11,696 stories by "Trav S.D."
Just a few words of acknowledgment about 19th century painter Charles Bird King (1785-1862). I first became aware of the artist through repeated visits to the Redwood Library and Athenaeum i…
Today's new Travalanche posts for September 25, 2025 include ones on Mercy Otis Warren, and the Beatles animated cartoon show. In no particular order, other Travalanche posts for September 2…
60 years ago today, September 25, 1965 saw the television premiere of the animated children's television show The Beatles. The show aired 39 new episodes over the following two years, and ai…
September 25 was the birthday of pioneering American literary figure Mercy Otis Warren (1728-1814). Daughter of Massachusetts lawyer James Otis, Mercy received the benefit of the same educat…
Today's new Travalanche posts for September 24, 2025 includes ones on Jim Henson, silent movie director Barry O'Neill, and movie actress Julia Faye. In no particular order, other Travalanche…
September 24 was the birthday of actress Julia Faye (Julia Faye Maloney, 1892-1966). Faye was a faye-vorite of Cecil B. DeMille, in more ways than one, and had over 100 screen credits to her…
It's Jim Henson's birthday again! Having already posted a good deal about him and his Muppet creations, I thought this year I would observe the occasion by adding this little finding aid to …
September 24 was the birthday of pioneering silent film director Barry O'Neil (Thomas J. McCarthy, 1865-1918). O'Neil was the son of Irish immigrants residing in New York City. His name chan…
Today's new Travalanche posts for September 23, 2025 includes ones on Ken Burns' The Civil War, and Seinfeld's Jason Alexander. In no particular order, other Travalanche posts for September …
The order in which I have posted about the primary cast members and creators of Seinfeld speaks volumes: Jerry Seinfeld (2020), Larry David (2021), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2024), Heidi Swedberg…
Today marks 35 years since the opening shot of Ken Burns' The Civil War (1990) went hurtling toward Fort Sumter. Arriving at the height of the Culture Wars, this nine part, ten hour document…
Today's new Travalanche posts for September 22, 2025 includes ones on Narragansett Indian track champion Tarzan Brown, and a thing on rhinoceros movies. In no particular order, other Travala…
September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day, but I have already done numerous elephant themed posts. Fortunately, it's also World Rhinoceros Day so I thought I would do a small post on these e…
Born of a September 22, track star Ellison "Tarzan" Brown (1913-1975). My recent trip back to the city of birth, Westerly, Rhode Island, reconnected me with memories of Brown, a more famous …
Today's new Travalanche post for September 21, 2025 is about actress/author/entertainer Fannie Flagg. In no particular order, other Travalanche posts for September 21 include ones on: Silent…
I was working at a bookstore when the 1992 screen version of Fried Green Tomatoes was released. Naturally at the time there was a reissue of the novel, which had been written in 1987 by Fann…
Today's new Travalanche posts for September 20, 2025 are about Batman (for Batman Day), tempestuous actress Rachel Roberts, and Nelson Sardelli, secret father of Mariska Hargitay. In no part…
The third Saturday in September is celebrated as Batman Day by nerds throughout the globe, and why should I be any different? In observation of the day I have pulled together my many posts r…
There used to be more than one definition of the word sexy. It's come to mean sexually attractive, or attractive full-stop. Long ago, maybe a century ago or thereabouts, it was sometimes use…
Nearly every online photo of Las Vegas lounge singer Nelson Sardelli (b. 1934) shows him either with Jayne Mansfield, his romantic partner for a few months in 1963 and 1964, or with Mariska …
Today's new Travalanche post for September 18, 2025 is about actor William Hickey: In no particular order, other Travalanche posts for September 19 include ones on: (For Talk Like a Pirate D…
September 19 was the birthday of acting legend William Hickey (1927-1997). Coincidentally, Hickey is the name of the character at the heart of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. I'm not sur…
Today's new Travalanche posts for September 18, 2025 are about the late country comedian and actor Gailard Sartain and the recent cancellations of Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert: In no par…
I'm fairly certain I have nothing to say about the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel and the cancellation of Stephen Colbert that hasn't already said by millions, but I do want to get my position o…
Character actor Gailard Sartain (1943-2025) passed away a couple of months ago; I opted to wait 'til his next birthday to post a long-planned tribute. Sartain was one on a very short list of…
