11,726 stories by "Trav S.D."
Even as we speak we are in the midst of  Day #7 of Turner Classic Movies month long salute to the Hollywood western (see yesterday’s post here). Every Tuesday and Wednesday in…
Every Tuesday and Wednesday in July Turner Classic Movies will  be showing westerns the entire day, for a total of 100 movies in all. Here is tomorrow’s line-up.  The times below…
Today is the birthday of radio and screen comedian and voice-over artist Harold “Hal” Peary (1908-1985) Peary is best known for creating the popular radio character Throckmort…
Today is the birthday of Alison Skipworth (Alison Mary Elliot Margaret Groom, 1863-1952). London born Skipworth was best known for playing big-boned, hearty grand dames in Hollywood, most no…
Today is the birthday of playwright-actor-director-producer William Gillette (William Hooker Gillette, 1853-1937). I am proud to say that I am distantly related to this important man of the …
Today is the birthday of Leonore Ulric (1892-1970). Ulric was a creature of booth stage and screen, zigzagging between both throughout her entire career. She began with midwestern stock comp…
Today is the birthday of Janet Reade (Helen Dorothy Rulton, 1910-1943). Beginning as a chorus girl for Flo Ziegfeld, her lucky break was a featured part in Ballyhoo of 1930. This led to a…
Today is the birthday of pivotal American playwright, producer, and critic Augustin Daly (1838-1899). The son of a North Carolina sea captain. He moved to New York as a young child with his …
Even as we speak we are in the midst of  Day #5 of Turner Classic Movies month long salute to the Hollywood western (see yesterday’s post here). Every Tuesday and Wednesday in…
Today is the birthday of the late Arthur Rankin, Jr (1924-2014), one half of the famous animation production duo Rankin-Bass. I would have blogged about him anyway, being such a huge fan of …
Every Tuesday and Wednesday in July Turner Classic Movies will  be showing westerns the entire day, for a total of 100 movies in all. The times below are all Eastern Standard Time, and be…
Today is the birthday of Lupe Velez (read more about the talented and gorgeous Latin star here). A fitting day, we think to do this little post on her last (and today, best known) care…
Today is the birthday of Jane Frazee (Mary Jane Frehse, 1918-1985). Jane started out in show business at age six in a vaudeville act with her older sister Ruth called the Frazee Sister…
Today is the birthday of illustrator, cartoonist and animator Henry “Hy” Mayer (1868-1954). Originally from Germany, he began his career as an illustrator in Munich, then worked …
Tomorrow is comedian Red Skelton’s birthday. Turner Movie Classics will mark the occasion by screening his films throughout the day. I am grateful for this particular line-up, as it co…
Today is the birthday of Floyd Gibbons (1887-1939). Gibbons is an example of the true scope of variety possible in big time vaudeville. He was a a journalist (most famous as a war correspond…
Exciting things afoot for comedy fans in NYC. My buddy Steve Massa has helped organized a series of screenings at MOMA of films by the great comic auteur Leo McCarey, starting tonight with L…
Tickets for the 20th annual New York International Fringe Festival go on sale today. My hat goes off to its co-founder and director Elena K. Holy at this auspicious benchmark. My admirati…
Filed under: BROOKLYN, CAMP, Indie Theatre, PLUGS Tagged: BROOKLYN, Charles Busch, Old Stone House, Park Slope, Piper Theatre, Psycho Beach Party
Even as we speak we are in the midst of  Day #3 of Turner Classic Movies month long salute to the Hollywood western (see yesterday’s post here). Every Tuesday and Wednesday in…
Every Tuesday and Wednesday in July Turner Classic Movies will  be showing westerns the entire day, for a total of 100 movies in all. Here is tomorrow’s line-up.  The times below…
Today is the 100th anniversary of the release date of Charlie Chaplin’s The Vagabond (1916). The Vagabond was a great leap forward in terms of Chaplin’s story telling artistry…
Today is the birthday of Marguerite Sylva (Marguerite Smith, 1875-1957). Sylva was born in Brussels to a father of English parentage; her father was the Royal Court Physician. She and sister…
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Hollywood (History), Movies, PLUGS, VISUAL ART Tagged: Cartoon Carnival, City Reliquary, Tommy Stathes
Today is the birthday of Broadway and Hollywood writer/ director/ producer William Anthony McGuire (1881-1940). McGuire has no obvious vaudeville connection, but his career touched so many o…
