BAM Column: Greyson Chance continues Oklahoma tradition of young rockers, from Collins Kids to Hanson to Crooked X

<img class="size-full wp-image-22655 alignnone" title="rue mcclanahan - golden girls" src="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/dee7b10663b1ee4b1d4f8c1badbc4574.jpg" alt="" width="341" height="453" imagescaler="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/dee7b10663b1ee4b1d4f8c1badbc4574.jpg" /> <strong>Above: This 1985 file photo originally released by NBC shows cast members of the television series "Golden Girls," clockwise from left, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty. McClanahan, the Emmy-winning Oklahoma native who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series "The Golden Girls," died Thursday. She was 76. (Associated Press Photo/NBC) Below left: Oklahoma-born actress Rue McClanahan appears in a photo from the University of Tulsa yearbook. While at TU, she starred in many stage productions and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, Mortar Board, Lantern honor society and Phi Beta Gamma honorary. She graduated in 1956 and was named a Distinguished Alumna in 1999. (University of Tulsa photo) Below right: In this June 8, 2008 file photo, actress Rue McClanahan arrives at the TV Land Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo)</strong> A version of this story appears in Friday's<em> The Oklahoman.</em> <strong>Oklahoma's "Golden Girl" Rue McClanahan dies </strong> Oklahoma-born and bred actress Rue McClanahan, who won an Emmy playing saucy Southern belle Blanche Devereaux on the hit sitcom “The Golden Girls,” died early Thursday after suffering a stroke. She was 76. The venerable television, stage and film performer had recently experienced health problems, undergoing bypass surgery in November. She reportedly suffered a minor stroke while recovering from the operation. “During her lengthy and distinguished career, Rue entertained millions of Americans and made her home state proud. We will all miss her, but we will never forget the smiles and laughs she brought to our homes. Our thoughts and prayers are with her friends, family and devoted fans,” Gov. Brad Henry said in a statement. She was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan Feb. 21, 1934, in Healdton, where her father, William McClanahan, worked as a building contractor, and her mother, Dreda Rheua-Nell, was a beautician. After graduating from Ardmore High School, she attended the University of Tulsa, where she majored in German and theater arts and joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was named a TU Distinguished Alumna in 1999. <img class="size-full wp-image-22656 alignleft" title="Rue-McClanahan-KAO" src="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/6512f718dcdaa8921b67b5f6ef8fe3e8.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="288" imagescaler="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/6512f718dcdaa8921b67b5f6ef8fe3e8.jpg" />“Rue was one of TU’s brightest stars of the stage and screen, and she served as a wonderful ambassador of her home state and for the University of Tulsa,” We were honored to have recognized Rue for both her professional accomplishments and her community service,” said Laurie Brumbaugh, president of the TU Alumni Association’s Tulsa chapter, in a statement. McClanahan starred in several campus productions and choreographed the musical “That’s the Spirit,” penned by a former TU faculty member. “My success certainly wasn’t accidental. The road was very long and very hard,” McClanahan said in a 1985 interview with her alma mater. “If you want to do something, you just decide to do it even if you don’t know how. I had no idea how to become an actress. I didn’t know how to make the transition into the professional world except to go to New York and study and get into the actors unions.” She started her career on the stage. According to a 1985 Los Angeles Times profile, she appeared at the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse, studied in New York with Uta Hagen and Harold Clurman, and worked in soap operas. She won an Obie Award — the off-Broadway version of the Tony — in 1970 for the family drama “Who's Happy Now.” playing the “other woman” in the family drama written by Oliver Hailey. She reprised the role in the 1975 TV version. She appeared sporadically on TV until 1971, when producer Norman Lear tapped her for a guest role on “All in the Family.” She became a regular on the “All in the Family” spinoff “Maude,” playing Vivian, neighbor and best friend to series star Bea Arthur. After that series ended in 1978, McClanahan landed the role as Aunt Fran on “Mama's Family” in 1983. In 1985, she was cast in her signature role, co-starring with Arthur, Betty White and Estelle Getty in “The Golden Girls.” A runaway hit, the groundbreaking sitcom focused on four aging women living together in Miami. McClanahan’s Blanche was a vibrant sexually liberated Southern vixen who was the frequent target of her roommates’ zingers, such as Sophia’s (Getty) claim “You’re life’s an open blouse.” McClanahan’s death leaves White the only living “Golden Girl” star. White told the Associated Press McClanahan was a close and dear friend. “I treasured our relationship,” White told the AP Thursday from the set of her TV Land comedy “Hot in Cleveland.” “It hurts more than I even thought it would, if that's even possible.” For her work on “The Golden Girls,” McClanahan was nominated four times for an Emmy, winning in 1987. In an AP interview that year, she said Blanche was unlike any other role she had played. “Probably the closest I've ever done was Blanche DuBois in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire' at the Pasadena Playhouse,” she said. “I think, too, that's where the name came from, although my character is not a drinker and not crazy.” Her Blanche Devereaux, she said, “is in love with life and she loves men. I think she has an attitude toward women that's competitive. She is friends with Dorothy and Rose, but if she has enough provocation she becomes competitive with them. I think basically she's insecure. It's the other side of the Don Juan syndrome.” After “The Golden Girls” was canceled in 1992, McClanahan, White and Getty reprised their roles in the short-lived spinoff, “Golden Palace.” McClanahan kept working in film, TV and theater, appearing in 1997 in the Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau film “Out to Sea” and in the sci-fi actioner “Starship Troopers.” She took on the role of crafty headmistress Madame Morrible in the <img class="alignright size-full wp-image-22657" title="rue mcclanahan in 2008 - ap" src="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/4704b0fc61b19b6f356f3560c0888c99.jpg" alt="" width="211" height="287" imagescaler="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/4704b0fc61b19b6f356f3560c0888c99.jpg" />Broadway musical “Wicked” in 2005. She appeared in the 2008 Logo comedy “Sordid Lives: The Series,” playing the slightly addled mother of an institutionalized drag queen. In 1997, she underwent treatment for breast cancer and later traveled to speak to cancer support groups about aging gracefully. “Exercise and diet are important, of course, but attitude is the strongest,” she said while in Oklahoma City for a 2003 lecture. “A great deal of it is taking your conscious mind and telling your subconscious mind what you want to do and you will.” McClanahan also was a devoted animal rights activist and honorary director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “Back in the ’80s, when many people still thought that PETA was a Middle Eastern bread, a funny actor from Oklahoma became our first champion in Hollywood and helped establish the organization as a household name,” PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews said in a statement. McClanahan was married six times: Tom Bish, with whom she had a son, Mark Bish; actor Norman Hartweg; Peter D'Maio; Gus Fisher; and Tom Keel. She married Morrow Wilson on Christmas Day in 1997. She titled her 2007 memoir “My First Five Husbands … And the Ones Who Got Away.” Norman improv actor and instructor Tyler Bryce met McClanahan while he was living in Austin, Texas, and the actress was visiting her son there. McClanahan attended a show by the local improv troupe he was with, ComedySportz. When the performers had to get lines of dialogue from the audience, she gamely provided Bryce with the line, “I would really love another one of those delicious mint juleps.” After the show, she graciously signed the scrap of paper bearing that line and posed for pictures with the troupe. A year later, while barking outside Austin’s Velveeta comedy club, Bryce spied McClanahan on the street and jokingly offered a discount for “Golden Girls.” To his surprise, the actress not only remembered him, but stopped to inquire about his improv career. “I thought it was really the mark of a class act. She had no business knowing who I was, but she did, and she asked about me,” he said. “I’ve shared that story with people through the years ... and everybody always seems like they’re happy when you mention one of ‘The Golden Girls.’” In a 2003 AP interview in Oklahoma City, McClanahan said she tried to visit to her home state often. “It's a very heartwarming experience,” she said. “Oklahoma women, there's such warmth and unpretentiousness and naturalness. I'm so proud to have come from here.” <em>Contributing: The Associated Press and News Researcher Linda Lynn.</em> -BAM<em> </em>

<img class="size-full wp-image-22655 alignnone" title="rue mcclanahan - golden girls" src="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/dee7b10663b1ee4b1d4f8c1badbc4574.jpg" alt="" width="341" height="453" imagescaler="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/dee7b10663b1ee4b1d4f8c1badbc4574.jpg" /> <strong>Above: This 1985 file photo originally released by NBC shows cast members of the television series "Golden Girls," clockwise from left, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty. McClanahan, the Emmy-winning Oklahoma native who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series "The Golden Girls," died Thursday. She was 76. (Associated Press Photo/NBC) Below left: Oklahoma-born actress Rue McClanahan appears in a photo from the University of Tulsa yearbook. While at TU, she starred in many stage productions and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, Mortar Board, Lantern honor society and Phi Beta Gamma honorary. She graduated in 1956 and was named a Distinguished Alumna in 1999. (University of Tulsa photo) Below right: In this June 8, 2008 file photo, actress Rue McClanahan arrives at the TV Land Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo)</strong> A version of this story appears in Friday's<em> The Oklahoman.</em> <strong>Oklahoma's "Golden Girl" Rue McClanahan dies </strong> Oklahoma-born and bred actress Rue McClanahan, who won an Emmy playing saucy Southern belle Blanche Devereaux on the hit sitcom “The Golden Girls,” died early Thursday after suffering a stroke. She was 76. The venerable television, stage and film performer had recently experienced health problems, undergoing bypass surgery in November. She reportedly suffered a minor stroke while recovering from the operation. “During her lengthy and distinguished career, Rue entertained millions of Americans and made her home state proud. We will all miss her, but we will never forget the smiles and laughs she brought to our homes. Our thoughts and prayers are with her friends, family and devoted fans,” Gov. Brad Henry said in a statement. She was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan Feb. 21, 1934, in Healdton, where her father, William McClanahan, worked as a building contractor, and her mother, Dreda Rheua-Nell, was a beautician. After graduating from Ardmore High School, she attended the University of Tulsa, where she majored in German and theater arts and joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was named a TU Distinguished Alumna in 1999. <img class="size-full wp-image-22656 alignleft" title="Rue-McClanahan-KAO" src="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/6512f718dcdaa8921b67b5f6ef8fe3e8.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="288" imagescaler="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/6512f718dcdaa8921b67b5f6ef8fe3e8.jpg" />“Rue was one of TU’s brightest stars of the stage and screen, and she served as a wonderful ambassador of her home state and for the University of Tulsa,” We were honored to have recognized Rue for both her professional accomplishments and her community service,” said Laurie Brumbaugh, president of the TU Alumni Association’s Tulsa chapter, in a statement. McClanahan starred in several campus productions and choreographed the musical “That’s the Spirit,” penned by a former TU faculty member. “My success certainly wasn’t accidental. The road was very long and very hard,” McClanahan said in a 1985 interview with her alma mater. “If you want to do something, you just decide to do it even if you don’t know how. I had no idea how to become an actress. I didn’t know how to make the transition into the professional world except to go to New York and study and get into the actors unions.” She started her career on the stage. According to a 1985 Los Angeles Times profile, she appeared at the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse, studied in New York with Uta Hagen and Harold Clurman, and worked in soap operas. She won an Obie Award — the off-Broadway version of the Tony — in 1970 for the family drama “Who's Happy Now.” playing the “other woman” in the family drama written by Oliver Hailey. She reprised the role in the 1975 TV version. She appeared sporadically on TV until 1971, when producer Norman Lear tapped her for a guest role on “All in the Family.” She became a regular on the “All in the Family” spinoff “Maude,” playing Vivian, neighbor and best friend to series star Bea Arthur. After that series ended in 1978, McClanahan landed the role as Aunt Fran on “Mama's Family” in 1983. In 1985, she was cast in her signature role, co-starring with Arthur, Betty White and Estelle Getty in “The Golden Girls.” A runaway hit, the groundbreaking sitcom focused on four aging women living together in Miami. McClanahan’s Blanche was a vibrant sexually liberated Southern vixen who was the frequent target of her roommates’ zingers, such as Sophia’s (Getty) claim “You’re life’s an open blouse.” McClanahan’s death leaves White the only living “Golden Girl” star. White told the Associated Press McClanahan was a close and dear friend. “I treasured our relationship,” White told the AP Thursday from the set of her TV Land comedy “Hot in Cleveland.” “It hurts more than I even thought it would, if that's even possible.” For her work on “The Golden Girls,” McClanahan was nominated four times for an Emmy, winning in 1987. In an AP interview that year, she said Blanche was unlike any other role she had played. “Probably the closest I've ever done was Blanche DuBois in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire' at the Pasadena Playhouse,” she said. “I think, too, that's where the name came from, although my character is not a drinker and not crazy.” Her Blanche Devereaux, she said, “is in love with life and she loves men. I think she has an attitude toward women that's competitive. She is friends with Dorothy and Rose, but if she has enough provocation she becomes competitive with them. I think basically she's insecure. It's the other side of the Don Juan syndrome.” After “The Golden Girls” was canceled in 1992, McClanahan, White and Getty reprised their roles in the short-lived spinoff, “Golden Palace.” McClanahan kept working in film, TV and theater, appearing in 1997 in the Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau film “Out to Sea” and in the sci-fi actioner “Starship Troopers.” She took on the role of crafty headmistress Madame Morrible in the <img class="alignright size-full wp-image-22657" title="rue mcclanahan in 2008 - ap" src="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/4704b0fc61b19b6f356f3560c0888c99.jpg" alt="" width="211" height="287" imagescaler="http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/wp-content/imagescaler/4704b0fc61b19b6f356f3560c0888c99.jpg" />Broadway musical “Wicked” in 2005. She appeared in the 2008 Logo comedy “Sordid Lives: The Series,” playing the slightly addled mother of an institutionalized drag queen. In 1997, she underwent treatment for breast cancer and later traveled to speak to cancer support groups about aging gracefully. “Exercise and diet are important, of course, but attitude is the strongest,” she said while in Oklahoma City for a 2003 lecture. “A great deal of it is taking your conscious mind and telling your subconscious mind what you want to do and you will.” McClanahan also was a devoted animal rights activist and honorary director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “Back in the ’80s, when many people still thought that PETA was a Middle Eastern bread, a funny actor from Oklahoma became our first champion in Hollywood and helped establish the organization as a household name,” PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews said in a statement. McClanahan was married six times: Tom Bish, with whom she had a son, Mark Bish; actor Norman Hartweg; Peter D'Maio; Gus Fisher; and Tom Keel. She married Morrow Wilson on Christmas Day in 1997. She titled her 2007 memoir “My First Five Husbands … And the Ones Who Got Away.” Norman improv actor and instructor Tyler Bryce met McClanahan while he was living in Austin, Texas, and the actress was visiting her son there. McClanahan attended a show by the local improv troupe he was with, ComedySportz. When the performers had to get lines of dialogue from the audience, she gamely provided Bryce with the line, “I would really love another one of those delicious mint juleps.” After the show, she graciously signed the scrap of paper bearing that line and posed for pictures with the troupe. A year later, while barking outside Austin’s Velveeta comedy club, Bryce spied McClanahan on the street and jokingly offered a discount for “Golden Girls.” To his surprise, the actress not only remembered him, but stopped to inquire about his improv career. “I thought it was really the mark of a class act. She had no business knowing who I was, but she did, and she asked about me,” he said. “I’ve shared that story with people through the years ... and everybody always seems like they’re happy when you mention one of ‘The Golden Girls.’” In a 2003 AP interview in Oklahoma City, McClanahan said she tried to visit to her home state often. “It's a very heartwarming experience,” she said. “Oklahoma women, there's such warmth and unpretentiousness and naturalness. I'm so proud to have come from here.” <em>Contributing: The Associated Press and News Researcher Linda Lynn.</em> -BAM<em> </em>