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2000 CAST BIOS

Ross Adkins (cast), in addition to being the Voice of Tulsa's Floods, courtesy of The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he is also the host of Saturday Morning Swingtime on AM-1050, KGTO.

The Tulsa World has a great website.

David Averill (cast, author, Gridiron Trust member) is Associate Editor and Sunday Opinion Page columnist for The Tulsa World. He has been a member of the liberal media for more than thirty years and a member of the Gridiron for twenty.

Bill Babb (cast) - Returning to the cast last year after an absence of 12 years, Bill Babb has, in true masochistic fashion, returned for the 2000 show. Formerly in PR for the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, he spent several years in management in the cellular industry before returning to Tulsa. He is currently manager of the QuikTrip located on 11th Street near TU, where he hopes to remain for many years to come. As he put it, it would take a pry bar and a team of Clydesdales to remove him from "Hurricane Country."  

Vic Bastien (Director) - As director of the Gridiron, Vic and the cast have a loving and respectful relationship. To his face, they address him as "Herr Director." Behind his back, he is referred to in a more political context as "that Republibertarindependextremecentristultramoderateenazicrat." 

Lois Bastien (prompter) - tolerance and patience are Lois' strong suits, which is attested to by the fact that she lives with the director and is prompter for the cast.

Betty Boyd (cast, Gridiron Trust member) is called many things - "Honorable" (?) as a state legislator; "Queen" - Tulsa Centennial  style and "Tail Hooker" (don't ask). 

Jeff Buckley (cast) returns to play Bill Clinton for the 4th year.  After his stunning performance last year, critics called him  "The most disgusting thing I have ever seen on a stage..."  and "The jerk who ruined an otherwise special night".  He has since apologized to his parents and asked them to forgive him for what he is about to do tonight.

Click me to hear the truth!

Tom M. Campbell (cast, author, Gridiron Trust member) is the chairman of the Gridiron Trust. He has been active as a writer and performer in the Gridiron for more than a quarter of a century. Now partially retired, Tom held management positions in public affairs at the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce national headquarters and at Cities Services Company. From 1983 to 1996, he was public relations/marketing director for Tulsa Regional Medical Center.

Also a Gridiron enthusiast, his wife, Charlotte, spearheaded for several years the food preparation for the Friday night cast/Oklahoma City party.

John Chronister is an attorney and retired from the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1994. He has not been gainfully employed since. He never was a professional golfer prior to retirement but his principal duties at present are mainly the drowning of golf balls as a member of the retired men's golf association which has two rules of membership:

1.  Members must be a senior citizen

2. 50% of the members must be capable of playing at least 9 holes without a potty break.

John first joined the Gridiron cast in 1988 and still sings a song or so each year despite no vocal resemblance to Pavoratti. These renditions are usually short, even if not sweet.

Paul Davidson (cast) is a graphic designer and scenic designer. He has a background in publications, and scenic design for nationally syndicated television productions and museum/exhibit specialists. He is self-employed designing and installing ceramic tile and marble. His favorite pastime is "pickin' and grinnin'" playing mandolin, guitar and bass fiddle. 

Max Fisher (cast, Gridiron Trust member) is President and owner of Event Services, Inc. He has performed professionally in a comedy duo, The Maniacs, in Tulsa and throughout the Southwest in gin mills and strip joints. He has produced and directed the Miss Oklahoma Pageant for twenty-five years and has appeared in around thirty-five Tulsa Gridiron productions. Only his face has been changed to protect the audience.

Gerry Goins (cast) - Having recently retired from the Tulsa Police Department, Gerry decided to put her knowledge of crooks' behavior to practical use - -she now works for attorneys! Gerry dedicates her performance to her sister, Kathy Hill-Happy "Golden" Birthday! Love to ALL her family, friends and fans!

Sonny Gray (Musical Director) didn't have a chance. He was destined to become a musician. His high school (Central) is the electric company, his junior high (Horace Mann) is a pre-release center and his grade school (Lincoln) became a brewery. When asked if Sonny has lived in Tulsa all his life, he replied, "I don't know yet." 

Bob Hawkins (cast) - has been in Gridiron productions for over thirty years. Over the years, the Directors have learned never to ask him to sing anything! He has been in the travel industry for over forty years and has always enjoyed telling people where to go.

T.A. ("Hall-Ass") Hollis -(cast-away_ is hard to get ahold of even though he works for the biggest communications company in the region -- SWB. (Call him at 1-900-TA-TAs). He is the voluntary president of Volunteers Anonymous which is why he needs to work for SWB -- cheap cellular phone service. Some people are closest meteorologists --TA is a closet seasonologist -- you can always tell what season it is by the color of the hat he is wearing.

Bill Hyden (cast) -participated in his first Tulsa Gridiron in 1952. He says he can't remember what part(s) he played in that first one or many of the characters he represented in a large number of Gridirons between now and then. Memory was not one of Bill's attributes, he says, and testimony to that is his 'winning' the notorious Bland award three times. (An award given for 'goofing up'.) He claimed he had earned retirement of it but that was not allowed. 

His business careers have been as diverse as the characters he played: Having worked at area radio and television stations and suffered through part ownership and management of KTBA radio in Broken Arrow in the 1970's. Bill doesn't know if he's retired or not, since he succumbs to job opportunities out of state - cell phone site acquisition, fiber optics projects permitting and ownership title work attendant to such projects. He has five children and four grandchildren.

D.J. Morrow Ingram is celebrating her sixth year in the show, sings in the shower and on the Gridiron Stage or anywhere else she can find an audience. She tied the knot the weekend after Gridiron last year and says she owes her marriage to the Gridiron Gods as it was this event she and her hubby had their first date (she bought!) in 1995. 

D. J. is a "closet lawyer" (which some of the authors may need after this show) and a lobbyist for the Oklahoma Credit Union League. Her favorite pastime in the Gridiron is testing the patience of director Vic Bastien by waiting until the absolute last moment to learn her lines. Next year she will serve as Chairman of the Gridiron - the first woman so elected in the Gridiron's 68-year history.

Susan Jarvi (cast) - is a waitress, student and aspiring writer of children's books. She loves cats, music and chocolate chip cookies and drains her bank account keeping the neighborhood stray animals fed. 

Karen Keith resumes her role as the Gridiron interlocutor. Keith takes on this role because it is the only character in the Gridiron that doesn't require putting any lines to memory. Years of working with a teleprompter have left Keith unable to memorize even the shortest of lines. 

In her spare time, you'll find her outdoing Martha Stewart as the host of "Oklahoma Living." And, as if having the Gridiron on her resume wasn't enough, Karen and her husband, Pat, also have a Bed and Breakfast - the Lantern Inn of Brookside.

Melanie McMillan (cast) began her singing career at the age of five when her mother dragged her to churches all over NE Oklahoma and NW Arkansas. After an adolescent revolt, she began playing bass and performing in several Tulsa bands including Food Chain, The Garage Doors and Band X. To pay the rent (barely), Melanie is the systems administrator of Tulsa Community College.

Mary Lou Martin (cast) was born in Tulsa, has a BA in Psychology from the University of Houston, an MA in Sociology and MA in Speech from West Texas State and attended the University of Valencia in Spain. She was a college professor for fifteen years, owned dancing and modeling schools and now owns the Newcomer Welcome Service of Tulsa. In addition, she hosted a thirty-minute television talk show in Amarillo, Texas and spent two weeks dancing with the Barnum and Bailey Circus in Houston.

Ernie Minson (cast, crew, Gridiron Trust member) is a semi-retired commercial artist. He designed the Tulsa Press Club logo and the Tulsa State Fair pig mascot. He was Gridiron Rookie of the Year in 1977. While vacationing in Hawaii, then Governor of Oklahoma, George Nigh swam up to Ernie, poolside, dripping wet and asked him, "Don't I know you?" He did, from past Gridiron shows.

Ann Moore (Crew) is currently unemployed, sort of. She is the wife of Tim Moore, Production Stage Dictator. Ann is employed as a full-time wife and mother. A recent stop by the Moore home would find Ann knee-deep in Gridiron prop making amidst numerous diaper changes and feedings. 

Ann has been involved with the Gridiron as a Production Assistant since marrying Tim in 1995. "I find it interesting that we (Tim and I) can get so much stuff done when we only have a few days left until the show. I have also learned the finer art of dumpster diving," says Ann in a recent interview with several club members. Oh, by the way, GO POKES!!!

Jack Moore (cast) was director of the Gridiron for twenty-five years. This marks his first on-stage performance.

Tim Moore (Crew) is employed by the Tulsa Housing Authority as its Compliance Officer. He has been involved with the show since 1973 (as a12 year old...where were those Child Labor Laws?) doing anything from making props to his present position as Production Stage Director. 

Tim & his wife Ann were introduced to parenthood this past December. Tim's found out the equation of Colic + Gridiron = Very Baggy Eyes. In his spare time (whatever that is), you can find Tim out on the football field, softball diamond, or basketball court officiating the sports he enjoys. Additionally you can catch he and his wife out supporting their favorite team: the OSU Cowboys.

Harold L. Morgan, Jr. (webmaster) - Chief Fan of the Chief Author (see below), Harold (Skip) has maintained the Tulsa Gridiron website for the last few years despite massive lack of input from the Gridiron cast, crew and/or audience. When he is not stealing.. make that "appropriating"... jokes from other websites to beef up the Gridiron site, he is Director of Information Services for Wave3 Communications. The Gridiron website is generally held to be much funnier than the actual show (known in the trades as "a short putt").

P. Casey Morgan (Chief Author, Gridiron Trust member) is the Development Director for KWGS, Tulsa's Public Radio affiliate, where she also produces the Studio Tulsa show. She has been with the Gridiron for an unspecified number of years (they're all starting to blur together) (mercifully). She would like to thank the webmaster (see above) for his unending support during their 18 years of marriage, which are also all starting to blur together. During Gridiron performances, Casey can be seen pacing up and down the outside aisle of the auditorium (Friday) or the back of the room (Saturday), plotting the grisly demise of all cast members who ad-lib.

Jackie Alloway Reichman (cast) - raised and schooled in Tulsa (hopefully..."educated") i.e. Will Rogers and TU. Loves to sing and perform. Was professional singer/actress a few years and wife and mother many years. Loves Tulsa, the Osage Hills where she lives, Boston Avenue Methodist where she works with youth and sings in the choir, and life in general.

Miss Heather Richetto-Rumley (cast, author) works as an advertising account manager for TCI Cable/AT & T Media Services/Cox Cablerep/Employer of the week. She shamelessly advertises her business in local trades, cast lists and bathroom stalls. For fantastic rates on cable advertising, call her at 669-4775. Please do not call her simply to complain about poor cable service or reception. 

Dick Risk* (cast, Gridiron Trust member) is celebrating his twenty-second consecutive year in Gridiron. He was an Air Force public affairs officer and ran an Armed Forces Radio and Television Service Network overseas. He also worked in public relations for Getty Oil and PSO. He ran the Southwestern Power Administration for Ronald Reagan. Currently, Dick publishes a national trade periodical, is a structured settlement broker and a law student. 

Mary Sandlin (cast) is an advocate for the protection of the field mouse. In her spare time, Mary enjoys hiking with her puppy dog, Miss Sidney.

John Shaffer (cast) - In his third year in the Gridiron, John is charmed to be back. A marketing consultant, chief graphic designer, writer and bill collector for the Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers, John still finds time to spend time with his two grandchildren, Alex and Olivia. John and his wife of nearly 24 years, Aleta, have two children, Jonathan, presently in Lima, Peru, and Kathryn, the mother of his two grandchildren.

E Liz Son (cast) E Liz (TA's keeper) is Tulsa County's "Park Princess," i.e. "county beggar." She is the Resource Development Manager for marketing, special events, grants and foundations and public relations. Boiled down, she's worse than a tax collector, because she asks for donations and sponsorships for five parks and two golf courses after taxes.

Anne Thompson (crew, Costume Designer) is currently the Court Administrator for the City of Tulsa. Previously, she worked as an administrator for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Extensive inmate contact prepared her well to assist the cast of the Gridiron with cross-dressing costuming expertise. She is currently not president of anything and damned glad. She enjoys traveling and photography in her rare and extremely infrequent spare time. Just ask her about the summer she spent in a mud hut.

Wes Thompson (cast) - Wes had no life before Gridiron. He's a natural "Ironer" and wants to be a Rockette. 

John Trook (cast) - is an advertising account executive for KOTV Channel 6. No, he can't help politicians get free airtime, satellite owners get waiver letters for national feeds or get rid of Rick Wells (They've tried everything.) In his spare time, he volunteers for the Tulsa Fire Department.

Martha Vaughn (cast) - (no bio available)

 Julie Watt (cast) is an educator of students international. She is a confirmed pedophobe (you haven't looked it up yet?) and couch potato and shares her humble abode with her very own Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood (Bloodles). Julie is tired. She doesn't know how she wants her hair to look next. She is struggling to decide what she wants to be when she grows up. This foray into thespianism should finally convince her to keep her day job. So much for the uplifting "newsletter" stuff. She continues to follow the credo, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."