11,708 stories by "Trav S.D."
Many folks I admire attended my talk at the Lambs last week; but I feel privileged to have gotten to know one of them a good deal better in the days since then. And I wish I'd done so sooner…
The above is far from a representative photo of Musidora (Jeanne Roques, 1889-1957), but I knew it would appeal to lovers of music hall and drag. History remembers Musidora best as the origi…
Presidents Day notwithstanding, February 22 is the actual birthday of George Washington. Washington (like Lincoln) was once once worshipped in this country with a fervor 21st century people …
A wink and a nod today on behalf of magician and mentalist Theodore "Ted" Annemann (Theodore Squires, 1907-1942). Like many of his era, Annemann continues to exert an influence upon the worl…
It takes being a biographical blogger to know how common some surnames are in certain fields, and there are a LOT of actors named Daly, Daily or Daley: Augustin Daly, Arnold Daly, Dan Daly (…
A few words of acknowledgment today on screen actor actor Wheeler Oakman (Vivian Eichelberger, 1890-1949), who appeared in nearly 300 films over a veritable half-century. Based upon his give…
20 years ago today (February 20, 2003) there occurred one of the worst nightclub fires in American history. It's relatively recent history for me to be covering on this blog, but it's always…
February 20 was the natal day of writer Marian Spitzer Thomas (1899-1983). Spitzer was someone I really wish I'd gotten to meet, and I was thrilled to learn that my friend Mari Lyn Henry act…
We already talked a bit about Paul Terry (1887-1971) with respect to his studio's creations Mighty Mouse and The Mighty Heroes; this brief post will fill out the rest of the portrait. Terry …
When I was a kid and just learning about the Beatles, I thought Yoko Ono (b. 1933) was strictly cool, for I was just discovering art at the same time. I didn't understand why she was hated. …
If Ted can have Ted Talks, Trav can have Trav talks. The title of this post and the atmospheric lighting in the photo above may cause you to believe something creepy is afoot, but I'm deligh…
There were four show business folks I had ID'd for potentially writing about today. I decided to kick three of them down the road 'til next year, and to give all of today's attention to Dan …
Just a brief roll on the snare for Sanford Augustus "Gus" Moeller (1878-1960). When I was a kid I was in a regional drum and bugle corps with my brother (a trumpet player) and learned what i…
Having investigated many pulp and mystery authors here before, it's likely that I would have written about Sax Rohmer (Arthur Henry "Sarsfield" Ward, 1883-1959) anyway, but we had adde…
As we promised here back on George Burns' birthday, the multi-talented Burns and Allen maven Lauren Milberger and myself have recorded a special podcast conversation in celebration of the fu…
We begin this Valentine's Day with a salute to BlackJewLove! Back in October, I reported on the sad passing of Naimah Hassan, one half of the truth telling comedy duo of Epstein and Hassan. …
By my house is a wooded area where I do my walking when the weather is good. It's a nice little amenity my community offers but it does have this one little quirk. It seems like every time I…
I only just got the memo that Richard J. Anobile (1947-1923) passed away a few days ago. Classic comedy fans all know Anobile's name for a couple of reasons. The broader reason is that he au…
We became curious about Hazel Howell (1898-1965) after enjoying her prominent turn in Laurel and Hardy's The Music Box (1932), her last proper screen role. Surprisingly, she was apparently n…
Born 100 years ago today, Italian designer, director and politician Franco Zeffirelli (1923-2019). When Zeffirelli passed, only four years ago, it dawned on me that his hit 1968 screen adapt…
Strange but true, but I learned about American music hall sharpshooter Ira Paine (1837-1889) from researching the famed Folies Bergère in Paris. Born in Hebronville, Massachustetts, Paine w…
When I was a kid I associated the name Sidney Sheldon (Sidney Schechtel, 1917-2007) exclusively with cheesy paperback novels my mother read, and the soapy TV movies they made out of them. At…
I'd been planning a post on Burt Bacharach (1928-2023) for his birthday in May but his passing on February 8 makes an appreciation here and now more urgent. I'll be frank with you in a way m…
I can't recall how I first learned about Soviet theatre visionary Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874-1940) as a young person. Perhaps by way of Brecht? For quite a while I was enthralled with reading …
Do you ever have those moments (I frequently do) when you catch an actor you haven't seen in a while in a film or a tv show, and then the next day they die? It's coincidence, but creates an …
