Howdy y’all! I’m the Big Tulsan, and it’s mighty fine to meet ya! My good buddy, Todd, and I have called T-Town home for a very long time. I’ve been around so long I have fond memories of having fun at places like Cimarron Ballroom, the Orpheum and, of course, riding the Wildcat at Bell’s Amusement Park. I’ll never forget fun meals at The Louisiane, Crystal’s Pizza and Utica 21 Club.
My hobbies? Meeting new folks and sharing my memories of Tulsa’s past as well as my thoughts on current happenings around town. Send me your burning questions about anything and everything pertaining to Tulsa. Send your questions to bigtulsan@tulsaflyer.org, and Todd and I will see what kind of fun we can get into by digging into the mail bags and responding to some of our favorite Qs.
Let’s get to this week’s question.
Dear Big Tulsan,
I’ve been enjoying “The Lowdown” and am wondering what your favorite Tulsa movie or show moment is? – Lisa B., South Tulsa
Howdy, Lisa!
Isn’t “The Lowdown” fun television? Todd and I enjoy watching it every Tuesday. We’ve also been enjoying the soundtrack playlist and loved the behind-the-scenes set photos by Charles Elmore.
Now back to your Q. This is a really hard question to answer, but I’ll give it a go.
It would be super easy to say the Admiral Twin scene in “The Outsiders” when Pony Boy and Cherry meet. That’s one I really love.
I recently rewatched “Tex,” which was the first S.E. Hinton book turned into a movie with Matt Dillon. A favorite moment from the rewatch was when they drove down around 100th and Memorial and it was still very country. Got me thinking about all the changes we’ve been through in 40 years.
My favorite Hinton adaptation is “Rumble Fish,” which is to date my favorite movie filmed in Tulsa. In the beginning of “Rumble Fish,” Dillon’s Rusty James enters Benny’s Billiards, where a very young Nicolas Cage sits in a booth with the late Chris Penn. Behind the counter is legendary singer Tom Waits as proprietor Benny. Larry (later to be Laurence) Fishburne is hanging out too. There are better scenes in the movie, but that scene is my favorite because of the amount of young talent on screen hanging out in what is now the bar Valkyrie located in the Tulsa Arts District. If you go to the alleyway beside it you can find a plaque about it.
Here’s another fun fact for you in closing: If you happened to see the video of Sir Paul McCartney casually hanging out this week at the Arkansas River, that was the same location as the big finale in “Rumble Fish.” Another favorite scene! I told you this one is hard to answer.
Until next time!
