11,596 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today’s new Travalanche post for July 15, 2026 celebrates Harry Dean Stanton. And here are two posts for National Hot Dog Day. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 15 (in no particular order…
Born 100 years ago today, the jackermost of the crackermost, actor Harry Dean Stanton (1926-2017). I’m of cracker stock myself; I feel it empowers me to reclaim the usually disparaging ter…
Today’s new Travalanche post for July 14, 2026 is about female impersonator Charles Pierce. Also see posts celebrating… Bastille Day World Chimpanzee Day World Orca Day Cow Appreciation …
Once Upon a time there were three American drag stars all named Charles, all treading the boards of American theaters at the same time. Charles Pierce (1926-1999) was a generation older than…
Today’s new Travalanche post for July 13, 2026 is about Bosley Crowther and the Man the Red Bandana. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 13 (in no particular order) include ones on: The Old…
I am particularly jazzed about this post for it concerns a discovery I made several months ago which completely blew my mind. It has to do with the intersection of two utterly different stor…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 12, 2026 are about the movies of Milton Berle and early film fantasist Walter R. Booth. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 12 (in no particular order…
July 12th was the birthday of the great stage and screen comedian Milton Berle. It’s been nearly two decades since I wrote my original Milton Berle post on Travalanche in 2009, though sinc…
As Georges Melies is to French cinema, and Stuart Blackton is to that of the United States so is Walter R. Booth (1869-1938) to that of the UK. Like those two other pioneers, Booth was an il…
Today’s new Travalanche post for July 11, 2026 is on the tap dancing trio Wells, Mordecai and Taylor. Also RIP Randolph Mantooth of Emergency. For National Swimming Pool Day: The Swimmer B…
Wells, Mordecai and Taylor were a Jazz Age Harlem tap dancing trio sometimes billed as The Hot Feet Boys or Three Klassy Kids. The members were Dickie Wells (1907-1949), Jimmy Mordecai (1905…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 10, 2026 are about songwriter Jimmy McHugh and slapstick movie comedian Sammy Brooks. And, man oh man, what a great day for show biz birthdays and an…
Jimmy McHugh (1894-1969), one of the great Tin Pan Alley songwriters, was born on July 10th. Of Boston Irish stock, McHugh got his start playing piano in the dime museums, dance halls, and v…
July 10th was the birthday of slapstick screen comedian Sammy Brooks (Samuel Rockenberg, 1891-1951). Brooks was a key member of the Hal Roach ensemble appearing in over 250 comedies for t…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 9, 2026 are about cowboy star Eddie Dean, an an upcoming Laurel and Hardy festival. Also RIP R.G. Davis of the San Francisco Mime Troupe who passed a…
Very exciting news, New Yorkers! Commencing tomorrow (July 10th, 2026), the Film Forum will be screening over 50 Laurel and Hardy comedies, running through July 23rd. Their blurb says that �…
July 9th was the birthday of cowboy star Eddie Dean (Edgar Dean Glosup (1907-1999). There’s hyperbole in the title to this post of course, but it’s true within narrow limits on two count…
Stage and screen character actress Marcia Rodd (1938-2025) — definitely one of those occasions when a photograph told me what the name didn’t. Rodd was in two episodes of All in the Fami…
Today’s new Travalanche post for July 8, 2026 is about character actress Marcia Rodd. Also RIP, Louise Lasser, who passed away yesterday. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 8 (in no partic…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 7, 2026 are about silent movie star Ben F. Wilson plus the late Carter de Haven III. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 7 (in no particular order) in…
Thanks once again Eve Golden for timely intel about the passing of someone with deep roots in American show business, in this case Carter de Haven III (1932-2026). The decedent was not only …
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of silent era actor, director, and producer Ben F. Wilson (Benjamin Franklin Wilson, 1876-1930). Originally from Corning, Iowa, Wilson began hi…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 6, 2026 are about naval warrior John Paul Jones & the late historian Mike Wallace. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 6 (in no particular order) …
I don’t mean to seem flip; this is to clarify that we are not referring to the better known I don’t mean to seem flip; this is to clarify that we are not referring to the better known CB…
Oh, don’t worry, not the bassist from Led Zeppelin. THAT John Paul Jones has been married to his wife for 60 years, surely an indication of what kind of guy he is. No, I am referring to th…
