11,706 stories by "Trav S.D."
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…
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, Alabam…
During 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…
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 h…
On 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 unsu…
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'd…
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 and …
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 the S…
Born 100 years ago today, French movie actress Madeleine LeBeau (1923-2016). Most Americans know LeBeau perhaps without knowing her name. Her most famous Hollywood performance was in Casabla…
By someone's decree, I guess the Walt Disney Corporation's, June 9 is Donald Duck Day, marking the anniversary of Donald's first appearance in a short, 1934's The Wise Little Hen. But why sh…
There were a couple of shown bizzier figures in my daily tickler I might have written about today, but, hell, it's Pride Month, and I've scarcely done anything to observe it yet this year, s…
How wonderful that John Albert Chamberlain Kefford (1905-1996) chose the professional name of John Abbott " for that is what he looked like, like some kind of Medieval monk. Occasionally he …
75 isn't the roundest anniversary in the world but it is nevertheless one of the raisons d'être for my upcoming book Vaudeville in Your Living Room: A Century of Radio and TV Variety. We …
Today marks the 60th anniversary of the release date of Jerry Lewis's best movie, The Nutty Professor (1963). As the great Gerald Mast wrote, all Jerry Lewis movies have problems. We discuss…
Happy World Bicycle Day! It's typical of this blog that we'd have written about unicycles before we did something dedicated to their more popular two wheel cousin. By rights I should also do…
I first learned of the remarkable Matthias Buchinger (1674-1740), it should surprise no one, from Ricky Jay's Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, which has an entire section devoted to him. Ja…
June is not only Pride Month but it also happens to be National Accordion Awareness Month. This happy coincidence inevitably reminds me that the first person to ever make me understand the r…
You see? Just like Milton Berle and Bob Hope, Brooke Shields (b. 1965) started out as a Charlie Chaplin impersonator. In this photo she's about five, but then she went and dressed like The L…
BOTD clarinetist and big band leader Benny Goodman (Benjamin Goodman, 1909-1986). The son of Jewish immigrants, Goodman grew up in Chicago, soaking up the jazz music that was only then begin…
The great Bohemian whatsit known as Harry Smith was born 100 years ago today (1923-1991). When Smith passed away, over 30 years ago now, I recall reading an in depth portrait of him in perha…
Today we treat of two separate but very much related topics of roughly equal obscurity. I can't recall which one I learned about first, but we start with comedienne Donna Jean Young (1936-20…
Today is the birthday of Tony Pastor, Father of Vaudeville, which I am henceforth and unilaterally declaring to be National Vaudeville Day. I hope you will join me in observing it going forw…
Zelda Rubinstein (1933-2010) would have been 90 today, and the reason she's not around to celebrate it is the same reason we know about her at all, she suffered from a pituitary condition th…
This wants to be a much longer think-piece, but it'll be weeks until I can work such a thing into my schedule. But rather than let this time sensitive bulletin fester, we simplify this into …
Henry Kissinger turned 100 today, and I was one of the millions bemoaning the fact that death has taken Tina Turner and not that repulsive old baby murderer. I was going to do a post today o…
