Thursday, September 4, 2025
September 4 was the birthday of radio and television comedian Charlie Cantor (1898-1966). As it happens, Charlie was no relation to Eddie Cantor, whose real name was Itzkowitz. But he did st…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:54AMA century ago (1925), a show biz press agent named Pete Smith (Peter Schmidt, 1892-1979) got the plum job of publicity manager for MGM films. Prior to this, this son of a German-American bre…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:54AMWednesday, September 3, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche post for September 3, 2025 are about country singer Hank Thompson (inspiration for Crazy Heart) and Merritt Butrick (Square Pegs, Star Trek movies). Previous Traval…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:18PMThe life and career of Merritt Butrick (1959-1989) were both short, but I’m just the right age to have witnessed his time of peak fame, which occurred (most unusually) at the start of his …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AMBorn 100 years ago today, country artist Hank Thompson (1925-2007). Not nearly as big a name as Hank Williams or Hank Snow, awareness of Thompson broke through to the mainstream in a big way…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:02AMTuesday, September 2, 2025
How many can name the director of the first, best, and as far as I’m concerned only version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)? Well, now you can, but how many could do it wit…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:48PMToday’s new Travalanche post for September 2, 2025 are about Victor Spinetti from the Beatles’ movies, and Mel Stuart, director of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Previous Travala…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:48PMBorn of a September 2, Italian-Welsh comic actor Victor Spinetti (1929-2012). Spinetti’s paternal grandfather immigrated to Wales from Italy to work in the coal mines. His parents ran a ch…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:24AMMonday, September 1, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche post for September 1, 2025 is about 19th century influencer Lydia Sigourney. Some Labor Day and Labor Related Posts: On the Jerry Lewis Telethon The White Rats, the…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54PMNot long ago I stumbled across a major pop culture phenomenon of the 19th century that I had had never heard of. How often does that happen? To me, rarely any more. I learned about it by way…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AMSunday, August 31, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 31, 2025 are on tightrope dancer Marietta Zanfretta, and fashion model/actress Sonyale Luna. Earlier August 31 posts include new ones on: Fredric Ma…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:06AMToday marks the 80th anniversary of the birth of Donyale Luna (Peggy Ann Freeman, 1945-1979). Luna is widely celebrated as the first black supermodel, but she was an actress as well, which i…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:06AMAugust 31 was the birthday of Marietta Zanfretta (1832-1898), one of the greatest female tightrope dancers in the world, then or now. To be a tightrope dancer is an order of difficulty beyon…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:54AMToday’s new Travalanche post for August 30, 2025 was a simple plug for a great looking vaudeville style performance happening tomorrow night — If you still haven’t done so, I hope you …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:54AMSaturday, August 30, 2025
Labor Day 2025 falls unconscionably early this year (September 1), but there is an excellent way that you can spend the evening if you’re in New York. You can let some highly skilled enter…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:54PMFriday, August 29, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 29, 2025 highlights four shows about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans as of two decades ago today. Previous posts for August 29 includ…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06PM20 years ago (August 29, 2005) Hurricane Katrina made its second landfall, hitting Louisiana well east of New Orleans, then moving north through Mississippi. In previous days it had cut acro…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:48PMThursday, August 28, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for August 28, 2025 are beauty queen, chorine and actress Lindsay Bloom, and the new Wizard of Oz spectacle at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Previous August 28 pos…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:48PMHere in New York the annual NYC Unicycle Festival gets underway today, but I confess my attention has been pulled across the shifting sands to Las Vegas, where the Sphere is doing something …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:48PMMany happy returns of the day to Lindsay Bloom (b. 1950). You know! Lindsay Bloom! The one who’s not Barbi Benton! Though, like Benton, Bloom was not from the Southland, as her screen cast…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:32AMWednesday, August 27, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for August 27, 2025 are about Hallie Flanagan and the Federal Theatre Project and Theodore Dreiser and An American Tragedy, which turns 100 years old this yea…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:54PMWith his greatest reaching the century mark later this year, this seemed the best time for a proper nod to Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945). Theatre (vaudeville in particular) have been the orig…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:48PMAugust 27 was both the founding day of the Federal Theatre Project (1935-39) and the birthday of its only director Hallie Flanagan (Hallie Ferguson, 1889-1969). Even if the FTP had never exi…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:36AMTuesday, August 26, 2025
I’m overdue to do this plug, and just under the wire at that, but I do want to make you aware of this great radio show my old high school buddy Matt Mania hosts every Tuesday afternoon. No…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:54PMToday’s new Travalanche posts for August 26, 2025 are about silent screen star Robert McKim, and a cool blues radio show. Previous August 26 posts have spotlighted: Several Famous Performi…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:54PMIMDB gives August 26 as the D.O.B. of stage and screen actor Robert McKim (1886-1927). Here in New York we are accustomed to that surname being followed by “Mead” and “White”, but ou…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:36AMMonday, August 25, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for August 25, 2025 are about Don DeFore, black vaudeville star Gertrude Saunders, and the new book Mr. Moser’s Neighborhood: The Intersection of Cleveland …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:12PMI think of him as more of a straight man, but Don DeFore (1913-1993) definitely had a foot in classic comedy, by appearing in such films as It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), My Friend Irma…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:12PMThis book was released several days ago, and I’ve had a copy in hand nearly as long, but I did want to give the once over before posting my unconditional plug! The title of Christopher Roy…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:03PMThose who saw the 2015 HBO bio-pic Bessie, may recall the scene where Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith confronts her husband and manager Jack Gee (Michael K. Williams) about the attention he is…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AMSunday, August 24, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for August 24, 2025 are about early game show pioneer Dennis James, actor Steve Guttenberg, and the recently departed Jerry Adler. Previous August 24 posts in…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:12PM 
