Sunday, April 12, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 12, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche post for April 12, 2026 is about actress and tap dancer Eleanore Whitney. Earlier Travalanche posts for April 12 (in no particular order) include ones on: The Tramp…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:36AM

Oh, Eleanore Whitney! by Trav S.D.

Brief but nonetheless real was the career of tap dancer/ actress Eleanore Whitney (1917-1983). Like that other Eleanor (Powell), Whitney was a tapper from kidhood. The story goes that she me…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:36AM
Saturday, April 11, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 11, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche post for April 11, 2026 is about Dick Zigun’s Coney Island Crackpots. Earlier Travalanche posts for April 11 (in no particular order) include ones on: On Barber S…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:32AM

Dick Zigun’s New Book o’ Crazy Plays by Trav S.D.

I love this photo of the young Dick Zigun, for I love the moment it captures, the 1980s, around the time he was co-founding Coney Island USA and not long after he completed that vaunted Yale…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:18AM
Friday, April 10, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 10, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche post for April 10, 2026 is about the Siblings of Vaudeville (it’s National Siblings Day) Earlier Travalanche posts for April 10 (in no particular order) include o…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:32PM
Thursday, April 9, 2026

The Return of Trav the Playwright by Trav S.D.

Between 1988 and 2018 scarcely any year went by when I didn’t have at least one, sometimes several, plays that I wrote on their feet in New York, and sometimes other towns too. Since then …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:36PM

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 9, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 9, 2026 are about Frankie Thomas (Tom Corbett, Space Cadet) and a very fun theatre event I am involved in on May 1. Earlier Travalanche posts for Ap…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:36PM

On Frankie Thomas and Family: The Spawning of a Space Cadet by Trav S.D.

April 9 was the birthday of actor Frankie Thomas (Frank Thomas, Jr., 1921-2006). I was already planning to write about the star of TV’s Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950-55), when I learned t…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:32AM
Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 8, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 8, 2026 are about Broadway photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston, character actor Walter Connolly, and the upcoming Clownvergence. Also see my special…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:02PM

The Images of Alfred Cheney Johnston by Trav S.D.

April 8 was the birthday of Alfred Cheney Johnston (1885-1971) thus providing us with an opportunity to add another photographer to Travalanche’s slowly expanding group portrait. Admired f…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:54PM

Clownvergence Opens Tomorrow! by Trav S.D.

Run, don’t trip! Tomorrow, April 9 marks opening day of the 2026 edition of Clownvergence, an online convention and series of workshops for professional (and student) clowns and those who …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:42PM

What About Walter Connolly? by Trav S.D.

We’ve been long overdue to deliver a post on character actor Walter Connolly (1887-1940), star of Broadway, Hollywood and radio of the 1920s and ’30s. Most articles ignore what I take to…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:32AM
Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 7, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 7, 2026 are about Francis Ford Coppola’s You’re a Big Boy Now (1966), as well as songwriter Jack Lawrence, actor Gavin Gordon, screenwriter Carl…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:06PM

“You’re a Big Boy Now” Turns 60 by Trav S.D.

It’s the birthday of Francis Ford Coppola today, and since I’ve already done a biographical appreciation of the film-maker, and one about his first feature, I thought this would be a pro…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:03PM

Jack Lawrence: Meter and Feet by Trav S.D.

April 7 was the birthday of Tin Pan Alley songwriter and Broadway producer Jack Lawrence (Jacob Louis Schwartz, 1912-2009). Brooklyn-born Lawrence studied to be a podiatrist at the insistenc…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:48PM

Joanna Lee: From Plan 9 to The Great Gazoo by Trav S.D.

Surely you recognize Joanna Lee (1931-2003) from her best known screen role, Tanna in Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1956). What you may not know — and I was delighted to discover �…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:42AM

The Goss on Gavin Gordon by Trav S.D.

The second of my two posts today concerning people connected with Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), the previous one focusing on screenwriter Carl Erickson. This one is about actor Gavin Gor…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:36AM

The Mystery of Carl Erickson by Trav S.D.

This marks the first of two posts today concerning people connected with one of my favorite movies Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). A young man named Carl Erickson (1908-1935) co-wrote the …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:24AM
Monday, April 6, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 6, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche post for April 6, 2026 is about Vernon Dalhart, debatably the first country singer. Earlier Travalanche posts for April 6 (in no particular order) include ones on:…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:48PM

The Voice of Vernon Dalhart: First Country Singer? by Trav S.D.

What is a country singer? That is a question raised by the career of a man deemed by some to have been the first of them, Vernon Dalhart (Marion Try Slaughter, 1883-1948). First of all, to c…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:42AM
Sunday, April 5, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 5, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche post for April 5, 2026 is an appreciation of Gregory Peck. It also happens to be the 100th birthday of the late Roger Corman. And Happy Easter to these who celebra…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:02PM

A Peek at Gregory Peck by Trav S.D.

Q — Why did the chicken cross the road? A — To see his friend Gregory Peck. (A favorite joke of my high school girlfriend) As I pen this, the birthday of Gregory Peck (1916-2003) falls o…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54AM
Saturday, April 4, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 4, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 4, 2026 are about Richard Coogan (Captain Video) and Laurie Beechman (The Laurie Beechman Theatre). Earlier Travalanche posts for April 4 (in no pa…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:12PM

Who Was Laurie Beechman? by Trav S.D.

While I’ve mentioned the name of Laurie Beechman (1953-1998) a couple of dozen times on this blog, it has invariably been in the context of the theatre that is named for her, a cabaret ven…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:06PM

Richard Coogan: The Man Who Played Captain Video by Trav S.D.

Richard Coogan (1914-2014) died a dozen years ago, just shy of his 100th birthday, one half century since leaving the acting business. By which time, most people had long since forgotten who…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AM
Friday, April 3, 2026

Good Friday with “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” by Trav S.D.

Rarely have I dragged my ass so pitifully as I have today in terms of cranking out a blogpost. Normally I turn out one or two before noon. Now it’s past four, and I’ve produced zip. Oh, …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:42PM

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 3, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche post for April 3, 2026 is about The Real Housewives of Rhode Island. For real! Earlier Travalanche posts for April 3 (in no particular order) include ones on: Geor…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:42PM
Thursday, April 2, 2026

What’s Up at Under St. Marks by Trav S.D.

Your correspondent found himself at Under St Marks twice this week, and it did me much good, as it always does. I was going to amend that to “almost always”, but I honestly could not thi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:36PM

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 2, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche post for April 2, 2026 is about a couple of great solo shows at Under St. Marks starring Killy Dwyer and Nelly Reznik. Earlier Travalanche posts for April 2 (in no…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:36PM
Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for April 1, 2026 by Trav S.D.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 1, 2026 are about bandleader Eddie Duchin, and Robert Dwan (You Bet Your Life). Also, Happy April Fool’s Day! If you’re in the mood, please che…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:24PM

The Eddy Duchin Story by Trav S.D.

As an outgrowth of working on my book No Applause (now over 20 years ago!) I became something of an aficionado of what may well be one of the worst of all cinematic subgenres, film for film …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:06PM

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off