A rapper in the group House of Pain purchased a house in north Tulsa prominently used in the 1983 film version of “The Outsiders.” He plans to restore the dilapidated home and turn it into a museum dedicated to the film and the S.E. Hinton novel on which it’s based.
Danny O’Connor, aka Danny Boy, of House of Pain told Tulsa World columnist Ginny Graham he was deeply influenced by Francis Ford Coppola’s film and Hinton’s book.
“When the movie debuted in 1983, I walked in the theater one guy and came out another guy,” O’Connor said. “The movie resonated with me like no other and has been on my mind ever since. I love ‘The Outsiders,’ and I’m S.E. Hinton’s No. 1 fan. Though, everyone probably says that.”
O’Connor, 47, is from Brooklyn and describes his father as a “proper gangster.” After seeing “The Outsiders,” his mother remarked: “I guess that’s how they do it in Tulsa.”
“I didn’t even know what a Tulsa was,” O’Connor said.
Hinton’s novel was set in Tulsa, where she lived when she wrote it at age 17. Coppola set the film version of “The Outsiders” in Tulsa and used many of the locations that inspired Hinton’s literary scenes. That included two Route 66 landmarks — the now-restored Circle Cinema and the Admiral Twin Drive-In theater, which reopened after its famed double screen burned down and was rebuilt.
Here’s a video about some of “The Outsiders” locations. The house is about the 4:25 mark.
https://youtu.be/wJnfleLeOZg
“The Outsiders” also proved notable for all the young talent that later became stars — Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell, Tom Waits and Leif Garrett.
“The Outsiders” house is at 731 N. St. Louis St. (map here), about a half-mile north of the old Second Street alignment of Route 66.
O’Connor saw the house for himself in 2009 when he was in Tulsa on a music tour. He kept tabs on it and bought it less than a month ago when it came up for sale. “I put in half of my savings and drove out here. I’m 50 percent scared and 50 percent excited. It’s a dream come true,” he told the World.
News of someone buying the “The Outsiders” house erupted on social media in mid-March on The Outsiders House page on Facebook and on Twitter.
O’Connor acknowledges the house is in poor condition, and it will need a lot of time and money to restore it. He set up a GoFundMe page to raise $75,000 in that effort. More than $5,000 was raised in one day.
Even if his fundraising falls short, O’Connor may find the house restored anyway. Countless people on the Facebook page have volunteered their time in repairing the structure. A local pest-control company donated its much-needed services. A disabled man who is a licensed electrician offered to help.
(Image of “The Outsiders” house and Danny Boy via Facebook)
Damn, I love stories like this one. And damn do I appreciate his efforts to restore the house. Count me in as a volunteer. We need more of this.