11,712 stories by "Trav S.D."
Self-evidently, the writing of history is vital because it tells us what happened before we were to witness events. Sometimes, however, it is also useful because we don't mark important deve…
Like any diligent Marx Brothers fan I know about Florence Rice (1907-1974), primarily through her appearance as the ingenue in At the Circus (1939). If you ever wondered how we go from the l…
We in America have no true equivalent to British music hall and television impresario Valentine "Val" Parnell (1892-1972). The closest would be if you crossed Edward Albee (the vaudeville bo…
Ernest "Tennessee Ernie" Ford (1919-1991) was the sort of figure we don't seem to have in American pop culture any more: a country artist with mass, mainstream appeal, less because the count…
February 13, 1884 was the likely natal day of Lillian Margaret St. Cyr, though some sources say the less likely 1873, which would have made her 101 at the time of her death. This "Lilly" is …
The year 2028 will mark 150 years of acting Adlers in this world. Jerry Adler (b. 1929) is arguably the best known nowadays in strict numerical terms, by virtue of his film and television wo…
Today we scratch out a few lines on an obscure and minor figure whom we stumbled across while (of all things) making corrections on Wikipedia. (Making factual corrections is not my bag at al…
Oh, don't worry, Valri Bromfield fans " she's very much alive. It's just that Bromfield (b. 1949) left show business a couple of decades ago, so my memories of her as a performer are at leas…
I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to do a post on Joe Pesci (let alone Frank Vincent) if I hadn't learned about their wonderful early years. After all, to date, I have not yet don…
I first became aware of Robert Dennis "Woody" Woodbury (b. 1924) from his rather protracted and oddly prominent performance in the 1964 youth film For Those Who Think Young. Though he plays …
I'm not sure how I missed the memo, but I'm wasting no time in sharing it with YOU. Almost exactly ten years ago, a kind conservator at the Smithsonian named Dawn Rogala put me up in her Was…
Today is Burt Mustin's birthday but the odds are quite good that I'll never be doing a post on him. The main reason for this is that a number of years ago, someone said to me "How about doin…
I think it's safe to say that there aren't any other show biz careers like that of Keefe Brasselle (1923-1981). By that I don't mean he was at the top, but that he made his own journey, one …
Russell Gleason (1908-1945) was a minor but well-known Hollywood figure in his time; you'd think his shocking death would be a better known tale. He was the son of the famous husband-wife ac…
In 1884, a man advertised that he would walk a tight rope suspended between the roofs of two buildings on opposite sides of the main street in Corsicana, Texas, some 20 or 30 feet in the air…
Criswell predicts that not many of my compadres will be celebrating this particular day, even if they knew it was upon us. The first issue of Reader's Digest was published on February 5, 192…
Were she not untimely taken from us, ventriloquist Angela Martin (Angel Mignanelli, 1942-2004) would be turning 80 today. Martin was a child prodigy from Astoria, Queens. She was still a twe…
I first became aware of Agnes "Aggie" Herring (1876-1939) from her key role in Harold Lloyd's Among Those Present (1921) as the society dame mother of the girl Harold is courting, and from s…
A few days ago I got a couple of related but separate news bulletins from Undercrank Productions. Their latest DVD/Blu-ray release Zander the Great (1925) dropped on Tuesday; and a day or tw…
Having long been familiar with Edmund Goulding's original 1947 Nightmare Alley, and recently read William Lindsay Gresham's original 1946 novel, my reaction to Guillermo del Toro's recent re…
Sure, February 2 is Groundhog Day but it also happens to be National Ukulele Day, and for reasons that should be obvious, that will always take precedence where I live. I had planning on per…
Very excited to report that Jim Moore's gorgeous new photography book Don't Miss This: A Decade of Eccentric Performing Arts Photography is now available to purchase in pre-sales! Don't Miss…
A few months ago, I was laid up with a bad back and you know how when you're unwell and immobile you'll watch anything, because well you HAVE to? So I found myself watching Atlantis: The Los…
"Chief" Willie Bowlegs (1896-1964) was a sword swallower, alligator wrestler, knife thrower and juggler from the Everglades of Florida. A full-blooded Seminole, he was named in apparent homa…
I first became aware of David Wayne (Wayne James McMeekan, 1914-95) from his role as Jim Hutton's dad on the very fun mystery series Ellery Queen (1975-76). Over the years I caught him in do…
