Danny Williams Dead at 85

[ljbab728]

I hate to seem like the grim reaper with my threads but here it is:

Oklahoma City television and radio icon Danny Williams dies | News OK

I was never a fan of his but he was certainly a local pioneer in radio and television.

[Achilleslastand]

From watching out for flying chairs to dealing blackjack at the little flower carnival he was quite the character.
RIP 3D Danny

[MustangGT]

A true radio/tv icon. RIP.

[Mel]

Met him a few times at a former friends parties. Always had some good stories. He was shorter than he sounded on the radio. R.I.P. Mr. Williams.

[OKCisOK4me]

I told my mom about it, cause I knew she knew who he was. Apparently she was on one of his shows when she was 7 or 8. That being around '55 or so.

[RadicalModerate]

A true radio/tv icon. RIP.

Like Mark Shannon . . . Rest in Peace, Danny. I always thought you were great. Thanks for the memories.

[BB37]

I feel a little older tonight.

[ljbab728]

I told my mom about it, cause I knew she knew who he was. Apparently she was on one of his shows when she was 7 or 8. That being around '55 or so.

Your mom must be about the same age as me. I was never in the peanut gallery but we probably have similar memories.

[Matt]

Been a bad couple of months for personalities from the early days of local TV.

Watch your back, Miss Fran.

[Prunepicker]

I remember, after moving to OK from California, that 3D Danny was the
first program I remember.

From News9

Danny Williams spent more than 60 years in the business starting his
career in Texas in 1947.

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma City radio and TV icon passed away
Tuesday after complications from a heart attack. He was 85 years old.

Danny Williams spent more than 60 years in the business starting his
career in Texas in 1947. He started on TV in Oklahoma City in 1950, and
moved to radio in 1992.

Williams was one of the original 15 members of the Oklahoma Association
of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He retired in 2008.

"I was proud to be his daughter. He gave me an incredibly work ethic,"
said Shevaun Williams. "He was fabulous. Loved by everyone."

Williams is survived by his three daughters, six grandchildren and four
great grandchildren.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Oklahoma History Center.

Also From News OK (a video)

[boscorama]

RIP Danny.

[Soonerus]

RIP Danny.

"Watch out for flying chairs"

[OKCisOK4me]

A whole 1 hour and 4 minutes before yours:

http://www.okctalk.com/arts-entertai...tml#post620020

[OKCisOK4me]

Your mom must be about the same age as me. I was never in the peanut gallery but we probably have similar memories.

She was born in '46

[RadicalModerate]

Well done, Sir.
(in old time broadcasting it was important to beat the clock)

(dang! was that a Barkalounger that just flew by?>>>

Speaking of clocks . . . what is it with the TimeStamps in here?

[SoonerDave]

I remember Danny Williams most for his "Xavier T. Willard" character on the great ol WKY-produced "Foreman Scotty" show. For those too young to remember, Foreman Scotty ran the "Circle 4 Ranch" and had a couple of busloads of kids in the studio as guests every afternoon during the 70's. I was lucky enough to be on there twice, and won the "Magic Lasso" that resulted in a cool wooden nickel prize. Heck, my mom probably still has my Circle 4 ranch sticker somewhere.

Williams also played the part of "The Count" when Foreman Scotty took a really cool "sci-fi" kinda twist, where the ranch was kinda converted into what was called the "Control Center" that looked amazingly like the bridge of the Enterprise from Star Trek, even including a "Teletransporter." "The Count" would threaten to break into and take over Scotty's show, and that led to the "secret coded messages" Scotty would send to his viewers, and you'd need the code card to unscramble the message. You picked up the decoder card at the State Fair by giving the secret "double-thumbs-up" signal at the WKY booth near the OPUBCO venue, which was absolutely packed with kids during the fair back then. (Yeah, that was back when the Fair was great and relevant, not cast aside as it has been today).

At other times, "Scotty" gave away prizes with the "Friendship Wheel" and the "Polka Dot" games, wherein I was the happy recipient of a Channel Master Transistor Radio (which I still have and it still works to this day), a play-doh set, and a "liberty drum" that my gruesome father intercepted and destroyed before I ever got to play with it. (No, I'm not kidding, but my father's general level of disturbance that rose to gift theft and other bizarre behavior warrants a whole separate thread).

This was part of a great, but now lost, era of local television, one that brought us HoHo the Clown on KOCO, Pokey, and his "Tempus Levitator." Miss Fran, even local talk with "Ida B", "Dannysday" (which was the catalyst for Mary Hart's career)...Great memories.

[ctchandler]

SoonerDave,
Don't you mean "Scotty Foreman"? That's what the writer for the Oklahoman called him today. I guess he's just too young to remember Foreman Scotty.
C. T.

[RadicalModerate]

SoonerDave,
Don't you mean "Scotty Foreman"? That's what the writer for the Oklahoman called him today. I guess he's just too young to remember Foreman Scotty.
C. T.

Maybe he meant "Scotty, Foreman" . . .?
(oh those pesky O.S.U. Commas . . .)

[Prunepicker]

It was Foreman Scotty. I was on the show at least 2 times.

Nixobilly!

[boscorama]

We sat in on the taping of Championship Wrestling early Saturday evenings, then went to a furniture store to watch ourselves on TV. Those were black&white days, still.

[Prunepicker]

We sat in on the taping of Championship Wrestling early Saturday evenings,
then went to a furniture store to watch ourselves on TV. Those were black &
white days, still.

I wanted so much to watch Champion Wrestling but our father, an Oklahoma
State Champion wouldn't allow it. Even as kids we knew it was fake but the
entertainment value was astounding. I remember when it was in the
Stockyards Coliseum. There was a man in overalls who sat in the middle of
the back row every week. Was that you?

[CCOKC]

My sister and I were on Danny's Day as small children on separate occasions. I was so young that I don't remember it. That would have been sometime in the late 60's. I guess there must have been a segment that young mothers showed off there babies on TV.

[boscorama]

I wanted so much to watch Champion Wrestling but our father, an Oklahoma
State Champion wouldn't allow it. Even as kids we knew it was fake but the
entertainment value was astounding. I remember when it was in the
Stockyards Coliseum. There was a man in overalls who sat in the middle of
the back row every week. Was that you?

No, I was the cool chick in black turtleneck with Jackie O shades. Parents never knew, God willing.

[Tritone]

Sounds like soonerdave won more than his share of trinkets. I didn't win anything but that just didn't matter even then. Those shows from that era were great! That was a great time to grow up.

[SoonerDave]

Sounds like soonerdave won more than his share of trinkets. I didn't win anything but that just didn't matter even then. Those shows from that era were great! That was a great time to grow up.

Absolutely. Getting to go to a TV studio was "larger than life." I have only fleeting memories of it now, but the notion of going to be on TV was almost indescribable.