11,936 stories by "Trav S.D."
Shout-out to silent comedy actor Earl (1889-1928) and to author/presenter Steve Massa, from whom I learned that Mohan started out in vaudeville and was with Sells-Floto Circus. Just about al…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for November 12, 2026 are about Song of the South, and silent screen comedian Earl Mohan. Also: please note, in case you missed my social media posts: tomorro…
80 years ago today Walt Disney‘s Song of the South (1946) received its world premiere in Atlanta. We’ve looked at important slices of this problematic phenomenon before, with posts on Jo…
In addition to being Veteran’s Day (and Armistice Day in my home state), November 11 happens to be the birthday of the late Vincent Schiavelli (1948-2005). If the name causes you to draw a…
Today’s new Travalanche post for November 11, 2026 is about Vincent Schiavelli. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 11 (in no particular order) include ones on: Kurt Vonnegut 1 Kurt Von…
Today’s new Travalanche post for November 10, 2026 is about Angelica Page’s new memoir Bountiful: Growing Up with Geraldine Page. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 10 (in no particu…
Bountiful is an apt title for Angelica Page‘s new memoir, not just because her famous mother Geraldine once took a trip there, but because the book is chock full a great stories, happy and…
November 9th is World Freedom Day, intended to celebrate the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (I wrote a play about that once and used to have a post here about it. I see now that…
November 9th is Louisiana Day so we thought we’d do a little state tribute post as we have done previously with New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Hawai…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for November 9, 2026 are about the Freedom Tower, Louisiana, and Muggsy Spanier’s Ragtime Band. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 9 (in no particular o…
We had our first occasion to mention Francis Joseph “Muggsy” Spanier (1901-67) just two days ago. The context was a post on Joe Bushkin, a key member of Muggsy Spanier’s Ragtime Band, …
A toot of the horn to birthday buddy Harry Hayden (1882-1955) A native Nova Scotian, Hayden toured for years in vaudeville and with stock companies before making his screen debut at the matu…
Today’s new Travalanche post for November 8, 2026 is about Harry Hayden and Lela Bliss. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 8 (in no particular order) include ones on: Some Famous and I…
Today’s new Travalanche post for November 7, 2026 is about Joe Bushkin. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 7 (in no particular order) include ones on: It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World Ar…
This will surely appall jazz buffs, but it speaks to my own preoccupations and fields of interest: I first came across the name Joe Bushkin (1916-2004) in the context of a very early, small-…
Today’s new Travalanche post for November 6, 2026 is about Ray Conniff. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 6 (in no particular order) include ones on: Cecil Mack Gus Kahn Jonathan Harr…
An unmistakable tell of your correspondent’s advancing age is the fact that I find myself willing to pen an article on the topic of Ray Conniff (1916-2002) and his singers. Along with Conn…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for November 5, 2025 are about singer Etta Moten, and a plea for a fellow vaudevillian in distress. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 5 (in no particular…
It is our pleasure today to share with you a few morsels about the remarkable life of the great singer and citizen Etta Moten (1901-2004). Moten hailed from Weimar, Texas, a small town rough…
On Halloween night, ragtime piano player, historical tour guide, incredible artist, and my opening act for my November 13th vaudeville talk, Ramona Baker, who hasn’t been seen out of a per…
Well, I apologize for the title of this post. There are times when the poet in me cannot be restrained. Virginia Field (Margaret St. John Field, 1917-92) mostly played small roles in major m…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for November 4, 2026 are about Virginia Field, Tim Cronin, and the Gallup Twins. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 4 (in no particular order) include one…
November 4, 1857 was the natal day of minstrel man** Tim Cronin. I became aware of Cronin as a possible partner of W.J. Scanlan, though he turned out to be quite a significant performer in h…
A word or two (ha! make it two) about Denise and Dian Gallup, the Gallup Twins of Pittsburg, Kansas (b. 1959). Don’t mix them up with the equally blonde and bodacious Barnstable Twins. The…
Today’s new Travalanche post for November 3, 2026 is about Jeremy Brett. Earlier Travalanche posts for November 3 (in no particular order) include ones on: Just Rambling Along, Stan Laurel…
