Arts & Culture
Columnist, wordsmith James Kilpatrick dies at 89
Written by Dick Pryor Tuesday, 17 August 2010 19:39
WASHINGTON (AP) - James J. Kilpatrick, who rose from cub reporter to become one of the South's most prominent newspaper editors and the nation's most widely syndicated political columnist, has died. He was 89.
Kilpatrick's wife, Marianne Means, says he died Sunday night at George Washington University Hospital. Means says he was being treated for congestive heart failure. TV watchers in the 1970s knew Kilpatrick as the conservative half of the "Point-Counterpoint" segment of the CBS program "60 Minutes." His sparring with liberal commentator Shana Alexander was famously parodied on "Saturday Night Live."
Kilpatrick learned to read by age 4 and decided early on he wanted to be a newsman. When he wasn't attending class at the University of Missouri, Kilpatrick worked summers as a copyboy for the Oklahoma City Times.
After Two Decades, Chickasaw Cultural Center Opens
Written by Dick Pryor Monday, 09 August 2010 19:43
SULPHUR, Okla. (AP) - For generations, members of the Chickasaw Nation told the tribe's stories of hardship and renewal through its families, community organizations and churches. Now others can get a glimpse of the tribe's history - from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States to the Trail of Tears and what would become Oklahoma. The tribe opened the $40 million Chickasaw Cultural Center in July. Among its features are a 350-seat theater and an historical exhibit that includes a long hallway known as the "Removal" exhibit. That exhibit tells the story of the Trail of Tears - the forced movement of the Chickasaws and other tribes to what is now Oklahoma in the 1830s. Tribe historian Phil Morgan says the center makes the statement that the tribe has survived and will continue to do so.
Four Set for Inducation to Okla. Music Hall of Fame
Written by Dick Pryor Tuesday, 27 July 2010 21:24
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Sam Harris, Jamie Oldaker, Jean Shepard and Les Gilliam will be the four inductees this year into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. The four were named as the 2010 inductees during a news conference Monday in Tulsa. The 14th annual induction ceremony and concert is set for Nov. 4 at the Muskogee Civic Center. Harris, from Cushing, won the premier season of the television show "Star Search." Oldaker, a drummer for country group The Tractors, is a Tulsa native. Shepard, who was born in Pauls Valley, is known as a honky-tonk singer and songwriter, while Gilliam, known as the "Oklahoma Balladeer," is from Gene Autry in southern Oklahoma. Among those already in the hall are Vince Gill, Toby Keith, Merle Haggard, Wanda Jackson, Leona Mitchell, Roy Clark, Leon Russell, Woody Guthrie, The All American Rejects and Carrie Underwood.
Toby Keith to join Boston Pops on July 4
Written by Dick Pryor Wednesday, 09 June 2010 20:22
BOSTON (AP) - Country music star Toby Keith will celebrate Independence Day with the Boston Pops. Liberty Mutual, the event's sponsor, announced Wednesday that Keith will join conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops for the annual Fourth of July concert and fireworks show on the banks of the Charles River. The 40-year-old singer-songwriter's hits include "Should've Been a Cowboy," "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This, and "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue."
The "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular," hosted by Craig Ferguson of "The Late Late Show," will be televised nationally on CBS. Keith's latest album, "American Ride," was released last year by Show Dog Nashville.
UCO's 'School of Rock' to expand in new space
Written by Dick Pryor Friday, 04 June 2010 21:49
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - University of Central Oklahoma's so-called "School of Rock" will expand its space and course offerings as it begins its second year. The school more formally known as the Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO had about 150 students when it opened last August in Oklahoma City's Bricktown entertainment district.
UCO vice president Steve Kreidler says the school has proven so popular that it will have about 400 students in its second year. It also will expand from its current home on the fourth floor of a Bricktown building to occupy the second floor as well, an addition of about 4,400 square feet. In addition, the school also is obtaining a second lease for a 6,500-square-foot rehearsal and performance venue in another Bricktown building.
