11,719 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today some overdue sunlight on silent comedian Al Cooke (Albert Gallatin Cooke, 1880-1935). Cooke was a moneyed Los Angeles local who'd been educated in Switzerland and had been a rancher an…
An overdue announcement to current and future Travalanche Patreon Patrons! I have now set up giving levels, with gifties at each tier, by way of thanks for your support and involvement. I'm …
Seems strange and unjust to live in a world in which Phil Hartman (1948-1998) is the answer to a trivia question about pop culture two decades ago, when all of his contemporaries continue to…
Some remembrance today for Ham Fisher (Hammond Edward Fisher, 1900-1955) and his celebrated creation, Joe Palooka. This cartoonist brings up a wonderful chain of associations: there's Ham…
Just got word that Gale Sayers (b. 1943) has finally followed his old NFL roommate Brian Piccolo to the Great Gridiron in the Sky, almost exactly 50 years behind his friend. Sayers and Picco…
I neither know nor care what polls or charts say, I know through a combination of instinct and experience that the musical performer with the most universal appeal of the late 20th century i…
It's rare if not unprecedented for me to use a late paragraph photo of a classic star, but this is how I always think of Walter Pidgeon (1897-1984). Pidgeon was in plenty of movies when I wa…
Doe Doe Green (Thomas Overton, 1888-1944) started his performing life as a rodeo clown and comedian at the 101 Ranch in his native Oklahoma. He then worked his way east as a comedian on the …
Born this day, actor Larry Hagman (1931-2012). You have to admit that that is a hell of a screen name, up there with Engelbert Humpedinck and Francis X. Bushman, but he managed to transcend …
Arthur Roberts (1852-1933) was a star of British music hall, pantomime, farces, burlesques, revues and musical comedies. He started out busking at seaside resorts in the early 1870s, quickly…
Born 100 years ago today, performing little person Marie Ellen St. Aubin. Trained in dance and acrobatics, St. Aubin became a professional entertainer at the age of 13 at the 1933 Chicago Wo…
The peculiar American invention known as the comic book came into the world in stages but a crucial figure in its evolution was Max Gaines (Maxwell Ginzberg, 1894-1947). Gaines was a salesma…
"Come in and know me better, man!" quoth the Ghost of Christmas Present and I suppose that's the reason I haven't yet treated of so estimable figure as George Robey (Sir George Edward Wade, …
I don't often do posts about individual films as those tend not to be the most popular with readers, but I saw a picture recently that I am strongly motivated to recommend for those with sim…
Elmer P. Ransom (1862-1942, frequently misrendered "Ranson") was, along with Alexander Herrmann, Carl Hertz, Harry Kellar, Imro Fox, Nate Leipzig, Zancig, William Robinson and a handful of o…
Ted McNamara (1894-1928) was an Irish-Australian vaudeville comedian who first came to to the U.S. with Pollard's Lilliputian Opera Company circa 1905, along with Billy Bevan, Alf Goul…
Some tribute today to character actor Jack Warden (John Warden Lebzelter, Jr, 1920-2006). I grew up seeing Warden in supporting parts, usually as aggressive, assertive types, often as athlet…
I've long opined that the mania about Greta Garbo (1905-1990) had more to do with the tediousness and lack of imagination of commentators than the woman herself. Moody, withdrawn, and posses…
Today in 1859, according to some, the natal of Henry McCarty a.k.a. William Bonney a.k.a. Billy the Kid. Long storied as a ruthless killer, I have always found his tale somewhat sad. He fell…
Back in the day (2002-2004) I was quite a devotee of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn believe it or not. I liked the informal rough and tumble format of the show and frank hashing out of the day…
Rarely do I find contemporary show biz stories as compelling or as inspiring as I do that of magician David Copperfield. In fact, I find his biography far more interesting than his act. …
While you were busy putting out the fires of your life (not literally I hope) you can be forgiven for not noticing that today marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower's departure from En…
Blame Allen Funt (1914-1999). As the motive force behind Candid Camera and its predecessor Candid Microphone (1947-2014) Funt may be said to be the father of both reality television and fake…
I first learned about Tom Conway (1904-1967) the old-fashioned way: I saw him in movies, assumed he was George Sanders and then realized that he wasn't. Conway was actually Sander's older br…
Having profiled over 1500 vaudeville veterans on this blog over the last dozen years or so, some may find it curious that I have dragged my heels on any attention for Bobby Short (1924-2005)…
