Wednesday, January 4, 2012

A Tim and Bob Gallery

Often referred to as Houston's first morning duo, Tim and Bob were together on KPRC for over a decade. For more on the duo on this blog, click on the label at the end of this post; for other mentions of either individual enter the words 'Byron' or 'Nolan' in the search box.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade was one of their biggest promotions. According to a history on the St. Patrick's Parade Commission website, Tim and Bob resurrected the long-dormant Houston St. Patrick's Day parade in 1960 but I don't have dates for these pictures.

Bob Byron, left, and Tim Nolan. Judging by the decorations on the cake, this had something to do with St. Patrick's Day, too.

KPRC carried the syndicated 1960s comedy feature Chickenman and the Fearless Feathered Fighter came to town to promote the series.

And now for something a little different:


Judy Bonham, Byron's oldest daughter, to whom I am indebted for these pictures, notes the guys seem to be enjoying themselves.

Miscellaneous clippings and shots:

This clipping was from the Houston Post on a Friday in August but unfortunately the date and year is cut. It appeared top left, right under the masthead and above a story about heart surgery for a Cuban boy.

And a couple of personal mementos from Byron:

My thanks to Judy Bonham for providing all these shots and my apologies for taking so long to get them online. My thanks also to all the children of Tim and Bob I have corresponded with over the last year or so for their help.

One of the reasons I delayed publishing these pics was to try and identify the football player in the third from the last picture. I wasn't in Houston during most of the 60s and have no idea who it is, but have a suspicion that he was rather famous for some reason. I will appreciate it if anyone can identify him or add any information about any of these photos such as dates or names. For instance, if anyone can hazard a guess about the name of the movie on the marquee in picture # 1, we can probably date that picture but since Glenn McCarthy appears in two different shots in two different vehicles, the pictures probably do not all date from the same year.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm guessing 1972 for the year of the St. Patrick's Day photos. This based on the calendar showing Wednesday, March 15 in the background of the cake photo. Obviously shot in the studios on Post Oak. If 1972 is the correct year, this would be just a few weeks before KPRC moved to the new studios on Southwest Freeway.

Bruce said...

Good catch on the calendar. I never met either man, but they do look younger to me in the studio photo than the parade photos.

Unknown said...

This post is admittedly 6 years late. As a stud3nt at Westchester Sr. Hi. I was very interested in broadcasting. Ray Miller put me to work as a student intern. He even let me file a couple of News reports. At the time I would get to the old studios on Post Oak early in the morning and befriended these two guys. They were sweethearts. Couldn’t have been kinder to this 17 year old. Westchester was a new high school then and we lost just about every football game, but every Friday morning during football season they’d play the WHS fight song and let me give a plug. The photo above of Arte Johnson (“veeery interesting”) was taken at Hobby when he flew in for something and the Westchester band was in attendance! Such fond memories of these two buffoons letting a kid sit in the studio and watch them do their magic.

Bruce said...

Thanks for sharing your memories, Bob.

Retired old radio guy said...

I can't resist a challenge like tracking something down on the Internet. You ask for info on what the movie on the marquee was in photo #1. I'm guessing the photo was taken between 1960 and 1963, judging from that early sixties Lincoln Continental they're in.

I've narrowed it down to two hit movies from that period because of the name on the marquee - Shirley Anne Field, an English actress who was in two hit films in that time frame - one American, the other British.

She had to be playing a lead role to get her name on the marquee, and the only hit movies I could find in those years where she was the Lead Actress was Saturday Night and Sunday Morning with Albert Finney in 1960, and The War Lover with Steve McQueen in 1962. And I saw both those movies in Houston at the Delman Theater on Main, which is where I think the photo was taken.

Bruce said...

Thanks, Jim. I do have some questions, though.

The Delman was at Main and Richmond/Wheeler, right? All the rest of the parade photos were clearly right downtown and that's a long way from that intersection. That must've been a very long parade.

Also, the car is crossing the street the theater is on; if that's the Delman on Main, where were they going? (I take it the men standing in the street were watching the parade).

I have assumed there was only one cameraman but I haven't tried to locate all the buildings in other pictures. How did this photographer get so far out there?

I see a Prince's Hamburger sign underneath the awning next door to the theater. I know Prince's had a drive in just a few blocks from there on the opposite side of Main from the theater. I didn't even know Prince's had hole-in-the-wall places as well as drive-ins but why would there be one so close to the other. That was not an area heavily populated by residences or businesses.

If that's Main @ Richmond/Wheeler, what are those buildings in the background, across the street at the end of the block.particularly the building with an arch and the one right next to the theater that appears to have columns. I can't identify anything in that area that could be.

Can you make out the sign/lettering on top of the awning? Can you make sense of the text on the line above Field's name on the theater marquee?

Okay, Jim. I didn't get to Houston until 1970 and went to the Delman only once, ca. 72-74 (can't remember what I saw). Maybe there were big changes at that intersection between the early 60s and early 70s?

Bruce said...

Jim, trying to date the Cadillac in another one of the pictures, I do not see any Cadillacs with vertical headlight arrangement until 1965. The car pictured appears to most closely match a 1966 model.

Of course, I do not know if all the pictures were taken the same year.

Bruce

Retired old radio guy said...

I'm as confused as you are about where this photo was taken and which theater it was. I think it had to be the Delman because I can't think of another downtown area theater that close to an intersection.

In those years, the early sixties, the Metropolitan and the Loew's State were the only theaters on Main and they were in the heart of downtown next door to each other in the middle of the block. The Delman was far to the south of downtown, and like the others, it was on the west side of Main. That means "north" is to the right in the picture.

I can't read whatever is on top of the awning, but the lettering above Shirley Field's name appears to be the show-times.

I have no idea what the buildings in the background were, and I didn't know Prince's had walk-in stores at that time either. Especially one that close to one of their drive-ins.

Bruce said...

Jim - dang, I was hoping you'd have it all figured out by now. I know you enjoy these puzzles as much as I.

I have realized the photos must be from at least 3 different years. Tim and Bob are shown in 3 different vehicles, a Thunderbird and 2 convertibles that I think are both Cadillacs of different colors and with different signs on the side. Glenn McCarthy is also shown driving 2 different vehicles. In one pic (Main @ Rusk?), the Russell Stover store is clearly visible. In another, it is obscured by scaffolding. I had always thought that was a lot of celebrities in town at one time for a parade. It may actually have been a very short parade - half a dozen cars???

I think you're right, the parade(s) was/were heading north. There was a theater for some years at 912 Prairie which would be right off Main on the west side. But I believe that address would place it on the north side of the street. There was also a small theater in the 300 block of Main and of course the Kirby, on the east side of Main a block north of the Metropolitan and Loew's State. I seem to remember there was also a theater around the corner from Loew's on the side street but I can't find anything right now.

I have been looking thru the Cinema Houston book which is very short on helpful pictures. The only picture of the Delman is from 1935. It doesn't resemble the theater in the parade and shows a Western Union shop to the left and a business with a sign advertising 'fresh daily oysters' in the window on the right side. Of course, businesses come and go and theater facades change over time.

I know there are cinema history websites; maybe there'll be a more helpful set of pictures on one of them.

Bruce said...

Also, I think you're right about the show times on the marquee.

I'm as interested in learning more about that Prince's and the unidentified business next to it as figuring out what theater this is.