11,728 stories by "Trav S.d."
Not only could fill an entire blog with entries strictly about President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (1858-1919) a.k.a. T.R. but *I* could, having read several books about him, not to mention…
Born this day, playwright George Middleton (1880-1967). Was he a relative of the great Jacobean playwright? I'd assert that it's more likely than not, though the cautious may feel free to di…
Well I hope you know that the title of this post is due to the fact that the original Tony Pastor was the father of vaudeville. We have been frustrated on occasion in googling that important…
Last night we heard that Jules Bass (b. 1935) of Rankin-Bass fame has passed away at age 87. Having already done a post on the Rankin-Bass Christmas/Holiday specials, our natural thought tod…
I haven't been able to learn what movie Charley Chase is promoting in the still above, but he certainly seems well attuned to the comic potential of the mule. It's Mule Appreciation Day and …
It's surely no coincidence that International Dwarfism Awareness Day takes place on the birthday of Billy Barty, screen star and co-founder of the Little People of America. Barty did a lot f…
October 25 was the natal day of the great English-American actor Leo G. Carroll; as it happens we have also just passed the 50th anniversary of his passing (October 16, 1972). Thanks to The …
It's hard to tell where World Zombie Day is at these day " it may have happened on October 13, though trying to find news about it makes me feel like a post-apocalyptic grandpa in his baseme…
Africa has been my mind a lot lately and not just because I watched Idris Elba have an implausible confrontation with a crazy lion the other night in Beast. My son is doing his country proud…
Author Michael Crichton (1942-2008) would be 80 today, had cancer not taken him prematurely several years ago. An irony there, for he was a medical doctor (he possessed an M.D. but never pra…
Today marks the centennial of the birth of movie star Coleen Gray (Doris Jensen, 1922-2015). And yes the word "star" is used accurately here: Gray was top or second-billed in dozens of Holly…
Annette Funicello (1942-2013) would have been 80 years old today if not for her sad, early death a decade ago. Teenage stardom and early retirement due to illness means that she'll forever b…
For someone whose screen footprint was so small, and whose life was so short, Patricia "Boots" Mallory (1913-1958) managed to cram a lot of interesting stuff anyway. Born in New Orleans and …
Three cheers and more than a few wolf whistles for Lee Meredith (Judith Lee Sauls, b. 1947)! Classic comedy fans know her well, as she somehow managed to make a mark in vaudeville/burlesque/…
Three important news items for fans of the great magic (and magic debunking) team of Penn and Teller. First, Penn Jillette now has a new novel out, called Random. New Yorkers should be glad …
Today marks 80th anniversary of the terrific vaudeville-themed musical For Me and My Gal (1942) at Loew's State; this year marks the 60th anniversary of the passing of the film's protagonist…
The third Thursday in October is observed as International Shakeout Day, designed to increase awareness of earthquake safety. As with fire safety, the issue is hardly irrelevant to theatres,…
This one goes out to my good friend and former musical collaborator Sarah Engelke, who introduced me to the joys of dialect comedian and novelty song performer Yogi Yorgesson (1908-1956). Sa…
When I was a kid in the '70s, Arlene Francis (Arlene Francis Kazanijan, 1907-2001), was still a going concern, one of those omnipresent celebrities you saw on game shows, talk shows on the l…
Can I help it if we're in the midst of a particularly good crop of vaudeville and classic comedy related centennial anniversaries? Well I can't just ignore them. In November and December I'l…
I don't know if character actor Dan Tobin (1910-1982) always went by "Gentleman Dan", but no less austere a platform than FindaGrave.com styles him that way. It's an apparent reference to To…
I really love the image of the periodical above, it reminds me of a joke of my friend Scott Stiffler, whom I first knew as a comedian before he became a Chelsea based local news editor. He h…
Evelyn Venable (1913-1993) is one of those actresses whose work you likely know without knowing that you know it. Her obscurity can not be chalked up to being a bit player, or even a support…
I've come to regard The Love Boat as the Noah's Ark of celebrities " every species represented, and always in pairs. (Sure, Yogi's Ark is also a Noah's Ark of celebrities but only the Hanna-…
On account of his superlative, highly unique fiction, we tend to regard Nathanael West (Nathan Weinstein, 1903-1940) as a literary figure as opposed to a theatrical or show biz one, but his …
