11,698 stories by "Trav S.D."
December 3 was the birthday of Barbara Fritchie (1766-1862). I don't expect that you will know the name off the bat but I hope you at least possess a vague sense that you have encountered it…
When working on the piece about my recently deceased colleague Kathleen Hulser I did some googling to refresh my memory about our New-York Historical Society days when I stumbled on a few ra…
Well, today is an ideal time to pick up one of my works for that show biz loving loved one in your life as a holiday gift. Major online bookdealers are offering 40-50% off today for CyberMon…
This story begins with a New York cabaret act based in Greenwich Village in the late '30s and early '40s called The Revuers. We've written about two alum of this unusual act: Judy Holiday an…
How odd to learn one day after Woody Allen's birthday (from Eve Golden, natch) that one of Allen's prime collaborators has passed on. Marshall Brickman (1939-2024) was a behind-the-scenes fi…
The Kabarett der Komiker (the Cabaret of Comedians, often shortened to "Kadeko") was a Berlin variety venue which throve especially during the Weimar Era. It was founded on December 1, 1924,…
November 30 (it turns out) is the birthday of Woody Allen (b. 1935). We used to think it was December 1, but Allen's recent memoir set the record straight. I originally planned a highly ambi…
Yes, I know this photo makes him seem more like "Sinister Felton" but it was the best photo I could find of Francis "Happy" Felton (1907-1964), prior to the guise he was best known for durin…
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…
The day after Thanksgiving is always Native American Heritage Day, a day, I guess, when things are even more Native American Heritagey than they are during Native American Heritage Month, wh…
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…
All claims (by others) to the contrary, I am at most a partial historian, though I have been at it since childhood, when I was a 13 year old Junior Member of the Pettaquamscutt Histori…
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…
Well, our projected three part celebration of Geraldine Page (see my 100th birthday post here) got an unexpected 2.5 installment when we had the honor and privilege of attending a performanc…
Every so often (pretty rarely, in fact) it happens that a number of news items accrue that I'd love to tell the readers of this blog about, and so I bundle them together into their own succo…
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…
Celebration today of silent star Vera Reynolds (1899-1962) " not to be confused with Vera Ralston! Reports conflict about where Reynolds was originally from Nebraska or Richmond Virginia. St…
Until quite recently, Candy Darling (1944-1974) was the most beautiful male-to-female trans person most people had ever seen. She wasn't just gorgeous, but she possessed a studied, graceful …
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…
Born 100 years ago today: singer and radio/tv personality Eileen Barton (1924-2006) Barton was a second generation vaudevillian, reported to have joined her parents act at age 2 1/2. Her par…
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…
November 23 was the birthday of the great clown Harpo Marx (1888-1964). Harpo's gotten a lot of coverage here in the past, in my main post on him, on a movie he made without his brothers, on…
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…
Today would have been the 100th birthday of the great stage and screen actress Geraldine Page (1924-1987). This is the second of a projected trio of pieces I'm doing the mark the occasion. T…
