11,723 stories by "Trav S.D."
It happens to be National Violin Day! This seemed a natural and fitting thing to mark here on Travalanche, and what a wonderful surprise I got when I did a search and discovered how many…
Big Mama Thornton (Willie Mae Thornton, 1926-1984) was born this day. Hailing from Ariton, Alabama, Thornton grew up singing gospel music with her family at the church where her father preac…
Today is the birthday of Ethel Hallor (1902-1982). Born in Washington DC, she was the younger sister of better known actors Edith Hallor (1896-1971) and Ray Hallor (1900-1944), althoug…
After hearing about it for years, the other night I finally got over to see Axis Theatre Company’s Seven in One Blow, or the Brave Little Kid: The Greatest Play Ever, now in its 16th y…
When I was a kid in Rhode Island and Ted Knight (Tadeusz Konopka, 1923-1986) was at the height of his fame, he was considered something of a local hero. 20 years before playing bumbling tv n…
As anticipated, we had our minds officially blown at Jack and the Beanstalk OneOfUs (Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz)’s transplantation of English panto to Abrons Arts Center last night…
Christmas came early for the Mad Marchioness and myself when we got to see Brown Girls Burlesque and a bill of singers headlined by Nucomme do the “Dirty Honey Christmas Shake” a…
December 4 gave us Thelma White (Thelma Wolpa, 1910-2005). Originally from Lincoln Nebraska, White started her career at age two in the family tent show, playing a “living doll” …
Okay here goes nothing! Well not nothing actually: like everything else people tell you is easy in the Internet age it was a royal pain in the ass! It’s my Patreon page — I’…
Buying holiday gifts for that slapstick comedy book lover in your life? Here are deals like you wouldn’t believe for all of you perverse, resistant hold outs who haven’t yet boug…
There was only one Dick Shawn (Richard Schulefand, 1923-1987). The thing to do in show business is to carve out a niche for yourself, and for many year Shawn cornered the market on being com…
Great news for all Anglophiles, lovers of the L.E.S., lovers of variety theatre, theatre history and theatre for kids (that should cover most of you): stage and screen legends Mat Fraser and…
November 28 is the natal day of Edwin Pearce (“E.P.”) Christy (1815-1862). Christy’s name has lived on through a rather roundabout way, giving it probably a higher Q Factor…
Today is the 50th anniversary of the American release date of the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour album. It also happens to be the birthday of Jimi Hendrix, and both Charles Manson and Davi…
Born today in New York’s County of Kings, Ziegfeld Girl Anastasia Reilly (1904-1961). Reilly has to have been one of the luckiest people who ever lived. She was discovered as a tap dan…
Will Rogers, who was part Cherokee, used to joke, “My people didn’t come over on the Mayflower, but they were there to meet the boat.” In recent years, Thanksgiving has inc…
Brooklyn born character actor George O’Hanlon (1912-1989) was born on this day. O’Hanlon was the son of George Samuel O’Hanlon and Lulu Beeson, who performed in vaudeville …
Broadway titan (playwright, lyricist, book-writer, screenwriter, author) Guy Bolton (1884-1979) deserves a shout out today. Bolton’s wit was sophisticated without being pretentious, pe…
Towards the end of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) there is a scene where all the characters have shown up in Santa Rosita Park, and are running around with shovels trying to fi…
What with Black Friday and the Holiday season soon upon us, here’s a great gift for the vaudeville lover in your life. David Weinstein’s new book The Eddie Cantor Story: A Jewish…
James “Jimmy” Harder (1931-2009) was born on this day. I’ll cut right to the chase: he’s “Big Fig” from the Fig Newton commercials. If you’re too yo…
We have written about Marceline the Clown and his sad end here. Spanish-speaking fans now have a great new resource from which to learn about him, in the form of this new biography by Victor…
November 17 happens to be the birthday of Hollywood’s one-time go-to Russian Mischa Auer (Mikhail Semyonovich Unskovsky (1905-1967). Auer is especially prized for a handful of classic …
Born this day, terrifying character actor Richard Hale (James Richards Hale, 1892-1981). I am totally related to this guy! And I am beginning to smell a pattern: I keep turning up familial r…
Theatre isn’t just art; it’s also culture. My wife loves restaurants and food shows. Spending some time in that head space, as well as my years of reviewing, and working in place…
