Oklahoma City News TV personalities: past & present.

[AAC2005]

...a weekend guy named Ken Broo was there for a while...

LOL, small world! Ken Broo was the sports guy at WUSA-TV Channel 9 (Washington, DC) for about a minute back in the late 90's, I think.

[magicchord]

...Back when Jack Ogle was anchor, Jim Williams was WKY->KTVY->KFOR's weather man, and he's also local radio personality Danny Williams' brother...

Heh heh. I worked with both men at Ch.4 back in the day, and no, they're not related.

Jim was a real weather geek, whose meteorological skill put Gary England to shame. Gary was the better self-promoter and more colorful personality though.

[mugofbeer]

Heh heh. I worked with both men at Ch.4 back in the day, and no, they're not related.

Jim was a real weather geek, whose meteorological skill put Gary England to shame. Gary was the better self-promoter and more colorful personality though.

magicchord - I hate to tell you this but Gary England is regarded nationwide as one of the best broadcast metorologists out there. He may get pretty excited when the tornadoes come calling, and he may be a little more folksy than you like, but in that 2-3 times in a lifetime situation like the monster tornado of 1999, he probably saved the lives of hundreds.

[mopicdude]

26 Apr 2003 (Dallas Morning News, April 28 issue)
Ralph Eugene COMBES died.

COMBES, RALPH EUGENE passed away April 26, 2003, at his home in Rowlett, TX. He was born in Counsil Grove, KS, to Eugene and Georgia (MORGAN) COMBES. He was a member of the National Television & Radio News Directors Assoc. and worked as newscaster/journalist at WKY Radio/TV, KWTV, and KOCO TV in Oklahoma City, OK, before moving to Texas. He volunteered reading books on tape for the blind and volunteered for the National Kidney Foundation. He served honorably in the Navy...

[mireaux]

another favorite local tv personality would be KOCO's, Ho-Ho the Clown.

everybody loved them some Ho-Ho. It was real sad when he passed away.

I remember when every single KOCO newscast ended with people making this hand sign with their fingers (your thumb and index finger forming an O, while the other 3 fingers are slightly arched around it)

[Matt]

I remember when every single KOCO newscast ended with people making this hand sign with their fingers (your thumb and index finger forming an O, while the other 3 fingers are slightly arched around it)

O-tay!

[kevinpate]

> as if she could kill him with her stare.

I wouldn't bet against those eyes.
8^)

[kevinpate]

> I would much rather go that way than hearing "Talk to me Val"
> as my last memory!

I'm thinking Val would agree
8^)

[drumsncode]

It would be nice to have an automated, very location-specific weather alert system, so that if a tornado was right on top of you, you'd get a recorded message from Amy with that warm sweet voice of hers, saying, "Thanks for watching me all these years, now kiss your butt goodbye!" ;-)

Where is innovation in broadcasting when you need it?! ;-)

[BB37]

Another WKY-TV alumnus is Ross Porter, who was the sports anchor in the mid 60s. He left OKC for the NBC affiliate in LA, then spent many years as radio PBP for the LA Dodgers.

[nighttrain12]

Let's not forget Mike Steely's ex-wife Suzanne! With her infamous 'FAT ... LIKE ME!!!' exposé. LOL

[micesu]

Let's not forget Mike Steely's ex-wife Suzanne! With her infamous 'FAT ... LIKE ME!!!' exposé. LOL

I was in high school when that aired. She actually showed up to a basketball game in her fat suit and walked by a group of girls I knew and of course they started pointing an laughing. Of course she used this as proof of fat people being discriminated against.

One of the girls later told me they weren't laughing at her because she was fat but it was obvious that she was wearing a fat suit and a wig. The girl told me her face was very thing and they thought she was part of a half time skit.

[nighttrain12]

I was in high school when that aired. She actually showed up to a basketball game in her fat suit and walked by a group of girls I knew and of course they started pointing an laughing. Of course she used this as proof of fat people being discriminated against.

One of the girls later told me they weren't laughing at her because she was fat but it was obvious that she was wearing a fat suit and a wig. The girl told me her face was very thin and they thought she was part of a half time skit.

Yeah, they should have got a real life fat person and a hidden camera for that exposé. If I remember correctly, she walked into a Braum's dressed that way and some teenage employee started laughing and Suzanne's after the fact voiceover assumed the employee must have been laughing at her because she was fat. Then a few businesses threatened lawsuits over the story and the whole thing got dropped on air. Of course its been remembered many years later. LOL

[Matt]

If my memory serves me right was there two female news casters that were killed a short time apart. One being killed in a helicopter and another on NW 36th and Walker?

I remember the stunt airplane one, the other i have no clue then again i was out of pocket for 2 yrs in cali.

Kathy Jones was the plane crash; Lee Evans was the car crash.

(God bless Wikipedia.)

[Danno]

Ralph Combes did NOT go straight from TV down to Texas, where he passed away. He worked with us as our newsguy at KXY, until Nate Webb joined us a year or two into our show. Ralph was hysterical, and knew everything! Sadly, he was also the most pesimistic man we'd ever met, and didn't care what he said to those in power. With all he'd been through, can't say as I blamed him, either! We loved him, but every day became an excercise in negativity!
One day, Ralph called me in the afternoon, and said, "Somebody stole my lawn!!!".
He lived over by 122nd and May, and sure enough, while he was at work with us and nobody was home, somebody had backed their truck up in his driveway, and proceeded to roll up the fresh turf lawn he had just paid to have installed a few days before!! All he had left was a dirt front yard!!
And no, Gary England never worked at KTOK, another place I worked at...and we worked closely with Gary for years, before he decided he didn't want to wake up early anymore. I STILL miss working daily with Gary, and he's not only brilliant, but a really nice guy, too!

[Prunepicker]

Gary England never worked at KTOK...

Rick Tasetano was the weatherman at KTOK for years.

[cameron_405]

...not sure if this belongs in this thread. Anyone remember 'cable auction'? I did an on-air gig for a couple of weeks (all it took -- haha). Do I qualify as a past personality? {;+Þ

[Prunepicker]

... not sure if this belongs in this thread. Anyone remember 'cable
auction'? I did an on-air gig for a couple of weeks (all it took -- haha).
Do I qualify as a past personality? {;+Þ

Cable Auction? I remember a classified billboard.

[bmrsnrou]

...not sure if this belongs in this thread. Anyone remember 'cable auction'? I did an on-air gig for a couple of weeks (all it took -- haha). Do I qualify as a past personality? {;+Þ

Cable auction was HILARIOUS! We even had a bidder number, lol. We'd kick back a few adult beverages, then about midnight, we'd call and start bidding on the crap that they had. We actually bought a vacuum cleaner that we went and picked up at their warehouse/studio off of I-35 service road. Too funny that you would mention Cable Auction. Btw, where did they get the crap that they sold on there?

[BlackmoreRulz]

...not sure if this belongs in this thread. Anyone remember 'cable auction'? I did an on-air gig for a couple of weeks (all it took -- haha). Do I qualify as a past personality? {;+Þ

Hahahah, my cousin also did quite a few shows, lasted a couple of months I think.

Anyone remember a Bill Allen that used to be on Ch 5? he used to come and watch his kids at wrestling tournaments and would sometimes show footage from there on his telecast.

[Bobdavid]

Rick Tasetano was the weatherman at KTOK for years.

So was Gene Collett. Gene preceded Rick as KTOK meteorologist. Both were former military meteorologists. I worked with both of them. Both were fine gentlemen.

[SoonerDave]

Ralph Combes did NOT go straight from TV down to Texas, where he passed away. He worked with us as our newsguy at KXY, until Nate Webb joined us a year or two into our show. Ralph was hysterical, and knew everything! Sadly, he was also the most pesimistic man we'd ever met, and didn't care what he said to those in power. With all he'd been through, can't say as I blamed him, either! We loved him, but every day became an excercise in negativity!
One day, Ralph called me in the afternoon, and said, "Somebody stole my lawn!!!".
He lived over by 122nd and May, and sure enough, while he was at work with us and nobody was home, somebody had backed their truck up in his driveway, and proceeded to roll up the fresh turf lawn he had just paid to have installed a few days before!! All he had left was a dirt front yard!!
And no, Gary England never worked at KTOK, another place I worked at...and we worked closely with Gary for years, before he decided he didn't want to wake up early anymore. I STILL miss working daily with Gary, and he's not only brilliant, but a really nice guy, too!

Lol it's funny what you miss when you don't track old threads. I was browsing this old thread and saw this post wherein someone claimed Gary England never worked at KTOK....

Since I'm bored here early Saturday morning, I guess I'll necrobump this for nostalgia's sake. Obviously this post is wrong; England was on KTOK just before he took the KWTV gig. He was replaced on KTOK by Gene Collet, who later retired and was replaced by Rick Tasetano. Gary took his "thunderlizard" gag he started at KTOK and did it for a while at KWTV; he even stuck a green, stuffed toy lizard to one of the big old rotating forecast boards they had in the waaaay-pre-computing era one day.

KTOK had changed a lot by the time Tasetano retired, and I don't think they replaced him with a dedicated staff meteorologist. They moved to contracted or TV-affiliated forecasting....

[Jim Kyle]

England was on KTOK just before he took the KWTV gig.

It may not be general knowledge, but much of the original KWTV staff came straight from KTOK -- including the station manager. I believe that the Griffins were involved with both stations at that time.

My wife livd right acros Main from KTOK while going to junior high and high school, and spent much of her free time at the station becoming well acquainted with the staff. My eldest son is, in fact, named for Dick Kirschner, who was a night announcer and had helped Jo with her math homework. Chief Engineer Harold Phillips and his wife Becky were instrumental in getting Jo enrolled at Classen though she was firmly in Central's district. I met Harold and Becky soon after Jo and I married, and we attended Harold's funeral (and used Jo's knowledge of internal station communications to notify Dick Kirschner, by then a producer for ABC, of Harold's dath). It was actually a small but cohesive coummunity in those days!

[Mr. Blue Sky]

It may not be general knowledge, but much of the original KWTV staff came straight from KTOK -- including the station manager. I believe that the Griffins were involved with both stations at that time.

My wife livd right acros Main from KTOK while going to junior high and high school, and spent much of her free time at the station becoming well acquainted with the staff. My eldest son is, in fact, named for Dick Kirschner, who was a night announcer and had helped Jo with her math homework. Chief Engineer Harold Phillips and his wife Becky were instrumental in getting Jo enrolled at Classen though she was firmly in Central's district. I met Harold and Becky soon after Jo and I married, and we attended Harold's funeral (and used Jo's knowledge of internal station communications to notify Dick Kirschner, by then a producer for ABC, of Harold's dath). It was actually a small but cohesive coummunity in those days!

And then, Chester Grubbs, who worked for them for many years as chief engineer. The single most optimistic man I have ever met. (RIP, Chester) “Dynamic!” he would say when asked how he was doing.

[Oklapatriot]

Does anyone know what happened to Alex Housden on KOCO? Seems she has disappeared.