11,741 stories by "Trav S.d."
Born this day, music hall star and pantomime dame Harry Randall (1857-1932). London-born Randall as encouraged in the stone engraver's trade by his bootblack father, but balked, beginning to…
Apparently today is National Teenager Day, which is pretty revolting…as EVERY day in this country is National Teenager Day. Still, it presents me with an opportunity to release this post I…
Carmelita Geraghty (1901-1966) was the daughter of screenwriter Tom Geraghty, whose credits included things like Douglas Fairbanks' 'Til the Clouds Roll By (1919) and The Mollycoddle (1920).…
Sometimes I worry that I have too much competition in the vintage show biz blogging field. On the other hand I am quite confident that I will be the only person on the internet celebrating t…
March 20, 1854 was the day the Republican Party was founded (at any rate, it's the day it was named). While there hasn't been much to celebrate about that organization in quite some time, it…
Western lawman Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) is well known to movie buffs, having been portrayed in Hollywood movies and television shows by such stars as Henry Fonda, Randolph Scott, Richard Dix, …
Ubiquitous character actor Roy Roberts (Roy Barnes Jones, 1906-1975) acquitted himself memorably in almost every genre, on stage, screen and television. I associate him with comedies, as wel…
March 18 was the birthday of the late Peter Graves (Peter Aurness, 1926-2010). Here's something I either didn't know or forgot " Graves was the brother of Gunsmoke's James Arness. Like his b…
What an excellent way to begin the day " becoming acquainted with pugilist, pro athlete and character actor Frank Moran (1887-1967). Cleveland born Moran initially studied dentistry at the U…
Plus-sized bit player Jody Gilbert (1916-1979) was often cast for the air of authenticity she lent to a role. Originally from Fort Worth, Texas she was often cast as intimidating working cla…
Country musician and western sidekick Smiley Burnette (Lester Alvin Burnett, 1911-1967) was born this day. Burnette was born in rural Summum, Illinois, not far from the Illinois River, and r…
Josephine Rose Lederer (1910-1935) was the daughter of Reinie Davies and Broadway producer/director George Lederer. Her parents divorced when she was two; she subsequently lived a good deal …
Slovenian born Desha Eva PodgorÅ¡ek (1899-1980) came to the U.S. in 1913, and became a pupil of ballet master Michel Fokine, eventually becoming the lead ballerina in his company. She also…
His birthday was a couple of days ago, but I couldn't squeeze it into a very busy blogging day, and besides what better day than St. Patrick's to appreciate a man named J. Pat O'Malley (1904…
Irish-American dance prodigy John "Jack" Diamond (1823-1857) was a phenomenon of the blackface minstrelsy** era. At age 17 Diamond won a citywide jig contest, and P.T. Barnum booked him for …
The Happiness Boys were Thomas Ernest "Ernie" Hare (1883-1939) and Billy Jones (1889-1940). Hare was the more seasoned professional of the two. At age 16, he went on Broadway in the show Hav…
Having already did a thinky tribute to the great Andy Kaufman, we hang today's Taxi post on the show's actual star Judd Hirsch, whose birthday it is. It's rare to meet someone who doesn't co…
Everybody in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is somebody, even if it takes a little digging to find out who they are. I keep thinking I've written about everyone in that film, but then keep …
Today is the National Day of Hungary, commemorating the 1848 Revolution when Hungary sought independence from the Austrian Empire. I thought I would take the opportunity to celebrate Hungari…
If you've had the grave misfortune to be named Dennis any time after March 1951, you've had ample reason to curse Hank Ketcham (1920-2001). I've never known anyone named Dennis who wasn't ni…
I only just became aware of supporting player Gene "Pop" Rogers (1866-1919) " he has a great turn in the L-KOÂ comedy Under New Management, which is in The Alice Howell Collection. During …
Susan Miller (1920-2018) figures in a couple of important classic comedies, and she passed away just recently, so she rates a shout out here today. A native of Clark's Summit, Pennsylvania, …
Wonderful happenstance that Dorothy Davenport's birthday falls during Women's History Month, for Davenport (1895-1977), was not just a pioneering director/producer/screenwriter/actress, but …
One of the more notable finds I stumbled across in my plundering of the library's worth of old TV Guides I found in my wife's house were these spreads plugging Liza Minnelli's now historic f…
A spotlight on stage and screen star Inez Courtney (1897-1975) this morning. Courtney, a redheaded Irish-American colleen, started her working life as a shopgirl (an apprentice milliner, to …
