Tuesday, October 22, 2024

A Century of Chef Boyardee by Trav S.D.

Far be it from me to besmirch the fine name of Boyardee, but we know what we know. I’m not here to endorse this unpalatable family of products. I’m a culinary barbarian and even I am too…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:02AM
Monday, October 21, 2024

The Story of the Can-Can by Trav S.D.

October 21, 1858 marked the world premiere of Offenbach’s opera Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld). Its culminating piece of music, the “galop infernal” was to become the c…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:54AM
Sunday, October 20, 2024

Will Rogers Jr: Also a Great American by Trav S.D.

William Vann Rogers (1911-1993) was one of those rare juniors who outgrew the shadow of a great father and became his own man, becoming mighty valuable himself. In Rogers case he managed to …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:06PM
Saturday, October 19, 2024

60 Years of Simon and Garfunkel by Trav S.D.

October 19, 1964 was the date on which Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., the first record album by the duo Simon and Garfunkel was officially released. The pair had released music earlier under the…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:32PM
Friday, October 18, 2024

Another Kind of “Feejee Mermaid” by Trav S.D.

Multiple lures attracted us to Feejee Mermaid, the inaugural production of Drops in the Vase, now in previews at the Flea: the title, obviously, but also the past work of the principal artis…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:32PM
Thursday, October 17, 2024

A Saturday Night Live Finding Aid by Trav S.D.

My original intention was to create this new finding aid for Saturday Night Live related posts for the REAL 50th anniversary next year (2025 — the show launched in ’75), but they’re al…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:32PM

The Horror of Margot Kidder by Trav S.D.

Margot Kidder (1948-2018) gave up the ghost just a few years ago, but if I saw more than just a headline, I don’t recall it. The country was neck deep in the shit storm of the 45th Preside…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:48AM
Wednesday, October 16, 2024

On the Making of Wild Bill Elliott, Red Ryder and More by Trav S.D.

October 16 was the birthday of a future B movie star whose birth name was Gordon Nance (1904-1965). Nance grew up on a cattle Missouri ranch. He grew up riding, roping, and participating in …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:24AM
Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Two Fab New Books For YOU by Trav S.D.

Little birds that tweet have told me of two new books that are coincidentally both being released today, which readers of this blog in particular should be interested in. As we told you back…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:54AM
Monday, October 14, 2024

On Italians in Show Biz by Trav S.D.

That’s Jimmy Durante — of course, I’m going to give him pride of place among Italian Americans in show business. He’s kind of the “Adam” of it all, a musician, a singer, a comedi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:48PM

On Columbus, His Day, and His People by Trav S.D.

Originally posted on my other blog the Trav-a-log, the contents of which I am in the process of transplanting here, so that it will all live in one place! In 1492 most well educated people i…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:32AM
Sunday, October 13, 2024

The Joyous Genius of Jack McGowran by Trav S.D.

Jack MacGowran (1918-1973) was what it’s all about: a muse for many of the best creative minds of the 20th century, an indispensible character actor, and a career most of us would die for,…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:36AM
Saturday, October 12, 2024

The Randy Stuart Centennial by Trav S.D.

Born 100 years ago today, actress Randy Stuart (Elizabeth “Betty Jane” Shaubell, 1924-1996). Stuart started out with her parents in a small time vaudeville act that toured the South and …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:42AM

Reflections on National Farmers Day by Trav S.D.

It’s National Farmers Day. For the occasion, I am restoring a post I published here in 2017, then moved over to Medium when I did a big purge of all the non-show biz related posts on Trava…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:42AM
Friday, October 11, 2024

Honoring Eleanor Roosevelt by Trav S.D.

How perfect is it that the International Day of the Girl Child falls on the birthday Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)? She’s one of my top female heroes; we’ve needed her or someone like he…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:06AM
Thursday, October 10, 2024

Mourning Steve Gordon (Director of “Arthur”) by Trav S.D.

When I say I mourn Steve Gordon (1938-1982) I don’t mean to imply that I knew him or that he only recently died. The writer/director passed away over 40 years ago, worlds away from my litt…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:18PM

A Helen Hayes Show and Tell by Trav S.D.

An experiment in media in honor of the birthday of the great actress Helen Hayes in further exploration of the legacy of her friend and “Boswell”, Mari Lyn Henry. The audio is not optima…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AM

What a Piece of Work Was Alice Mann by Trav S.D.

My word but there were a lot of Alices running around a century and more ago! I’ve always been interested in the phenomenon because it was my mother’s middle name, after her aunt, who he…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AM

The Ed Wood Centennial by Trav S.D.

Born 100 years ago today, the one and only writer/actor/producer/director Edward D. Wood, Jr! We are a huge fan of his oeuvre, and have been for well over 30 years. (As it happens, it is als…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:48AM
Wednesday, October 9, 2024

The Americanization of Edward Bok, or, For God’s Sake, Swim Against the Algorithm by Trav S.D.

Above please note my first edition copy of a Pultitzer Prize winning autobiography from around a century ago The Americanization of Edward Bok. I acquired and read this now highly obscure bo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:06PM

Judy Tyler: The Girl James Dean by Trav S.D.

Here’s one I learned about by way of Eve Golden’s “Youtube Theatre” column at the Los Angeles Daily Mirror. When I refer to Judy Tyler (Judith Mae Hess, 1932-1957) as the “Girl Jam…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:06PM
Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Happy Birthday, Rona Barrett by Trav S.D.

Well, I’ve written about many of the classic, old time gossip columnists here (Walter Winchell, Hedda Hopper, Louella Parsons, Earl Wilson, Dorothy Kilgallen, etc) so why stop at the later…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:18AM

Kirk Alyn: The Cinema’s First Superman by Trav S.D.

Today, a salute to an actor whose career is an illustration of the vagaries of fate when it comes to the breaks it dispenses to actors, Kirk Alyn (John Feggo, Jr., 1910-1999). A New Jersey n…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:12AM
Monday, October 7, 2024

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill by Trav S.D.

October 7 will always be remembered for the atrocity that happened in Israel a year ago, but it has another humanitarian significance as well, for it was the birthday of legendary labor acti…

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

The Tragedy of Alfredo Codona by Trav S.D.

October 7 was the birthday of Alfredo Codona (1893-1937), the most celebrated (and later mourned) member of an international, multi-generational dynasty of showfolk. Originally spelled Codon…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AM
Sunday, October 6, 2024

The Magic of Mitchell Leisen by Trav S.D.

The second act of Mitchell Leisen (1898-1972) has arrived posthumously, but to misappropriate an attrocious line of Robin Williams, beter latent than never? Numerous in-depth articles about …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:32AM
Saturday, October 5, 2024

Tales of Spooky Rhode Island by Trav S.D.

Previously posted on Travalachance and restored for National Rhode Island Day and the Halloween season. Today we continue our series of Rhode Island Day/ Halloween posts by relating some de…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:54PM

I Come from Rhode Island by Trav S.D.

Yes, yes, I know the title sounds like a Michael Feinstein song (people are forever explaining my own damn jokes and literary devices back to me, as though the very productions of my own min…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:54PM

The Block Island Sound: Horror On My Home Turf by Trav S.D.

And now, since it’s both National Rhode Island Day as well as the Halloween season, news of a spooky film set on a small island in the smallest state. I caught The Block Island Sound (2021…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:32AM
Friday, October 4, 2024

Experience “Rose’s Royal Midgets” in Baltimore! by Trav S.D.

Ecstatic to report that I am finally realizing my long-cherished goal of doing a book event at Atomic Books in Baltimore this October 26, 2024, at 7pm. I first visited that cool emporium abo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:32AM
Thursday, October 3, 2024

Happy Birthday, Joey Arias by Trav S.D.

October 3 is the birthday of the grea drag star, singer, performance, actor Joey Arias. Born in Fayetteville, N.C. (recently hard hit by Hurricane Helene) Arias moved to L.A. with his family…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:36AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic