11,744 stories by "Trav S.D."
Born 80 years ago this day, the one and only songwriting/ performance genius Loudon Wainwright III (b. 1946). We’ve gushed about Loudon here on Travalanche at least thrice previously: In m…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 5, 2026 are about an exciting milestone for Loudon Wainwright III, and Some Overlooked Heroes of September 11. For World Beard Day: On Some Wome…
It’s Labor Day Weekend as I type this, which puts me foursquare in a mood to pay tribute to some of the unsung of 9/11, as part of our ongoing series. We don’t begrudge the songs of prai…
A dear friend of mine who lost a relative on September 11 posted a plea online to avoid sharing disturbing images as we approach the anniversary. A large proportion of my friends feel that w…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 4, 2026 are about Paul Harvey and the Survivors of September 11. Previous Travalanche posts for September 4 include ones on: Pete Smith Specialt…
While I have written about some broadcast journalists here (Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Lowell Thomas) this one seems more of a stretch in terms of pop cultural reach. But the figure …
Today’s new Travalanche post for September 3, 2026 are about Valerie Perrine, silent star Peggy O’Dare, murdered actress Jenny Maxwell, the Webster theatrical dynasty, and six TV technic…
Today, as part of my series of posts marking the 25th anniversary of September 11, I wanted to look at a very tiny, almost entirely neglected part of the story which has always touched me. M…
Everyone else will eulogizing Gloria Steinem today, but my brand is always about being a beat behind. I’m not blowing her off, I may well pay her tribute at some point, but I had already p…
September 3 was the birthday of an ill-fated starlet by the named of Jenny Maxwell (1941-1981). Maxwell’s screen career lasted precisely a decade, 1958-1968. Neither a great beauty nor a t…
For simplicity how I would love to say that the theatrical dynasty at the heart of today’s post is related to our Massachusetts Websters, those forgotten giants Noah Webster and Daniel Web…
Having already done a post on Peggy O’Day, I couldn’t very well ignore an actress with whom she is often confused, who was born on this day, and went by the screen name of Peggy O’ Dar…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 2, 2026 are a review of the book Jester Prince: How the Flying Karamazov Brothers Reinvented Theatre and Saved the World, Almost and part two of…
This is a post about numbers. Most people have a vague idea at best about the scale of the disaster at the World Trade Center on September 11. This will be an attempt to paint a fuller, more…
As we reported back in May, the voluble Howard Jay Patterson of the genius juggling troupe The Flying Karamazov Brothers has come out with an autobiography, and as promised at that time, her…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 1, 2026 are about a wonderful new play in TNC’s Dream Up Festival and Why I Will Not Shut Up About the World Trade Center. Previous September …
At this writing we find ourselves approaching the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. As I have done most years since the tenth anniversary, I will be observing the occasion here w…
Theater for the New City’s Dream Up Festival is now underway so I wanted to take a moment to plug a friend’s show, to New Yorkers at any rate. Apart from my son, who was a toddler at the…
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 31, 2026 are on Dorothy and DuBose Heyward, and Itzhak Perlman. Previous August 31 posts include ones on: Fredric March Arthur Godfrey Buddy Hackett…
One or two things in celebration of violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman (b. 1945) on his birthday. Perlman’s life is an extraordinary mix of good and bad luck…luck both worse and better than …
In the latest chapter of “AI has turned Google to garbage”, of the names that were proffered in response to my query just now regarding South Carolina authors, DuBose Heyward (1885-1940)…
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 30, 2026 is about 19th century stage star Kitty O’Neil. Earlier August 30 posts include new ones on Joan Blondell Fred MacMurray Fritzi Scheff R. …
Thus far we have given you Peggy O’Neil, Sally O’Neil, and Nance O’Neil, as well as lots of Kitties: Kitty Doner, Kitty McHugh, Kitty Kelly, et al. Almost inevitably then, it would see…
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 29, 2026 are about British comedian Lenny Henry, vaudeville singer Edward M. Favor, and the Orton Brothers Circus (and a deadly fire in 1884). Previ…
In August, 1991 I went to check out a major new comedy release by Touchstone Pictures. It was called True Identity, and it had received a lot of ink, at least a lot that I had happened to co…
