11,714 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today we introduce you to a stage and screen star who may well have been more consequential in the biz after her departure from the footlights. Marie Saxon (Marie Landry, 1904-41) was the da…
I am amused to learn that character actress Esther Dale (1885-1961) shares a birthday with Maude Eburne, for they played the same kinds of roles: grand dames, dowagers, busybodies, matrons o…
I'm not going to expound tons on Kay Thompson (Catherine Louise Fink, 1909-1998), but I do want to spring on you a fact, well known only to one American subculture, which may come as a relev…
Given some of the movie she's in, it's kind of crazy I've taken this long to add a post here on Gertrude Astor (Gertrude Eyster, 1887-1977). What a screen name! A cross between Gertrude Vand…
Do you get your three Genes mixed up " Gene Frankel, Gene Saks, and Gene Reynolds? Well, I always have. All three were both actors and directors. Frankel, whom we'll be writing about next mo…
We don't usually make forays into hospitality writing here at Travalanche, but today we wanted to leave a large tip for a hotelier whose patronage actually had a big impact on American arts …
Today we leap through a rift in the time-space continuum to a location 40 years ago today, the date of the American release of my favorite Terry Gilliam feature, Time Bandits (1981). I speci…
A great day for classic comedy fans, it's the release date of a new biography of the Guv'nor: Fred Karno: The Legend Behind the Laughter. I hope I don't have to tell my readers of the import…
Not for nothing, in addition to being Guy Fawkes Day, November 5 happens to be National Red Head Day " perhaps because red heads are said to be fiery and tempestous…just the type to start …
Last night, I had the pleasure of checking out Michele Carlo's new monologue What a Difference a Year Makes in the Gotham Storytelling Festival, and found it an enjoyable concatenation of of…
November 3 was the birthday of the Great American scribe William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), the man for whom Bryant Park in NYC is named for, though I'll warrant that 99% of the people who g…
**Friday, November 5 @ 7:00PM EASTERN** Will Friedwald and CLIP JOINT LIVESTREAM PRESENTS: salute to:**RON HUTCHINSON'S "VITAPHONE PROJECT" ** presenting:Â "VITAPHONE VAUDEVILLE" with spec…
Here it is! Opening Day of Frigid New York's Gotham Storytelling Festival ! Where I especially want to recommend MY SHOW The Pilgrim's Progress, which will be presented November 11 and 13. A…
Jack Egan (1904-1982) enjoyed his greatest fame at the beginning of his career, as a juvenile in the last days of silent films and a couple of very early talkie musicals. The Paterson native…
November is Native American Heritage Month. But this year it will not be not just any Native American Heritage Month. 2021 marks the 400th anniversary of what is traditionally known as The F…
In an earlier post, we spoke of Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, and Isis as a kind of triumvirate of feminist heroines in the mid '70s " but we left these two out. And boy did they make a bi…
We won't bury the lede here. The primary reason you should know the name Shirley Dinsdale (1926-1999) is that she was the winner of the very first Emmy Award. She won in the category of Outs…
We've written about many ventriloquism acts that were identity-based: English, Irish, African American, female, gay, etc. but surprisingly, I think Rickie Layne (Richard Israel Cohen, 1924-2…
I'd seen Ruth Hussey (1911-2005) in quite a few Hollywood classics, but it seems fitting that the one that finally made me curious about her life story was that ghostly, Gothic tale The Unin…
Just a real quick post on an entertaining father-daughter combo I learned about recently. The dad MacDonald Carey (1913-1994) was someone I knew about throughout my childhood " he played Dr.…
A nod today to a pair of lovebirds from the transitional era between old and new show biz. Bill Holliday (William F. Holliday, 1914-1971) was a ventriloquist, trumpet player, and balloon twi…
By 100, of course, we mean years, and not pounds, for the fact that Muriel Landers (1921-77) went into comedy has to do with the fact that she was *200* pounds (and only 5'2″ in height…
Tonight at 8pm EST, TCM will be showing the terrific, eye-opening documentary Carl Laemmle (2019). This movie has special significance for me in that I had the honor of presenting it at the …
What a treasure trove is the life and work of Daniel P. Mannix IV (1911-1997). I first latched onto him because of his involvement in sideshow, circus, and magic (viz., "The Great Zadma"), a…
October 25 through October 31 is National Magic Week, according to the Society of American Magicians! Go here to learn about their activities all over the country. In honor of the season, I …
