriages and exteriors as it is submerged into a tank. This covers every inch of what needs to be protected, evenly. Which could not be done in the past. This technology was in place in the late 70s early 80s. -Finally, Bell's being ousted. This makes me so sad, my wife and I met for the first time at Bell's when she was 14 and I was 15-20 years ago this summer. I still remember the same exact place. It was directly under the Skyride (no, I was not looking up!) in front of the entrance of the picnic area by the Zingo. There's something rotten in Pittsburgh on that whole deal, I tell ya! Amazing that Big Crash, err Splash isn't getting the same grief. Hmmmm. I'd be lying if I told you I understood that Bell's/Fairground deal myself.

Tuesday 06/26/2007 2:06:55pm Name: Louise Bland Topic: Harold Stuart E-Mail: l.bland@sbcglobal.net Comments: Harold Stuart was a good friend of mine. Met Harold and Joan while working at Vandevers--Joan was in charge of the Symphony Ball. Does anyone know what happened to Bill Vandever? -- I tried to find both of these guys while I was in Tulsa on the 15th of this month. Harold will be missed. Great man!

Tuesday 06/26/2007 10:55:39am Name: Mike Miller Topic: Harold Stuart Comments: Of interest today is the Tulsa World report on the passing of former Channel 2 owner Harold Stuart. He was 94. I worked at Channel 2 in the early 60s and I'd bet a lot of television people worked for Harold Stuart at some point. What an impressive career. Mr. Stuart was married to Joan Skelly Stuart from 1938 until her death in 1994. He was married to former actress Frances Langford from 1994 until her death in 2005. More about them at the link.

Tuesday 06/26/2007 10:49:35am Name: KokomoJr Topic: Channel 8 newscast ending, early 80s E-Mail: TheComedyClinic.com Comments: Does anyone remember Channel 8 running a package that used to end their newscast with a large group of kids singing the Star Spangled Banner? This would have been sometime in the early 80s. Back when the stations signed off in the middle of the night with the national anthem, they used to run the same video and that run for many more years than it did ending the newscast. This group was nearly the entire enrollment of Eliot Elementary School (36th & Rockford) during the 1980-81 school year. About every 5 or 6 years, speech teacher John S. Kennedy and music teach Virginia Torres would produce this program for the kids at Eliot. I believe they did it at least 3 times during their tenures there. During the '80-81 school year, Carl Bartholomew's son was a 4th grader (I was in 3rd) and the Channel 8 promo department was there to film a lot of the production. I would REALLY like to see a clip of this and get my hands on a copy if possible. My brother was at the UofA in Fayetteville at the time and he would get to show his friends who I was every time they watched the Channel 8 news in NW Arkansas When I was in school at Eliot, there was never a shortage of news coverage thanks to Carl's son being there during my time and the fact that we were Brookside's cherished elementary school (which is still considered one of the best in the entire region, not just TPS) and Channel 2 always tried to protect their turf. Carl's wife, affectionately known as Mrs. B., has been a volunteer at Eliot since her son was there and still subs and volunteers to this very day.

Tuesday 06/26/2007 9:58:33am Name: Webmaster Topic: 15th & Memorial Comments: Courtesy of the Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa

Tuesday 06/26/2007 9:54:59am Name: Joe Topic: 15th and Memorial E-Mail: joetul at cox dot nyet Comments: The photo of 15th and Memorial reminds me of that intersection on a Christmas morning in the mid 1960s. We had gotten something for Christmas but didnt have the batteries for it. Lo and behold, the U-Tote-M on the SW corner was open that day and we were up and running. (I don't think we took any vacuum tubes in that day to check out on their tester.)

Tuesday 06/26/2007 6:38:21am Name: Wilhelm Murg Topic: Self-Promotion E-Mail: wilhelmurg at Yahoo dot com Comments: Okay, so I took a few weeks off from posting any new blogs. It was a combination of being burned out on how slow MySpace seems to be getting (or is it my computer?) and the desperate need to watch some of the stuff I've been TiVoing for the last six months. Here's what we have in store for you: Not one, but two new TIGER BEATS FROM HELL!!! One on new releases by Ulrich Schnauss, Recoil, and the Soul Sides website, and a piece looking at "Sgt. Pepper" at 40. The latter even generated some hate mail, which I posted at the bottom of the piece. I also give a witty rebuttal that ends with the line: "So go play Woodstock and drown in mud, you damn, dirty hippie!" We also have a couple of reviews, one for the book Where's My Jetpack? A Guide to The Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived by former Tulsan, Dr. Daniel H. Wilson, which examines where the technical promises of yesterday's World's Fairs and where they are in development today. I learned about it on TTM! I also got to do a review on the new box set "The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky." Jodorowsky, "The Father of the Midnight Movie," is one of my favorite filmmakers of all-time, a true magician of cinema. If you missed the earlier (under-hyped) postings, there's also my TIGER BEAT description of what it's like to review pop culture – I swear that's what it's about, but I'm worried it's written too beautifully to make sense to the common man (didn't Aleister Crowley use that excuse too?) There's also a review of "The Cannabible Collection" book set and the brilliant new DVD "The War on the War on Drugs." All that and more awaits you at: MySpace.com/WilhelMurg. And don't forget to check out the source, put together by the good people at NONzine magazine. Next round: The films of the great Maya Deren and other things mind-numbingly profound.

Monday 06/25/2007 10:02:44pm Name: JT Topic: RIDESHY Comments: I love this site. Anytime I want to go back in time, I can by dropping by here. I could spend hours here. Anyway, I was reading through some of the RIDESHY info and thought I would relay what people in my age group had heard about this legendary "RIDESHY" service. Sometime around 1983-85, my group of friends had always heard of RIDESHY to get a hooker. We ranged from 5-7th grade, so it wasn't as if we could actually do anything, but we knew what it was, but had no idea how it worked. That didn't matter because we just prank-called the number. Over time, we realized the number was actually ringing to the pay phone of a bar somewhere in Tulsa, and it was inevitable that the later you called to prank the number, the more inebriated the person on the other end of the phone was. We were just being stupid kids, but sometimes, through our sophomoric cockiness on pretending to be a potential customer, we would get some MAJOR vulgarity to the drunkard on the other end of the line. We always thought it was hysterical. Sometimes they would lay the phone down for the long periods of time and you could hear lots of background noise, music and sounds that seemed to be pool tables. I can't ever recall that we were ever told the name or location of the bar, but for some reason I seem to think it was near I-44 and Peoria to just across the river on the west side off I-44. With that said, does anyone have any idea what that bar would have been? Obviously, RIDESHY was already dead and gone for almost a decade when we were calling. But the legend if it stayed alive at LEAST through the mid 80s thanks to a bunch of adolescent pranksters. Thanks, I added your excellent comments to the RIDESHY page. The bar could be the Tiki Nook at the Trade Winds West.

Sunday 06/24/2007 0:45:18am Name: John Keyes Topic: 15th and Memorial E-Mail: jkeyeser@hotmail.com Comments: I check in here occasionally and wanted to add more info about the Beryl Ford picture of the 15th and Memorial area. A previous poster mentioned the picture was from the late 60s or early 70s. It actually could have been from as early as the mid 60s. I actually have family ties to the corner the church is built on. My great-grandmother Bertha Graves gave the land for that church to be built. It was part of a large farm that the family had owned for a number of years. She helped build the original church, as a matter of fact. She continued to live in a house just north of the main building until she died in the early 70s. The area where the house was at one point was Scott's Campers. Is that even still there? Interestingly, I went to a preschool that was run by the church. Also, my father Bert lived a block or two east of 15th and Memorial for quite a while. Another interesting note or two about my family: my dad and grandpa used to live on a farm at 71st and Memorial. The land is now occupied by Woodland Hills Mall. Also, my mom's uncle Harold was the original owner of Grigsby's Carpet and Tile (it was Grigsby's Carpet and Draperies when Harold owned it). My dad ran the warehouse at its various locations over the years until the current owner took it from Harold.

Saturday 06/23/2007 3:07:43pm Name: Dave Topic: Where's the heir? Comments: The Tulsa World reports that the Belvedere winner, the late Raymond Humbertson, died of cancer in 1979 at age 57 and today has two living elderly sisters in Maryland. His wife died in 1988 and they had no children. It looks like the sisters would get the car. The article says that by coincidence there's a family reunion going on this weekend so maybe they'll resolve something. Another interesting aspect is that Humbertson's nephew in Virginia said he didn't realize his uncle had ever lived in Tulsa. He figured the uncle, a career Marine, moved around a lot in those days as a recruiting officer. So he might have left soon after 1957. Also, The World article at the link lists the names of the 10 closest guessers, if anyone recognizes any of them.

Saturday 06/23/2007 1:06:43pm Name: Webmaster Topic: NBC TV Promos 1966 - 1968 Comments: Less than 10 years after the Belvedere was interred (it may have already been swimming), we were introduced to "Star Trek". Also: the 2nd season of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "Dragnet 1967".

Friday 06/22/2007 9:53:14pm Name: Webmaster Topic: Backup GroupBlog Comments: Archived GroupBlog 244. This Backup GB may be faster than the regular one. Let's try it for awhile.

Back to Tulsa TV Memories main page