THE GRAPES OF WRATH, Published April 14, 1939
To her dying day, my mother could not understand my love of John Steinbeck’s work — especially GRAPES OF WRATH, which was published on this day in 1939. No matter…
Bert Gordon, born April 8, 1895
I am a fan of not one but two movie people named Bert Gordon. One is the producer-director Bert I. Gordon, whose extensive motion-picture resume includes such monster-kid-era favorites as…
Merle Haggard, born April 6, 1937
As the TULSA WORLD’s country-music writer for 23 years (from 1983 through most of 2006), I was privileged to see and hear many of our great veteran artists. I remain…
Robert Bloch and Roger Corman, born April 5
Today is the birthday of two of our greatest horror-fiction and pop-culture figures, Robert Bloch (b. 1917) and Roger Corman (b. 1926). Both wielded a huge influence on tens, maybe…
Leon Russell, born April 2, 1942
Today is the Christian faith’s Good Friday. This year, it’s also the birthday of Lawton, Oklahoma native Claude Russell Bridges, known to the world as Leon Russell. So, if you’re…
March 30, 1999, Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park Named to the National Register of Historic Places
MARCH 30 — On this date in 1999, Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park, a few miles east of Foyil, Oklahoma, was named to the National Register of Historic Places. I have…