11,712 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today would have been the 80th birthday of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones (1942-1969); this year will also mark the 60th of the Stones as a group. The fact that the Stones outlasted him …
To clarify what we intend by the title of this post and what is meant by "us": A member of the human race? Sure. A proponent of (small "L", small "D") liberal democracy? No doubt. Jewish? Tr…
"Happy birthday, Howard Hesseman" " sounds like the title of a Kurt Vonnegut novel, doesn't it? Mr. Hesseman (1940-2022) passed away a month ago, but it happened during a seemingly unprecede…
Here's a major British entertainment phenomenon that never seemed to cross the puddle, but is well worth knowing about. Ventriloquist Peter Brough (1916-1999) was a major star of music hall/…
Appropriately surnamed was Alan, or Al Bridge (1891-1957), whose nearly 300 screen credits are split between B movies (mostly westerns) and main features. And we all know the drill by now " …
Happy World Sword Swallowers Day! It is scheduled every year for the last Saturday in February. This year's is a special one on Travalanche however as it is the first one to come along since…
February 26 is a good day for Paulines. It gave us Pauline Musters, the Smallest Woman Ever. And also stage star Pauline Hall (Pauline Fredrika Schmidgall (1860-1919). Like Musters, Hall was…
One week from today (March 4, 2022) will mark the centennial anniversary of the passing of the great black comedian Bert Williams. To observe this milestone I'll be presenting a podcast abou…
A nod today to ventriloquist Ronn Lucas (b. 1954). El Paso native Lucas has been a professional vent for nearly 50 years. Judging strictly from video clips, he just might be the most technic…
As we write this, Putin's armies are streaming over Russia's western border in a bid to swallow the sovereign nation of Ukraine. There is no denying that historically Ukraine has long been p…
Having already done a post today with a down ending about a young talented star who died way too young, I contemplated a kicking the can down the road and saving this one on Mitch Hedberg (1…
Pete Duel (1940-1971) would have been 82 today, which seems unthinkable, for like so many who would be so old now (James Dean, JFK) he left this world when he was in the prime of life. In ol…
Today something I almost never do: plug a book that's decades old (as opposed to 150 years old or new). My friend Last-Up Larry kindly gave me some used books a few months back; two were by …
Of all things, a rare appeal to support a website I write for that isn't the Travalanche campaign. In point of fact, I'm super proud of many of the articles I've cooked up for Chelsea Commun…
The provocative title of this morning's post happens also to be the name of an actual American court case, one of the most ironically yet aptly named in history, right up there with "Loving …
I sure hope you recall a project I contributed to a while back, organized and presented by the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, entitled Windows on the Bowery, which put informative placards in…
Playwright Leonard Melfi (1932-2001) would have been 90 years old today. In a time when many people live to that advanced age, it's worth looking at the circumstances as to how and why Melfi…
I'm not a sci-fi guy per se, nor even a steam-punk guy, but more like a straight-up, uncut Victoriana guy, which is why you may find posts on H.G. Wells and Jules Verne here on Travalanche, …
A portmanteau post this morning, concerning two different men with a very real connection. The first is English novelist Henry Cockton (1807-1853). I often opine that various public figures …
We'll expend just a few lines on William Henry ("W.H.") Turner (1845-1941), for that's about all we have! As Delno Fritz also shares this birthday, February 20 is apparently a very good day …
Born 100 years ago today: broadcast personality Sandy Becker (George Sanford Becker, 1922-1996). Becker enjoyed both a national and local (NYC) show biz imprint over a quarter century in the…
I few syllables about British-American character actress Queenie Leonard (Pearl Walker, 1905-2002). She's Travalanche's third Queenie, by my count, following on the heels of Queenie Vassar a…
New York Readers of Travalanche, I bring you Glad Tidings! This Sunday at 11am, the Film Forum (Jr) will be showing Charles Lane's wonderful 1989 film Sidewalk Stories, and Mr. Lane will be …
Arkansas native Arthur Hunnicutt (1910-79) traveled for years with medicine shows and stock companies before making it to Broadway in Love's Old Sweet Song (1940) by William Saroyan, one of …
William LeBaron (1883-1958) is a figure I knew chiefly about as a Hollywood executive who gave a lot of opportunity and support to some of my favorite classic comedians, but it's important t…
