Movie role brings back memories of Big Tutty By HERMAN BROWN Daily Times editor Having worked in minor roles in 30 movies or films, I have visited many interesting set locations across Oklahoma. I’ve come away with lasting memories of each project. Most recollections are of the wonderful people I met or the funny things that happen on movie sets. However, a few of the movie locations left far deeper impressions for different reasons. I’ve performed scenes in the movie ‘Prizefighter’ in the historic Brady Theater in Tulsa. I’ve walked across sandy dunes at the Little Sahara resort while filming ‘The Willing Suspension of Disbelief.’ It’s the cool cast and crew members that I enjoyed the most on those films. I was cast as an oil field worker in ‘The Killer Inside Me.’ We filmed scenes at the old Sinclair Refinery in West Tulsa. Before I went out to the set, I was stunned with what they expected me to do. I had to cut my hair short and shave off my mustache. I complied only because my good friend Chris Friehofer had cast me – and I did not want to disappoint him. I won’t forget the haircut and shave experience on that project. I’ve worked on three different movies at the state prison in McAlester. I was a pro-death person demanding Connie Neilsen’s execution in ‘Convicted.’ Later, I was cast as a reporter covering two press conferences and an execution in the movie ‘Heaven’s Rain. It was a little weird sitting in the small witness room, with only a glass window between me and the real death bed. I could clearly see the gurney where Oklahoma prisoners are needled to death. As we awaited filming this dramatic scene, stars Taryn Manning and Mike Vogel stood within two or three feet of me. Taryn glanced over at me and asked ‘how are you doing?’ My reply was a simple, “fine, thanks.” Even though it was just a movie, she seemed to feel the same raw emotion that I did. The actor who would be ‘executed’ would live to act another day. But lots of men and one woman saw their lives drift into eternity at the prick of a poison needle. That experience is one I won’t soon forget. The third movie I worked on at the state prison was ‘Yellow.’ In early July, I was cast as a visitor for scenes inside the prison. It was a long day, but no stand-out moments on the set. Little did I know there would be another day of work on this film? However, it would not come until Saturday, July 16th. In the movie ‘Elizabethtown,’ I was cast as a tourist visiting the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. My role as an actor was to stand beside the reflection pool and look at the key exhibits. Across the way, Orlando Bloom’s character stood at the Survivor Tree. According to the script, he was holding an urn containing his father’s ashes. For the famous movie star, it was just a scene in the movie. The emotions he showed were coaxed out of him by Oscar-winning director Cameron Crowe. For me, working on this real-life set was something much different. As I carried out my background action, I thought of the innocent lives lost at this place. I remembered that horrific morning of April 19, 1995. I thought of the dead babies carried out of the daycare center in the Murray Building. I thought of Holdenville native Lanny Scroggins, a war hero in Vietnam who died on that horrible morning. His ‘chair’ was on the hillside not far away. I thought of David Burkett, a devoted fan of Moss High School. He’d often made the trip from OKC back to Hughes County to attend anything and everything involving Moss students. This wonderful, caring man was another victim of McVeigh’s rage. His chair also shared a place on that gentle slope. On filming day, this was just another movie to the Hollywood crew. Their focus was strictly on capturing the scheduled scenes. But to me, this role meant something different – something deeper. It was about Lanny and David and the others lost to their loved ones. No other movie experience had ever touched me as deeply or directly as ‘Elizabethtown.’ However, that changed last Saturday. I was invited to another day of shooting on the movie ‘Yellow.’ But the set location had switched from the prison in McAlester to the Southern Oklahoma Resource Center at Pauls Valley. My emotions were a mixture of excitement and uneasiness. I felt the butterflies I always get when I’m working in a movie. This is a good energy that’s hard to explain. But I also recognized an uneasy feeling as I drove onto the large SORC campus. On this day, my uneasiness had nothing to do with the movie. It had everything to do with the place we were filming. For me, this location brought back a flood of memories. I had been here many times as a little boy. My parents would bring me to visit my oldest brother. His name was Leon David Brown. We called him ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Big Tutty.’ But he could never talk, so he never really responded to his nickname. My brother lived on this sprawling campus for about 15 years. The state placed him here due to his Cerebral palsy. This facility was established to provide care and treatment for those with disabilities or mental handicaps. It continues to support a similar mission today. As for Leon David, he suffered major brain trauma at birth. My parents tried to care for him at home. However, they finally agreed to have him placed in the facility at Pauls Valley. It broke their hearts to see their little boy confined to a state institution. But they had no other options or choices. So the best we could do was to make the trip from Holdenville to Pauls Valley on visiting days. Trips here were emotional for all of us. My parents would take turns letting me and my brothers and sisters come on the monthly visits. I was the baby of the family and came fewer times than my siblings. My mind has stored those memories of my brother in the deepest of places. I was between six and 10 when I came here. Most trips were very similar experiences. I’d walk behind my parents as we entered the old red brick building. We’d make our way to a giant open room, probably an auditorium or cafeteria. An employee would always unlock the door to allow us inside. The door would make a loud metallic click as it locked behind us. For just a second or two, dozens of children would stand there, staring blankly at the walls. But the closing of the door always caught their attention. The love-staved children would turn and stare at us. Leon David was in the crowd. It was his family who came here for visitation day. But he would have to wait for an embrace from his mother. The other children were lonely too. They craved the attention of loving parents. Each time I came there, I’d see them rush toward us to hug my mother. They would cry and laugh and call out ‘mommy, mommy, mommy!’ My mom didn’t know any of these children. But as a mother she felt their pain and loneliness. She would hug them tightly and spread ‘I love you’ greetings to each and every one. I was too young to understand. Why didn’t we brush past these strange kids and get over to Leon David? It always took 10 minutes to get from the doorway to my brother. When we left, it was more of the same. Mom always conducted another hug-a-thon on her way to the exit. She’d also sprinkle in ‘I-love-you’s’ all the way out. Even today, I can still hear those desperate cries. They’d continue to call out ‘Mommy, mommy, mommy’ until the heavy door closed. Later, Leon David left the Pauls Valley facility when he reached the top age limit. In 1970, he died in a Holdenville nursing home. My mother lived another 20 years after her son. To her credit, she refused to forget about her oldest boy. She liked to tell stories about him when he was little and talk about those visits to Pauls Valley. I’m a parent and grandparent now. Today, I have a better understanding of what mom went through with Leon David. I am so touched by my mother’s giving spirit. She always took time on our visits to make these other children feel wanted and loved. That’s something I’ll always remember about her. Standing on the set of the movie ‘Yellow’ Saturday, I felt those memories flooding back into my mind. I could see Big Tutty’s face as he waited for his hug. Being in this place was a very emotional feeling for me. And, driving off the campus, I could once again hear those lonely children calling out to my mother. I won’t soon forget my second experience on the set of ‘Yellow.’ And, in this case, it has little to do with being an extra in a feature film. It’s all about my Big Brother and the years he spent in this place. It’s also about a mother who spread love and hugs to little strangers starved for affection.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 17:28:45 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015