By Nick Thomas

Fans of Donny Osmond won’t have to travel to Las Vegas to experience the singer’s long-running popular stage show currently headlining at Harrah’s Casino. The 70s teen idol begins his summer tour in July, his first in almost seven years (see www.donny.com for cities and dates).
“I’m taking it across the country for people who can’t get to Las Vegas,” said Osmond from Las Vegas. “I’m bringing the entire company – singers, dancers, musicians, and a full video production. I’m really looking forward to it because I was born on the road!”
While longtime fans remember Osmond as part of the Osmond family singers, not to mention the “Donny & Marie” variety show from the 70s, the “Donny & Marie” daytime talk show in the late 90s, and a string of musical theater roles on Broadway, Osmond has continued to reinvent himself to keep up with changing times.
He hosted a TV game show (“Pyramid”) in the early 2000s, was a runner-up in the first season of Fox’s “The Masked Singer” in 2019, and won season 9 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” a decade earlier.
“That was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “And to win the trophy was probably one of my favorite accolades.”
For the Utah native, those accolades began at the age of five when he joined four of his brothers in 1963 on “The Andy Williams Show” singing his debut song “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” on Williams’s lap. Later in the program, he belted out his first solo performance on television, “You Are My Sunshine.”
“I remember doing the show and have a lot of respect for that man because he gave me my start,” recalled Osmond. “In fact, I do a duo with Andy Williams singing ‘Moon River’ on the big screen behind me in the show. It’s become a very emotional part of the evening and people tell me quite a tearjerker. It’s included in my rap song that looks back on my career.”
Wait, the kid who tore up the pop charts in the early 70s with hit singles such as “Go Away Little Girl,” “Puppy Love,” and “Too Young,” not to mention recording 65 albums over his career, does rap?
“I sure do,” said Osmond laughing. “It’s become one of the most popular parts of my show where I do a 10-minute rap in front of a big screen video projection outlining my six-decade career.”
Like many entertainers, Osmond’s career had its low points and these are not excluded from his biographical rap review. “I did one Broadway show that opened and closed on the same day!”
Another favorite Osmond song for younger fans is “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Disney’s 1998 film “Mulan.” While appearing in a Chicago stage production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Osmond was spotted by Disney and asked to join the vocal cast for their new animated feature.
“We turn the whole theater into a ‘Milan’ moment with a 6-minute full production number including a stick fighting dance on stage and my character, Captain Shang, on the big screen behind me,” said Osmond. “I had no idea the song would become a Disney classic.” Currently, the YouTube video of the song has over 160 million views and may still be a hit with the grandkids.
Of course, not everyone is a Donny Osmond fan and the 65-year-old singer often chuckles when he looks out into the audience during a show.
“Recently, there was a bearded guy in the front row who looked like one of those Grateful Dead Deadheads and by his attitude I could tell his wife had dragged him to the concert!” laughed Osmond. “But at the end of the show, he was the first on his feet to give me a standing ovation. So it’s very satisfying to win over people like that. I’m sure audiences on the summer tour will not only enjoy the music but learn about what I’ve accomplished over my six-decade career.”

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala, and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers. See https://www.getnickt.org/.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

The area is full of many live theater options, and if you don’t reserve your seat in advance you might lose out. If you schedule it, it will happen. If you don’t, it won’t.
Of course you can get in trouble as I did this summer when I bought a nonrefundable ticket to NYC’s Broadway production of Music Man, which I know would win lots of Tony’s and be in high demand in the fall. I scheduled my NYC trip complete with air and hotel reservations for mid October. With a recent physical accident I had to cancel the trip and try and pass along my $400 orchestra aisle ticket to a NYC resident. I don’t regret the buying of it or the canceling of the trip. Reality Bites.
Getting a season subscription to theater nearer your home, you can be relativity sure you can make it. Season subscriptions are the way to go – reserved seats and definite theater times for your calendar
I consider the professional reputation of theater before putting down a lump sum for future enjoyment. One such professional troop is the Prairie Sky Opera Company, who always produce excellent casts who shine with the meaningful and difficult medium of Opera. Recently I took in their Scalia / Ginsburg opera of supreme court justices in the OKC Contemporary Arts. They did not disappoint in this intellectual and ironic story of 2 supreme court justices. Outstanding was the performances of Brian Cheney, Lauren Cook, Jonathan Moots and direction by Rob Glaubitz. It concluded their regular season. Coming up is their Opera Gala at the Skirvin Hotel in OKC on Oct 14th in honor of well known Oklahoma City University voice profession and entertainer, the late Florence Birdwell. Space may be sold out but you might check it out at www.prairieskyopera.org.
I recently happened upon some home town talent at St Luke’s Methodist Church’s Broadway Revue. The local talent was good for the most part and the Broadway theater selections were exceptional. Their Poteet Theater Season (stlukesokc.org/poteet) is about to begin with: Spelling Bee. Season tickets are available.
The Professional company touring shows of OKC Broadway (www.okcbroadway.com/about) always delivers top notch talent with the material they offer in big theater productions in the OKC Music Hall downtown. Their recent tour of Pretty Woman, was week in material and the casting needed some charismatic personalities. But that’s the chance and joy you take with live theater. While the season tickets might be sold out, you can usually get a single ticket somewhere in the massive auditorium. Coming up is: Hadestown, Tootsie, Cats, Book of Morman and Hamilton.
Lyric Theater of Oklahoma never disappoints which can be proven by experiencing the upcoming shows of: Rocky Horror Picture Show, this month, and this season; The Play That Goes Wrong, Concerto, Sound of Music, Prom, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and the add on shows of Big River and A Christmas Carol. This month you can enjoy performances, food and drink at the October 13, Broadway Bash fund raiser at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club.
If you are a theater regular be sure and check out the offerings at OKC REP (okcrep.org), the university productions of theater and musicals at Oklahoma City University, University of Central Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma, Stillwater’s Town and Gown, Canterbury, and Guthrie’s Pollard, among others. Many are looking forward to the reopening this fall in brand new location, of the longtime theater company of Carpenter Square. (www.carpentersquare.com) Oklahoma is not lacking for live entertainment.
It is said, especially with senors, that it makes life more enjoyable if you have something which to look forward. I am looking forward to the April 15 Philharmonic concert of virtuoso violinists, Joshua Bell. (www.okcphil.org) I bought my single ticket as soon as they were offered, and reserved my orchestra aisle seat. I have experience this artistic talent the last three times Bell performed in Oklahoma. It is also said that the greatest compliment you can give, is if you would do it again. Needless to say my compliments to Joshua Bell (joshuabell.com). He is scheduled to perform Mendelssohn: Violin concerto in E Minor, op 64 and Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, op 92. But anything Bell performs is exceptional.
Reserve it and enjoy it.

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
3110 N.W. 15 Street – Oklahoma City, OK 73107
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Oklahoma City University will host preventive medicine pioneer Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper for a presentation, open to the public, at 3 p.m. March 26 in the Kerr McGee Auditorium in Meinders School of Business. Following his presentation, the university will bestow Cooper with an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
Cooper, the founder and chairman of Cooper Aerobics in Dallas and an Oklahoma native, is credited with starting the international fitness movement following the release of his best-selling book, “Aerobics,” in 1968. This year marks the 45th anniversary of Cooper Aerobics inspiring millions of people to live healthier, longer lives.
He has lectured in more than 50 countries and is most famous in Brazil, having trained the 1970 Brazilian soccer team to a World Cup victory. As a result, jogging is translated as “coopering” in Portuguese.
Cooper’s efforts have also impacted the American diet. His collaboration with PepsiCo to eliminate trans fats from its Frito-Lay snack line encouraged other companies to follow suit.
Cooper was born in Oklahoma City in 1931. During his 13 years of service in the U.S. Army and Air Force, he served as a flight surgeon and director of the Aerospace Medical Laboratory. He developed the 12-minute and 1.5-mile fitness tests and the Aerobics Point System still used today by branches of the military, schools and organizations worldwide.
In 1970 Cooper resigned from the military and founded Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas with the mission to explore the relationship between cardiovascular fitness and health and longevity. With the popularity of his book “Aerobics,” which has been translated into 41 languages and Braille, he also coined the term “aerobics” and submitted the official definition to the Oxford English Dictionary. He has authored 18 additional books, which combined have sold more than 30 million copies.
Cooper’s mission is for people of all ages to Get Cooperized™. As a leading pioneer of preventive medicine, he is challenging the world to follow his “8 Healthy Steps” to live better: maintain a healthy weight; eat healthy most of the time; exercise most days of the week; take the right supplements for you; stop smoking; control alcohol; manage stress; and get a regular, comprehensive physical exam. Founder and Chairman of Cooper Aerobics, Dr. Kenneth Cooper continues to lead the organization alongside his son, Dr. Tyler Cooper, president and CEO.

Story by Darl DeVault, Contributing Editor

In a conversation with an early-career friend and actor Michael McGreevey, Kurt Russell, 71, provided detail about his long career in TV and movies before a standing-room-only audience the morning before he received a great honor. Many seniors with a lifelong appreciation for Western heritage and culture gathered to hear him speak.
He was in Oklahoma City on April 9 to be inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers along with his father, Bing Russell, later that night during the Western Heritage Awards at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Russell’s father, Neil Oliver “Bing” Russell, who died in 2003, acted in many Western TV and film productions, including Bonanza. For several years Bing played Deputy Clem Poster in the TV series Bonanza.
Russell treated the crowd of 440, of whom 100 stood for the hour-long conversation to candid, sometimes humorous and unrehearsed insights into his career. He took corrections from the audience several times to keep his stories moving forward.
Russell explained some of his early work. He described meeting Elvis Presley as a 10-year-old uncredited bit player in one of his films, “It Happened at the World’s Fair” in 1963.
Russell talked about his move from Hollywood to buy a ranch near Aspen, Colo., when he was 25.
He discussed how acting in the super successful 1979 ABC Movie of the Week “Elvis the Movie,” playing Presley at 27, earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination. Later a shorter, re-edited version of “Elvis” played in theatres throughout Europe and Australia. He said the highly-rated TV movie performance sparked his film career, and he has not done TV since. Russell’s father Bing co-starred in the biopic as Elvis’s father, Vernon Presley.
The discussion then turned to his roles in Westerns, where he starred as legendary lawman Wyatt Earp in the iconic 1993 film “Tombstone.” While some writers cite the movie as an absolute cult classic because it was a box office, purists realize it is one of the most iconic Westerns ever in depicting Western dialog.
Russell told the audience, “Tombstone” is getting what it deserves (continued acclaim). As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to dialogue, no Western stands up to “Tombstone.”
Oklahomans agree, as evidenced by the Oklahoma State University football program’s use of a scene from the film shown on their stadium’s big screen as the Cowboys run onto the field. They loudly play 10 seconds of the scene near the movie’s end where Earp screams, “the laws coming, you tell’em I’m coming and hells coming with me, you hear, hell’s coming with me.”
Although screenwriter Kevin Jarre (“Glory”) began directing his script for “Tombstone,” producers fired him after a month. Russell said, “After helping secure financing for the film, the director was fired. They wanted me to take over the movie. I called Sylvester Stallone, who recommended George Cosmatos, who had done Rambo II with him. When he arrived, I said to George, “I’m going to give you a shot list every night, and that’s what’s going to be.”
Russell revealed other fascinating bits of the behind-the-scenes drama on the movie’s set. He was forced to cut 22 pages from the script and yet still respect all the great actors he had helped gather for the production.
This extra effort on the film explains Russell’s understated role as Earp for most of the movie, whose character was supposed to be retired from gunplay to be a gambler. Instead, Val Kilmer played the majority of the scenes involving a feared killer, Doc Holliday, capable of instilling fear and dispatching his opponent without a hint of remorse. Some writers think Kilmer stole the many scenes he was in because of his edgy, extremely believable portrayal of all the physical tics of a person with tuberculosis living in a hot climate.
Not at the event in OKC, Kilmer confirmed much of this in a 2017 blog post (via The Hollywood Reporter), saying: “Russell’s totally correct about how hard he worked the day before for the next day’s shot list and the tremendous effort he and I both put into editing, as the studio [Hollywood Pictures] wouldn’t give us any extra time to make up for the whole month we lost with the first director. I watched Kurt sacrifice his role and energy to devote himself as a storyteller, even going so far as to draw up shot lists to help our replacement director, George Cosmatos, who came in with only two days prep.” Kilmer continued in 2017: “I have such admiration for Kurt. He sacrificed lots of energy that would have gone into his role to save the film. Everyone cared, don’t get me wrong, but Kurt put his money where his mouth was, and not many stars extend themselves for the cast and crew. Not like he did.”
Russell also starred in 2015 Westerns “Bone Tomahawk” and “The Hateful Eight”. In 2019, “The Hateful Eight” was again released as a re-edited four-episode miniseries on Netflix with the subtitle Extended Version. Russell explained his role in “Bone Tomahawk”, cited as Western horror, was so powerful it will be discussed 20 to 30 years into the future.
He finished by taking five questions from the audience in an approachable manner, including a child’s request for his autograph. An audience member has posted a YouTube video of the event at Kurt Russell Full Panel Discussion with Michael McGreevey 04-09-2022 2022 Western Heritage Awards – YouTube
The Museum’s website says it best: Through its three Halls of Fame, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum honors and memorializes the men and women who have, through their exemplary lives, careers, and achievements, embodied and perpetuated the heritage of the American West. Every inductee, whether a real cowboy in the Hall of Great Westerners, a “reel” cowboy in the Hall of Great Western Performers, or a rodeo cowboy in the Rodeo Hall of Fame, perpetuates and enriches facets of this Western heritage. By honoring them, the Museum, in a sense, provides a generational continuity with the past, present and future and bears witness to an evolving American West.