The Fail Brothers

[Stan Silliman]

I know there are historical experts on this board, at least a lot more in the know than I, but I'd like to hear about whatever happened to the Fail Brothers.
When I was in college I had some dealings with Never Fail. He owned an apartment building where I placed some vending machines.

I was later told that Never was a twin and he built and operated apartment buildings throughout the city, most of them very successful.
That part stuck with me, the fact he was a twin and his parents named him"Never" and his twin brother "Will."

It was said "Will" didn't have the luck possessed by Never, that when he signed his name to a contract, people became immediately suspicious.
Is this true? Was it just rumors from the 60s.

Who would do that, name their kids Will and Never, and then see how they turned out?

Truth... or rumor?

[Stan Silliman]

Nobody knows much? There are possibly some who think I'm making this up. Absolutely, not. Real people. Here's an article from 1999:

(From GB 23) Jim Ruddle said:

I mentioned Marna Bryant in an earlier post. An interesting sidebar is that in the mid-fifties, a young (teenage) girl came to the station a couple of times and sang. Her name was Anita Bryant. Marna became friendly with her, although no relation that I know of. When Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts came to Tulsa, Marvin Lawill, a cameraman at KOTV and Anita both auditioned and both were accepted.

Marvin was overjoyed, as was Anita, however, she had a problem. Her family was very religious and strictly so. She wanted to go on the Godfrey show, but her parents thought not. Marna went to their home and talked to them, telling them that Anita had a God-given talent that should be shared. Eventually, they conceded the point and Anita went on to great success. Had it not been for Marna, Florida might have stopped selling orange juice, and gays everywhere would have been more relaxed.

Marvin, by the way, never had a career as a singer and unfortunately died a few years ago. At the time, he said I was foolish not to audition for the Godfrey show, but I knew better.



(From GB 23, 10/17/1999) Bill Hyden said:

When I was at KVOO radio, Anita Bryant would occasionally sing there and her singing talent was obvious. I've tried to locate her re: the KOTV reunion, but an Internet check shows that the Anita Bryant Theater is now the Moe Bandy Theater and I've had not response from there. Any help?

Marna Bryant was quite a talent. She was also a Tulsa school teacher. For years she was the music director for the Tulsa Press Club Gridiron shows. We jokingly said each year that we were the Mill Creek, Oklahoma alumni reunion group. We both were born there. Marna's son-in-law was real estate developer Never Fail. Marna moved to Arizona, where she may still reside. Fail died a few years ago. Anyone know where Marna is now? (Webmaster: Marna passed away in 2000.

[RadicalModerate]

When I read the headline, I honestly thought this was about a comedy duo like Martin and Lewis or Abbot and Costello.

[Stan Silliman]

No Rad, real folks. I'm surprised nobody is aware of them. I know Steve Lackmeyer has mentioned Never Fail in the past.
I want to know more about his brother, William, affectionately called "Will."

[Pete]

Never Fail was an apartment / condo builder from Tulsa.

The one project I remember he did in OKC was the Quail Springs Condos, just north of the mall on Penn built in 1982. I believe there was a big fire there recently.

That project did not do well and I'm not sure he did much else in OKC.

He filed for bankruptcy in the 90's:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/n...936c3fe93.html


Here is an article about the condos:

New Condominiums Go on Block Neighboring Quail Springs Mall | News OK

[Pete]

I don't think he had a brother named Will.

[Stan Silliman]

He did. If I remember right, they were twins. I did business with Never Fail in the mid 60s.
He built several apartment and the vending company I worked for supplied coin operated
Laundry equipment for his rec rooms. Most of his apartments were in the NW part of the city.
He had at least five complexes.

Whenever I told people I placed another set of washers and dryers with Never Fail, they always
Mentioned his brother. So if it just a rumor, especially the part about William being less successful,
The fable got around. Several people knew that story.

I never met Will Fail, couldn't verify his existence but the owner of the vending company said he met him. Maybe he was pulling my leg.