11,708 stories by "Trav S.D."
Thanks, Noah Diamond for slipping me this image of an old ad for steamer trunks. Believe or not, I actually used to own one of these babies. My friend and performing partner Robert Pinnock g…
I learned the name of Gisele MacKenzie (1927-2003) around the same time I learned that of Ghislaine Maxwell, and now I live in fear that I'll always mix them up, for aren't they similar? But…
Here's an image you can't unsee; a picture of President Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994) playing the piano, singing, and apparently trying to feel something. Nixon was second only to Truman as a…
Two weeks from now: please join us for two major celebrations of the bicentennial birthday of the 19th century's greatest clown and pioneering American circus impresario Dan Rice (1823-1900)…
I promise I don't write about every single thing I see or do, but last night was minorly momentous as far as I'm concerned. It marked the first time I have watched movies in a room with othe…
According to IMDB, today is the is 30th anniversary of the U.S. wide release of the movie Chaplin (1992). Don't get too excited! I'm not here for any knee-jerk celebration! Well past the cen…
This will be a nearly content free post, designed purely to make you aware of the works of author/biographer Marion Meade (b. 1934). Such is the scope of her interests that I am attracted to…
The name of Norma Nichols (1894-1989) ought to be better known to silent comedy fans and not just because it combines the first name of a Talmadge with the last name of one of Keystone's ear…
My first proper date with my wife was a lecture about the life of Charles Addams (1912-88) at the Museum of the City of New York. (It was actually our second date, but it was the first one w…
Born this day 90 years ago, boxer, wrestler and actor Mike Lane (1933-2015). Originally from Washington DC, Lane grew to nearly 6'8″ tall in adulthood. He started out boxing and wrestl…
Color me excited (that's a black and white movie joke, son). Nelson Hughes is bringing That Slapstick Show to the Q.E.D. comedy club, much closer to my Long Island digs than a lot of what's …
January 5 was the birthday of folk and blues singer Libba Cotten (Elizabeth Nevills, 1893-1987). Cotten's best known song is "Freight Train", off her 1958 Folkways album Folksongs and Instru…
The image above is from the wrong '22, of course " it's a still from Cecil B. De Mille's Manslaughter and depicts the aftermath of an orgy. We should have been so lucky! I'm about a week lat…
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) is top of mind at the moment for a variety of reasons. Watching The Rings of Power prequel series prompted my wife and I to go back and look at the two Peter Jacks…
I first became aware of singer James Melton (1904-61) as a member of The Revelers, a jazz age vocal group who were popular on records, on radio, in big time vaudeville, and at least one Vita…
1923 was the year that Carl John Sedlmayr (1886-1965) first hung out banners bearing the brand "Royal American Shows". He had been in the carnival and sideshow business for years by then, fi…
Don Novello turns 80 years old today; his best known character Father Guido Sarducci turns 50 this year, as well. This character always intrigued me when I was a kid. I'm not a Catholic, so …
We pen this on New Year's Eve, the one night of the year more than any other when all eyes are pointed in the direction of Times Square, the Crossroads of the World. I used to have a post on…
We learned the sad news about the passing of Barbara Walters (1929-2022) late last night. I would have eulogized her anyway on account of her own pathbreaking work in the television field, a…
We stipulate the other Mike Connors in our headline to differentiate our subject from the star of TV's Mannix you're more apt to know and care about; have no fear, we plan to get to him. The…
A little tribute to the late actor Fred Ward, who passed away in May, and would have been 80 years old today. A cause of death was not given out publicly but commentators have chosen to read…
Today we take on the towering topic of one time world heavyweight champion Jess Willard (1881-1968). Your correspondent is far from a sports person, but I write about the topic as a logical …
I hope the title of this post doesn't result in disappointment for some people (actually, I don't care). While it's not impossible that I would ever write an article about the '80s New Wave …
A little confession: whenever my wife or anyone mentions the comic book The Sandman, I never think of the Neil Gaiman one from 1989 through 1996 or its screen adaptation first. (Though I did…
