I was a member of the audience on October 20, 1960 (my little brother's birthday). It was exciting to be inside an actual television station. When the camera panned across us, I lurched forward so I could see myself move on the monitor.

(from GroupBlog 222 and 10/3/2006 email) Sharon Berry told us about the creation of Oom-A-Gog, Mark I:

My daddy, Jerry Berry, made Oom-A-Gog when I was 2 or 3 years old. It was on a TV cartoon show called Dr. N. Ventor here in Kansas City, Mo.

I was scared half to death of Oom-A-Gog! I am so glad to see that he went on and lived a full life on another children's show after my dad passed away in 1956. He made him for the children, he always said.

I still have the TV schedule of different TV stations and dates and times that Oom-A-Gog was to appear. I remember one of his appearances being at a Milgram's food store. Oom-A-Gog is also mentioned in a book about kids' shows.

My dad would be so happy to know so many children got enjoyment out of him. Thank you so much for putting him on your web site. I finally know what happened to our beloved robot!

This is my father, Jerry Berry. He was an inventor and worked for an awning company on the side. A man fell off the roof one day and my father caught his fall. He saved the man's life but the ladder fell on his leg and it turned into cancer of the bone. I can not remember if he made Oom-A-Gog with just the one leg or if he made him before his leg was amputated but I think he made him on one leg. He was amazing.

This was taken at my grandmother's house. That's me in the background with the scared face and that is my father. Oom-A-Gog was a bit more sophisticated-looking but it's my understanding that after daddy passed away, the station up here was already changing his head. It looks like they tried to update him and moved some things around on his chest and added some things. But this is the original way he looked.I know he was hard to move around in with the legs and arms the way they were.

I know he made him in a tiny workshop in back of the house that was so small only 2 or 3 people could even stand in there at one time. Daddy was doing the beginnings of what Tulsa was able to do with Oom-A-Gog before he when he passed away. Oom-A-Gog was making appearances all over and I believe the picture of Oom-A-Gog on a TWA airplane was taken in Tulsa where he was a mystery guest on the Bowlin' with Molin show. I think I read that on a site somewhere but not positive but if true, how ironic that he came back to live in your town of Tulsa to live. The picture is also displayed at the Kansas City Museum.

I would love for you to post this picture of my father with Oom-A-Gog. It would mean so much to me as he got very little recognition for it because he died at age 29 in 1956 not long after he made him, leaving a crippled wife and 3 small girls. I am the baby. I didn't get to know Oom-A-Gog on TV first like most kids did. He just came walking into my house and I was sooo scared every time after that when I heard they were getting Oom-A-Gog out. I would love to talk to Billy James Hargis II and thank him so much for "adopting" our Oom-A-Gog. (see linked article below...webmaster)

Daddy had an offer for Oom-A-Gog to sell cigarettes and he said NO. That he had made him for the children. Tulsa, Oklahoma gave Oom-A-Gog the exact life my father intended for him to have and I just can't tell you how much that means to me. I wish my mother was still alive so I could share this with her.

Kansas City Times article circa 1956 about inventor Jerry Berry and family (389K)

Facts and speculations about Oom-A-Gog's early days: The book Hi There, Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs by Tim Hollis briefly recaps Oom-A-Gog's career at KVOO. In the section about early kids' programming on WDAF in Kansas City, Hollis mentions Dr. N. Ventor, the show where Oom-A-Gog debuted, according to Sharon Berry. The good doctor (played by Murray Nolte) "with the help of his 'Idea Box' would try to work out the bugs in some low-tech device...at the end of each program, his invention would totally backfire on him, to the kids' delight." The book also states that "in 1961, Nolte wrapped himself in an enormous robot costume to become 'Sergeant Sam,' introducing the outer-space 'Colonel Bleep' cartoons," and "...nothing about the character moved except his arms and legs..." Could Sergeant Sam have been the original model of Oom-A-Gog? Tulsa's Oom-A-Gog appears to have somewhat different proportions from the model built by Jerry Berry. According to Big Bill Blair in John Wooley's 1989 interview, the Col. Bleep package purchased in 1959 by KVOO (from whom, we don't know, possibly WDAF) included Oom-A-Gog. 2/6/2010: Dr. N. Ventor mentioned Oom-A-Gog in this vintage WDAF clip. Sharon Berry (Mundy): "My husband was going through some old tapes he had, and on one of them, they are talking about things that happened in the Kansas City area in the 50s. There is a short clip of Dr. N. Ventor talking to Oom-A-Gog after he had apparently walked out the door. This clip could have been before my father died or after. Sure brought back a lot of memories for me even though I was just 3 or 4 at the time." WDAF's online history notes that the station was sold in late May 1958, a year before the debut of Oom-A-Gog in Tulsa, Could the Oom-A-Gog suit (or a clone) have been passed along to Tulsa as fallout from the management change? WDAF again changed owners in 1960, a year before the debut of "Sergeant Sam". There may have been a connection between KVOO and WDAF due to both being NBC affiliates in the 50s and 60s (and beyond). Like WDAF, KVOO had a version of the regional Kitty Clover "Junior Auction"(more below). Also notable is the fact that Hollis considers WDAF to have "one of the most distinguished legacies of children's programming of any TV market in the country," which probably made them a go-to source for ideas at that time...webmaster

I remember seeing Big Bill and Oom-A-Gog at Shoppers Fair in about 1960. What a thrill to see "stars" in person!

Shopper's Fair was a proto-Kmart in the center of the shopping center at the SW corner of 21st and Sheridan, still home to Casa Bonita.

To see a Shopper's Fair store, scroll down
a bit at this site: Discount Stores of the '60s.

Catty-cornered from it was Gulf-Mart (now
DirecTV; scroll about 1/3 down the page).

This was supplied to me by KRMG's Joe Riddle. Joe had the picture framed and during Captain Alan and Oom-A-Gog days on Channel 2, he had it on the wall of his bedroom. Further irony here... Joe was a member of our KVOO Explorer Scout Post that was handled for us by then KVOO reporter, Neal Kennedy. Those were the days!

(from Guestbook 14) Alan Lambert said:

As I recall it.. Big Bill and OOM-A-GOG was on the air in the late 1950's and early 1960's. When I began working at Channel 2 (KVOO-TV in those days) OOM was played by camera crew chief, Dick Cardwell. After Big Bill left for Texas...OOM had a new sidekick named "Professor Dingle" (played by Dave Moore, I last heard he was working for a station in Kansas City).

After a few years of gathering dust... OOM-A-GOG was brought out of storage for a new show: Captain Alan and OOM-A-GOG (1966-1967). I was Captain Alan (I'm not making this up). The show aired each weekday afternoon at 3:30. We did the show live Monday through Wednesday. We videotaped Thursday and Friday shows on Wednesday nights (this complimented my work schedule as part of the TV announcer's staff. Yes, all Tulsa stations had a live announcers staff into the late 60's.)

We also pre-taped a kiddie movie show that aired on Saturday mornings at 9:30. We did a bunch of appearances around town for Sears (This included helping open the Country Club Plaza Shopping Center on the Southeast corner of 51st and South Harvard and a Santa helicopter fly-in at Sears parking lot at 21st and Yale.)

OOM-A-GOG, The robot, was played at that time by Buck Clayton. (Buck was a part of the Channel 2 floor crew and I heard he later joined Greyhound Corporation.) I wore an orange flight suit similar to the ones the astronauts wore with black flight boots. Spiffy!

The set for "Captain Alan and OOM-A-GOG" was designed by Jerry Winn. It was made to look like the inside of a spaceship. Jerry also designed some of the the most honored floats for KRMG's Great Raft Race. One of those was a GREAT replica of the Star Trek spaceship.. The Enterprise. The last I heard, Jerry and his wife Priscilla work for Pepsi designing large graphic creations. He is truly gifted. (webmaster: Jerry Winn passed away on 11/12/2000, we were told by his son Pat)

I have been interviewed by Channel Two's Jack Frank and will eventually be a part of his series on OOM-A-GOG , currently under development for his Wednesday night "Oklahoma Memories".

It was all positive being Captain Alan...welll mostly. There was the time I was trying on some great new casual summer shorts at a local department store. I turned to check how they looked in the mirror only to discover I had drawn a small crowd of smiling little faces, all yelling "He's Captain Alan, he's Captain Alan!" I did the correct marketing thing: paid for the shorts, went to my car for some publicity pictures, signed a few autographs and left my shopping trip a bit early. Those were the days at TV-2.

(from Guestbook 167) The webmaster said:

At the recent KVOO 50th anniversary reunion, "Captain" Alan Lambert told the following story to a small group, including Buck Clayton:

Buck manned the unwieldy Oom-A-Gog suit in 1966-67; an electronic device distorted his voice into a robotic monotone.

One day on the show, Captain Alan was busy with the kids when, behind him, he heard Oom-A-Gog say, "Captain Alan..." Alan replied, "Just a second, Oom-A-Gog."

A few moments later, Oom-A-Gog again said "Captain Alan..." (in the same monotone). Still preoccupied, Alan said, "Hang on for a minute, Oom-A-Gog."

Soon, Oom-A-Gog was again heard to say "Captain Alan..." This time, Alan turned around and saw smoke issuing from the robot. The electronic voice module had shorted and set Buck's shirt on fire inside the costume!

Captain Alan and a crewhand had to put Oom-A-Gog face down on the studio floor to open up the robot suit---it was impossible for Buck to get out of it by himself. He was successfully extracted and sustained no serious injury.

Buck had forgotten this story until Captain Alan recounted it last Saturday. He recalled that he had replaced Oom-A-Gog's original jointed arms with the flexi-tube you see in the picture above. He was the last Oom-A-Gog.

(via email, 4/26/2005) Alan Lambert said:

A very small correction was passed on to me by Oom-A-Gog (Buck Clayton) during the fairly recent Channel 2 Reunion.

I had told you, Mike, that we were on the air from 1966 to 1967...Buck reminded me that we still maintained a show on Saturdays through 1969. I really had forgotten that when our weekday show went away, we continued to host the Saturday Morning Movie for another year and half.

(from Guestbook 69) Bill Hyden said:

I was really sorry to learn of the death of Bill Blair...whom I knew as a friend during his days on Channel 2 (then KVOO-TV).

I copied (the following from the) El Paso Times and paste it here in its entirety:

Billy Duane Blair, a former radio announcer, television weather forecaster and television personality in El Paso and Tulsa, Okla., died Thursday (Jan. 11, 2001). He was 66 and had lived in El Paso for more than 30 years.

Survivors include his wife, Nan; his daughters, Beth Leffler and Michelle Snider; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brother, Melvin P. Blair, Jr.

(from Guestbook 69) Mike Miller said:

I worked with Bill Blair at KVOO-TV in the early ‘60s and have only fond memories. Bill seemed always in a good mood and was one of those naturally funny people who kept everyone loose.

During that period, I anchored my first television newscasts and Bill usually did the weather. In that role he really helped me make the transition from radio to TV.

Bill often broke up the floor crew with his quips. I’ll never forget one exchange when I asked him what part of Oklahoma received the most snow overnight. “Maude got seven inches last night,” Bill deadpanned. The studio burst out laughing and I finished the newscast only with great difficulty.

Bill Blair will be greatly missed by his many fans, and by those of us who were lucky to have worked with him.

(from Guestbook 69) Lowell Burch said:

I hate to hear about Bill Blair. I did not know him but I sat in his audience more than once and loved his show. I thought he was talented on air and good with the kids in person. I was quite excited when, on his program, he read the letter that I sent him.

As a ten year old kid, I used to wear an ascot because Big Bill did. I even tried to copy his autograph style when I wrote my name on my homework.

This fan is getting just a little misty so I'll sign off. Thanks for all the fun, Bill. You'll be remembered.