11,508 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today (June 18, 2025) marks two years since the submersible Titan imploded at a depth of about 3,800 meters (12,500 feet), killing all five people aboard. We are prompted to mark the occasio…
Most of us know Nedra Volz (Nedra Gordonier, 1908-2003) from the last act of her life's drama, when she was a ubiquitous tv character actress and an occasional presence in films as well. Sur…
A tip of the hat today to singer, dancer, actor, and all-around performer Avon Long (1910-1984). A Baltimore native, Long got his start in Harlem in the late 1920s, at such venues as the Laf…
How delightful that April March (Velma Fern Worden, b. 1935) has a June birthday! Mark your calendar " I certainly did! April March is still very much with us, feted and lauded as one of the…
Today is the official publication date of my friend Ben Model's much-awaited new book The Silent Film Universe. We have long admired the entrepreneurial Model, who has built an empire on his…
June 17, 1775 was the date of the Battle of Bunker Hill. It is fascinating to me (in my old age) to mark these anniversaries off so that you can mark the progress of Revolutionary War events…
As promised in our National Alligator Day post " an entirely separate one on crocodiles. Because we are crazy in just that way! This one will be very brief in comparison with the alligator p…
June 17 was the birthday of magician Paul Valadon (Adolphe Weber, 1867-1913). Originally from Cologne, Germany, Valadon began his working life as a hairdresser, though magic was always his u…
Valerie Mahaffey would have been 72 today, but she passed away a couple of weeks ago. While I had certainly seen some earlier performances, the comic excellence of Mahaffey didn't really reg…
Is it by pure chance that I pen this review on Ondine's birthday or was it decreed by demented Gods? I had occasion to mention playwright H.M. Koutoukas in this morning's post about Ondine, …
Fortunate for those who celebrate Pride Month, the birthday of Ondine (Robert Olivo,1937-1989) falls within it. Ondine was one of those legendary Warhol Superstar characters, oft mentioned i…
June 15 is the birthday of some mighty big stars in my personal pantheon: silent comedian Harry Langdon, who has a whole section on Travalanche; 19th century stage star Adah Isaacs Mencken, …
The United States Army was created by the Continental Congress on this day in 1775. George Washington was appointed as its commander on the following day. (Note how the army was always inten…
If you're a fan of classic films and don't recognize the name Ian Hunter (1900-1975), relax, it's okay. I didn't! But he's right there, right there, in prominent roles in some of the best kn…
June 12 was the birthday of Anne Frank (1929-1945). Confronted with the bewildering descent of America into a place where schoolgirls need to hide out in attics and where Jews are being viol…
June 12 being the birthday of Weegee (1899-1968), we thought it might be useful to create a little post that relates him to some of this blog's customary topics. First, some short biography …
Just got the word that Brian Wilson has passed. Never mind the cause. The man was 82. Still, who'd ever dream that all three Wilson brothers would die before Keith Richards? I had something …
If I didn't know any better and you had asked me which of the cast members of Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) was named "DUDLEY MANLOVE" I almost certainly would have pointed to Bunny Breckin…
According to IMDB June 10 was the birthday of female impersonator Frederick Kovert (1895-1949). The name is sometimes rendered "Ko Vert", making it seem exotic somehow. Kovert, his real surn…
Paul Marco (Angelo Inzalaco, 1927-2006) dined out better than most on being part of the Ed Wood stock company. Die-hards know him as the guy who played goofy Officer Kelton, the Gilligan-esq…
The world is horrible so as an antidote, I proffer these two Rhode Island cultural tidbits, as fluffy as a clamcake: 1) The streaming series Sirens is set in a very Block Island-esque locati…
Cole Porter, Jackie Mason, S.N. Behrman, Bob Cummings, Michael J. Fox, Fred Waring, Skip James, Harry Gribbon, George Axelrod, John Howard Payne, and Leslie Banks were all born on June 9; so…
The title of this piece in not to imply that my previous post on Joan Rivers (Joan Molinsky, 1933-2014) was in any way improper. It was however, incomplete. I wrote it in 2013, when she was …
Vaudeville lovers owe much to the enterprise of Hans August (H.A.) Spanuth (1884-1976). Spanuth was a second generation cultural figure. His father, August Spanuth (1857-1920) was a German p…
