Q&A

Q How did Frey Meats get Tom Land-ry for their commercials? I thought he never did them.

A Coach Landry makes his first television commercial venture sound very uncommercial. “I was approached by the Frey family and was very impressed with them – they are a fine Christian family – so I decided to do it. I tried the meats too, and they were pretty good.”



Q Why did the city allow the use of its facilities for the filming of such a distorted film as “The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald” that only made Dallas look bad?

A lt was a county decision, not something over which the city had jurisdiction. The Book Depository was under option to the county at the time. County Commissioner John Whitting-ton recalls: “We discussed the propriety of the request. It was my feeling that it was a legitimate endeavor for an interpretation of an historical event, and it was therefore appropriate to grant the request. We did not choose to take any role in censoring or editing. We took that risk.” Public Works Director Judson Shook concurs. “I wasn’t too happy about the production even though the film people were some of the most considerate people I’ve ever been around. If we didn’t let them in, there might be charges of “cover-up.” If we start reading scripts and censoring, that would put us [Dallas] in a bad light.” Shook did read the script, as did Dallas attorney Martin Jurow, who was at one time a Hollywood producer. “If you read the script, it doesn’t sound bad,” says Shook. His criticism of the broadcast was in the way Dal-lasites’ speech and appearance were portrayed. That’s something he felt the script didn’t reveal.

The county did insist that the production company insure themselves against any damage they might cause to the building. The county also requested that the film company pay for off-duty county security guards during the filming. They did not charge the company for use of the building since they only had an option on the property, not the rights of ownership.



Q Is it true that Mayor Folsom’s daughter Diane was once a Mouse-keteer?

A No.



Q How much is Nolan Estes paid and how does his salary compare with other major school districts’?



A Estes recently got a raise. He now gets $50,350 a year, plus a $300-a-month car allowance. But Dallas’ school superintendent is still playing catch-up in the wage game. Houston’s superintendent takes home $60,000 a year, in addition to being given a $100,000 life insurance policy, an unlimited expense account and a personal automobile. Austin’s superintendent, though he oversees a smaller school system, gets paid more than Estes. His salary is $54,000 and he also gets a car. Nationally, DISD’s top administrative wage just hold its own in the standings. Baltimore, the country’s 7th largest city, as compared with Dallas’ ranking as 8th, pays its. city school administrator $50,000 annually and gives him a car and travel expenses. San Diego, which ranks 9th, pays its school superintendent $56,057 annually. Dallas looks a little better when compared to other Texas’ cities. In San Antonio, the school administrator’s annual compensation is $50,000; in El Paso, $47,500; in Fort Worth, $46,153; and in Corpus Christi, $45,900.



Q Now that it costs 20￠ to call information in Dallas, has there been any appreciable decrease in the number of calls Southwestern Bell gets to this number? How much is it costing the customers?

A The idea seems to have worked. During the month of September, the telephone company received an average of 98,000 calls a day to 1411 from their Dallas customers. That compares to an average 240,000 calls a day before the change in May, 1976. Of the 98,000 calls received during September, only about 6 percent of the customers went over the maximum limit of 10 calls per month without charge. But, figuring 20￠ per call over the limit, they paid Southwestern Bell $35,280 in September for the privilege.



Q Prices in Dallas seem to have skyrocketed since I moved here five years ago. How badly has inflation affected the Dallas area?



A According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of living in Dallas has risen 54 percent since 1970. That means a person making an annual salary of $20,000 in 1970 would need $30,800 today just to stay even.



Q What is the Jewish population in Dallas?



A The Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas estimates 20.000.



Q Who is the highest paid model in Dallas?

A There’s no question it’s Tara Shannon, a 20-year-old Kim Dawson model who came to Dallas from Denver in April, signed on at $300 a day and in six months increased that per diem figure to $500. “It’s that incredible red mane,” says Kim Dawson of her star protegee. “I don’t have another model with her coloring. Structurally, she’s photographically perfect and she moves beautifully. When you have that combination of height, structure, and coloring, you can’t lose.” Tara has already been approached by three agencies in New York, but for the moment she prefers to remain in Dallas. What does she do with all that money? “I bought a car and the rest I’m saving to pay my taxes.”