Thursday, June 29, 2023
No one would ask or expect you to love a world in which Fred Grandy (b. 1948) were a right-wing Congressman from Iowa (1987-1995), a pundit, and talk radio host. But it gets better when you …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:49AMTuesday, June 27, 2023
Grace McDonald (1918-1999) and Ray McDonald (1920-1959) were an Irish brother-sister act, specializing in tap dance. They played vaudeville together as children and teens just as vaud was wi…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:25AMMessage received from our friends at the League of Independent Theater, about their meeting tonight (June 27, 2023, 7:00pm) In a “post-Pandemic” landscape, along with the recent announce…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:13AMMonday, June 26, 2023
We’ve had numerous occasions to mention playwright and screenwriter Sidney Howard (1891-1939) on Travalanche. Today he is best remembered as the principal screenwriter of Gone With the Win…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:55PMGiven our recent posts here on Ancient Greek Comedy and several others on pagan holidays and their relevance to theatre, I was very happy to get a press release about a new, free production …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:49PMThe 50th anniversary of the landmark PBS documentary mini-series An American Family occurred at the beginning of this year; I opted to kick the can down the road ’til today, which would ha…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:13AMSunday, June 25, 2023
We just passed the 5 year mark since Anthony Bourdain’s rude departure and it’s still too soon. It hit us hard in our house for more reasons that you can count. Since he passed in 2018 t…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:43PMSaturday, June 24, 2023
It’s surely no accident that some wise people have chosen the Midsummer season for International Fairy Day. The mythical creatures are associated with this time of year, for literary reaso…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:25PMAs we mentioned twice recently (here and here) June 24 is St. John’s Day, the Feast of St. John the Baptist (Saint-Jean-Baptiste). It has many significances and forms of celebration around…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:07PMFriday, June 23, 2023
Just got the memo that Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick has passed away at the of 99. If only he could have hung on another 10 months — he might have read my centennial post about him! I …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:43PMAs we promised in our Midsummer post, a little thing on the intriguing phenomenon of the Feast of St. John. This is a day to celebrate the nativity of John the Baptist, an official Christian…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:25PMLillian Hall-Davis (1898-1933) was one of the top British film actresses of the silent era. Then things changed — brace yourself for an unpleasant finish. A taxi driver’s daughter, Hall-…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:13AMThursday, June 22, 2023
Though not as a resident in a flop! I just got a nice note from David Mulkins of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors informing me that a couple of the placards I wrote for their storefront exhi…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:33AMThe quotation marks surrounding part of this post’s title are highly intentional. I have no doubt that many could and would vie for the coveted titled of “Father of Swing”, and I have …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:25AMWednesday, June 21, 2023
I love those days of alignment, where several significant anniversaries pile up and add resonance to the moment. I know little of astrology, but we can favorably summon astronomy here as wel…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:49PMWe take the opportunity of the Summer Solstice to continue our series of posts acknowledging the four seasonal Pagan/Christian holidays and their relation to ritual and theatre. We’ve done…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:33AMBorn this day, stage star Camille D’Arville, (Cornelia Dysktra, 1863-1932), also rendered Darville, d’Arville, and D’arville. Originally from the Netherlands. D’Arville trained in Am…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:19AMTuesday, June 20, 2023
There are many bio-pics about composers: pictures of Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) make me wish Felix Bressart has starred in one about him, or perhaps, a few decades later Rene Auberjunois.…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:37AMMonday, June 19, 2023
Two toots on the steam whistle today for stage and screen actress Helen Holmes (1892-1950). Holmes’ greatest claim to fame was starring in the Hazard of Helen movie serials (1914-1917), a …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:49AMSunday, June 18, 2023
That International Surfing Day should fall on the same day every year as the Mermaid Parade is not fortuitous coincidence; clearly they’re both pegged to the Summer Solstice. Having alread…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:43AMWe’ve had many an occasion to mention Clayton “Bud” Collyer (Clayton Heermance, Jr, 1908-1969) and so we thought it fitting to point out his multiple significances on his natal day. I …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:43AMSaturday, June 17, 2023
Today’s the day of Coney Island’s Annual Mermaid Parade. Having attended my first one in 1989 (the same year Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid came out, coincidentally), I have been…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:49AMFriday, June 16, 2023
We don’t know the calendar birth dates of many historical Native American leaders but somehow it appears to be established that June 16 was the birthday of Geronimo (1829-1909). We’re ju…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:55AMThursday, June 15, 2023
Today, June 15 it so happens, is the anniversary of the death of Will Sommers in 1560. History lovers, especially performance history lovers, may recognize the name, but I imagine few others…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:07PMWednesday, June 14, 2023
Funny it is that 19th century actress Maggie Mitchell (1837-1918) was born on Flag Day — for legend has it that she once danced on an American flag during a performance in Montgomery, Alab…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:19PMDuring our brief stay in Newport last week our lodging happened to be across the street from this historical museum operated by the Artillery Company of Newport. On our visit, I recognized r…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:07AMTuesday, June 13, 2023
Yesterday we learned the sad news that actor Treat Williams (b. 1951) perished on his motorcycle at the age of 71. That’s old to be riding a hog, but not as old as I thought he was. We saw…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:04AMOn sale today (June 13, 2023), Undercrank Productions latest exciting release: Raymond Griffith: The Silk Hat Comedian. It’s a wonderful opportunity to acquaint yourself with one of the un…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:04AMMonday, June 12, 2023
June 12 is celebrated as Independence Day in the Philippines (it’s the day the archipelago declared independence from Spain in 1898). Irrelevant to the concerns of this blog? How wrong you…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:43AMSunday, June 11, 2023
The second Sunday in June is Children’s Day in the U.S. (November 20 is World Children’s Day). We take the opportunity to point out that Travalanche has nearly 250 posts on child actors …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:55AMSaturday, June 10, 2023
The Duchess, whom I’ve sometimes referred to as a Countess or a Marchioness (I’m unclear as to her exact rank, but she’s definitely a decadent aristocrat of some sort) was the guest on…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:55AM 
