The 1974 version of "Where the Red Fern Grows" was shot in Tahlequah, OK at the time I was director of Theatre Tulsa, not far away. Norman Tokar, Director, came to me and asked if I would help find local children to be in the film, and I had about 200 of them sitting in my theater the next Sat. for him to choose from. He picked the two young girls from that bunch. As a gesture of appreciation, Norman gave me the role in the film that he had intended to play, himself -- the Stationmaster. Lyman Dayton, the producer, decided he'd make a new version some 25 or 30 years later, and he called me to ask if I'd reprise my role as Stationmaster in this new filming. I said, "Yes." It turned out that I was the only member of the original cast who repriced his role. There's a lot more to this story, but that'll suffice for now. Bob Telford
Review of Where the Red Fern Grows
