11,506 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today’s new Travalanche posts for June 13, 2026 are about Paul Lynde (happy hundredth), the late Gene Shalit, and my podcast appearance on Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia. Earl…
Today marks the 100th birthday of comic character actor Paul Lynde (1926-1982). My 2013 post on this comedy idol was a rather barebones critical appreciation of his acting style, so I though…
As promised and described last month, today it gives us great pleasure to share our podcast conversation with Peter Schmitz of Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia. The topic: Interna…
Gene Shalit passed away yesterday at the age of 100, and I can’t help thinking of it as a response to the death of Rex Reed, almost as though he were saying “Okay, now that he’s gone, …
And they’re all types, too! Poetry, fiction, drama, biography, history, memoir. I wasn’t angling for a cross section, this is just what randomly came tumbling my way and I caught them in…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for June 12, 2026 are about Vic Damone, and several cool new show biz related books. Also Happy Superman Day! Also, RIP Ronnie Schell (and thanks Eve Golden f…
One of the many ongoing sub-themes of this blog over the years has been contrition for past prejudices borne of my time and place. All critics need ought to make that part of their ongoing p…
Today’s new Travalanche post for June 11, 2026 is about a family of theatrical Cochlans. Earlier Travalanche posts for June 11 (in no particular order) include ones on: A Day at the Races …
And a moment in the sunlight is about all the sunshine enjoyed by cowboy actor and musician Monte Hale (Samuel Buren Ely, 1919-2009) — to be more accurate, about six years (1944-1950). (Mo…
Today’s new Travalanche post for June 8, 2026 is about B movie western star Monte Hale. Also Happy National Best Friends Day! Celebrate with this post on several famous “best friends” …
Born 100 years ago today: actress Mona Freeman (1926-2014). Freeman grew up in Pelham, New York, in Westchester County, right outside the Bronx. She began modeling in high school, culminatin…
Today’s new Travalanche post for June 7, 2026 is about Glen Gray and The Casa Loma Orchestra. Earlier Travalanche posts for June 7 (in no particular order) include ones on: Charley Bowers …
June 7 was the birthday of big bandleader Glen Gray (Glenn Gray Knoblauch, 1900-1963). Gray was a sax player from Roanoake, Illinois who played with various Detroit area jazz outfits through…
Readers of Travalanche know that we love theatrical dynasties here, though they can sometimes be nettlesome to sort out. Actors tend to be more promiscuous than most, especially true in ages…
Today’s new Travalanche post for June 10, 2026 are about British character actor Lionel Jeffries and songwriter/ producer/ impresario Bobb Goldstein. Earlier Travalanche posts for June 10 …
Shortly after the release of my first book No Applause 20 years ago I heard from a wide variety of strangers who were eager for sit-downs to discuss one project or another, some to pitch col…
A message to our daily readers: we are delighted to report that we have found a temporary solution to our technical difficulties, and should be able to limp along semi-productively until our…
This is me on the way to my local computer repair shop yesterday! As I mentioned in my previous post, it will be over a week from now until my laptop is repaired, sadly, resulting in a conco…
Alert! I’m having some computer problems on this end, folks! I may disappear for a couple of days whilst I get this workhorse repaired. If that turns out to be the case, I’ll make up the…
June 6 is not only D-Day, it also happens to be National Caves and Karst Day. For which I have been saving this little post about my most recent adventure in one. As a New Englander, caves a…
Today’s new Travalanche post for June 5, 2026 is about the new audio recording featuring Harpo Marx TALKING! Also, Happy Hot Air Balloon Day. I have several related posts with which to obs…
The big day has arrived! As we reported here two years ago, an audio recording starring the famously silent Harpo Marx is hitting stores today. Just six months before he died, Harpo narrated…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for June 4, 2026 are about the 1976 movie Ode to Billy Joe, the variety program Cavalcade of Stars, and Eddie LeVeque (The “Last Keystone Kop”). Earlier T…
June 4, 1976 was the release date of the motion picture Ode to Billy Joe. Which is funny, for as all fans of the song it’s based on know, the events of the narrative take place on “the t…
June 4 was the birthday of a certain shadowy figure named Edward “Eddie” LeVeque (1896-1989). LeVeque was a Hollywood bit player during the 1950s and ’60s as well as a pal of Mack Senn…
