The other day, I was thinking about Louise Brooks and Tulsa.... and whatever connections there may be between the actress and the Oklahoma city. The earliest mention of Brooks in one of the Tulsa newspapers occurred in 1922, when the Tulsa World ran an item about the 15 year old in its "All Over Oklahoma and Neighboring States" column. Under Kansas news, the Tulsa paper reported an item out of Independence.
As a member of Denishawn, Brooks also visited the city. The young dancer and future actress was just 17 years old at the time. The occasion was a Monday, February 4, 1924 evening performance by the Denishawn dancers at the city's Convention Hall - (less than three years after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre). There was considerable interest in the event, which a local newspaper called one of the "treats of the season." Brooks was one of the company of 26.
Of course, most all of Brooks' silent and sound films showed in Tulsa, Oklahoma when first released in the 1920s and 1930s. One curious piece I came across just the other day appeared in Radio News Guide, a regional publication published in Tulsa about the then new medium of radio. It highlights a young soprano, Sue Read, who bears a striking resemblance to Brooks, a resemblance commented on in the clipping.
[I wondered whatever happened to her, but couldn't find much. Apparently, she continued to sing and make radio appearances throughout the 1930s and 1940s. She also made appearances at local clubs and events in the 1940 and late 1950s in and around Pennsylvania. If she is the same Sue Read, she was a former Powers model and a descendant of George Read, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.] The same picture of Sue Read appeared in The Microphone, a weekly New England publication which billed itself as the "Original Radio Newspaper."
As a member of Denishawn, Brooks also visited the city. The young dancer and future actress was just 17 years old at the time. The occasion was a Monday, February 4, 1924 evening performance by the Denishawn dancers at the city's Convention Hall - (less than three years after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre). There was considerable interest in the event, which a local newspaper called one of the "treats of the season." Brooks was one of the company of 26.
Of course, most all of Brooks' silent and sound films showed in Tulsa, Oklahoma when first released in the 1920s and 1930s. One curious piece I came across just the other day appeared in Radio News Guide, a regional publication published in Tulsa about the then new medium of radio. It highlights a young soprano, Sue Read, who bears a striking resemblance to Brooks, a resemblance commented on in the clipping.
[I wondered whatever happened to her, but couldn't find much. Apparently, she continued to sing and make radio appearances throughout the 1930s and 1940s. She also made appearances at local clubs and events in the 1940 and late 1950s in and around Pennsylvania. If she is the same Sue Read, she was a former Powers model and a descendant of George Read, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.] The same picture of Sue Read appeared in The Microphone, a weekly New England publication which billed itself as the "Original Radio Newspaper."
