TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE
ISSUE 10 / MAY - JUNE 2017
PONYBOY SODAPOP DARRY
OUTSIDERS AT 50
TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE
STILL GOLD
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FIND MORE THAN 60 PAGES OF ‘OUTSIDERS’ COVERAGE. PAGE 22
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INSIDE Tulsa World Magazine is a specialty publication of the Tulsa World, 315 S. Boulder Ave., Tulsa, OK 74103. This magazine is published with the April 29, 2017, edition of the World. All content copyright Tulsa World 2017. The contents may not be reproduced without permission. ASHLEY PARRISH Editor ashley.parrish@tulsaworld.com NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON Assistant Editor nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com
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Marking a milestone: S.E. Hinton wrote “The Outsiders” as a teenager at Will Rogers High School. She reflects on its impact 50 years later.
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Lasting themes: Teens connect to “The Outsiders” and interview the book’s author.
MATT CLAYTON Lead Designer GINNIE GRAHAM, JESSICA RODRIGO, SCOTT CHERRY, JIMMIE TRAMEL, MICHAEL SMITH, CASEY SMITH Writers JOHN CLANTON Photo Editor SARA STEPHENSON Slot Editor DEBBIE JACKSON Page Editor JAMES ROYAL, KYLE MARGERUM Designers Additional copies of Tulsa World Magazine can be purchased for $3.95 plus tax at the front office of Tulsa World, online at tulsaworldmagazine.com or by calling 918-581-8584. Phone and online orders will incur an additional $1 shipping charge. For bulk sales (26 or more copies) and rates, call 918-587-5843.
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The house: Los Angeles rapper Danny Boy O’Connor of House of Pain leads the rebirth of the Outsiders House. TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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The Lowe down: Actor Rob Lowe remembers filming the movie that launched his career during a Tulsa visit.
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Iconic style: Modern looks for modern-day Greasers and Socs range from dark denim to plaid.
Where are they now?: “The Outsiders” stars 34 years later.
ALSO INSIDE
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Tulsa in 1967: “The Outsiders” was published in April 1967. What was Tulsa like when the book was released? TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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In the know: Get in the festival frenzy with these events.
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From scream to scene: Local woman recalls time on set.
Deco: Smart appliances make routine tasks easier.
Cake for breakfast: Recipes inspired by “The Outsiders” movie.
Let’s Go: Find the biggest happenings coming up in Tulsa. Tulsa World Magazine 7
FROMTHE
EDITOR.
ASHLEY PARRISH Tulsa World Magazine Editor “The Outsiders” movie was filmed in March 1982 in various Tulsa locations. John Southern/ Tulsa World file
Find coverage from this magazine, along with historical coverage from the Tulsa World of “The Outsiders,” at tulsaworld.com/ theoutsiders
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Always ‘The Outsiders’
W
hen someone says “The Outsiders,” an immediate image pops into my head. It’s of a fountain and blood and watching people in a dark park. My sister-in-law has no memory of taking me to see the filming of the movie in Tulsa’s Crutchfield Park, close to her childhood home, but I know we did it. It’s too vivid an image. My second reaction is always to remember a beloved aunt. She surprised me and my best friend Teneya with autographed copies of all of S.E. Hinton’s novels when I was young. She was related to Hinton somehow, in a way I didn’t understand then and probably still wouldn’t. But she got them. And we were in awe. I haven’t seen the movie or read the book in years. But it’s very personal to me. It’s the same with a lot of Tulsans.
“The Outsiders” is part of our DNA. We read the book and recognized ourselves in it. We saw the filming or know people who did. And even more than memories, we found that the book, which turns 50 this year, still resonates. It’s alive in the halls of Will Rogers High School, where Hinton penned the work while she was a student. It’s still being taught, and the themes are just as relevant. The story is one that the students recognize as theirs. It’s an exciting time to be a Tulsan. And a fan. The Outsiders House project is moving along, preserving a vital piece of the movie. The stars are revisiting Tulsa to see the house and to celebrate the book’s 50th anniversary. And a huge celebration is set for May 6 at Cain’s Ballroom. Tulsans will always be Outsiders in a sense. And we hope you enjoy the stories behind the story as much as we did finding them.
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in the know
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festivals to plan for now
Oklahoma loves its festivals, and May and June bring some of the best. Here are our picks for the events you’ll want to get on your calendars now. Turn to the next page to find the events you won’t want to miss.
Guests enjoy carnival rides at the annual Rooster Days festival in Broken Arrow. The festival started in 1931 and has run yearly since. Tulsa World Magazine file
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Tulsa International Mayfest and the Blue Dome Arts Festival May 18-21 These are two separate events, but together they create one dynamic weekend in downtown Tulsa. Mayfest kicks off first on May 18. Find plenty of art, along with local and national musical acts, and some of the best festival food in the state. tulsamayfest.org A few blocks away, find local artists and food trucks at the Blue Dome Arts Festival in the Blue Dome District. It runs from May 19 through May 21. bluedomearts.org
Artist Andy Quaglino shows a piece of his work at Mayfest. Find artists lining Main Street downtown for four days in May, in addition to live music, food and more. JESSIE WARDARSKI/Tulsa World Magazine file
The Hop Jam May 21 Tulsa band Hanson has started what may be one of the most fun festivals in the state. The Hop Jam takes national headlining acts like Mayer Hawthorne, Kongos, John Fullbright — and, of course, Hanson — and combines the music with craft beer. More than 65 brewers, including Evil Twin, Stone and Founders, as well as local favorites like Marshall and Hanson Brothers Beer, will have tasting tents. The music will be on outdoor stages in the Brady Arts District. The day opens with the Tulsa Worldsponsored Opening Band Contest winner. thehopjam.com tulsaworld.com/ hopjam
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Isaac (left), Zac and Taylor Hanson talk to the crowd at a past Hop Jam. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World Magazine file
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Oklahoma Renaissance Festival Weekends in May The Oklahoma Renaissance Festival is a can’tmiss event every year at the Castle of Muskogee. See jousting matches, eat a turkey leg and hoist a tankard of ale while strolling through an open-air market and see people in all manner of Renaissance dress — from kings and knights in shining armor to jugglers and acrobats. okcastle.com
Rooster Days May 11-14 One of the Tulsa area’s longest-running festivals, Rooster Days takes over Broken Arrow for the 86th time this year. Find a parade at 10 a.m. May 13 that marches through the Rose District downtown, and enjoy four days of food, music and carnival rides. roosterdays.com
Cody Wade of Bartlesville duels with Caden Burress of Verdigris at the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival. IAN MAULE/ Tulsa World Magazine file
Fans and spectators cheer as cyclists pass by on Cry Baby Hill during Tulsa Tough. JESSIE WARDARSKI/ Tulsa World Magazine file
Morgan Stout (center) rides the merry-goround with her daughter Realynne during Rooster Days in Broken Arrow. JOEY JOHNSON/ for the Tulsa World
Tulsa Tough June 9-11 Tulsa turns into a cyclist’s paradise in June with the start of Tulsa Tough. Find kids rides, fun rides and serious criterium racing on the streets of downtown and along the Arkansas River. And, of course, there’s Crybaby Hill, which has quickly turned into the party of the year along the north side of Riverside Drive. Cheer the racers on while listening to live music and peoplewatching. Or hit the family-friendly parties at other points along the routes.
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THE MOMENT. By MIKE SIMONS Tulsa World Magazine photographer
I’ve spent a lot of time in the Crutchfield Park neighborhood since the restoration of the Outsiders House began. Certain things always grab my attention. A young adult who would be considered a hood by some always gets his or her photo taken. Graffiti is like evidence of the current crop of “outsiders.” A train whistle, like at the beginning of the movie, or a makeshift memorial to someone causes the imagination to run wild. Sometimes a car from the era of the book will roll through. But what grabs my attention most are the sunrises and sunsets. They are such a big part of the movie. On March 21, I was summoned to the area before sunrise for a fatal fire. As I finished covering the fire, the sunrise was magnificent. I found a spot to shoot it, then two people entered the frame — one carrying a beach umbrella and the other a bicycle frame. As I moved around photographing them, a woman walked up behind me, smiled at the sky and said, “Something beautiful like that reminds you of God’s presence.”
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deco.
Home aid
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A Samsung Family Hub refrigerator at Metro Appliances and More features a built-in Wi-Fienabled screen that can stream cooking videos and music and sync with mobile applications to make life a little easier. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World Magazine
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Smart appliances make routine household tasks easier By Jessica Rodrigo • Tulsa World Magazine
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f smartphones have changed the ways we live, then just imagine how smart appliances will change our lives. For some people, that time has arrived. Homes can now be outfitted with smart appliances to make routine tasks easier with just a touch of a button. Thanks to new devices and applications, it’s possible to sync several appliances together to communicate when routine tasks are performed, said James Ring, sales manager at Metro Appliances and More. “You can tell Alexa to, ‘heat up my coffee,’ ” he explained. “Or if you’re out shopping for groceries and forget what you have in the fridge, you can
The GE washer with SmartDispense technology can contain and dispense laundry detergent and fabric softener according to the load size and settings. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World Magazine
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Stainless steel continues to be a popular option for kitchen appliances. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World Magazine
turn on a camera to see for yourself.” There are smart devices and appliances for everything, from the kitchen and the laundry room to entertainment and lighting. So many appliances now have miniature computers in them that enable them to do more than their typical jobs. They can remember settings for laundry, keep track of quantities for detergent, bleach or fabric softener, and can also tell you when something is wrong. Kay Brasel and her husband were in the midst of building a new home when he saw a deal for a new washer at Metro Appliance that he couldn’t pass up. “Most people aren’t in the market for these kinds of appliances,” Ring said. “But when they see them, they’re likely to consider them.” Brasel didn’t know much about the new GE washer with SmartDispense when it arrived, but she has quickly become accustomed to the machine’s capabilities. For instance, she never has to remember when to add the fabric softener. It may sound like TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
Assistant General Manager Tarah Duncan demonstrates how an induction stovetop can quickly heat a pot compared to the traditional electric stove. IAN MAULE/ Tulsa World Magazine
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CABINETS STONE QUARTZ TILE TUBS FAUCETS
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A wide galley-style sink includes adjustable features, such as colander, bowl or drying rack. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World Magazine
a minor task, but it’s easy to get carried away doing something else and then forget to add the softener before the final rinse. “We haven’t had it long, but it’s been long enough to know it saves time, and I’m really pleased with it,” she said. “It’s smarter than me, and I’m not even using all the features.” She also noticed that she doesn’t go through as much of the fabric softener as when she would measure the liquid by hand because the machine is programmed to dispense the proper amount per load. The same SmartDispense technology is also built into GE brand dishwashers, which are programmed to know the proper amount of dishwasher detergent to use based on the setting, capacity and how soiled the dishes are. Major appliance companies like 18 Tulsa World Magazine
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Some of the newer ovens can be Wi-Fi or Bluetooth enabled to communicate with a user’s cellphone. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World Magazine
GE, LG and Samsung have also released new technology that can link cellphones or tablets through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Some appliances are capable of performing a smart diagnosis that can notify its owner of a problem, said Tarah Duncan, assistant manager of Metro Appliances and More. If there is a problem, the device will send a message to its owner and also to the manufacturer to start planning a visit from a certified repairman. This can save time and money for people who own more than one property, such as vacation homes. Homeowners can receive a notification on their phone, through email or a tablet if something goes wrong without the worry of knowing when it will be repaired. “The service side of (the technology) can really save someone time because it can perform a smart diagnosis that will get the problem fixed the first time,” she said. “There’s no more having to wait until the repairman determines what the problem is and then finding out that it wasn’t what he thought it was.” And because the technology can connect to the repair service, it can also notify a parts department to send the part so that the parts and repairman arrive at the same time, Duncan explained. Like all the latest and greatest technology, smart appliances are designed for a specific niche of consumers. Not everyone is rushing out to get their hands on the newest appliance, unless it fits their needs, Ring said. “In a year or two, you’ll be able to integrate your entire home to Wi-Fi,” Ring said. TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
Under-the-counter microwave drawers are a new kitchen design that offers an alternative to the traditional countertop or under-the-cabinet unit. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World Magazine
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How I got here. Craig Groeschel founded Life. Church in 1996 in a two-car garage. courtesy/ Life.Church
BIO ON Groeschel The 49-year-old is a senior pastor for Life. Church, which is based in Edmond. It is one of the nation’s largest churches, with 231 services at 26 locations in eight states. About 70,000 people attend services each weekend and another 200,000 attend online. Groeschel, a graduate of Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, founded the church in 1996 in a two-car garage. His latest book is called “Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life.”
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Craig Groeschel Interview by Ja son Collington
Life.Church founder traces beginnings back to garage > I grew up going to church, but I wasn’t actually a Christian. And so I became a Christian in college and felt called to the church world. But I had a business degree. So nobody really wanted me. > I ended up in a church with an amazing pastor who invested in a lot of young leaders. He took a big risk on me and hired me on to be a pastor in training underneath him. I would have served with him for my whole life, but it really came to a point where we all recognized I probably did not fit in that model of church. > How do we think lean, aggressive, fast? I don’t want to think big and successful. Big and successful is slow, bureaucratic, slow to change. Based on the need in the world, we want to be agile, quick to change, quick to adapt. > My office faced the Murrah building. Thankfully, I was not there. I was at seminary the day (the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing) hit. I drove back in immediately and got in before they shut off access. They turned the lobby of our church — First United Methodist Church — into a morgue. They told me not to look in there when you walk by. Being young, immature and foolish, I looked. What I saw — I will never get the image out of my mind. > One of my favorite quotes I like to teach younger leaders is, “The things that no one sees result in the things that everyone wants.” I could point to starting the church, marrying my wife, trying video teaching for the first time, going multisite, giving away free resources, creating the YouVersion Bible app, which was not my idea but our church did. But, truthfully, I think it’s the decisions that no one sees: getting up and deciding to be loving on a day when I want to yell at everyone. It’s hundreds and hundreds of small decisions that lead to the life you want. > I heard a leader say years ago that the best things happen in the margin. Your most meaningful times are often in something that was unpredicted, unplanned, unscheduled. Your best ideas don’t come when you are stressed out, overwhelmed, overworked. They come when you have time focused on being creative. > One question people ask is what is your five-year plan. I really have stopped making five-year plans. So, instead, my plan is to create margin now to seize opportunities I can’t predict. > When I was a workaholic, I went through two seasons of counseling because I really needed help. > One of the things I do and I will do this today: I will walk out the door at 3:30 and go to the gym, work out and then be home for dinner. > I was blessed enough to hire a guy named Jerry Hurley, who had been a district manager over Target stores. He told me one day, real gently: “You are a fantastic communicator, great at casting vision, but you are a control freak. And your desire to control will be the greatest limiting factor to this church’s growth and impact. If you will give up some control and let me do what I can do, I’ll help take this organization to places it couldn’t go before.” > That conversation changed the trajectory of our church. The strength of what we have is not based on my leadership, my speaking. The strength of what we have is based on the quality of the leaders we have at this organization. > You can have control or you can have growth. But you can’t have both. > I actually like when we are making mistakes. We learn more from mistakes than we learn from getting things right. > In our organization, we forbid our leaders to say, “Our people don’t whatever.” Maybe “our people don’t care about the next generation.” We train ourselves to say, “We have not led our people to blank.” > If we don’t cast blame and take ownership, then I believe we can start to do something.
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50 22 Tulsa World Magazine
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ulsa World Magazine is celebrating the 50th anniversary of “The Outsiders” with a special edition dedicated to the novel that launched a youth fiction genre. Tulsa author S.E. Hinton speaks about the impact of the book, along with a retrospective of the movie version released in 1983. The coming-of-age film about the feuding Greasers and Socs launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and made many enduring memories for Tulsans who crossed their paths during filming. Founders of The Outsiders House Museum, one of the locations where the movie was shot (find a map of many more inside), prepare for its opening soon, and area students weigh in on why the book’s theme still relates to them.
IN THIS ISSUE
TULSA AUTHOR S.E. HINTON LOOKS BACK 50 YEARS TO HER FIRST BOOK - 24 A CLOSER LOOK AT WHERE ‘OUTSIDERS’ WAS FILMED IN TULSA - 42 WILL ROGERS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TAKE OWNERSHIP OF ‘OUTSIDERS’ - 44 FROM THE OUTSIDE: HIP-HOP ARTIST SAVES A HOUSE, FINDS A MISSION - 50 DARK DENIM, BUTTON-UPS OFFER MODERN LOOK FOR ‘THE OUTSIDERS’ - 64 ROB LOWE REMEMBERS HIS DAYS FILMING ‘THE OUTSIDERS’ - 76 ‘THE OUTSIDERS’ 34 YEARS AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE FILM - 80 YOUNG ‘OUTSIDERS’ GET GREASER LESSONS FROM LOCAL ROCK ‘N’ ROLLER - 84 WOMAN HOLDS SWEET MEMORIES AS A CHILD ACTOR IN ‘OUTSIDERS’ - 88 DISHES TO DINE ON WHILE DIVING INTO ‘THE OUTSIDERS’ - 94
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
fOREVER AN
oUTSIDER
Tulsa author S.E. Hinton looks back 50 years to her first book
L
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Story by Ginnie Graham • Tulsa World Magazine ooking out the side living room window, author S.E. Hinton has a picture in her mind bringing a slight smile. In the film based on her most famous novel, the yard next to the north Tulsa home was where the Greasers gathered. It’s empty now, but she has a vivid memory. “It was one of my favorite scenes because it was the only time in the book and the movie that all the guys were together,” Hinton said. “Each one put his own impression on his own character with very few lines.” Two-Bit Mathews was not exactly sane. Steve Randle was kind of crazy. Sodapop Curtis was carefree. Dallas Winston — downright dangerous. Darry, Curtis a leader and protector. Ponyboy Curtis, the observer and narrator, the sometimes outsider among outsiders. “The Outsiders” — the novel that created a new genre of literature — celebrated its 50th anniversary in April. Hinton, a Tulsa native, wrote the book as a teenager at Will Rogers High School and received the publisher’s contract at age 18. “It built slowly ... It wasn’t like an overnight success,” Hinton said. “My first royalty check
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Tulsa author S.E. Hinton sits at the Outsiders House, where much of “The Outsiders” was filmed. MIKE SIMONS/ Tulsa World Magazine
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S.E. Hinton stands outside the Outsiders House in north Tulsa. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
was $10. That could get you a tank of gas in Tulsa at that time. There was no big fan base and no big money. It grew to be part of my life. Now, it is hard to remember a time without it.” “The Outsiders” is ground zero for young-adult novels. Before, youth books were lumped in with children’s literature and focused on teen cliches of proms, cruising, cheerleaders and football players. Hinton’s voice freed teens to speak truths as they see them — to be and feel different from the norm. “I wrote it at the right time of life,” she said. “Even though as an adult writer the emotions seem over-thetop or seem overly dramatic, that’s the way you feel at that age.” This black-and-white view is gritty but without judgment. It’s about making families out of friends. Violence is a given. Loyalty is everything. Teen pregnancy, a whispered possibility.
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Today, themes of class conflict resonate in different ways — economic, race, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity. As the title suggests, the struggle is feeling outside what’s accepted. “Our kids thought, ‘I didn’t know anybody felt like that,’ but they all identify with feeling like an outsider, even in your own group,” Hinton said. “Ponyboy never felt like he really fit into his group. That’s such a universal experience.” In her 50-year writing career, Hinton added more to the young-adult collection and published adult novels and children’s books, as well. But it’s “The Outsiders” for which she’s best known. Once, a person asked Hinton if that bothered her. “How many writers get an ‘Outsiders’ in their lives? Not many,” Hinton said. “No way am I upset about it. Writers don’t get that. I can’t think of another writer alive who has an
‘Outsiders’ in their lives.”
The Book Hinton started writing “The Outsiders” at age 15 out of frustration with the available selections for teens. “I remember ‘Great Expectations,’ ” but what does that have to do with anything with high school kids?” Hinton said. “I’m so glad nobody made me read Jane Austen until I was out of college. Now, I’m a Jane Austen expert.” Tapping into that creative craving, Hinton became inspired to write after a classmate in her neighborhood was beaten up by rich kids while walking home. The character of Ponyboy was not an actual person. No character was. But their traits and personalities were pulled from people she knew.
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About ‘The Outsiders’ Summary: Told through the narration of 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, the story spans a two-week time in his life. He is the youngest of three brothers, who were orphaned. The oldest brother, Darry, works two jobs to support the family. Considered Greasers, they live in poverty in a part of town often harassed by wealthier kids, called Socs (as in Socials). Ponyboy struggles with feelings of being outside the group. After a deadly run-in with a group of Socs, he finds himself on the run with a fellow Greaser. Author: Native Tulsan S.E. Hinton started writing the book at age 15 while a student at Will Rogers High School. She received a publishing contract from Viking Press at age 18. A friend of her mother’s knew a literary agent in New York. Sales: It has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide in several languages and is standard-issue literature in schools. It continues to sell more than 500,000 copies a year. Sidenote: The phrase “Stay Gold” was coined by Hinton. It was inspired by the line “nothing gold can stay” from a Robert Frost poem cited in the book.
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C. Thomas Howell and S.E. Hinton during the filming of “The Outsiders” in March 1982. Courtesy/John Southern
C. Thomas Howell hugs “The Outsiders” author S.E. Hinton at the AMC Southroads 20 theater on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Outsiders” DVD release Aug. 13, 2011. Tulsa World Magazine file
Always a writer, she was also always a reader. In a 1967 Tulsa World story, Hinton’s mother said her daughter constantly read “Gone With the Wind.” Most notable is her direct style. “I don’t like to meander too much,” she said. “I’m not philosophical and I’m not over-descriptive.” Hinton grew up in Tulsa, her father a door-to-door
salesman, who died while she was in high school, and her mother an assembly-line worker. Throughout high school, she refined the chapters of “The Outsiders” and eventually showed it to a friend of her mother’s, who knew a New York literary agent. It was sold to the second publisher, the Viking Press. The softcover was picked up
by Dell. She followed it up in 1971 with “That Was Then, This is Now,” 1975’s “Rumble Fish” and 1979’s “Tex.” During this time, “The Outsiders” continued to surge in popularity, becoming standardissue literature in American classrooms and sought-after Hollywood rights. Hinton declined offers to turn her first novel into a
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About the Author Susan Eloise (S.E.) Hinton, 68, was born and raised in Tulsa, graduating from Will Rogers High School in 1966. She met her husband, David Inhofe, while attending the University of Tulsa, and the two married in 1970. She graduated from TU the same year with an education degree. The couple has one son and continues to live in Tulsa. Her other works include: Teens - “That Was Then, This Is Now” (1971), “Rumble Fish” (1975), “Tex” (1979) and “Taming the Star Runner” (1988) Children’s - “Big David, Little David” (1995) illustrated by Alan Daniel and “The Puppy Sister” (1995) illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers Adult fiction - “Hawkes Harbor” (2004) and “Some of Tim’s Stories” (2007) In 1988, she received the inaugural Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her contribution in writing for teens. Previously, authors of young-adult books were not distinguished separately from children’s writers. In receiving the award, the ALA stated that Hinton’s work has shown the “lasting ability to speak to the young-adult experience, to help readers to become more aware of themselves and of the world around them.” Popular questions asked of Hinton, from sehinton.com Where did the names come from (i.e. Ponyboy, Sodapop, Two-Bit)? “I do remember at that age everyone wishing they were named something else, probably part of establishing an identity other than the one your parents have for you. The strange names seemed to fit the characters, though, so I left them.” Why do you use your initials? ”I use my initials instead of my first name because the publishers were afraid the first reviewers would assume a girl couldn’t write a book like the ‘Outsiders.’ After that, I found I liked the privacy of having a ‘public’ name and a private one, so it has worked out fine.” What book did you like writing the best? “I really enjoyed writing the ‘Outsiders’ the most — I wasn’t thinking about getting it published or what reviewers would think, I just was totally involved in the story. It’s hard to do that when it is your profession.” Why are all of your main characters male? “I started using male characters just because it was easiest as a tomboy, most of my close friends were boys, and I figured nobody would believe a girl would know anything about my subject matter.” 28 Tulsa World Magazine
Patrick Swazye (left), S.E. Hinton and C. Thomas Howell attend “The Outsiders” premiere at the Williams Center Cinema in 1983. Tulsa World Magazine file
film. Then, she had a positive experience with director Tim Hunter with the movie “Tex” in 1982. She agreed to sell the rights.
The MOVIE In 1980, a Fresno, California, school librarian convinced Academy Award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola to turn “The Outsiders” into a movie by sending a class petition to his private address. To stay true to the novel, Coppola decided to shoot the film in Tulsa and take much of the dialogue directly from the book. He brought in Hinton to write the screenplay and to have a say in the filmmaking process. The duo later made “Rumble Fish”
into what Coppola dubbed an art film for teens. “I absolutely loved that man, still do,” she said. “I would work with him again. I’ve kept my Screen Actors Guild credential all these years just in case. If he ever calls, I’m ready.” “The Outsiders” launched the careers of many A-list Hollywood actors. The only known cast member at the time was teen star Matt Dillon, who played the violently impulsive Dallas Winston. The roster includes Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Leif Garrett and Darren Dalton. “There wasn’t any infighting, there wasn’t any backstabbing and nobody was gossiping,” she said. “They were cohesive.”
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
Tulsa author S.E. Hinton’s first novel, “The Outsiders,” is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Hinton became a type of mama bear, or maybe cool older sister, to the young actors. She still keeps in touch with all of them. “The boys were brought here and turned loose with no adult supervision at all,” Hinton said. “I stayed out of the hotel and didn’t want to know what was happening. Now, on set, I was on them. But I knew better than to go to the hotel and control things.” One of Hinton’s favorite party stories begins with: “I made Tommy Cruise throw up.” Coppola would host large pasta dinners for the cast, and Cruise ate a little too much on the evening he was to shoot a scene featuring his flips. He went to Hinton in a panic about his full stomach. Hinton took him to the side of a food truck and found a solution. “I fed him raw eggs until he threw up. I just stood there handing him paper towels,” she said. “He was able to do his acrobatics.” Then, there was Diane Lane, the actress playing Soc character Cherry Valance and crush of many young teen boys. Hinton remembers Lane trying to be friendly with the up-andcoming male actors. “I felt so sorry for her,” Hinton said. “She’s really a sweet, nice girl and would have loved to just hang out and be one of them. They just got so damn hormonal when she showed up. They ran around and bumped into each other. They teased her and teased her and teased her. She would’ve liked to have been friends.”
MIKE SIMONS/ Tulsa World Magazine
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neighborhood when we shot, and it’s not a good neighborhood now.” When Los Angeles rapper Danny O’Connor bought the house last year to turn it into the Outsiders House Museum, he met with Hinton first and received her blessing. She is quick to compliment O’Connor and project managers Zachary Matthews and Donnie Rich. “I’ve contributed to it and donated money to it, but they are the ones down here doing the work, the real work,” she said. “Give them complete credit.”
The SUPERNATURAL Since Hinton was a child, she’s been fascinated with the paranormal. She has a collection of ghost stories and other tales of the unexplained. Some of this interest showed up in her adult novel “Hawkes Harbor,” with a vampire character. It’s also evident in her public admiration of the CW network’s “Supernatural.” The first fan letter Hinton ever wrote was to the program’s creator, Eric Kripke. “I wrote the letter how I would like one. I simply stated I like it and some examples of what I liked about it,” she said. “I did not ask for anything. I did not want anything.” A couple of days later, she received an email from Kripke: “He said they were at the studio trying to figure out if it was a hoax.” Turns out, Kripke and much of the “Supernatural” crew count themselves among the legions of Hinton fans. She was invited to Vancouver, Canada, to hang out on set.
It’s become an annual trip. She has a director’s chair with her name on it, and she keeps the crew’s same long hours. Like with “The Outsiders,” Hinton has developed close relationships with the actors and others on the show. “I love being on set,” she said. “It’s community storytelling. It is a lot of fun.” Hinton has been asked to write a piece for Entertainment Weekly about “Supernatural.” When asked if she contributes as a writer, she offers a subtle laugh. “Oh, I don’t want to mess up the story,” she says.
The NOW The anniversary means Hinton will be holding some tours for book signings. For an introvert, it can be stressful, though she has it down to an art. Her most enjoyable access to fans is through Twitter. She answers questions often, engages frequently and retweets bits of interest all the time. “I love it because I can interact with fans with limited words, and I can follow people I like and see what they’re up to,” she said. Some followers can get testy, like asking why she made a character die or arguing about whether any “Outsiders” characters are gay (they aren’t). Hinton will bite back. “I wrote the story that came to me,” she said. She doesn’t read fan fiction but has no problem with it. “I think it’s a good way to practice writing. When I was in middle
school, I wrote what would be considered fan fiction of ‘Bonanza.’ There was no place to put it; it was just fun to do.” Among her most enjoyable and most challenging are her works in adult fiction. “ ‘Hawkes Harbor’ was the most fun ever. I just threw all the rules out the book,” she said. “I didn’t stay with a single narrative ... I went all over the place. I didn’t set in a specific location.” By contrast is “Some of Tim’s Stories.” This short-story collection offers 14 vignettes of no more than 1,000 words each about the lives of cousins Mike and Terry. An unusual twist is not having a character named Tim. Instead, Tim is the writer of the stories and has translated his life into these fictional stories. “I did ‘Hawkes Harbor’ in that each chapter could be a short story and are hooked together in a linear way,” she said. “With the 1,000 limit, I might end up with 1,030 and wonder if I could cut 30 words. But I always could.” Currently, she has finished a screenplay of “Some of Tim’s Stories” and is working with a producer to have it made into a movie. “It’s some of the best writing I’ve ever done,” she said. “I always say every book is practice for the next one.” Hinton has lived a largely quiet and unassuming life in Tulsa. “I was born here and grew up here. It’s been interesting watching all the changes and being part of it,” Hinton said. “This is home, and this is where I like to live. It’s very peaceful here, and I’m glad to see a booming downtown.”
“This is home, and this is where I like to live.
It’s very peaceful here, and I’m glad to see a booming downtown.” - S.E. Hinton
30 Tulsa World Magazine
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Tulsa World Magazine 31
Novel for the ages
32 Tulsa World Magazine
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
Teens question S.E. Hinton about the lasting themes of her 50-year-old book
Editor’s Note “The Outsiders” is taught to teenagers usually in grade levels when youths are about 13 years old. Recently, Edison Preparatory School seventh-grader Louis Graham, son of Tulsa World Magazine writer Ginnie Graham, finished the novel in Lisa Konieczka’s class, and last year, Owasso eighth-grader Sonnie Simons, daughter of Tulsa World Magazine photographer Mike Simons, studied the book. Both sat down at the Outsiders House with author S.E. Hinton — 50 years after she wrote the novel as a teenager — to ask some questions. The following is an edited version. To watch the full video interview, go to tulsaworldtv.com.
Sonnie Simons: Which character do you relate to the most? S.E. Hinton: Ponyboy is very much like I was at that age. But anytime you write a character, and this goes for all authors, it’s some part of yourself. You are the filter that character has to go through. ... Some part of me is Dallas too. Louis Graham: How are characters in “The Outsiders” based on people you knew? Hinton: I was running around with a bunch of guys. It was a neighborhood group. I hate it when people say “The Outsiders” is a gang book. It’s not a gang book. It’s about a bunch of guys who hung out in their neighborhood. I was a part of a friendship like that. I grew up with my cousins who are boys. ... Nobody in the book is exact — they are all fiction. I mixed people’s looks up and their personalities up.
Louis Graham, an Edison seventhgrader, and Owasso eighth-grader Sonnie Simons talk with author S.E. Hinton about “The Outsiders.” MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
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Tulsa World Magazine 33
Graham: So they are basically your creations. Hinton: Yes. Absolutely.
Francis Ford Coppola and S.E. Hinton during the filming of “The Outsiders” in March 1982.
Simons: In “The Outsiders” movie, how do you think the actors and actresses portrayed your visions of the characters? Hinton: They were great. There will never be a remake of that because we’ll never find a cast like that. What made it so great was because those guys were approximately the same age of the characters in the book. Graham: In high school, what were the reactions of your friends getting your book published? Hinton: A lot of people knew I wrote. I was so busy having my own reactions I wasn’t paying any attention to theirs. Simons: Your book “That Was Then, This Is Now” is set after “The Outsiders” and briefly mentions Ponyboy at the beginning. Have you ever thought of doing another book just devoted to where the Greasers are now and how the deaths affected the gang? Hinton: No. Never going to do that. The story ends where it’s supposed to.
John Southern/ Tulsa World Magazine file
Basically, it is a couple of weeks out of Ponyboy’s life that taught him to look at things differently. I have no desire to make a series. ... I can’t recapture that same feeling. Even when I wrote “That Was Then,” I knew I couldn’t write that kind of book again. ... By the time you are 21, you can’t recapture those feelings. Graham: What was it like to work with Francis Ford Coppola? Hinton: Wonderful. I absolutely love that man and still do. ... I’d work with him again. As a matter of fact, I’ve kept my Screen Actors Guild card up all
these years. If he ever calls, I’m ready. Simons: Did you have friends actually die in high school? Hinton: No. Well, I knew a kid but I didn’t know him well. ... The SocGreaser thing was getting so violent. It could’ve happened pretty easily. Graham: How did the book change your life? Hinton: It built slowly. ... It wasn’t like an overnight success. ... I didn’t have to deal with anything all of a sudden. No big fame all of a sudden. No big money all of a sudden. It grew to be part of my life.
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
At 17, Susan Hinton was starting college, publishing book
T
ulsa’s teenage bleeding Madras jungle is the setting of 17-year-old Susan Hinton’s remarkable first novel, “The Outsiders,” to be released this month by Viking press. After flunking a course in creative writing (she couldn’t spell her middle name), she was rewarded for her writing efforts the day she graduated from Will Rogers High School with the presentation of a contract for the publication of her book and a $1,000 This story check. on S.E. Now a freshman Hinton was at the University of published Tulsa, the talented, in the Tulsa tiny blonde has switched from jourWorld on nalism to education April 7, 1967. because she was unable to write under pressure and still couldn’t spell. Oddly enough, no one ever explained the function of a copy editor to her or examined her professional powers of observation and authentic reporting style until she fell into the hands of the Night Writers group, who immediately adopted her. Her fictional story of the juvenile underground and its classic conflict between the “greasers” and the “soc” is already slated for inclusion in school libraries, where it is hailed as a comprehensive look at teenagers by a teenager and for
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
Tulsa World Magazine 35
teenagers. Her method of interrogating her sources and gaining their confidence would chill the blood of the most hard-bitten crime reporter. She carried a switch blade to gain their attention and to open a dialogue between the “hoody” element she sought to understand and her Sunday school-teaching self. “I found a large jack-knife,” she said, “it really wasn’t a switch blade, near our cabin at the lake and carried it around with me. “When I took it out, these young greasers would want to talk about the knife, and soon they would open up and tell me their escapades and discuss their problems and frustrations. “My mother nearly flipped when she found out about the knife, but she had confidence in my judgment and integrity, even though it distressed her. She soon came to understand my motives and let it pass. “She could understand my drive to write the book but never my messy method of keeping my copy spread all over my room. Once she carried all my writing out to the trash burner and told me it was going to be burned if I didn’t put it away neatly. I now keep all my work jumbled in a suit box.” Her mother, Mrs. Grady P. Hinton, is a remarkable good housekeeper and follows the rules of child rearing with considerable insight. “My girls were reared in the arms of the Lord, with love and respect for their fellow man,” she said, “and I felt Susan would do the right thing under any circumstance. “It was hard for me to accept the language used in the first part of the book, and the knife scared me to death. I worried about what people would think. I never dreamed she would get her book published, at least not the first one. “At first, it disturbed me for her to be back in her room writing all the time when the rest of us were in the living room watching TV or talking. Then I accepted the idea that this was her way of enjoying life and quit worrying about it.” The book was written under
36 Tulsa World Magazine
extreme emotional strain in the Hinton household, and Mrs. Hinton believes her daughter turned to writing as a means of escaping the reality of her father’s illness. He was dying with a malignant brain tumor during the year she wrote the book. Much of the time Suzy was at home writing at the dining room table, her mother was away at the hospital with her husband. The girls, Suzy and her sister, Beverly, were cared for by their grandmother. “Suzy was very close to her father, and I noticed that the sicker he became, the harder she worked,” her mother said. She is no pseudo-intellectual with egg-headed pretensions, but she has been an avid reader all her life. “She read everything, including the Bab-O cans,” her mother explained. When questioned about this, Suzy admitted to having read “Gone With the Wind” 20 times, and she is rereading it right now. Her father had the same compulsive reading habits. While she was working on her book, she read everything she could get her hands on about juvenile delinquency. Suzy is having difficulty finding a new subject, and her teachers have complained about her “teenage kick.” However, she is quick to defend her teachers, claiming they have always encouraged her to write and some have even tried to overlook her spelling: “I simply have no interest in learning to spell,” she smiled. “My longsuffering English teacher makes me carry a dictionary without realizing it doesn’t help. One must know how to spell a word in order to look it up.” Suzy’s plots were different and made up as her characters develop. She was sick of all the Dannys, Gregs and Brents so she gave her characters different kinds of names. The main character of her book is called Ponyboy and his brother, Soda. She has a love of the underdog, and not too much antagonism toward the overlord. She describes herself as neither a “soc” nor a
“greaser” but someone in the middle who could look with understanding at either group. “The social club boys were a real problem to understand because they make a study of being cool and really never say anything of importance to anyone. I think their fear of social pressure makes them afraid to reveal anything about themselves — it would be uncool. “Then it was necessary to just watch them. While they never slipped their talk, they would frequently give themselves away by their actions. “The boys are easier to talk to than the girls, who are deliberately evasive in most discussions. They just don’t want to talk seriously.” Suzy is no reverse social snob but is presently dating a fraternity boy at TU, whom she describes as a brilliant boy with something to say. “He is smart in math,” she observed, “and that really impresses me. I am about as good at math as I am at spelling.” Her book is dedicated to a cousin, Jimmy, who has been a lifelong “buddy,” and she claims he accounts for her ability to write from a boy’s point of view. Her junior high school age sister, Beverly, is her best critic. “I read my stories to her and when she says it sounds for real I leave it in. When she says ‘you must be kidding,’ I take it out.” A prime motivating force in her life is her work as a teacher of a high school Bible class at the Church of the Open Door, a fundamentalist sect located on Tulsa’s north side. Only a few professional writers, her high school teachers and closest friends have been told about the publication of her book. “A 17-year-old girl just can’t go around talking about her book being published,” she said. “People would think she was nuts. Once or twice I have given in to the temptation, and I am usually sorry I brought it up. I get the blank stare treatment. The book is being published under the name of S.E. Hinton in an effort to avoid losing male readers. “The E. stands for Eloise, spelled Eloise, I think,” she said.
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VIEW
Point.
Why ‘The Outsiders’ endures GINNIE GRAHAM
Ginnie Graham is a Tulsa World news columnist whose columns appear each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. She has been a reporter with the Tulsa World since 1994, covering social issues, education and criminal justice. When not working, she is usually whisking her two children to dance, sports or school events. She has a professional guitar-playing husband, reads quite a bit and believes Thanksgiving is the best holiday.
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
The house where “The Outsiders” was filmed is part of pop culture history. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
I
n Tulsa, we all feel a part of “The Outsiders.” A lot is due to the 1983 movie, which filmed in the city’s Crutchfield Neighborhood and on streets not changed much in the past three decades. It’s also the simplicity and universality that Tulsa author S.E. Hinton brought to the literary world as a teenager at Will Rogers High School. The language — though a half-century old — remains relevant and to the point. The story doesn’t meander or get mired in heavy metaphor. It’s not a long book but is swift and full of action, from innocent flirting at a movie to murder and a shoot-out with police. It’s a page-turner to this day. Hinton says that the publishing company didn’t have a working title until coming up with “The Outsiders” before going to print. A perfect summation.
Tulsa World Magazine 37
The theme of alienation resonates, especially among youth. Everyone, even a Soc, feels alone at times. Economic class separated Greasers and Socs in the book. Today, those differences remain, but there are more. Listen in on discussions with students. They take that theme through the lens of sexuality, race and immigration. The haves and have-nots are divided among many more lines. Sometimes, Hinton gets asked about a character’s sexual preferences or other traits. It’s likely a change of times or maybe even a reader projecting a feeling of camaraderie with a character. Hinton’s most common response: “Read into it what you want.” It’s good advice. The joy of literature ceases to be when told all the answers. THE HOUSE: Tulsa has blessings in large public projects such as the BOK Center and publicprivate ventures like the soon-tobe-unveiled The Gathering Place urban park. Generous patrons support these and other significant projects. The Outsiders House is different. Los Angeles hip-hop artist Danny Boy O’Connor bought the home at 731 N. St. Louis Ave. when it was in serious disrepair with plans to restore it as a museum. As the primary location for the movie set, it’s part of pop culture history. The ongoing fundraising effort is like a character out of the book — scrappy, tenacious and somewhat on the outside. The GoFundMe page is filled with $5 and $10 donations from around the world. Blue-collar workers donate their skills and time. People from across the nation have traveled to Tulsa to see the house and volunteer to help. It’s a community project — not something isolated to a handful of the elite. Though, the organizers won’t turn away anyone. It’s a lesson from the book: “Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.” 38 Tulsa World Magazine
Tulsa author S.E. Hinton sits at the Outsiders House in north Tulsa. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
Danny Boy O’Connor, cofounder of the Outsiders House, takes a tour of Will Rogers High School, where Tulsa writer S.E. Hinton wrote the book. MIKE SIMONS/ Tulsa World Magazine
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STAY GOLD: For years, I thought reading “The Outsiders” was just an Oklahoma school requirement. It is much bigger. The story of the Curtis boys and their band of brothers is adopted across U.S. curriculum and in many foreign countries. Publication continues to expand into other countries. Re-reading the novel as an adult, the view is a bit different. Dallas Winston, the bad-boy character played by Matt Dillon in the film, isn’t so dreamy anymore. He’s a hothead playboy with anger issues and violent tendencies. I would be horrified if my daughter brought him home. Or my son for that matter. My attention and thoughts fell more with the oldest Curtis brother, Darry, who was played by Patrick Swayze. As a kid, I viewed him as a strict grown-up. As a 45-yearold parent, I view him as a
tragic character — a young man with a lost youth and tough future. I thought of all Tulsa’s social programs that might have helped him. “The Outsiders” isn’t a bleak novel. There is an endearingly optimistic theme of family, even one of your own choosing. Hinton wrote a final scene between the brothers in which the character Sodapop confronts his siblings about their fighting. When actor Rob Lowe, who played the role, visited Tulsa in March, he thanked Hinton for “the wonderful monologue,” which can be seen in the 25th anniversary director’s version. “We’re all we got left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we don’t have each other, we don’t have anything.” “The Outsiders” endures because, in some way, we’ve all been there, and we still strive to stay gold as the sunset.
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Tulsa World Magazine 39
‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
What was tulsa like in
1967 ? By Jimmie Tramel • Tulsa World Magazine
“T
he Outsiders,” a book written by Tulsa teen S.E. Hinton, was published on April 24, 1967. What was Tulsa like when the book was released? For answers, we revisited editions of the Tulsa World on and around April 24, 1967.
40 Tulsa World Magazine
> Like the rest of the country, Tulsa was a place where newspaper readers got updates on the Vietnam War. The biggest Page One headline was atop a story about how Maj. Robert Anderson, a Will Rogers High School grad and the command pilot of a Phantom jet, won an air duel to bomb a major steel mill near Hanoi. After the news reached home, the Tulsa World contacted Anderson’s father, Ted C. Anderson, for a reaction story.
> Tulsa was a place where you dialed a combination of letters and numbers to reach someone by telephone. Phone numbers listed in advertisements were two letters followed by a number, a dash and four additional numbers. Example: The phone number in an AAMCO Transmissions ad was LU 2-4131. Zsa Zsa Gabor was AAMCO’s celebrity endorser at that time.
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
> Tulsa was a place where horsepower was as good as horse power. In the classified ads, someone offered to swap a 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air for a horse and a saddle.
> Tulsa was a place where newspaper readers kept abreast of the Cold War space race. The Russian spaceship Soyuz 1, piloted by 40-year-old father of two Vladimir M. Komarov, was sent into orbit around the planet. Meanwhile, the unmanned Surveyor 3 “scratched the moon a little deeper” and took 30 television pictures of “excellent quality” for NASA.
> Tulsa was a place where you could get a deal on a meal. Adults ate for $1.69 and kids ate for 99 cents at Scandia House Smorgasboard. “Free second helping in true smorgasboard style,” said an advertisement. Borden’s offered 99-cent options (weiners and kraut, chicken and noodles, fried catfish) and $1.09 choices (Swiss steak, fried chicken, pork cutlet) with side dishes included. Meal with a view? The Stardust Club at 220 S. Memorial Drive boasted exotic dancers “and the biggest and best steaks in Oklahoma.”
> Tulsa was a place where you could get a bug for next to nothing. The asking price was $1,749 for a new 1967 Volkswagen at Loyd Brown Volkswagen and Spraker Volkswagen.
> In 1967, a clock radio cost $22.95 at Vandever’s and a 20-inch Zenith console TV cost $429.50. Just like with pocket calculators, prices declined as technology advanced. Shopping? Woodland Hills Mall was still nine years away.
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
> The big society news when the book was released was a recap of the Tulsa Opera’s Bal Masque at Southern Hills Country Club. Said the story: “After the lovely girls stood on a dais, curtsied and entered with their fathers (unashamedly beaming!), they stood in a semi-circle until all had made their bows. Then Joe Linde’s orchestra played a waltz and the daughter and dad (in two doubly proud instances, grandfathers) waltzed. Then the escorts claimed their deb dates and the dancing began.” Prizes included airfare to London. Probably, no Greasers were in attendance.
> Tulsa was a place where you could get 12 dance lessons for $12 at the Arthur Murray Studio.
> People in Tulsa and other cities throughout the nation wondered what to make of changes in the 1960s. A nationally syndicated column by Art Buchwald touched on drug usage. Buchwald worried, jokingly, that his teen son was going to smoke a banana. Meanwhile, Ann Landers devoted a column to men who liked to dress up as women, including a man who forgot his undies on his trip, borrowed his wife’s bloomers and liked the bloomers so well he never went back to briefs.
> Tulsa was a place where they listed daily burglaries in the newspaper alongside births and deaths. Example No. 1: The home of H.A. Sherman at 4454 S. Columbia Ave. was broken into when the storage room door was forced open. Lost were three rifles, two shotguns, three pistols and a slide projector. Example No. 2: The Big Four Drive-In at 2217 N. Peoria Ave. had its serving window smashed open. Assorted food items were stolen.
> Tulsa was a place where pro wrestling was big. For $2, you could have bought a ringside seat to see the Red Raiders and the Assassins settle a tag-team dispute at the Civic Center. The undercard featured Jack Briscoe versus Krusher Karlsson and Gorgeous George versus Skandor Akbar.
> Tulsa was a place that was navigating its way from a segregated past. In the “help wanted” section of the classified advertisements, one ad buyer asked for a “dependable white housekeeper” and another requested a “middle-aged white lady” as a live-in companion for an elderly lady. One of the classified advertising subsections was “situations wanted, colored.”
> Tulsa was a place where readers got updates on opposition to the Vietnam War, including an April 15 flag burning by “beatniks” in New York. A newspaper report said the town of Hell, Michigan, sponsored a “War is Hell” contest and asked letter-writers to submit possible solutions to the war. The contest drew about 800 letters, including 100 from servicemen. From Gary Martna, a member of the 1st Marine Division: “To win any war, you have to (be) united within the people. As a Marine serving in Vietnam, I can see this, but why can’t the people in the States?” From Mrs. Harold H. Austin of Vermont: “The way to end this lousy war is to let military men run it. They would go in with both feet instead of one toe and wind it up in 10 days.”
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50 St. dy
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Visit these key Tulsa locations where ‘The Outsiders’ was filmed
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pulled by police N. Pony pulled overover by police afterafter the the fire,fire, 120120 N. Boston 1 Dally and Ponyboy Boston Ave. 2 Hospital where Johnny Cade dies, 744 W. Ninth St.
3 Convenience store Dally robs and gets shot, 632 W. 12th St. 4 This is the former location of the opening scene, former Bowen Lounge, 11th Street and South Denver Avenue 5 Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, Two-Bit and Pony wait for a bus, 1301 S. Boston Ave.
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1 Dallas, Ponyboy and Johnny chase the 52 Pick-Up Kids, lot behind Warehouse Market, 845 N. Sheridan Ave. 2 Hole in fence where the Greasers sneak into the Admiral Twin. 3 Seats where the Greasers first meet Cherry Valance. 4 Fence confrontation with the Socs. (2, 3, 4: 7355 E. Easton St.) 5 The Pines Drive-In, where the knife fight took place, now the Mexican restaurant Taqueria Monterey, 7240 E. Pine St. 42 Tulsa World Magazine
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OUTSIDERS education
Will Rogers students take ownership of Tulsa-based book 44 Tulsa World Magazine
Story by Ginnie Graham • Photos by Ian Maule Tulsa World Magazine
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Byoncae Davis (center) and Jade Florence raise their hands to answer a question during a class discussion about “The Outsiders” at Will Rogers High School. The Tulsa-based book was inspired by Will Rogers High School and turns 50 this year. TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
P
hrases written by an alumna 50 years ago surround the eighthgrade class at Will Rogers Junior High School. • “Stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold.” “If we don’t have each other, we don’t have anything.” “We saw the same sunset.” “Things are tough all over.” “As I stepped out ...” • Reading “The Outsiders” has been required reading in Oklahoma classrooms for decades, often followed by watching the movie and even having a dress-up day. But it’s different in this school building, 3909 E. Fifth Place. • The author, S.E. Hinton, wrote the book while a teenager at the school. Her photo is displayed in the school’s Hall of Fame case, and several signed books are held in the library.
Even more compelling, the students imagine how the book’s iconic characters of the haves (Socs) and have-nots (Greasers) were inspired by teenagers who once sat in the same classrooms. “Think of Ponyboy, Darry, Johnny and Cherry walking down the halls at Rogers High School. We definitely know S.E.
46 Tulsa World Magazine
A student reads through a copy of “The Outsiders” during a class at Will Rogers High School.
Hinton spent a lot of time in the library. How does that make you feel as a student here?” asked teacher Marie Conner during a class discussion of the book. Hands shot up. “She was in the same situation we are in today, and she did amazing things,” Aubrie Harness said. “It was probably
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
Students sit at their desks during a class discussion about “The Outsiders” at Will Rogers High School.
It’s not just Tulsa but everywhere around us. We’re still having this here, and I’m thinking it’s not going to change.” Will Rogers High School student Christopher Guido on seeing the conflict in ‘The Outsiders’ playing out in today’s society
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
hard for her to become great back then because maybe so many people thought women couldn’t do this. It’s amazing we are living the same lives they did. It makes me feel proud being in the same place. It makes you feel honored.” “It makes me feel inspired. She did something that makes me want to do things different,” Liliana Perryman said. “She wrote a book that is still read today — 50 years later. I think I can make myself into something and not give up on my dreams.” Then the discussion turned to how times are different. Computers and social media make bullying anonymous, subtle and far-reaching. A rumble is much simpler, they say. A spit in the eye, a punch to the gut is more direct. “Those characters had it easy then,” Christopher Guido said. “We don’t know if a person coming up to you would or wouldn’t have guns or knives.”
Conner then asks: “Are we still seeing these issues in 2017? Are we still dealing with these issues in Tulsa?” Quickly, students bring up racial tensions. “Now, it’s about race that makes people treat each other different,” Jade Flores-Alavez said. “It still goes on.” Students talk about how immigrants are treated. The white and black students compare experiences. They ask each other to judge them for their actions, not a stereotype. “I don’t see gang violence, but race is something we deal with,” Aubrie Harness said. A book scene has a character talking about his parents’ volatile relationship. It strikes a chord with some students. “It’s not just Tulsa but everywhere around us,” Guido said. “We’re still having this here, and I’m thinking it’s not going to change.” But the book also shows forgiveness and growth among characters, Tulsa World Magazine 47
Phrases from “The Outsiders” are written on a chalkboard at Will Rogers High School.
whether within the family of the Curtis brothers or between Soc Cherry Valance and Greaser Ponyboy Curtis. The students let those themes set in for a few seconds before speaking about what it means to them. “To stay positive and help people when they are down and out,” Evelyn Zambrano said. “And no matter the circumstances, you can achieve.” Vice principal Valarie Farrow joined in, reminding students that history is learned so we don’t repeat mistakes. “Do we want to be talking about these same issues in another 50 years, in 2067?” Farrow asks. “Just because we’re different, doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. We have to work at looking beyond those differences.” “I have a lot of friends who do bad things, but I don’t do that,” Jade FloresAlavez said. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t be friends with them.” In total, the students study the book for nearly three months. It’s more than reading the book and writing a report. It’s an analysis of themes, character de-
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velopment and relationship to contemporary culture. Students create storyboards using book scenes and translate them into modern lingo. They watch the movie and pick out Tulsa landmarks. They discover from previous interviews where Hinton drew inspiration, including a story about witnessing a kid getting jumped by a group of upper-class kids. “She saw something she didn’t like and wrote a book to change it,” Perryman said.
Aubrie Harness raises her hand to answer a question during a class discussion about “The Outsiders” at Will Rogers High School.
TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
At top, Devon Elliot Willis raises his hand to answer a question during a class discussion about “The Outsiders” at Will Rogers High School. TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
This interest surprises some of the students. “I took a look at the cover and wasn’t into it. But I started reading it and got really into it,” Byoncae Davis said. Reading “The Outsiders” is a rite of passage among native Oklahomans. It’s a book taught in junior high classrooms across the nation and in many other countries. Yet Conner said students at Rogers have an ownership of the book like she never experienced in other schools. “There is a different spirit and drive to teach ‘The Outsiders’ here,” she said. “The students have more respect for the book and want to read it. The students have a pride about it because it came from their school and their neighborhoods.”
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FROM THE OUTSIDE 50 Tulsa World Magazine
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Musician preserving piece of Tulsa history Story by Ginnie Graham • Photos by Mike Simons • Tulsa World Magazine
Danny O’Connor of the hip-hop band House of Pain purchased the north Tulsa home where much of “The Outsiders” was filmed.
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
Danny O’Connor holds a movie still in front of the Outsiders House in north Tulsa.
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ome friends told Los Angeles rapper Danny Boy O’Connor recently that they planned to make it out to Magic City. Not knowing that was Tulsa’s nickname from the 1920s, he thought about that for a minute. “Magic City. Yeah. That’s how I feel about this place,” he said. “There is something to that.” Tulsa has seeped into the soul of O’Connor this past year. He’s met city leaders, hipsters, kids and the down-and-out. He’s scoured flea markets and antique stores and tasted every type of food known to an Oklahoma native. Center to his work is the rebirth of the home used in the 1983 movie “The Outsiders,” based on the book by Tulsa author S.E. Hinton. It’s his pride and joy. “I want this to stand out,” he said. “I want people to say, ‘Wow, they’ve really done something here.’ ” O’Connor purchased the property at 731 N. St. Louis Ave. in March 2016 under his company, Delta Bravo, which is an urban exploration project. This is the first, and he says only, type of major renovation project he’s interested in.
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Celebrating ‘The Outsiders’
Danny O’Connor is the co-founder of the Outsiders House and plans to turn the iconic site into a museum.
It’s a little slower than anticipated, depending on donations and volunteers. Not having any renovation experience, he chuckles good-naturedly about his on-the-job education about things like dry wall, roofing, electrical work and permits. “I’m glad I didn’t know what I was getting into. I dove in head first, but it’s good,” he said. “I’m here and getting it done. And I’m seeing the best people in this place. They bring in donations and offers to help. It’s all a collective effort. “That is about the power of the book and movie. What we lack in funds, we are making up in people’s generosity and kindness.”
Stars of the classic film “The Outsiders” will reunite in the city where the film was shot to mark 50 years since the novel on which it was based was published. The 50th anniversary of “The Outsiders” is set for May 6 at Cain’s Ballroom and is scheduled to feature appearances by Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell and Darren Dalton, who all appeared in the 1983 film adaptation of Tulsa native S.E. Hinton’s novel. The event will also feature House of Pain member Danny Boy O’Connor, Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, “Valley Girl” star Deborah Foreman and Robert Romanus from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” Music will be performed by DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit and House of Pain. The event will be a fundraiser to help restore the Tulsa house that was prominently featured in the film. Tickets to the event are on sale now, starting at $25.50 plus fees in advance. Tickets can be purchased at cainsballroom.com, by phone at 877-4-FLYTIX or at the Cain’s box office, 423 N. Main St.
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‘Live in the moment’ In 1991, O’Connor founded House of Pain with high school friends DJ Lethal (Leor Dimant) and Everlast (Erik Shrody), who had previously put out a solo album produced by Ice-T. Soon after the trio formed, they hit quick fame with the release of “Jump Around.” TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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Danny O’Connor, co-founder of the Outsiders House, stands on the roof of Will Rogers High School, where author S.E. Hinton wrote the book as a student.
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It’s that catchy, ubiquitous party jam that gets hands in the air and feet off the ground at sports stadiums and creeps into movie and television scenes. It’s rare to find a gym or workout playlist not giving the song some love. “You can’t get away from it,” O’Connor said. It meant nearly overnight success, money and endless parties. From performing at Lollapalooza to getting kicked off a tour with the Beastie Boys, the hip-hop punks were a fun bunch during an era of self-serious, angsty grunge. O’Connor was known as the mastermind of the brand — hyping up crowds, serving as second emcee and creating the designs. His energy can fill a room, if not a concert hall. “It was a wild roller coaster ride, and there was no career plan,” he said. “It was a big adventure with a lot of money in the bank. Unfortunately, what goes up must come down. When it came down, I wasn’t prepared.” In 1996, Everlast left for a solo career, disbanding the group. Because Everlast was the writer for the biggest House of Pain hit, only he receives royalties for the song. It left O’Connor without steady income. “I was a 28- or 29-year-old with the same coping skills as a 16-yearold,” he said. “I felt a lot of shame.” Drugs became the medication to mask those feelings. Bills piled up; eviction notices arrived. He moved from drinking to cocaine and, eventually, meth. The drugs took his wealth, home, relationships, teeth and inner peace. “Mentally, physically and spiritually, I was at the end,” he said. Sobriety came through a 12step program. He talks about the dangerous cocktail of ego and fear. He continues to work the program
58 Tulsa World Magazine
Danny O’Connor tours Will Rogers High School. He, along with Zachary Matthews, is refurbishing the Outsiders House.
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This thing fell in my lap so quick. I feel like there were forces at work. I used to get chills when I’d pull up to the house. Now, I sometimes forget where I’m at, I’m so close to it.” Danny O’Connor on his work on the Outsiders House
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History of The Outsiders House
T
he home is listed in court records as being built in 1940, but newspapers found in the walls and under floorboards are dated to the 1920s. It could be the home was constructed and was moved to 731 N. St. Louis Ave. When “The Outsiders” movie was filmed, the house was owned by Lewis Priest and his wife. Priest said in a 2005 Tulsa World story that he was paid $8,000 for the use of his home for six months. He and his wife were living there with about six grandchildren. He was told the unkempt yard was what attracted the eye of director Francis Ford Coppola. Priest owned a Tulsa body shop for 40 years. He filed for bankruptcy in 2004 but was allowed to keep the home. He died in 2007, and the home went into foreclosure the following year. In August 2008, the home was purchased out of foreclosure by Alva and Debra Moreland from the International Bank of Commerce for about $6,000. In March 2016, Danny O’Connor purchased the property under his company Delta Bravo Tulsa LLC. The quit claim deed filed at Tulsa County Courthouse shows a sale price of $7,500. At the time, the county assessor considered the home in “very poor” condition with a value of $11,000. It has 1,395 in square footage on 0.16 acres of land. O’Connor also bought the next-door lot and caught up on past-due rent and bills of the current tenants, bringing the total price to about $15,000. O’Connor — along with project managers Zachary Matthews and Donnie Rich — helped get the family renting the home at the time into a program at the Tulsa Housing Authority and access other social services needed. Since then, O’Connor has led the fundraising effort to restore the home to a museum. It has taken a complete renovation, from foundation to roof. A GoFundMe account with a goal of $75,000 has raised a little more than $32,000. Many area contractors and individuals have donated their skills and materials or provided deep discounts. Construction is ongoing, with plans for completion by the end of the year. Paperwork has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service to turn the Outsiders House operations into a 501(c)3 charity.
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Musician Danny Boy O’Connor bought the Outsiders House and is refurbishing it.
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to let both go and has been sober since 2005. In 2006, O’Connor formed La Coka Nostra with rapper Slaine, Ill Bill of Non Phixion and fellow House Of Pain members, which has kept him on the road. This year is the 25th anniversary of “Jump Around,” and the original group has about 15 shows set. O’Connor doesn’t shy away from the depths of his past. He has worked with Los Angeles law enforcement youth programs and schools to share his story. “I try to live in the moment,” he said.
‘Forces at work’ It was a three-day stay in Tulsa in 2009 during a La Coka Nostra show that launched the beginning of a pop-culture restoration project called Delta Bravo Urban Exploration Team. Bored, O’Connor knew Tulsa as the setting for “The Outsiders.” A quick computer search of addresses and a cab ride led him to some key movie locations, including the Curtis brothers’ house, Crutchfield Park and the Admiral Twin Drive-In. He took pictures and later compared them to the movie scenes. This discovery turned into a scavenger hunt of other notable pop culture landmarks from movies such as “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Saturday Night Fever,” “Valley Girl” and “Bad News
Bears.” The crew has tracked down the house from the introduction shot of “All in the Family” and the marina from “Gilligan’s Island.” Usually, O’Connor takes photos of what’s there now and posts online. It’s a type of before-and-after documentary. “So much changes in Los Angeles and New York. They don’t preserve anything. Here, it could have been 1983,” he said. Through the years, O’Connor struck up a friendship with Tulsan Zachary Matthews, who has been part of the city’s entertainment scene, from restaurant owner to DJ. Matthews had been keeping tabs on the Outsiders House. When Matthews called about an opportunity to buy the home, O’Connor cleaned out his savings account. The home had been in significant decline for decades. It was infested with insects, had a bowing floor, bad roof and trash everywhere. It didn’t stop O’Connor. He had faith fans like himself would rally. “This thing fell in my lap so quick. I feel like there were forces at work,” O’Connor said. “I used to get chills when I’d pull up to the house. Now, I sometimes forget where I’m at, I’m so close to it.”
‘Those were my people’ For O’Connor, the project allows him to give back to a novel and movie that changed his life. He describes his father as a
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Names are carved into the fence in front of the Outsiders House. The names show up in a scene from “The Outsiders.”
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“proper gangster” who served prison time. His mother moved them from Brooklyn, New York, to California when he was 6. She worked as a systems analyst for a defense contractor. When “The Outsiders,” directed by Academy Award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola, was released in 1983, a teenage O’Connor went to see it. “I went in one person and came out a different guy. I didn’t look at things the same. It just resonated with me like nothing did. I felt like those were my people,” O’Connor said. Through the years, he has amassed an impressive collection. Items include clothing worn by the cast, along with movie posters and books of different editions and languages. While the Outsiders House is being restored to as close to the movie scenes as possible, the back rooms will be used to display these items. It’s uncertain as to the model of the museum, whether it will have hours of operation or tours by appointment.
Danny Boy O’Connor of the hip-hop band House of Pain is a co-founder of the Outsiders House.
O’Connor is considering opening a store downtown to offer museum gift items. “We’re working through a lot of those things now. I’m looking forward
to showing what we’ve done. Everyone knows what we’re doing here, and everyone’s excited about it,” he said. “And I love it. I love this house.”
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ FASHION
MODERN TAKE Photos by John Clanton
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Trends from 50 years ago are revived with nod toward past, present By Casey Smith and Jessica Rodrigo
O
ver the past five decades, the story of “The Outsiders” has become iconic for generations of people — those who read the book in high school or fell in love with the performances that brought the characters to life in the movie almost two decades later — for its deep dive into the struggles between its characters and real-life experiences. This is a nod to the staying power of S.E. Hinton’s story and a re-imagining of what the Greasers and Socs would wear if they still walked the halls of our high schools or loitered at Admiral Twin DriveIn. Decked out in topsiders and plaid, the Socs are still the epitome of prep style, while Greasers don dark denim for a dressed-down, no-fuss look. The modernized Cherry Valance has a sense of style that fits both factions from “The Outsiders” to show her divided loyalties.
Above, Dalton (foreground) wears Rogue Territory jeans, $220, a 3sixteen tee, $45, from East + West; Oakley shirt, $80, from MetroShoe Warehouse and Sanuk sneakers, $65. Anna wears Just Black jeans, $52, a Double Zero tank, $20, and a Honey Punch jacket, $49.50, from Beau & Arrow; and Vince Camuto shoes, $119.99. Douglas (back, left) wears a Gitman Vintage shirt, $165, Carhartt WIP pants, $110, from East+West; and Sperry top-siders, $99.95. Joey wears an East + West brand shirt, $160, Rogue Territory jeans, $220, from East + West; and Sperry top-siders, $95. Adam wears Rogue Territory jeans and shirt, $230 and $220, from East + West; a Columbia jacket, $100, from MetroShoe Warehouse; and Timberland boots, $190. All shoes are from MetroShoe Warehouse.
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ FASHION
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Adam wears an Oklahoma Buffalo tee, $24, from Boomtown Tees; Rogue Territory jeans, $230, from East + West; and Timberland boots, $190, from MetroShoe Warehouse.
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Credits Models, courtesy of Linda Layman Agency, 3546 E. 51st St., lindalaymanagency.com, are Adam Villio, Dalton Hallum, Douglas Moore, Anna Harris and Joey Homan. Clothing was chosen by Tulsa boutiques and stores: • East + West, 502 E. Third St. • Beau&Arrow, 502 E. Third St., Unit 11 in Tulsa and 9045 N. 121st East Ave., #1000 in Owasso • Boomtown Tees, 114 S. Elgin Ave., boomtowntees. com • MetroShoe Warehouse, 8802 E. 71st St. South, metroshoewarehouse.com
Above, Anna wears an Outsiders tee, $25, from Boomtown Tees; and Lush shorts, $38, from Beau & Arrow.
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sPECIAL tHANK YOU TO These looks could not have been achieved without the special attention and help from: • Admiral Twin Drive-In, 7355 E. Easton St. • Will Rogers High School, 3909 E. Fifth Place Classic vehicles were generously loaned by Green Country Corvair Group, tulsacorvair.com, which meets the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Freeway Cafe, 1547 E. Third St., and Mustang Car Club, gccmustangs.com. • JC and Marilyn Ash, 1964 Rampside Pickup • Gary and Mary Baxter, 1961 Lakewood Station Wagon • Jamie and Nancy Ogle, 1966 Monza Convertible • Jay and Laurie Behm, 1960 500 fourdoor sedan • Jim and Diana Caldwell, 1965 Monza Convertible • Wayne and Barbara Grieve, 1965 Corsa Coupe • Sherry and David Johnson, 1966 Mustang Fastback and 1967 Mustang Coupe • Jim Bryden, 1965 Mustang Coupe • Jeff Williams, 1965 Mustang Coupe
Joey (left) wears Rogue Territory jeans, $220, from East + West; a Southern Tide shirt, $115, from MetroShoe Warehouse; and Sperry top-siders, $95. Douglas wears a Gitman Vintage shirt, $165, Carhartt WIP pants, $110, from East + West; and Sperry top-siders, $99.95. All shoes from MetroShoe Warehouse.
Below, Adam (left) wears a Stay Gold tee, $25, from Boomtown Tees; Rogue Territory jeans, $230, from East + West; and Timberland boots, $190. Dalton wears an Oklahoma Buffalo tee, $24, from Boomtown Tees; Rogue Territory jeans, $220, from East + West; and Sanuk sneakers, $65. All shoes are from MetroShoe Warehouse.
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Anna wears Just Black jeans, $52, a Double Zero tank, $20, a Honey Punch jacket, $49.50, from Beau & Arrow; and Vince Camuto shoes, $119.99, from MetroShoe Warehouse. Douglas (left) wears a Gitman Bros shirt, $198, Carhartt WIP pants, $110, from East + West; and Sperry top-siders, $99.95. Dalton wears Rogue Territory jeans, $220, a 3sixteen tee, $45, from East + West; and Sanuk sneakers, $65. Anna wears Just USA jeans, $49.50, an Oddy jacket, $42, a Lush top, $46, from Beau & Arrow; and Vince Camuto shoes $119.99. Adam wears Rogue Territory jeans and shirt, $230 and $220, from East + West; and Timberland boots, $190. Joey wears a Gitman Bros shirt, $175, Rogue Territory jeans, $220, from East + West; and Sperry top-siders, $95. All shoes are from MetroShoe Warehouse.
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Douglas (left) wears an Oklahoma Catfish tee, $24, Carhartt WIP pants, $110, from East + West; and Sperry top-siders, $99.95. Anna wears a Blu Pepper off-theshoulder dress, $48, from Beau & Arrow; and Vince Camuto shoes, $119.99. Joey wears an Admiral Twin tee, $23; Rogue Territory jeans, $220, from East + West; and Sperry top-siders, $95. Dalton wears a Stay Gold tee, $25; Rogue Territory jeans, $220, from East + West; and Sanuk sneakers, $65. Adam wears an Oklahoma Buffalo tee, $24; Rogue Territory jeans, $230, from East + West; and Timberland boots, $190. All men’s tees are from Boomtown Tees; all shoes are from MetroShoe Warehouse.
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Adam (left) wears an Oklahoma is OK! tee, $25, from Boomtown Tees; Rogue Territory jeans, $230, from East + West; and a Columbia jacket, $100, from MetroShoe Warehouse. Dalton wears an Oklahoma Buffalo tee, $24, from Boomtown Tees; Rogue Territory jeans, $220, from East + West; an Oakley shirt, $80, and Sanuk shoes, $65, both from MetroShoe Warehouse. Anna wears an Everly dress, $48, and Mystree jacket, $38, from Beau & Arrow. Douglas wears a Gitman Vintage shirt, $165, Carhartt WIP pants, $110, and from East + West; and Sperry top-siders, $99.95, from MetroShoe Warehouse. Joey wears Rogue Territory jeans, $220, from East + West; a Southern Tide shirt, $115, and Sperry top-siders, $95, both from MetroShoe Warehouse.
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
Actor Rob Lowe, who played Sodapop Curtis in “The Outsiders,” poses outside the north Tulsa house where parts of the movie were filmed. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World Magazine
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that was then
Rob Lowe remembers his days filming ‘The Outsiders’ By Ginnie Graham Tulsa World Magazine
F
or actor and writer Rob Lowe, he says it all started in Tulsa for him. Tulsa was actually ground zero for a dizzying roster of celebrities — Lowe, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Emilio Estevez, Ralph Macchio and Diane Lane — who starred in 1983’s “The Outsiders,” based on the novel written by Tulsa author S.E. Hinton 50 years ago. Lowe recently returned to where stardom began, spending his time traipsing down north Tulsa streets and alleys speaking of memories and lessons learned. He has had a 35-year career in film (“St. Elmo’s Fire” and the “Austin Powers” trilogy) and television (“The West Wing” and “Parks and Recreation.”) In his one day in Tulsa, the number of selfies and social media postings landed Lowe on at least 140 websites and trending on
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With a television camera crew watching, actor Rob Lowe and his son stroll through the north Tulsa neighborhood where much of the 1983 movie “The Outsiders” was filmed. JOHN CLANTON/ Tulsa World Magazine
Twitter. He was with a film crew and his younger son, 21-year-old John Owen, shooting a documentary-type television show. “Every year, there is a new crop of seventh-graders who read the book and watch the movie, and it changes their lives,” Lowe said. “This is a trip down memory lane, and it’s overwhelming to go back to where it all began. This is where it all started.” On St. Patrick’s Day (also his 53rd birthday), Lowe began by interviewing Hinton at the Outsiders House, 731 N. St. Louis Ave., about the book and working with director Francis Ford Coppola. To keep the authentic feel of the book, Coppola asked Hinton to write the screenplay, and he filmed the movie in Tulsa. Lowe recalled the camaraderie of the young cast — running the halls of the Excelsior Hotel (now the location of the downtown DoubleTree Hotel), jumping in the hotel’s water fountain, flirting with locals and playing football on set. He learned how to box in Tulsa, taking lessons with Cruise at a
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Nautilus gym about 25 miles from their hotel. He also celebrated his 18th birthday with a cake and crew singing to him. “We had a wrap party every Friday night. I don’t think they’d stand for that today,” he said laughing. Lowe played the character of Sodapop Curtis and recalled how Coppola staged the house and had a favorite Elvis Presley song playing in the background “He had ‘I Want You, I Need You, I Love You,’ cued up for every take. Not every scene but every take. But, it wasn’t in the movie,” Lowe said. Lowe — wearing the same flannel shirt he donned in the movie at age 18 — re-enacted an arm-wrestling scene with his son, shown in the film against Cruise. This time, Lowe won. Leaving the house, Lowe led the crew to the nearby empty lot where a climactic scene was filmed between the Greasers and Socs in a rumble. “This is the single most difficult scene I’ve ever shot to date,” he said. It rained hard the first night, making for a wonderfully down-and-dirty fight scene. Then, the nights were
dry and fake rain had to be provided. A bonfire was made on a corner to keep warm. The actors trained for weeks with stunt coordinators, and Lowe remembers a bit of competition kicking in. “I’d look over at Tom (Cruise) just to see what he was doing. Swayze was just an animal. ... Soda wasn’t much of a fighter. He was a lover. No one wanted to see Soda fight,” he joked. Coppola kept the actors feeling the class differences of their characters. He gave those in Soc roles leatherbound scripts, upscale suits, expensive transportation and extra spending money. Those who played Greasers got scripts in denim-clad, three-ring binders, stayed together in hotel rooms, rode in vans to sets and got only basic needs met. Lowe said that doesn’t stick with him, saying the cast supported one another, often coming to the sets to watch even when they weren’t scheduled. “We thought we hit the gold mine, and we had,” he said.
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Lowe picked up acting tips in that debut. A hat blew through a scene, and Estevez simply picked it up, saying, “Looks like I got myself a new hat.” After Dillon fell out of a chair in a scene with Lane at the Admiral Twin Drive-In, he jumped back in and Howell naturally laughed into the camera. Both made it into the final cut. “You don’t know how many people would have stopped the scene,” Lowe said. “But, you go with that.” Coppola used video to document the rehearsal, which created a copy of the entire film before shooting. It was a novel approach at the time. “Now you can’t imagine doing it any other way,” Lowe said. The director also had a vision of a lush natural palette evoking the romantic cinematography of “Gone With the Wind.” Lowe said Coppola had the 1939 movie stills on site to dial in the same schematic. Crutchfield Park was where Lowe had his key scenes, seen only in the 2005 “The Outsiders: The Complete Novel” release, which has about 22 extra minutes of footage and different music. A fountain has been replaced with new equipment but the baseball diamond — the backdrop of Lowe’s emotional monologue — remains. “The backstop is still there?” He said. “This is amazing how much it has stayed exactly the same.” As Lowe ended his afternoon at the Outsiders House, he had one question for the locals. The director had the actors stay for a couple of nights with local families who mirrored their characters’ status. “Who picked out the Greasers we stayed with? What happened to those guys?” Lowe asked. “They’re still around. Many are playing in jazz bands around town,” said Zachary Matthews, a project manager of the Outsiders House. “Wow. Tom (Cruise) and I thought we were going to be murdered,” he said. TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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WHERE ARE THEY
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Emilio Estevez (left), Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze and Tom Cruise star in “The Outsiders.” WARNER BROS./ Associated Press
Film’s young stars still shining 34 years later
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By Michael Smith • Tulsa World Magazine ou knew them by the names Johnny and TwoBit, but where are Ralph Macchio and Emilio Estevez today? Where are “The Outsiders” 34 years after the release of the film, which was shot entirely in the Tulsa area? The film’s greatest legacy may be the great heights of fame that several of these newcomers would soon achieve. Movie hits like “Top Gun,” “Dirty Dancing” and “The Karate Kid” would be on the resumes of some of these performers just a couple of years after they came to Tulsa.
C. THOMAS HOWELL
He played: Ponyboy Curtis, the teen protagonist who lives with his brothers, Darrel and Sodapop, after the death of their parents. Where is he now? Howell will always be remembered for his early-years burst of 1980s movies, from “E.T.” and “The Outsiders” (his first two films) to “Red Dawn,” “The Hitcher” Howell and “Soul Man.” But he is the very definition of the working actor, with a 35-year career in which he’s been involved in multiple projects each year in film and TV shows like “Criminal Minds,” “Animal Kingdom” and “Southland.” He’s been married since 1992 and has three children.
RALPH MACCHIO
Now? TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
He played: Johnny Cade, the quiet Greaser and close friend of Ponyboy, whom he rescues by pulling out his switchblade. Where is he now? The young star of the 1980s in three “The Karate Kid” movies has continued to work in film and TV, as well as in theater roles and even reality TV like “Dancing With the Stars” in 2011, falling just short of the finals. This year will find him starring in an indie comedy, “Lost Cat Corona,” and appearing in an upcoming HBO series, “The Deuce,” Macchio set in the 1970s prostitution-and-porn world of New York. He’ll play a police officer. He has been married since 1987 and has two adult children.
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MATT DILLON He played: Dallas Winston, the tough-guy Greaser friend of Ponyboy who’s always ready for a fight against the Socs. Where is he now? Dillon’s career has seen him act in hits in every decade, from “Wild Things” and “There’s Something About Mary” in Dillon the 1990s to “Herbie Fully Loaded” and the Oscar-winning “Crash,” for which he was nominated for a best supporting actor Academy Award. His work is as varied as his credits for 2017: voice work in the recent animated film “Rock Dog;” appearing in the upcoming old-age comedy “Going In Style;” and filming in Sweden on “The House That Jack Built,” a drama by controversial director Lars von Trier in which Dillon plays a serial killer.
PATRICK SWAYZE He played: Darrel Curtis, the oldest of the Curtis boys and the legal guardian of Ponyboy and Sodapop. Where is he now? Swayze died of cancer in 2009 at age 57 after becoming one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood. With chiseled good looks and the skills of Swayze a trained dancer, he became a household name in the decade after “The Outsiders” with films like “Dirty Dancing,” “Ghost,” “Point Break” and “Road House.” He was married to his dancer-actress wife for 34 years.
ROB LOWE He played: Sodapop Curtis, the middle brother in the Curtis household and the most handsome of the Greasers. Where is he now? Lowe is one of the hardest-working actors around. In just the past decade, he’s been a regular on two long-running network series (“Parks and Lowe Recreation,” “Brothers & Sisters”) while appearing in several feature films, TV movies and other TV series like “The Grinder” and now “Code Black.” “The West Wing” may have been the best
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work of his career, finally making people forget that he was the star of one of the original sex-tape scandals in 1988. He’s been married since 1991, and he and his wife have two adult sons.
EMILIO ESTEVEZ He played: Two-Bit Matthews, one of the oldest Greasers and a cut-up with an appreciation for Mickey Mouse. Where is he now? The brother of Charlie Sheen and son of Martin Sheen was a huge star of the 1980s who appeared in three movies based on S.E. Hinton’s books, Estevez as well as “The Breakfast Club” and hits like “Stakeout” and “Young Guns.” The 1990s brought “The Mighty Ducks” series of movies but also a move away from acting and more into writing and directing movies like “Bobby” in 2006 and “The Way” in 2010. He’s currently filming a new movie, “The Public,” with a large ensemble cast. He was briefly engaged to Demi Moore and briefly married to Paula Abdul, and he has two children from a short-lived 1980s relationship.
TOM CRUISE He played: Steve Randle, a cocky and loyal Greaser and buddy of Sodapop, with whom he works at a gas station. Where is he now? He’s still one of the biggest stars in the world. Four months after “The Outsiders,” the release of “Risky Business” made Cruise even more famous, Cruise and he became a leading man with great range, from dramas (“Born on the Fourth of July”) to smart comedies (“Jerry Maguire”) to leading action-movie franchises like the “Mission: Impossible” movies and this summer’s reboot of the “Mummy” movies. The outspoken advocate of Scientology has dated many actresses and married three — Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes — but all ended in divorce. He has three children.
DIANE LANE She played: Cherry Valance, the beautiful “Soc” girl who’s more understanding of the Greasers than her friends. Where is she now? After a busy but uneven career in
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the years following “The Outsiders” and “Rumble Fish,” Lane honed her craft and earned praise for films like “A Walk on the Moon” and “Under the Tuscan Sun” that showed her romantic side and others like “Unfaithful” and “Cinema Verite” that showed the depth of her dramatic side. She’ll play the mother of Superman for the third time later this year in “Justice League.” She married and divorced actors Christopher Lambert (with whom she had a daughter) and Josh Brolin. Lane
DARREN DALTON
Dalton
He played: Randy Anderson, a Soc and the best friend of Bob, whose death affects him and makes him want to stop fighting. Where is he now? Dalton moved on from his debut in “The Outsiders” with Howell and Swayze in filming “Red Dawn” the following year, and his friendship with Howell continues today. Both came to Tulsa last year for an “Outsiders” event at Circle Cinema and have collaborated on multiple film projects, with Dalton moving from acting into writing and producing.
LEIF GARRETT He played: Bob Sheldon, the boyfriend of Cherry who, when it appears he is trying to drown Ponyboy, is stabbed by Johnny and dies. Where is he now? The former singer and child star has been out of acting for several years following decades of drug and alcohol use taking their toll on his career. His Garrett appearances in the past decade have been more of the reality TV variety, including “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew” and “World’s Dumbest.”
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
GREASER LIFE
LESSONS
Tulsa couple hosted young actors during ‘Outsiders’ filming
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By Scott Cherry • Tulsa World Magazine
ne day, he was sitting in his home practicing with his bandmates in the Larry Arnett Band. The next day, Arnett and his wife, Lin, were welcoming four young actors into their home while the boys were in town filming “The Outsiders,” based on a novel by Tulsa author S.E. Hinton. The idea was that Arnett would give Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe and C. Thomas Howell lessons in how to be a greaser in late 1950s or early ’60s Tulsa. “I wasn’t a real greaser,” Arnett said. “I had greaser friends and I had soc friends, and I liked them both. I did get thrown out of school a couple of times for dressing like a greaser with my ‘lightning’ shoes and all. I was lucky I got into music, which made me OK with both sides.” We recently chatted about those “Outsider” days in 1982 with Larry and Lin at their home near Woodward Park, the same house that hosted the actors. Larry Arnett, still the rock ’n’ roller with long hair, a graying beard, sunglasses, vest and boots, had just settled back at the kitchen table with a bottle of Fat Tire beer. Their thumbnail impressions of the four actors from their threenight visit: Howell: Innocent, a little naïve and very polite. Dillon: The most engaging and talked like he was the leader of the group and a real tough guy.
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Larry Arnett poses amid his eclectic decor in the living room of his midtown home, where young actors from “The Outsiders” were house guests 35 years ago. MIKE SIMONS/ Tulsa World Magazine
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Larry Arnett sits on the patio of his midtown Tulsa home, where young actors in “The Outsiders” were house guests 35 years ago. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
Lowe: The most quiet. He liked to talk about his family back home. Cruise: The most serious. He always was telling the other guys they needed to go in the other room and practice their lines. The Arnetts said they had heard of Dillon but were not familiar with the other three actors. After all, it was Howell’s second movie, the first for Lowe and the third for Cruise. “I had to ask who was who when they came to the door,” Larry Arnett said. “I guess that wasn’t too cool.”
Arnett said the actors did not stay with them 24/7. A limo would pick them up at 6 a.m. and bring them back in the afternoon or early evening. How they came to stay with the Arnetts was one of those quirky twists of fate. As the story goes, director Francis Ford Coppola had sent a representative to Tulsa’s Street School looking for someone who had a connection to the “greaser-soc era” in Tulsa. “A friend of ours was teaching there,” Larry Arnett said. “She told the
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guy there probably wasn’t anyone at the school who could help, but she knew someone who could. Then we get this visit from a real impressive, sharp-dressed guy who talked it over with us and set up a time for them to stay with us. “He wanted me to talk to them about what life was like for a greaser back then, how they dressed, where they hung out, how they acted. The next thing we know a limo pulls up out front one evening with the guys.” Lin Arnett recalled that Dillon showed up with a bag of toiletries and a bag full of candy and other snacks. “I asked him if he liked candy that much,” Lin Arnett said, “and he said he expected to be fed stuff like beans and cornbread and wanted to be sure he had something to eat.” The Arnetts ordered pizza that night, along with some soft drinks and pitchers of beer. “We didn’t intend to give them beer, but they talked us into it,” Larry Arnett said. “I guess the statute of limitations has gone on that one. TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
Cruise was the funny one. At first, he wanted to play quarters (a drinking game), and after he had downed a couple of beers, he started to sing and tell Irish jokes real loud. At one point, Dillon looked over and said, ‘I wish he’d just shut up.’ ” Arnett said he gained his knowledge about the greaser culture from his own experiences, those of his friends and from his sister, who was three years older than him. “To me, the real greasers were my friends’ dads, who grew up on the west side and the north side and were true tough guys, and I would hear their stories,” Arnett said. “My sister — how can I say this — she was hot, and she liked the bad boys. They would come over to hang out with her, and they would let me ride their motorcycles. They were some tough guys, too.” Some of the things Arnett covered with the actors were ducktail haircuts, cutting off belt loops, St. Christopher medals and knives. “There was this guy at Cotton’s who sometimes would buy a steak for whoever could whip whoever’s ass,” Arnett said. “Not a lot of socs (wealthy, socially advantaged kids) would show up there. “I also knew some greasers who cut off their belt loops so they couldn’t wear a belt. It was one of those things teachers didn’t know about, but the kids knew it was a greaser thing. “I told Dillon he needed to get a St. Christopher’s medal. A lot of greasers wore them. If a girl was wearing your St. Christopher, she was your girl. It you wore it, it meant you were available. I showed him one I got when I was 13, and he asked if he could wear it in the film. I told him no, I didn’t want to take a chance on losing it. “He also showed me this knife he got for the movie and wanted to know if it fit the time. He said Francis got it from the Tulsa police property room. It was a beautiful, black-handled switchblade. I asked if he was going to give it back to the police. He said, ‘No way, I’m taking this home with me.’ TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
“We didn’t actually see the movie until a few years after it had been out. I thought it was kind of interesting that Dillon was wearing a St. Christopher, and he had the black-handled knife.” A couple of things Lin Arnett recalled had to do with Cruise, Lowe and Howell. “Cruise said his mother was allergic to dogs and he never had pets growing up,” she said. “He fell in love with the great Dane we had at the time. He just loved that dog. “I also remember Howell said we needed to be sure and see his first movie that was coming out soon. He said to look for a movie with a guy riding a bicycle across the moon. Of course, that turned out to be ‘E.T.’ “I’m glad we decided to do it. They were just kids, really. They made their beds, and they took their breakfast and dinner dishes to the sink. They were all young gentlemen.” It so happened that during the actors’ stay, the Arnetts’ son and daughter were away on a ski trip.
“When they got home, I asked Kristen to guess who was at our house over the weekend,” Larry Arnett said. “I told her Matt Dillon and Tom Cruise slept in her bed. She yelled, ‘Did you take the poster down?’ She had this big poster of Dillon. I told her I did. “The next day, five or six of her middle-school girlfriends were going up and down the stairs to get a look at Kristen’s bed.” Arnett had not heard from any of the actors who stayed at the house until a benefit last August to restore the movie set house at 731 N. St. Louis Ave. “We were able to visit a little with C. Thomas Howell,” Arnett said. “That was cool, and it’s a neat thing they are doing with the house.” Arnett said one of the most surprising things about having the house guests 35 years ago came at the end of the visit when he was handed a check. “I had no idea we were going to get paid,” he said. How much did they get paid? “It worked out to $85 a night.”
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
Scream Queen
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M
By Ginnie Graham Tulsa World Magazine
elissa Pascarella was a good screamer at age 5. So good, she caught the attention of Academy Award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola when he was casting for “The Outsiders” in 1981. To find children for a crucial scene, Coppola went to Lowell Elementary. Part of the campus was used as the headquarters of the production company but part was still in use as a school. It was located in what is now the Helm-Zar Challenge and Ropes Course, 1006 N. Quaker Ave., which is near Crutchfield Park and the Outsiders House. Pascarella was in kindergarten and remembers Coppola reading stories to her class and to the first-graders. “He said, ‘If the story is sad, be sad. And, if the story is happy, be happy,’ ” Pascarella said. “He chose based on our reactions.” A month later, Pascarella joined a group of her classmates on a weeklong field trip to a remote Skiatook location to shoot a scene in the movie. It was when the main characters of Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston save a group of children from a burning building. Pascarella’s parents signed a contract for their daughter to do a week of work for which she received $105. Each day, the students, cast and crew would meet at the school and take buses to the set. Teachers and some parents went along, though it was a pretty small group.
Woman holds sweet memories as a child actor in ‘Outsiders’
Melissa Pascarella, who was an actress in the church fire scene of “The Outsiders,” sits at Crutchfield Park, a setting in the movie. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
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“I realize now how intimate it was,” Pascarella said. “It wasn’t like other scenes in Tulsa where someone could be nearby and watch. The only way to watch these scenes was to be part of it. You couldn’t get there any other way. We were one of the few people who got that experience.” Also on set was Tulsa actor Gailard Sartain, cast as a teacher with the students. He was already a famous name in Tulsa after his turn as Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi on the local late-night comedy program “The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting” that aired on CBS affiliate KOTV and later ABC affiliate KTUL. Sartain had gone on to television’s “Hee Haw” fame and movies including “The Buddy Holly Story,” with fellow Tulsan Gary Busey. “My mom and dad were most excited about meeting Gailard Sartain, not so much about Francis Ford Coppola,” she said. “We weren’t so inundated with movies and directors at that time. And around Tulsa, Gailard Sartain was a very big deal.” Sartain would meet at the school and catch rides with the parents. “He would have them laughing all the way there and all the way back, they said,” Pascarella said. “On the set, he would go to the side to where the adults were and do his Mazeppa character. I was a kid and didn’t get any of it.” She did get the actors though, particularly the kindness of C. Thomas Howell, who played Ponyboy. “I remember all the time sitting on his lap and playing duck, duck, goose,” she said. “Francis would come around and say, ‘Hey,’ and tell us a story or just kind of hang out with us. And Ralph would come around on occasion.”
Melissa Pascarella, who was an actress in the church fire scene of “The Outsiders,” sits near Crutchfield Park, a major setting in the movie. She was a student at Lowell Elementary School and was chosen to be in the movie based on her scream. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
On one of Howell’s reunion visits to Tulsa, Pascarella showed him some of her behind-the-scenes photos. “He is such a genuinely nice person. He took time to look at them and remembered me sitting on his lap,” she said laughing. When it came to filming, Pascarella could turn on waterworks and hit the high notes. She is the little blond girl in pigtails crying. “I remember the cameraman telling us he needed us to cry,” she said. “He said, ‘Imagine your friends are in that church and burning in that fire.’ That’s when the tears fell.” Pascarella has lost touch with all the classmates who joined her in that
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scene, though she has tried to find them through social media. She lost some of her snapshots from the set in the 1984 Memorial Day flood that devastated Tulsa. Her one regret is putting a closeup she had of actor Matt Dillon in a class project while at Lewis and Clark Middle School. It was stolen and never recovered. Still, she has her cameos in the movie that are enduring through the decades. “I have a different frame of thought on this now. It’s part of my history, and this book transcends generations,” she said. “It’s not just for one group of kids.” Pascarella, 41, graduated from East Central High School and now sells commercial real estate. She and her husband have three kids — ages 16, 9 and 8 — who enjoy telling friends their mother was in “The Outsiders.” Occasionally, teachers will ask her to speak to their classes about her experience. “I didn’t really understand this was bigger than Tulsa until I started to do some speaking about it,” she said. “Then, I find there are Chinese versions and other movie translations. Yet, Francis chose Tulsa, and people are coming to Tulsa for this. This is unique for Tulsa.” TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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enuYou Neurofeedback Center, for almost a decade, has been setting the standard for Neurofeedback Therapy in Oklahoma.
Highly regarded as one of the top clinics in the world, they are passionate about their research and helping individuals achieve peak performance. Their motto — “Renu Your Brain, Renu Your Life — sums up the philosophy of this esteemed clinic. RenuYou is the only board certified clinic in Oklahoma that is physician staffed with licensed professional therapists and counselors. Doctors all over the country refer patients from as far away as Florida and California, to get treatment. Oklahomans proudly salute RenuYou Neurofeedback Center and thank them for bringing this cutting-edge technology to our state. “We are passionate about helping people!” says Marie McCabe, LMFT, BCN.“We know we live in a stressful world, bombarded daily by the news and busy lives. As a
licensed therapist, I have seen firsthand how neurofeedback has made the difference in helping people who feel stuck become ‘unstuck.’ The brain literally forges a new neuropathway.” Lacey Ford, LSW, concurs.“The difference that RenuYou Neurofeedback makes, when used in conjunction with psychotherapy, is amazing!” Psychiatrist, Dr. Stephanie Christner, D.O., also speaks highly about her relationship with RenuYou.“I am convinced that this therapy is a missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to resolving my patient’s symptoms.” The American Academy of Pediatrics calls neurofeedback (NFB) a level 1 “best support” intervention for ADHD. Top athletes use NFB to enhance sports performance. NASA uses NFB to train astronauts. The U.S. Military is using NFB to train special forces and have adopted it to treat PTSD. This affirms the success we have seen, at RenuYou Neurofeedback Center in helping our patients achieve improved focus, emotional control and peak performance.
“Our son is whole again or maybe for the first time ever. Samuel was born 3 months premature @ 1 lb. 8 oz.. He has always had ADHD off the charts. School has been a living nightmare as Samuel struggled with learning disabilities as well as his ADHD. After 30 treatments at RenuYou, he is now making A’s and B’s as a 10th grader in high school. He no longer has a math disability. His depression, anxiety and focus difficulties are almost non-existent. This was our last stop. Samuel turns 18 soon and we had tried so many different things to help Samuel with so little results. Our prayers are answered and we are hopeful Samuel may even go to college! Thank you RenuYou and our Lord Jesus who lead us to you!”
Are you struggling? with ADHD, Addictions, Autism, Anxiety, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Insomnia, PTSD, Migraines, OCD or Sleep Disorders?
RENUYOU NEUROFEEDBACK
CAN HELP!
Safe and non-invasive, brain wave biofeedback is considered to be one of the most advanced, drug-free therapies of this technological generation and performs what most of us are conditioned to think of as miraculous.
CONTACT US TODAY! “I am 15 years old and I became so depressed I began cutting myself. I believe in God so I didn’t understand why I couldn’t overcome it. My mom heard about RenuYou Neurofeedback Center and so I went in for a brain analysis. I was so impressed to find state of the art technology but I was most excited to find a Christian company who prays over their patients. My qEEG brain map revealed that my brain was stuck in a high Alpha brain wave pattern that can cause depression. I was so relieved to find it was not my fault! After treatment, I’ve changed so much! I don’t desire to “cut” anymore! RenuYou Neurofeedback Center saved my life!”
WWW.RENUYOUTULSA.COM 918-747-7400
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7474 S. Yale Ave. • Tulsa, OK 74135
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50 Ann’s Bakery, 7 N. Harvard Ave., has ties to “The Outsiders.” MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
sweet story Ann’s Bakery is still a favorite of ‘The Outsiders’ By Ginnie Graham • Tulsa World Magazine
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Ann’s Bakery sells “Outsiders” and “Stay Gold” cupcakes. MIKE SIMONS/ Tulsa World Magazine
with locals. “Well, he was about 14 or 15 when it was made. So he was probably thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a big cake,’ ” said Shannon Harris, granddaughter of the founders. Ann’s Bakery was also tasked with baking the dessert for the Outsiders House introduction with a private party of dignitaries including Howell and Hinton. The cake was decorated with photos from the movie shoot. The shop continues to sell “Stay Gold” white cupcakes and “The Outsiders” chocolate cupcakes. These usually sell out.
The bakery was founded in 1938 by Raymond and Ann Bay as a store for the area. Raymond built a doughnut, bread and roll machine unique for the bakery. As large grocery stores and bread companies were established, Ann’s Bakery began to specialize in pastries, cakes, cupcakes and other sweet treats. Over time, their daughter, Sharon Pollack, took over operations. Now their granddaughter — Harris — runs the bakery, with the help of her daughter and two sons. “It’s still a family business,” Harris said.
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nearly 80-year-old bakery tucked just north of Interstate 244 has a few confections connected to “The Outsiders.” Ann’s Bakery, 7 N. Harvard Ave., has a sweet history with the city and the famous book that created the genre of youth fiction. A few insights about “The Outsiders” and Ann’s Bakery: • Author S.E. Hinton revealed on Twitter the Tulsa bakery made the cake for her wedding to David Inhofe in 1970. • The bakery created an 8-foot-long cake for “The Outsiders” wrap party in 1982. It carved into the cake the letters spelling out the film’s title. When C. Thomas Howell, who played the main character, Ponyboy Curtis, in the movie, visited Tulsa last summer, he mentioned the cake when reminiscing
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‘THE OUTSIDERS’ AT 50
Pampering
Remember that scene in “The Outsiders” when Keith “Two-Bit” Mathews starts digging into a chocolate cake in the living room? This is our version of that iconic confection. But instead of regular chocolate cake, this cake is made with soda pop. Find the recipe on page 98.
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eat like an
outsider Dishes to dine on while diving into ‘The Outsiders’ By Jessica Rodrigo • Tulsa World Magazine
E
ven if we never see the Curtis brothers baking a cake or roasting a chicken in “The Outsiders” movie, we know from the book that they had cake for breakfast and baked chicken for dinner. That was our inspiration for dishes to make while showing “The Outsiders” to the family or curling up with the novel to celebrate its 50th anniversary. We could have made any chocolate cake, but why not a soda pop version? And then there’s beer-can chicken. These dishes are re-invented staples that may have filled cookbooks or magazines during the ’50s and ’60s, the era in which the book and movie were set. Or if you don’t feel like cooking, get takeout from one
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A chocolate cake made with soda pop is the perfect dessert while watching “The Outsiders.” MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
Best classic burger joints
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Queenie’s Café and Bakery
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1834 Utica Square Tulsa, OK
Make your occasion tasteful!
Claud’s Hamburgers, 3834 S. Peoria Ave. Weber’s Root Beer, 3817 S. Peoria Ave. Arnold’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, 1722 W. 51st St. Brownies Hamburgers, 2130 S. Harvard Ave. Ty’s Hamburgers, 1534 S. Harvard Ave. Hank’s Hamburgers, 8933 E. Admiral Place Freddie’s Hamburgers, 9130 E. 11th St. and 802 S. Lewis Ave. Linda-Mar Drive In, 1614 W. 51st St. Bill’s Jumbo Burgers, 2002 E. Admiral Blvd. Ron’s Hamburgers & Chili, multiple locations Ike’s Chili House, 1503 E. 11th St.
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of the many restaurants that have been in Tulsa since the time of Greasers and Socs. Pick up burgers from one of Tulsa’s iconic burger joints — Weber’s Superior Root Beer on Brookside; Hank’s Hamburgers, 8933 E. Admiral Place; Claud’s Hamburgers, 3834 S. Peoria Ave.; or Bill’s Jumbo Burgers, 2002 E. Admiral Blvd. Or you can’t go wrong with coneys at one of Tulsa’s many Coney Island or Coney I-Lander restaurants. You can almost picture generations of teenagers filling the booths every time you walk in.
Best coneys around Coney I-Lander, multiple locations Teris Coney Island, 3 E. Fifth St. Allen’s Coney Island, 5151 S. Peoria Ave. Jim’s Coney Island, 1923 S. Harvard Ave. Jay’s Coneys, 12829 E. 41st St. Coney Island Original, 11332 E. 21st St. Coney Island Hot Weiner Shop, 107 N. Boulder Ave.
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SODA POP CHOCOLATE CAKE When Two-Bit plops down in the middle of the living room and starts to feast on a dark frosted chocolate cake, it makes us all wish we could get away with eating cake for breakfast. Makes 1 two-tier cake
½ cup butter ¼ cup cocoa 8 ounces Coca-Cola, room temperature 1½ cups sugar 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ cup milk 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla Chocolate frosting: ½ cup butter ¼ cup chocolate chips 3 tablespoons Coca-Cola 1 (16-ounce) package confectioners sugar, or more to thicken 1 teaspoon vanilla 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. To make the cake, in a small bowl combine melted butter, cocoa and soda pop. Mix until smooth then set aside. 3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, baking soda and powder, salt and flour. Add the chocolate and soda mixture and combine well. Stir the milk into the batter with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Divide the batter into two 8-inch cake rounds or a Bundt pan. Bake until cake is set, about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. 5. To make the frosting, melt the butter and chocolate chips in a small saucepan. Stir in soda pop and vanilla and bring to a boil. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl, then add in confectioners sugar incrementally, stirring until smooth. 6. Once the cake is completely cool, spread frosting over the bottom cake round and then stack with the second round. Cover completely with frosting and serve. 98 Tulsa World Magazine
Make a flavor-packed roast chicken by sliding beer-butter lemon slices under the skin. The beer will also flavor the chicken from the inside-out. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World Magazine
BEER-CAN CHICKEN the neck and from the thighs. Gently slide Baked chicken is a simple thing to prepare, but why beer-butter lemon slices between the skin not make it a little more like something the boys and meat of the chicken along the breasts, might crave — beer-can chicken. back and thighs. Reserve the beer butter for Makes 1 chicken basting. Pat the skin dry with paper towels 1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds), thawed and season with thyme mixture. 2 lemons; 1 thinly sliced and 1 cut into wedges 3. Using a metal skewer, carefully punch a few 1 can beer, room temperature extra holes around the can above the liquid 2½ teaspoons dried thyme, divided line. Add two lemon wedges to the cavity of the chicken, then slide the chicken over 4 tablespoons butter the beer can. The beer can may need to Salt and pepper be crushed slightly if the chicken is small. 1. Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave Stand the chicken and beer can in the center or on the stove. Pour about ⅓ cup beer into of the baking sheet. Note: If the beer can/ a small bowl, reserving the remaining beer chicken wobbles, use foil to wrap around in the can. To the bowl, add ½ teaspoon of the bottom of the can and press it down salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and 2 teaspoons against the pan or grill grates to stabilize it. thyme. Mix well with a fork and then add Carefully place the beer-can chicken into the lemon slices. Set aside until ready to the oven or directly onto the grill. Cook for use. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 about 30 minutes then baste with reserved degrees or prepare the grill, if using. beer butter. Cook for another 15 minutes, 2. To prepare the chicken, pat inside of the baste one more time, then increase the heat chicken dry with paper towels. In a small to 425 degrees if cooking in the oven or bowl, combine the seasoning mix: remainhigh heat if cooking on the grill. Watch the ing ½ teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and chicken closely at this point, about 15 more ½ teaspoon pepper. Set the chicken in a minutes, rotating if needed. rimmed baking sheet or 9-inch pie dish and 5. When the internal temperature of the chickseason the inside of the chicken. Using your en reaches 165 degrees, carefully remove fingers, loosen the skin around the chicken the chicken from the oven/grill and allow it without breaking the skin starting from to rest about 10 minutes before carving.
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THE MOMENT.
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By MAKAILA MCGONICAL Special to Tulsa World Magazine
Makaila McGonical is self taught and was inspired to photograph the world around her after recently discovering street photography. She walks around Tulsa capturing little slices and details of life here, documenting Tulsa on instagram under the name @thisistulsa. She’s drawn to light and composition and takes breaks from her day job to introduce us to the characters she’s met or to show us a part of the city that we haven’t been to in a while. In this image, a building near Admiral Boulevard and Delaware Avenue is renovated and was eventually turned into a fitness center.
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LET’S GO. People dressed in ’80s style outfits enjoy 80s Prom at Cain’s ballroom last year. TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE
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ummer is nearly here, which means it’s time to start filling out your calendar. And we’ve got Tulsa’s top events to help you do just that. Get your fill of nostalgia with 80s Prom at Cain’s Ballroom or catch New Kids on the Block with Paula Abdul and Boyz II Men at the BOK Center. Step into the 16th century during the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival at the Castle of Muskogee. Or take the kids out to the ballgame and root, root, root for the Tulsa Drillers home team. Buy them some peanuts and crackerjack (or perhaps a hot dog and popcorn).
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LET’S GO. >>4/29, 80s PROM Grab your leg warmers and neon spandex and get ready to bust a move at the 15th annual 80s Prom. The awesome event features a costume contest and DJs playing the best of the ‘80s. WHERE: Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main St. FOR MORE: cainsballroom.com
>>4/29-6/04, OKLAHOMA RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL Step back in time to the 16th century with Queen Elizabeth I of England, King James of Scotland and hundreds of costumed performers and artisans as they create the boisterous village of Castleton at the annual Oklahoma Renaissance Festival. WHERE: The Castle of Muskogee, 3400 W. Fern Mountain Road, Muskogee FOR MORE: okcastle.com
>>4/29, SIP, SAVOR & SHOP: THE TASTE OF CLAREMORE Sip, Savor & Shop: The Taste of Claremore showcases the city’s favorite eateries. Come sample tasty treats from area specialty stores and restaurants. WHERE: Will Rogers Boulevard, Claremore FOR MORE: downtownclaremore.org
>>4/29, ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ This musical by siblings Dorothy and Herbert Fields tells the story of Annie Oakley, the best shot around. It includes many well-known hits by Irving Berlin, such as “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “Anything You Can Do.” WHERE: Tulsa PAC, 110 E. Second St. FOR MORE: tulsapac.com
>>Through 5/6, TULSA CRAFT BEER WEEK Tulsa Craft Beer Week highlights the growing craft beer community in Tulsa with the help of breweries and local business owners. Past events have included beer dinners, pint nights, brewery tours, a beer-themed brunch, tap takeovers, outdoor festivals and more in places all over the city. WHERE: various locations in Tulsa FOR MORE: facebook.com/tulsacraftbeerweek
>>THROUGH 5/7, TRAIL OF TEARS ART SHOW The annual Trail of Tears Art Show, held at the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, is one of Oklahoma’s oldest shows. Open to artists from all federally recog-
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nized Native American tribes, the Trail of Tears Art Show displays a wide range of creativity and artistic styles. WHERE: Cherokee Heritage Center, 21192 S. Keeler Drive, Tahlequah FOR MORE: cherokeeherritage.org
>>Through 9/4, Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers’ season is underway and continues through summer, with the last home game set for Sept. 4 at ONEOK Field. Enjoy ballpark fare, beer and fireworks throughout the season. WHERE: ONEOK Field, 201 N. Elgin Ave. FOR MORE: tulsadrillers.com
>>Through 10/14, Tulsa Roughnecks The Tulsa Roughnecks’ season kicked off in March and continues through October, with the final home match set for Oct. 14 at ONEOK Field. WHERE: ONEOK Field, 201 N. Elgin Ave. FOR MORE: roughnecksfc.com
>>5/3, Celtic Woman The inspiring concert will feature many songs from Celtic Woman’s “Voices of Angels” album, all new stage designs, superb choreography, and timeless Irish traditional and contemporary standards in the group’s award-winning signature style. WHERE: Mabee Center, 7777 S. Lewis Ave. FOR MORE: mabeecenter.com
>>5/3, Robin Trower English rock guitarist and vocalist Robin Trower will perform at Brady Theater, with special guest the Dustin Pittsley Band. Trower found success in the ‘60s with Procol Harum and again with his own band. He has released multiple studio albums, with his latest, “Where You Are Going To,” released last year. WHERE: Brady Theater, 105 W. M.B. Brady St. FOR MORE: bradytheater.com
>>5/4, Alice Cooper “The Grandfather of Shock Rock” returns to perform at Brady Theater. The American singer-songwriter found success in 1971 with his hit “I’m Eighteen,” followed by “School’s Out,” in 1972. Cooper has released more than 20 albums and has been nominated for two Grammy awards. WHERE: Brady Theater, 105 W. M.B. Brady St. FOR MORE: bradytheater.com
>>5/6, Smoke & Guns Oklahoma firefighters and police officers will go toe-to-toe in the fourth annual Smoke & Guns Charity MMA and Boxing event. The one-night only event is presented by Myers-Duren Harley-Davidson and will benefit the Oklahoma Firefighters Burn Camp and Oklahoma Special Olympics. WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>5/6, The Outsiders 50th Anniversary Celebration & Fundraiser Celebrate the 50th anniversary of “The Outsiders” by Tulsan S.E. Hinton and help raise money to restore and preserve the Outsiders House. The event will feature appearances by actors Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell, Darren Dalton and more, with music by DJ Lethal and a silent auction. WHERE: Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main St. FOR MORE: cainsballroom.com
>>5/6, Celebrating Berstein at 100: A Concert with Kristin Chenoweth & Friends Tony award-winning superstar Kristin Chenoweth returns to her hometown for a night of incredible music. She is celebrated for her role in the Broadway musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” as well as “Wicked.” WHERE: Broken Arrow PAC, 701 S. Main St. FOR MORE: brokenarrowpac.com
>>5/6, JENKS FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL The Jenks America Food Truck Festival brings together the best in Tulsa-area food trucks, musicians and artists for a day on Jenks’ Main Street. Sample a wide variety of foods, listen to local acts and browse dozens of shops. WHERE: Main Street, Jenks FOR MORE: jenkschamber.com
>>Through 5/7, Lusha Nelson Photographs See the first retrospective on the work of photographer Lusha Nelson, who worked as a staff photographer for Conde Nast Publications in the 1930s. The photographs show a beautifully striking world through stark portraits of celebrities and elegant fashion, as well as documentary photography from around the city. WHERE: Philbrook Museum of Art, 2727 S. Rockford Road FOR MORE: philbrook.org
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LET’S GO. >>5/9, Chance the Rapper Three-time Grammy award-winning artist Chance the Rapper brings his North American tour to Tulsa’s BOK Center. He will be performing hits from his “Coloring Book!” album. WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>5/11, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Country superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are bringing their Soul 2 Soul world tour to the BOK Center. The Grammy award-winning husband-andwife duo has recorded several duets together, along with their successful solo careers. WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>5/11-5/14, ROOSTER DAYS FESTIVAL Rooster Days Festival in Broken Arrow is one of the oldest continually running
Classics Series
Grammy-winning artist Chance the Rapper will perform at the BOK Center on May 9. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pops Series Fridays in the Loft
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LET’S GO. festivals in Oklahoma. Rooster Days includes amusement rides, corn dogs, fried ice cream and cotton candy, as well as music and entertainment. WHERE: Central Park, 1500 S. Main St., Broken Arrow FOR MORE: roosterdays.com
>>5/11-5/14, Tulsa Ballet: Signature Series The Tulsa Ballet closes its 60th season with three of Artistic Director Marcello Anglini’s favorite pieces — “A Million Kisses to my Skin,” by David Dawson; “Cacti,” by Alexander Ekman and “Cripple and the Starfish,” by Adam Houghland. WHERE: Lorton Performance Center, 550 S. Gary Place FOR MORE: tulsaballet.org
>>5/12-5/21, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” chronicles the final days of Jesus Christ’s life from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, with music from Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics from Tim Rice. WHERE: Tulsa PAC, 110 E. Second St. FOR MORE: tulsapac.com
>>5/13, TABOULEH FEST The 10th annual Tabouleh Fest celebrates Bristow’s Middle Eastern ancestors who arrived in Oklahoma during the late 1800s. Immigrants brought with them tabouleh, also spelled tabouli, a fresh salad dish made with bulgur wheat, fresh vegetables, parsley, mint, olive oil and lemon juice. WHERE: Main Street, Bristow FOR MORE: bristowchamber.com
>>5/13, STILWELL STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL Held since 1948 as a way to promote the strawberries grown in the area, the annual Strawberry Festival in Stilwell has become one of Oklahoma’s mostloved hometown festivals. With games, live entertainment and free strawberries and ice cream, the annual festival will also feature a 5k run, helicopter rides, carnival rides, plenty of food and merchandise and vendor booths. WHERE: Downtown Stilwell, Division Street FOR MORE: strawberrycapital.com
United We Win, 1942, WWII, United States
Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster April 7 through July 9, 2017
TU is an EEO/AA Institution.
Exhibition season title sponsor is the Sherman E. Smith Family Charitable Foundation. Support also provided by Mervin Bovaird Foundation, C.W. Titus Foundation.
GILCREASE.ORG TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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LET’S GO. >>5/16, The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers is on the road, with its biggest tour to date making a stop at the BOK Center. The Grammy-winning duo is known for such hits as “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Closer.” Multiplatinum artist KIIARA is the special guest. WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>5/16, Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson is taking the iconic “Pet Sounds” album back on the road for the last time and will stop at the Brady Theater. The tour is an extension of Wilson’s “Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour,” which celebrated the release of the band’s 1966 masterpiece. WHERE: Brady Theater, 105 W. M.B. Brady St. FOR MORE: bradytheater.com
>>5/18-5/21, TULSA INTERNATIONAL MAYFEST The annual Tulsa International Mayfest brings juried artists from across the country,
live music, food vendors and more to downtown Tulsa’s Main Street. WHERE: Main Street, downtown Tulsa FOR MORE: tulsamayfest.org
>>5/19-5/21, BLUE DOME ARTS FESTIVAL Enjoy browsing through booths filled with handmade crafts, paintings, pottery, carvings, photography, jewelry, home decor and more. Chat with local artists while perusing and shopping original works by these regional artisans. WHERE: Blue Dome District, Second Street and Elgin Avenue FOR MORE: bluedomearts.org
>>5/21, THE HOP JAM A unique celebration of beer and music, The Hop Jam celebrates the artisanal beer movement in Oklahoma, as well as the Oklahoma music scene. Organized by poprock trio Hanson, this event has grown every year. WHERE: Brady Arts District, FOR MORE: thehopjam.com
>>5/23-5/28, ‘Something Rotten!’ Celebrity Attractions presents “Something Rotten!” Set in 1595, the hilarious Broadway smash tells the story of two brothers desperate to write a hit play. WHERE: Tulsa PAC, 110 E. Second St. FOR MORE: tulsapac.com
>>5/24, New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block returns to the BOK Center with the Total Package Tour, along with Paula Abdul and Boyz II Men. The tour marks Abdul’s return to the stage, featuring a hit-fueled set. WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>5/25, TASTE OF BIXBY Sample delectable appetizers, entrees and drinks at the annual Taste of Bixby. WHERE: 10441 S. Regal Blvd., Bixby FOR MORE: bixbychamber.com
>>5/26-5/29, ROCKLAHOMA A three-day rock music festival featuring more than 70 entertainment acts on three stages, featuring some of the top names in hard-rock music, as well as 1980s-era classic rock and metal bands. This year’s lineup includes headliners Soundgarden, Def Leppard and The Offspring. Festival passes or one-day tickets are available. WHERE: 1421 W. 450 Road, Pryor FOR MORE: rocklahoma.com
>>6/1, Roger Waters Roger Waters, co-founder of progressive rock band Pink Floyd, brings his latest live spectacular, US + Them, to the BOK Center. It is his first outing since The Wall Live in 2010. WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>6/2-6/3, BOOTS & BBQ FESTIVAL Go to the Boots & BBQ Festival in Claremore for a sanctioned Kansas City-style barbecue cook-off. This event attracts some of the top barbecue competitors in the nation. Get a heaping plate of barbecue and vote for your favorite team. WHERE: Claremore Expo Center, 400 Veterans Parkway, Claremore FOR MORE: claremorereveille.com
>>6/2-6/4, SUNFEST Bartlesville’s SunFest is known as one of
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LET’S GO. Oklahoma’s biggest outdoor picnics and is celebrating 35 years. Find live music, arts and crafts, children’s games, storytellers, food and much more. WHERE: Sooner Park, Bartlesville FOR MORE: bartlesvillesunfest.org
Tulsa Craft Beer Week highlights the growing craft beer community in Tulsa. TOM GILBERT/ Tulsa World Magazine
>>6/3, WORLD’S LARGEST CALF FRY FESTIVAL & COOK-OFF Experience the ranching history of the Vinita area by tasting the festival’s namesake — calf fries — also known as a local delicacy. WHERE: American Legion Rodeo Grounds, Vinita FOR MORE: vinita.com
>>6/3-6/4, TULSA PRIDE BLOCK PARTY & PARADE The longest running LGBT festival in Oklahoma features live music, food, various vendors in a marketplace setting, a children’s zone and more. The Tulsa Pride Parade is at 7 p.m. June 3, presented by the Oklahomans for Equality. Join Tulsa Pride in Centennial Park for a picnic. WHERE: Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, 621 E. Fourth St. FOR MORE: okeq.org
>>6/4, ROUTE 66 BLOWOUT Held in downtown Sapulpa since 1989, the Route 66 Blowout celebrates the nostalgia of the Mother Road with a car, motorcycle and truck show. The event features an art show and sale, historic walking tours of Sapulpa, live music, crafts and commercial vendors. WHERE: Downtown Sapulpa FOR MORE: route66blowout.com
>>6/5, Journey Multiplatinum rock group Journey is bringing its hits to the BOK Center. The iconic band found success with such hits as “Don’t Stop Believin,’” “Open Arms” and “Wheel in the Sky.” WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>6/7, Bush British rock band Bush comes to the Brady Theater. The group’s latest album, “Black and White Rainbows,” was released in March 2017. WHERE: Brady Theater, 105 W. M.B. Brady St. FOR MORE: bradytheater.com TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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LET’S GO. Tulsa Drillers stretch during practice at ONEOK Field. Be sure to cheer on the home team, with games throughout the summer. IAN MAULE/ Tulsa World Magazine
> 6/8, TOP OF THE TOWN The event grants exclusive access to some of Tulsa’s most iconic structures and benefits the Child Care Resource Center. See for miles from some of the tallest buildings in the state. In addition to touring downtown hot spots at your own pace, you’ll be provided some tastes of Tulsa along the way, as well as beverages and live music. WHERE: Downtown Tulsa FOR MORE: ccrctulsa.org
> 6/8-6/16, OK MOZART INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL Audiences will enjoy the soaring sounds of classical and chamber music, as well as a wide array of performing arts, jazz, pops and Broadway show tunes. WHERE: Bartlesville Community Center, 300 S.E. Adams Blvd., Bartlesville FOR MORE: okmozart.com
15325 South Memorial Dr. Bixby • 918-364-2555
It’s worth the trip, warehouse size inventory, you’ll be glad you came! 108 Tulsa World Magazine
> 6/9, NORAH JONES Singer-songwriter Norah Jones has won multiple Grammy Awards and has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. She launched her career with “Come Away With Me” in 2002 and has produced other top hits like “Don’t Know
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LET’S GO. Why” and “Sunrise.” WHERE: Brady Theater, 105 W. M.B. Brady St. FOR MORE: bradytheater.com
>>6/9, Luke Bryan Award-winning country superstar Luke Bryan will stop in Tulsa on his Huntin’ Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day tour, with special guests Brett Eldredge and Seth Ennis. Bryan has produced several hit singles, such as “I Don’t Want This Night to End” and “Crash My Party.” WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>6/9-6/11, LEAKE COLLECTOR CAR SHOW & AUCTION More than 700 cars are anticipated to cross the two-ring auction block. The Leake Collector Car Show and Auction will feature a vast array of cars. WHERE: River Spirit Expo at Expo Square, 4145 E. 21st St. FOR MORE: leakecar.com
advantage of the RV and camping sites. WHERE: Hatbox Field, Muskogee FOR MORE: gfestmuskogee.com
>>6/15-6/18, BLACK GOLD DAYS Black Gold Days in Glenpool celebrates the city’s rich oil history with family-oriented activities and fun. The city honors the history of the local Glenn Pool oil field, named after Ida Glenn. WHERE: Black Gold Park, Glenpool FOR MORE: glenpoolchamber.org
>>6/22, Chris Stapleton Grammy award winner Chris Stapleton is bringing his All American Road Show to the BOK Center, with special guests Anderson East and Brent Cobb. Stapleton released his debut album, “Traveller,” in 2015 after serving as the frontman for The SteelDrivers. WHERE: BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave. FOR MORE: bokcenter.com
>>6/22-6/24, GREEN CORN FESTIVAL The Green Corn Festival is an old-fashioned
family festival and picnic in downtown Bixby. See the Green Corn Parade, an antique tractor pull, corn-eating contest, watermelon seed-spitting contest, balloon toss and more. WHERE: Charley Young Park, Bixby FOR MORE: bixbyoptimist.com
>>6/22-6/25, MUSCOGEE (CREEK) NATION FESTIVAL This annual celebration includes cultural exhibitions, a golf tournament, concerts featuring local and national acts, arts and crafts, food, a parade through downtown Okmulgee and activities for all ages. WHERE: Claude Cox Omniplex, 2950 Warrior Road, Okmulgee FOR MORE: creekfestival.com
>>6/25, Stoney LaRue Stoney LaRue will bring his Red Dirt music to Cain’s Ballroom. Born in Texas, LaRue later moved to Stillwater and began playing with Jason Boland and Cody Canada. WHERE: Cain’s Ballroom
FOR MORE: cainsballroom.com
>>6/11-6/17, OKLAHOMA FREEWHEEL Freewheel is a weeklong bicycle tour through the state. The route changes each year but typically begins near the Red River, Oklahoma’s southern border with Texas, and travels north to end just across the Kansas state line. Distances traveled each day can vary from 50 miles to 75 miles. Participants camp in rural communities, and their gear is transported to the next site. WHERE: across Oklahoma FOR MORE: okfreewheel.com
>>6/14-6/18, TULSA INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FESTIVAL Find hot air balloon launches, night glows, a giant carnival, live music, children’s play area, a wide variety of fair food, craft beer tent, vendors and more. Each morning and evening features a massive balloon launch, and there will also be a nightly glow event where the balloons are illuminated to the sound of music. WHERE: Tulsa Airpark, 1211 W. 36th St. North FOR MORE: tulsaibf.com
>>6/15-6/17, G FEST This three-day music festival is scheduled to feature Blackberry Smoke, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Candyland and more. For the full festival experience, take TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
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THE END. Re-examining teen literature
MICHAEL OVERALL
A transplant from Ponca City, Overall has now lived in Tulsa for nearly 20 years and has been writing for the Tulsa World just as long. He is a projects team reporter and proud father of two.
110 Tulsa World Magazine
I
n 1960, nine years after “The Catcher in the Rye” reached No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list, Tulsa administrators fired an English teacher for assigning the book to 11th-graders. I know. I know. We can roll our eyes and congratulate ourselves for being more sophisticated and openminded these days. But J.D. Salinger didn’t exactly write a children’s book — his 16-year-old protagonist gets drunk, hires an underage prostitute and cusses like a drunken sailor (my apologies for stereotyping drunken sailors). In the age of “Leave It to Beaver,” parents thought there might have been a more edifying choice of books to read in high school. And they wanted the teacher’s scalp. Luckily, by the time I reached the 11th grade in the 1980s, Holden Caulfield seemed downright angelic compared to what MTV was broadcasting, and the book was back on the approved reading list. Not required. But approved. To my amazement, Salinger had somehow gotten inside my head and was describing my life — I mean, except for the drinking and the prostitutes and the F-bombs. But Holden was a misfit who didn’t understand the world, and the world certainly didn’t understand him. And that was me. The enduring appeal of teen literature, from Salinger and “The Outsiders” to the more recent “Twilight” series and “The Hun-
ger Games,” is that it manages to articulate what teenagers can’t quite put into words themselves — that inexplicable angst and rage that is accompanied by raging hormones. And that’s also why it doesn’t have quite the same impact when you read it as an adult. I picked up “Catcher in the Rye” again in my 30s, expecting to rediscover why I remembered it so fondly. And found it, instead, completely incomprehensible. What exactly was Holden’s problem? Why didn’t he just stop whining? And what made him think that his future and the future of civilization as we know it seemed to hinge on whether a certain girl held his hand? Didn’t he realize that his problems would someday — probably by next week — seem distant and unimportant? No, he didn’t. Because he was 16. And that’s why grown-ups thank God that we’re not 16 anymore. Back in 1960, the Tulsa teacher appealed his firing and got his job back, although he wasn’t allowed to assign the book again, according to news archives. Three years later, a Tulsa high school student named Susan Hinton started writing the first rough draft of “The Outsiders,” another book that I read in the 11th grade. I’ll have to dig out my old copy and see if it holds up better than “Rye.”
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