The savior of the house used in “The Outsiders” film in Tulsa recently purchased the 11th Street Cleaners neon sign that once stood along Route 66 downtown.
Danny Boy O’Connor, a member of the now-defunct House of Pain rap group and owner of The Outsiders House Museum, apparently procured the sign from a store in suburban Tulsa.
The sign came down several years ago after decades along Route 66, though it survived far longer than the laundry business it touted.
O’Connor wrote of his new acquisition: “So many things had to go right for things to play out the way they did today. I honestly do not believe in coincidences or that these things just happen by chance. What’s meant for you won’t miss you. Truly, God is good. What a day. Stay Gold, Tulsa.”
O’Connor this week posted images on Instagram of getting the sign:
He said by text message he plans to restore the sign and hang it in The Outsiders House Museum. As shown in images posted on Instagram, the sign appeared in the film.
O’Connor tells in the first few minutes of the Recovery Rockstars podcast the amazing story of how he got the sign after years of looking for it:
The house at 731 N. St. Louis Ave. was used in key scenes during “The Outsiders” film, which was adapted from the novel by S.E. Hinton.
O’Connor, who was deeply influenced by the film and book, wound up buying the ramshackle house a few years ago, rehabbed it and reopened it as a museum filled with memorabilia from the movie.
Almost all the “The Outsiders” film was shot in Tulsa because Hinton’s inspirations for the book occurred there when she wrote it at age 17. Scenes included at least two Route 66 landmarks — the Circle Cinema and the Admiral Twin Drive-In theater.
“The Outsiders” proved notable for casting young actors who later became stars — Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane and Ralph Macchio. Music legend Tom Waits also appeared in the film..
“The Outsiders” house sits about a half-mile north of the old Second Street alignment of Route 66.
—