11,717 stories by "Trav S.D."
On the one hand, Garry Shandling (1949-2016) left us way too early; on the other hand, now that the book is closed you can see his life as a self-contained system. Shandling is already in th…
I've never met anyone who was less than enthusiastic about Gloria Grahame (Gloria Grahame Halward, 1923-1981). Grahame was the daughter of Scottish actress and acting instructor Jean Grahame…
We were delighted to see that Criterion just added comedy shorts of W.C. Fields to its streaming platform. Unlike most of the so-called classic comedians, Fields made relatively few shorts: …
I was eight years old when the news of Bruce Lee's (1940-73) sudden, early death exploded around the world. Naturally he was on my radar. He was the father of the martial arts craze that has…
We regret that we haven't yet turned up information on the earliest years of pathbreaking African American screen actor George H. Reed (1866-1952). Reed was one of the few genuine black acto…
Anne Nichols (1891-1966) is one of those figures whose own fame has been eclipsed by her greatest creation. We'll get to her most famous play presently, but first some background. Nichols ha…
Tis the gift giving season, what what the onslaught of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber-Monday and then, um, another three weeks of potential holiday shopping on the horizon.…
Nearly a decade has passed since my first post on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a look at the coffee table book America's Parade. This year, since New Yorkers and their visitors can't …
I am thrilled to report I'm appearing on a bill that includes literary luminaries Neil Gaiman, Alice Hoffman, Jennifer Egan, as well as Kevin Baker, Bill Griffith (of Zippy the Pinhead) and …
Some fragments today on the vaudeville and Broadway dance team of Adelaide and Hughes. The team consisted of Mary Adelaide Dickey (1882-1960, known to friends and family as Adelaide or Addie…
500 lb R.J. James hailed from Wayne County, Ohio, and went by the billing "The Ohio Fat Boy". He is known to have performed with Drew's Dime Museum in Cleveland and Sells Brothers Circus in …
Victor Jory (1902-1982) is best remembered for his scoundrel parts, although several of his role were in the "good guy" side of the column. He's always reminded me a little of Charles Middle…
Yes! Yiddish cinema was a thing! I'd already have been interested in today's release of the new Blu-Ray of The Jewish Soul: Classics of Yiddish Cinema by Kino Lorber, but am doubly now I kno…
John Dehner (1915-1992) had all the necessary ingredients for major stardom: extremely good looks, an award-winning voice, acting ability and humor. Yet he was normally cast as a supporting …
Having long since done dedicated posts on his brothers, you may think it odd that I have not yet written one here on Harpo Marx (Adolph Marx, 1888-1964). It's not an intentional lapse. It's …
Earlier this month, we had a little run on famous Minnesotans all in a row: Ignatius Donnelly, Gig Young, and June Marlowe. We resume it today with a post on the late Robert Vaughn (1932-201…
November 20 appears a major day for silent movie star birthdays: in addition to Reginald Denny, Rod La Rocque and Grace Darmond, we have this early one, even more swallowed up by time: Elsie…
Amidst all the chaos, you can be forgiven for missing a momentous benchmark. Today marks the 400th anniversay of the Pilgrims' signing of the Mayflower Compact, some weeks before finally deb…
Today Grace Darmond is better known for her private life than for the 67 films she made between 1914 and 1927. Born Grace Marie Glionna (1893-1963), she was the lover of Jean Acker (wife of …
With a name like Rod La Rocque (1898-1969), I reckon it's impossible not to be a movie star! Half French-Canadian, half Irish, La Rocque (his real name) grew up in Chicago, where he took juv…
Gene Tierney was born 100 years ago today. Tierney always been on the short list of noir actresses who could raise my blood pressure, but there are multiple points of interest to this star b…
Excited to be joining Jim Moore on Coney Island USA's Ask the Experts for a talk about our new book celebrating Rose's Royal Midgets and other Little People acts in vaudeville. Tickets and m…
Georgia Carroll (1919-2011) was a Texas gal with endowments to please both the eye and the ear. At age 16 she modeled for murals and "The Spirit of the Centennial" statue at the 1936 Texas C…
London-born Syd Crossley (1885-1960) was billed in music hall and vaudeville as "The Long Comic" on account of his height. In films he was especially known for playing butlers. He broke into…
Self-trained Canadian singer George MacFarlane (1878-1932) started out as a soap salesman, took to the stage as a soloist, then got cast in musicals in Montreal. Success there took him to Br…
