October 1979 page 10 daily nebraskan thursday, 25,

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Omaha DJ spins a 'Shindig' of a story By Jerry Fairbanks stars for the show because of his high standing with bands A friend offered him a position in an entertainment in England. He said Good was able to get the Beatles on management company overseeing the rock V roll divi- Omaha disc jockey Jimmy O'Neill got third billing in Shindig for union scale pay, much less money than the sion. the credits the Who's new of movie, The Kids Are Alright, band was receiving for similar appearances. but his son,.fnoticed his name was misspelled. After four with the he wanted to get years company, "I never' dreamed be O'Neill said met its demise when Good into I'd introduced by name," O'Neill Shindig got out of and back into broadcasting, so he said. who broadcasts an with network executives about extreme O'Neill, from 6 to 10 a.m. for KOIL argument accepted a job offer for a station in Albuquerque. He A.M. close-u- p was shown in a the shots of black artists. Some southern affiliates of middle-of-the-roa- d segment of Who's First American spent two years playing music there. television appearance on the NBC show Shindig. the networks complained and the network executives told . "It's historical, because that was from Good to stop. Good refused and quit. ' segment the last O'Neill said the Albuquerque station was powerful episode we ever he said. taped," enough to be heard in Omaha and he soon recieved an Shindig was a rock n' roll show that aired in 1964 and "IT WAS ALSO the kind of artists we had," O'Neill offer to work for WOW. The money was too good to pass 1965 on NBC. O'Neill described it as a for said. O'Neill said the executives were displeased with 1 up, so he came to Omaha. rock music. Unlike , all the music was things like Jerry Lee Lewis's marriage to his live and all the dancing was choreographed, he said. cousin and therefore, dislike the program. After three years with WOW, O'Neill switched to O'Neill said he became involved with the show in 1962 KOIL. He said he likes Omaha, and between his job at the when English producer Jack Good was in Los Angeles The show's close in early 1966 and personal problems station, personal appearances and running a cisco show for putting together the pilot. O'Neill had been a DJ in Los made him decide to get out of broadcasting, O'Neill said. dances, he's satisfied with his life. Angeles since 1955 and Good asked him to help by con- tacting musicians he knew and introducing the show. r Good had already produced and hosted three such shows in England. v. , v ' . O'NEILL SAID the network didn't like the show then, rv so it sat on the shelf for two years. It surfaced two years ' - i . f . later , when NBC producer Chuck Barris called O'Neill. Barris had been to O'Neill on the radio - ' listening and. 1.1 1 I f ' ,.(..I M wanted him to host a quiz show, Seven Keys, that he was creating.' :v. V .14, I O'Neill said Barris decided he looked too young for the job after the audition, but asked him for anything else he 5 had on videotape. The only thing O'Neill had was the J . n. : I pilot of Shindig, so he gave Barris that. ; iij Barris was excited by the show and wanted to produce it, according to O'Neill. So Good was recalled from England and in 1964, Shindig went on the air. y - O'Neill said the show was put on against' The Beverly Hillbillies, at.tat time the highest rated show on Wednes- day nights, because it cost less for each episode than other programs. The executives decided if it was going to lose, it (1 was better to lose cheaply. ' ' , "Six weeks after .we went on the air the Nielsen ratings came out and we'd beaten the Beverly Hillbillies O'Neill ; said.'-',;- - ; .. - Shindig ran a new show weekly for two years, and

twice for six months, he said., In all, over 150 epi- " weekly mmmT- 'ft" m, t sodes were taped, . .

- O'NEILL SAID THAT, for the' times, Shindig, was a groundbreaking show. , "The thing we felt most proud of is' that we launched, most of the stars of that period," O'Neill said. He men- tioned Glen Campbell and Sonny and Cher as stars that made their television debut on Shindig. He also said that Billy Preston was organist and Leon Russell played piano Photo R. K. Hahn for the Shindig band. by From Los ' Angeles to Albuquerque to Omaha, disc jockey Jimmy O'Neill is still in the music business after 24 said big-nam- e O'Neill Good was the one who could get years. O'Neill is on KOIL-AM'- s air waves from 6 to 10 a.m.

9 'Woman ofSetzuan enhanced by technical aspect, acting By Betsie Ammons These and other touches in special stole the show set When scenes change to Shen Te's interior or other modern-China- . A r shop parable' of sorts, the story concerns inside scenes, walls are symbolized the reverse ; This reviewer took a to China by using trip Tuesday night, and three gods' search for a who seem side scroll-lik- e truly good person, they of a banner proclaiming the play's title. felt very welcome. to have found in Shen a Setzuan Te, prostitute turned a ; No And when fight scene the banner back cries of "Ugly American!" were heard at Howell shopowner. . comes, sways Theatre last the second in and forth, signifying a shaking house. night during play the UNL But both the gods and the audience find that goodness Theater Department's 1979-8- 0 season, Bertolt Brecht's is relative throughout the course of the play. Trees were , symbolized by green cloth, lettered with The Good Woman ; is of Setzuan. The play staged in much the same way it Would if Japanese characters, hanging from wooden poles. . performed in Japan, where theatre is informal. For about Costumes were also symbolic. Shen Te is required to. the first 15 minutes, the house lights are the a man up, enabling portray in much of the play. This is achieved by a audience to drink the "rice wine" Fu-Manc- FGUI3tJ (ginger ale on university mask complete with moustache. And it is not property) that is offered to all entering the theatre. hard to believe. Much the of scenery, and the ideas, are symbolic. The Another word flashy red banner, both inside the theater and cast announces about costumes-th- ey are loose Instead, at the play's beginning that it is performed authentic and above the outside door, proclaimed "Welcome Amer- at reconstruction .site 23. Metal highly colorful, greatly adding to the play's . pipes and platforms cheerful, festive mood. icans!" and cast members doubled as ushers to half-finishe- greet the convey" the appearance of a d temple (building The is ."American tourists." to you Americans). acting not minimized by the technical aspects of the The play, Good Woman, Shen Te, is portrayed by Deborah in Brooks, partial fulfillment of master's degree-requirement- Shen Te is gullible, an easy mark, but has a truly good heart. Brooks's wide-eye- d innocence conveys Mellerdram mer this well. burlesque The play is written so Shen goes Te and her cousin are the central characters, and the cast A 'mellerdrama" portraying the problems and woes every night at 6 However, one he comes supporting must work'as a pjn. night group around her. . of a near bankrupt burlesque owner, and a one-ac- t play home at 4 p.m. to find his family in a "very strange" The cast the about a distressed father is scheduled for performance situation, according to Kaup. . v possessed ingredient to get the point across to the audience-th- ey this weekend. "As the Curtain Rises, or the Perils of old Broad-way- " were having fun.' Standouts in the a melodrammer written by the two Greek supporting cast include Charley Miller Scott of Acacia fraternity and Lisa Riedmann as the wife the Kaup houses, is about a burlesque owner who is doomed in family of eight Shen Te takes into her Phi are the directors of the show . to of the Alpha sorority home, Thomas Both-we- bankruptcy, he said. Dowell, Dexter Adams and Thomas ll which Kaup said "is definitely geared to a college audi- as the three The two plays, along with several other acts gods and Amy Mills as Mrs. Shin. ence variety The Good Woman will be presented Thursday at 8 p.m., at 7 ofSetzuan, directed William R. Saturday will be by "Home at Six," a one act play written by Lee and 10 pjn. at the Starship Enterprise 9th and P Morgan, presented tonight through Saturday at 8 p.rn. in the Howell Faulk, is about a father who comes home after work streets. Admission is $2.50. Theatre in the Temple Building. If never been you ye to China, or even if you have, $3 is a small price to pay to travel that far.