Oklahoma has produced a host of individuals who have made their mark in the entertainment industry – as actors, producers, directors, dancers, animators, public broadcasting promoters, singers and songwriters, a stuntman and a professional makeup artist, and several of them have ties to Southwest Oklahoma.
One of the most famous entertainers with Oklahoma roots is actor, director, producer and screenwriter Ron Howard, who was born in Duncan, and his father, the late Rance Howard, a native Oklahoman who was also an actor and writer.
Ron Howard began acting on television at an early age, appearing in an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1959 and a few episodes of the first season of Dennis the Menace. But he became famous when he starred as Opie Taylor, son of the town sheriff, in The Andy Griffith Show in the 1960s, and followed that with his role as Richie Cunningham in the series Happy Days in the 1970s.
Films Howard directed include Splash, Cocoon, Parenthood, Backdraft, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code, among others.
Rance Howard was originally named Harold Engle Beckenholdt. He was born at Newkirk, graduated from Shidler High School in 1946, and studied at the University of Oklahoma, where he met Jean Speegle of Duncan in a class taught by Dennis Weaver (the actor who starred in Gunsmoke and McCloud).
Rance married Jean, whose father was a butcher in Duncan, where Ron Howard was born while Rance Howard was serving in the U.S. Air Force.
The late actress/singer Candice Jean Earley was considered a native Lawtonian.
She was born at Fort Hood, Texas, the daughter of an Army officer who was transferred to Fort Sill when “Candi” was 5. She was an honor student in Lawton Public Schools, was selected Miss Lawton and was first runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant.
She had 14 years of training as a classical singer and attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where she studied drama.
Earley was most famous for her 16-year role on the ABC soap opera All My Children. She had Broadway roles in Hair, Grease and Jesus Christ Superstar. Candi, a lyric soprano, also performed in cabarets.
A statue of Candace Earley and Bill Crawford stands in Lawton’s Shepler Park, between Fourth and Fifth Streets west of the former Lawton Police Department headquarters and east of the YMCA.
Crawford, former fine arts editor of The Lawton Constitution, “sponsored and encouraged many aspiring artists, most notably Broadway and television actress/singer Candice Earley,” a plaque on the statue relates.
Crawford died in 1980 and Earley passed in 2019 in her home at El Dorado, Arkansas.
Lauren Nelson, who was born and reared in Lawton and graduated from MacArthur High School, was crowned Miss America in 2007 and has co-hosted Discover Oklahoma on OETA since 2017.
Singer/songwriter and producer David Gates was born in Tulsa and in the 1950s attended Will Rogers High School, where he formed his first band, The Accents, with other musical classmates, among them Claude Russell Bridges (known professionally as Leon Russell). Russell, a music arranger, producer, composer and singer who was born in Lawton, collaborated with many notable artists (including Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra) and recorded at least 31 albums and 430 songs. Gates later became the front man and co-lead singer for the band Bread.
The late Stephen Hillenburg, a Lawton native, created the wildly successful Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants.
Singer/songwriter Hoyt Axton (Joy to the World and Never Been to Spain, both big hits for Three Dog Night) was born in Duncan and spent his preteen years in nearby Comanche.
His mother was Mae Boren Axton, who was known in the music industry as the “Queen Mother of Nashville.” Her parents moved from Texas to Oklahoma when she was 2; Mae attended East Central College, earned a journalism degree at the University of Oklahoma, became a schoolteacher, and married a naval officer, John Axton of Idabel.
Mae Boren Axton was the link between Elvin Presley and Colonel Tom Parker, and cowrote Elvis’ first hit son, Heartbreak Hotel. During her lifetime she wrote approximately 200 songs.
Also, she was the sister of U.S. Congressman Lyle Boren, father of former Governor, U.S. Senator and University of Oklahoma President David Boren.
Paul Sparks from Marlow has had acting roles on stage, in television and on the big screen. He appeared in the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire and in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards. Sparks is married to actress Annie Parisse, who portrayed an assistant district attorney in the original Law & Order series.
Actor Lee Grinner Pace, who was born in Chickasha, has been cast in 29 films, including Captain Marvel and The Good Shepherd. He portrayed Thranduil the Elvenking in The Hobbit trilogy and the character Joe MacMillan in the AMC period drama television series Halt and Catch Fire.
Martial artist, actor and author Chuck Norris was born in Ryan. He has appeared in several films and in 203 episodes of the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger.
Character actor and stuntman Boyd “Red” Morgan was born in Claypool, east of Waurika, and spent most of his childhood on a farm/ranch east of Comanche. He appeared in more than 1,000 films and TV episodes.
Cleavon Little, who was cast as Sheriff Bart in Mel Brooks’ comedy Western Blazing Saddles, was born in Chickasha.
Actor/playwright Timothy Blake Nelson was born in Tulsa and graduated from Holland Hall School. He attended the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain Resort Arts and Conference Center in Lone Wolf, and is a graduate of Brown University. His acting credits include the films O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Minority Report, Syriana, and Lincoln.
FILM, TELEVISION
James Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner in 1928 in Denver, Oklahoma (now under Lake Thunderbird near Norman). He was one of the few actors who could carry a show on television or on the big screen. Garner had leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films (including The Great Escape, Murphy’s Romance and Support Your Local Gunfighter!) and starred in several television series, including Maverick and The Rockford Files.
Actor Dale Robertson was born in Harrah and attended the Oklahoma Military Academy at Claremore. He appeared in more than 60 films and starred in two televisions series. In addition, he and Ronald Reagan cohosted Death Valley Days in the 1950s and ‘60s. Later in life, Robertson owned a horse ranch at Yukon.
Mary Robinson Blair, who was born in McAlester, became an artist and animator for Walt Disney. Her skills were showcased in films such as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.
Clarence Nash, who grew up in Watonga, went to Hollywood, where Walt Disney hired him in 1932. Nash provided the voice of the animated cartoon character Donald Duck for 50 years.
Darla Hood, who was born in Leedey, was 3 years old when her parents traveled to New York City to get their daughter a screen test. Darla Hood played the role of Darla in the Our Gang films.
Oscar-winning actor/producer Brad Pitt (Moneyball) was born in Shawnee.
Actor, singer and former model James Marsden (X-Men) was born in Stillwater.
Actor, writer, producer, and comedian Bill Hader was born in Tulsa, where he attended Edison Junior High School and Cascia Hall Preparatory School. He was a cast member of Saturday Night Live for eight years and has had supporting and leading roles in several films.
Oklahoma has produced six Miss America winners; the first was Norma Smallwood of Tulsa, in 1926. She later married Tulsa oilman/philanthropist Thomas Gilcrease.
Susan Powell, an Elk City native, won the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 1980 and captured the Miss America crown in 1981. After her one-year reign she embarked on a singing career; a coloratura soprano, she has performed in musical theater and on opera stages around the world. In 1993 Powell embarked on a new television career, becoming the cohost of Discovery Channel’s Home Matters home and garden program, which she hosted for nine seasons.
Actress Rue McClanahan was born in Healdton, reared in Ardmore, and was graduated from the University of Tulsa, where she majored in German and Theatre Arts. A New York stage actress in the 1950s, she was cast in the TV series Maude and afterward was one of the stars of The Golden Girls, which ran for seven seasons.
Phil McGraw, author, psychologist and TV personality a/k/a Dr. Phil, was born in Vinita. At age 13 he worked at an A&W Root Beer stand and a Pizza Planet in Oklahoma City.
Sharron Miller, who was born in Enid, graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Theater and became a celebrated director in Hollywood.
Actor Clu Gulager was born in Holdenville. His father was a lawyer in Muskogee and his paternal grandmother was a sister of Will Rogers’ mother. Gulager appeared in television Westerns and on the big screen, and starred with John Wayne in the film McQ.
Director Blake Edwards was born in Tulsa. He created and directed the television series about private detective Peter Gunn (1958-61), and directed films such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Pink Panther, and Victor/Victoria. He was married to actress/singer Julie Andrews.
Tracy Andreen grew up in Tulsa and earned a degree in professional writing from the University of Oklahoma. She has written several scripts for the Hallmark Channel.
Sterlin Harjo has directed three feature films, a feature documentary, and the FX comedy series Reservation Dogs, all of them set in his home state of Oklahoma and concerned primarily with Native American people and content. He was born in Holdenville and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he studied art and film. Harjo was awarded the 2011 Tilghman Award from the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle and the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2013 American Indian Writers Award.
Lane Factor is a Native American who trained at the Chris Freihofer Actor Factory. Factor portrays the character Cheese in Reservation Dogs and recently made his feature film debut in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans. He spent his childhood in Midwest City and his mother worked at the Anadarko Indian Health Center.
Chris Freihofer in Norman runs the Actor Factory, a local acting school, but is also a frequent actor in films and television shows (for instance, he played a lawyer in several episodes of Breaking Bad). Most significantly, he operates a casting company that is often employed by major motion picture producers. He did local casting for the upcoming Martin Scorsese film Killers of the Flower Moon, which was filmed in Pawhuska, as well as the Meryl Streep film, August: Osage County, a few years ago.
Humorist Will Rogers, who was born in Oologah, at one time was Hollywood’s highest-paid actor.
Award-winning actor and film producer Wesley Studi was born in rural Cherokee County and attended Chilocco Indian Agricultural School in north central Oklahoma, near the Kansas border, graduating in 1964. He enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard and served a one-year tour of active duty in Vietnam. In an interview, Studi said he first began acting while attending Tulsa Community College after returning from military service in Southeast Asia. Studi has appeared in Academy Award-winning films such as Dances with Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans.
Ryan Merriman, who was born in Choctaw, began his acting career at the age of 10. He has appeared in 25 feature films since 1999, and in 24 television shows in the past 30 years.
Actor Tom Mix was born in Pennsylvania in 1880. After a stint in the Army he moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, where he worked odd jobs. At various times he worked as a bartender, a hand with Zack Miller’s 101 Ranch, and for a short time in 1911 served as town marshal in Dewey, Oklahoma. While working for the 101 Ranch, Mix began his movie career, which spanned 26 years (1909–35). He appeared in 291 movies, all but nine of which were silent films. He was Hollywood’s first Western star and helped define the genre as it emerged in the early days of the cinema.
William Boyd, who portrayed the Western hero Hopalong Cassidy in films, lived in Tulsa as a teenager.
Phyllis Islay, known professionally as Jennifer Jones, was born in Tulsa. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film Song of Bernadette.
Will Sampson, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, was a painter, rodeo performer, and an actor, most notably in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Outlaw Josey Wales. He is buried at Hitchita, Oklahoma.
Actor and businessman G.D. Spradlin was born in Pauls Valley and received his law degree from the University of Oklahoma. He was credited with more than 70 television and film productions, including North Dallas Forty, Apocalypse Now and The Godfather, Part II.
Hoda Kotb, co-anchor of NBC’s Today show, was born in Norman. Her co-anchor, Kathie Lee Gifford, was graduated from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa.
Actor Ben Johnson was born at Foraker, in northwestern Osage County on the Osage Indian Reservation. The son of a rancher, Johnson became a world champion rodeo cowboy and a Hollywood stuntman and actor. He won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Last Picture Show. During his career, Johnson appeared in 93 films, five documentaries, 12 television movies (including The Sacketts and The Shadow Riders), and at least 50 episodes of two dozen television shows (such as Stoney Burke, Bonanza, and Perry Mason). Johnson is buried at Pawhuska.
Paul Walker, a member of the first law school class at the University of Oklahoma, was appointed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of the original members of the Federal Communications Commission when it was created in 1934 to regulate telephone, radio and later television. From his earliest years on the FCC, Walker was an advocate of educational television; that goal was realized in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy signed legislation that provided the first major government funding of public broadcasting.
Judy Woodruff, who was born in Tulsa, stepped down this year as anchor and managing editor of the PBS News Hour. Her mother had worked at a Douglas aircraft factory and as an elevator operator in Tulsa, and her father was an Army officer who had been stationed at Fort Sill.
Born into a Jewish family, Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg graduated from Tulsa Central High School, married his sweetheart from Tulsa, went to New York City, and served in the U.S. Army’s Signal Corps during World War II. After changing his name to Tony Randall he starred in nearly 40 films and costarred in the TV adaptation of the Neil Simon play The Odd Couple. Randall appeared on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show 105 times and on The David Letterman Show 70 times.
Gene Autry, Hollywood’s original “singing cowboy,” was born in Texas, but when he was a teenager his parents moved to Ravia, in Johnston County. He worked on his father’s ranch while growing up and going to school. In 1925 Autry left the family ranch and became a telegrapher for the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway. While working as a telegraph operator in Chelsea, Autry would sing and accompany himself on the guitar to pass the lonely hours, especially when he had the midnight shift. One night he reportedly was encouraged to sing professionally by a customer, humorist Will Rogers, who had heard him singing.
The Oscar-winning movie career of the late Gray Frederickson, who died last month, began when he was a teenage usher at Lakeside Theater in Oklahoma City in the 1950s. He won an Academy Award as a co-producer of The Godfather, Part II, and was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the film Apocalypse Now. He returned to Oklahoma and joined Oklahoma City Community College in 2000 to launch its film production program.
Actress Alfre Woodard, a graduate of Tulsa Bishop Kelley High School, has appeared in more than 60 films and 50 television series. She has won four primetime Emmys, a Golden Globe, three Screen Actors Guild awards, and has been nominated for an Academy Award and two Grammys.
Steve LaPorte, born in Oklahoma City, won an Academy Award for Best Makeup in 1989 for his work on the film Beetlejuice, starring Michael Keaton, and a Makeup Guild Award for the television series Breaking Bad.
Actor, playwright and screenwriter Tracy Letts was born in Tulsa. He made his Broadway debut as a playwright for August: Osage County, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. Tracy is the son of actor Dennis Letts and bestselling author Billie Letts.
Rachel Cannon, who was born in Tulsa, is an accomplished television actress, writer, producer, entertainment executive, entrepreneur and mentor. She is known for Fresh Off the Boat (2015), Mad Men (2007) and Two and a Half Men (2003).
Oklahoma City native Lon Chaney Jr. is the only actor to have played all four major roles in Universal Studios’ monster movies: The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy.
Actress Megan Mullally was born in Los Angeles but at the age of 6 moved to Oklahoma City, the hometown of her father, a contract player with Paramount Pictures in the 1950s. She studied ballet at an early age and performed at the Oklahoma City Ballet while enrolled at Casady School, and also studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City.
Mullally attended Northwestern University in Illinois, and after her sophomore year she began acting in theater in downtown Chicago. By her junior year she was performing in eight shows per week and later dropped out of college to pursue acting.
She landed a role in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and appeared several times on the NBC series Parks and Recreation. Mullally also has performed in several Broadway productions.
Olivia Munn is an actress and former television host. She was born in Oklahoma City, attended Putnam City North High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Oklahoma. After an internship at KJRH-TV in Tulsa she moved to Los Angeles, where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network G4.
Munn debuted as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and had a lead role in Aaron Sorkin’s drama series The Newsroom on HBO. She also has appeared in advertising campaigns for Nike, Pepsi and Neutrogena.
MUSIC
Singer Vince Gill was born in Norman and attended Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City.
He has received 18 Country Music Association awards, including two Entertainer of the Year awards and five Male Vocalist Awards. Gill also has earned 22 Grammy awards, more than any other male country music artist. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Gill is a solo artist, previously was a member of the country rock band Pure Prairie League and most recently joined The Eagles band.
Country singer Reba McEntire was born in McAlester, reared on a ranch in Chockie, attended high school in Kiowa, and was graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University at Durant. She has sold more than 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Reba has acted in several films and starred in the eponymous TV series Reba for six years.
Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker, born in Yale, Oklahoma, in 1929, was a famous jazz trumpeter and vocalist. His father was a professional guitarist, and his mother was a pianist.
Singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie (This Land is Your Land and Oklahoma Hills), one of the most significant figures in American folk music, was born in Okemah.
Robert Lee “Bob” Dunn, born in Braggs, played a self-made electric steel guitar, and because of his influence that instrument remains an indelible element of country music.
Country singer Garth Brooks was born in Tulsa, reared in Yukon, and graduated from Oklahoma State University. He has sold more than 100 million albums during his career and is considered one of the greatest country musicians of all time.
Toby Keith, a country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer, was born in Clinton and his family moved to Moore when he was a boy. His debut single, Should’ve Been a Cowboy, went to number one in 1993; by the end of the decade the song received more than three million spins at radio, making it the most-played country song of the 1990s and certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Country singer and TV personality Blake Shelton was born in Ada, has a ranch outside of Tishomingo, lake houses on Lake Texoma, and the Ole Red bar/restaurant and live music venue in Tishomingo. Shelton has won numerous awards for his music.
Country and Western singer Ronnie Dunn, half of the chart-topping Brooks & Dunn duet, was born in Texas but raised in Tulsa.
Singer Carrie Underwood was born in Muskogee, raised on her parents’ farm in Checotah, and graduated from Northeastern State University at Tahlequah. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005 and has become one of country music’s biggest stars, selling 70 million records worldwide.
Ralph Blane, who was born in Broken Arrow and graduated from Tulsa Central High School, wrote the lyrics to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, one of the top 10 Christmas songs ever recorded.
Gayla Peevey of Oklahoma City recorded the famous novelty song I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas in 1953, when she was 10 years old.
Oklahoma! by Rodgers and Hammerstein was the title song from the hit Broadway play and is the most recognized state song in the country.
Kristin Chenoweth is an actress and singer with credits in musical theatre, film and television, including a regular role in The West Wing. She was adopted by a Broken Arrow couple when less than a week old. Chenoweth competed in beauty pageants, winning the title of Miss OCU and was the second runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 1991.
Singer Merle Haggard was born after his parents moved to California from Checotah during the Great Depression. Haggard wrote and performed numerous country songs (Mama Tried, The Fightin’ Side of Me, Workin’ Man Blues, and Okie from Muskogee) and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The Flaming Lips are a psychedelic rock band formed in Oklahoma City in 1983. The group recorded several albums and EPs on an indie label in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater that was formed in 1999. Their debut album was certified platinum, their second studio album was certified double-platinum, and their third album was certified gold.
Wanda Jackson, “The Queen of Rockabilly” (Let’s Have a Party), was born in Maud, began performing as a child, and later had her own radio show in Oklahoma City. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
One of Broadway’s leading ladies, Kelli O’Hara, was born in Tulsa and grew up in Elk City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music vocal performance/opera from Oklahoma City University. She debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and has performed in concerts ranging from Carnegie Hall to Tokyo.
Leona Mitchell, the tenth of 15 children of a minister’s family in Enid, was graduated from Oklahoma City University with a music degree in 1971 followed by graduate studies at the Julliard School in New York. Mitchell sang with the San Francisco Opera and spent 18 seasons as the leading soprano at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
The Kings of Leon band was formed in Nashville in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followil, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The three brothers grew up in Oklahoma and Tennessee. The band’s early music was a blend of Southern boogie and garage rock with blues influences, but it has evolved to include a variety of genres and a more alternative, arena rock sound.
Hanson is a pop band from Tulsa formed by brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson. They have sold more than 16 million records worldwide.
Sandra Faye “Sandi” Patty is a Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range. She was born in Oklahoma City; her father was a minister of music and her mother served as the church pianist.
Patty is the most awarded female vocalist in contemporary Christian music history, with 40 Dove Awards; she was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004. She has received five Grammy awards, four Billboard Music Awards, has generated three platinum records and five gold records, and has sold 11 eleven million units. She also has authored seven books. She and her family live in Oklahoma City.
Songwriter, composer and singer Jimmy Layne Webb was born in Elk City and raised in Laverne. Webb has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including Up, Up and Away, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, MacArthur Park, Wichita Lineman, Worst That Could Happen, and Galveston.
Esther Renay Dean is a singer, songwriter, music producer and actress who was born in Muskogee and reared in Tulsa. She also has written songs for many artists, with numerous Top 10 hits, including No. 1 hits for Rihanna and Katy Perry. She also has acted in three films.
Anne Erin Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, is a singer, musician and songwriter who was born in Tulsa. Her music is noted for its complex arrangements utilizing a wide array of instruments. St. Vincent is the recipient of various accolades, including three Grammy awards.
Myrna Joy “Jody” Miller, who died in October, rode a Greyhound bus from Oakland, California to Blanchard, to live with her grandmother after her parents divorced when she was 8. Miller became a female vocalist and was one of the first Oklahomans to win a Grammy. During her career she toured Hawaii with The Beach Boys, playing TV shows alongside The Rolling Stones, with Glen Campbell and fellow Oklahoman Leon Russell working on her records.
Several performers contend the best musicians in the Oklahoma City area are Mary Reynolds and Louise Goldberg, entertainers known as Miss Brown to You. The duo are music educators and popular singers and performers.
BALLET, VISUAL ARTS
Half of the top 10 U.S. ballerinas of the 20th century were from Oklahoma. One of them was Maria Tallchief, who was born in Fairfax and became a prima ballerina.
Harold Stevenson, who was born in Idabel, became a friend of visual artist Andy Warhol after moving to New York at age 20, and influenced the Pop Art movement of the 1960s.
Bob Burke contributed to this report.