11,724 stories by "Trav S.D."
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…
A salute today to television savant Sherwood Schwartz (1916-2011), whose birthday it is. Best known today (and always, really) for his two pillar franchises Gilligan’s Island (1964-67)…
Silent movie era child star Peggy Cartwright (1912-2001) was born on this day. I am amused by how Our Gang-centric her wikipedia entry is. Cartwright is thought of as the first Our Gang R…
Veronica Lake (Constance Frances Marie Ockelman, 1922-1970) was born on this day. It’s rather perfect that she shares a birthday with Louise Brooks, also highly intelligent, who also c…
Thanks to Ben Williams of Elevator Repair Service for making me mindful of this act. Born today was Jimmy Clemons (1883-1950), who made this terrific short Dream Cafe for Vitaphone in 1927. …
At some point in recent years November 13 became “Odd Couple Day”, due to the voiceover narration at the top of every show during the ABC situation comedy’s first season: &…
November 13 is the birthday of the late Garry Marshall (Garry Masciarelli, 1934-2016). It’s not hard to remember the date; he dunned it into us at the top of every episode of The Odd C…
Maude Adams (Maude Ewing Adams Kiskaadden 1872-1953) is one of those wonderfully transitional figures in the American theatre, with one foot in the 19th century, one in the 20th. There are a…
It’s a measure of how busy and scattered I am that this post didn’t go up on Tuesday or even late Monday evening, when the afterglow of Everett Quinton’s production of Char…
Today we celebrate a minor — but not insignificant — figure in show biz history: Bob (or “Bobby”) Callahan (1895-1938), whose birthday it is today. Even comedy bu…
This Saturday night! A gala benefit to support Coney Island USA! Come, come, you must come! It’s a hundred smackers but I guarantee you it contains more than $100 of party — one …
November 8 is the birthday of the best remembered female member of Our Gang/ Little Rascals, Darla Hood (1931-1979). We remember Darla for all sorts of reasons. One is that she starred with …
The legendary Hollywood character John Decker (Leopold Von Der Decken, 1895-1947) was born on this day. Many of my New York friends live and die by dreams of the Algonquin Roundtable. Person…
Comedy character actor Joe Flynn (1924-1974) has the same birthday as me! There is no one quite like the irascible, diminutive, bespectacled Flynn, a perfect comic foil, for he could wor…
Joe Cobb (1916-2002) was born November 7. Due to his large size, Cobb was to be one of the most memorable of the original Our Gang kids, during its earliest, silent phase. He appeared in 86 …
Okay, maybe not God, but if George Burns had been unavailable, Herb Edelman (1933-1996) would have been very amusing in the role.(Even Christians ought to know that God is Jewish; if they…
Born on November 3: burlesque legend Ricci Cortez (Ethel Bronson, 1924-2008.) Originally from New York City, she changed her name for professional reasons after she started dancing circa 194…
There’s a case to be made for Thompson and Dundy — that is, Fred Thomson and Skip Dundee — being the greatest showmen of all time. There are other contenders of course and …
Having earlier done a post on classic horror era giant monster films (e.g. King Kong, etc) and also yesterday’s post on man-sized monsters of the drive-in era, this one combines the…
Songwriter and performer Tell Taylor (William Tell Taylor/Tell Roberts, 1876-1937) was born this day. Taylor was a farm kid from rural Ohio who sang with church choirs, studied music at Find…
This post was conceived as a sort of postscript to a series I did a couple of Halloweens ago which covered the classic horror monsters of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. It occurre…
Two important American cultural heroes passed away within 24 hours of each other this week; both were exactly the same age, 89. Robert Guilliaume, star of Soap and Taxi, passed away on Tuesd…
Lew Brice (1893-1966) was born on this day. Unfortunate fellow! Brother of Fanny Brice, husband of Mae Clarke, Brice was destined to be outshone by the women around him — to the extent…
John F. Byrne, founder of the Byrne Brothers, was born on this day in 1859. The Byrne Brothers may the major vaudeville act with origins closest to my own hometown in Southern Rhode Island. …
While today he is one of the better known of the Our Gang kids, Eugene Gordon “Porky” Lee (1933-2005) had one of the least eventful careers of any of them. One encounters no tale…
