11,744 stories by "Trav S.d."
Imagine my delight the other day when, after a brief confusion, I learned that there were not one but two 20th century performers named Sally Starr, both of whom worked with great comedians.…
A tribute today to the late Bill Bixby (Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III, 1934-1993). I would describe Bixby as a “likable, light” actor — he was more than up to a wide ran…
January 22 is the birthday of writer and former police officer Joseph Wambaugh (b. 1937). Wambaugh is a critical figure in the evolution of police drama, taking it into a direction of greate…
January 22 is the birthday of the legendary restaurateur Peter Luger (1922-41). Originally from Bavaria, Luger opened a dining and amusement establishment in then-predominantly German Wil…
Today we celebrate character actor J. Carrol Naish (1896-1973). Two surprising things about Naish’s Irish heritage (his parents were Irish immigrants to the U.S.): 1) That it exists at…
In addition to being Martin Luther King Day (see previous post), it also happens to be the first day of Broadway Week here in New York. We observe it with a little post about some musical…
Martin Luther King Day couldn’t be a better timed or more appropriate time to announce our upcoming blitz of African-American related content on Travalanche for Black History Month (Fe…
Returning this week: Me and Lee: The Musical, written by, songs by, and starring Jason Trachtenburg, of Pendulum Swings and the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. Me and Lee is…
Sometime in the middle of the 1970s, to everyone’s delight, a direct marketing TV advertising campaign appeared out of nowhere hawking the records of a yodeling country singer namedÂ�…
Paula Stone (1912-1997) was the daughter of Broadway and vaudeville legend Fred Stone and sister of Dorothy Stone, but she made her own “ripples” as well. Naturally, she started …
For our post on Cheers (1982-1993) we choose the birthday of the late Nicholas Colasanto (1924-1985), and we’ll make him a peg to hang the piece on as well. Cheers is one of my favo…
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was one of the first literary authors I ever read on my own for enjoyment, and from quite a young age. The initial entry points were undoubtedly the poems “…
Here’s an intriguing figure who will be well known to fans of Our Gang, Laurel and Hardy and other Hal Roach comedies. Lyle (pronounced “Lily”) Shipman (1889-1982) was born…
Christina Elizabeth “Dixie” Dunbar (1919-1991) took dance classes in her native Montgomery, Alabama, and demonstrated a talent that encouraged her mother to take her to New York.…
A nod today to Hollywood star Constance Moore (1920-2005). Despite the fact that she had very little experience in live theatre, there is sort of a vaudeville flavor to many of Moore’s…
Fehmer Christy “Chick” Chandler (1905-1988) was a blueblood who chafed at family discipline, chucked it, and jumped into show business with both feet, to the benefit of audiences…
Lillian Bond (1908-1991) was a London chorine who made good in memorable parts on stage and screen in the States, usually as sexpots and “other women”. Educated at Brompton Orato…
Marjorie Gateson (1891-1977) is known to comedy fans whether they know it or not) from such films as Mae West’s Goin’ to Town (1935), Harold Lloyd’s The Milky Way (1936), A…
A little murk today in our biography of these two performing sisters and their family, though we’ll fine-tune it as better facts emerge. It owes much to the gang at Nitrateville —…
January 17 is the birthday of British music hall entertainer Ida Barr (Maud Barlow, 1882-1967). Barlow was an army brat, born in Regent’s Park Barracks, London. She was 16 when she mad…
Faylen and Hughes was a mid-west vaudeville act from the late 1920s through 1935. The team were a married couple: Carol Hughes (Catherine Hukill, 1910-1995) and Frank Faylen (Charles Ruf, 19…
There’s far too much celebration of hoodlums and gangsters in this culture so that’s not we’ll be doing with reference to Al Capone (1899-1947) today, but his name does pop…
Because he wrote two of the Marx Brothers’ weaker, more clueless vehicles (At the Circus and Go West), I’d love to respect Irving Brecher (1914-2008) less than I’m oblig…
Violet La Plante (1908-1984) was Laura La Plante’s kid sister, and benefited from her stardom, though she never achieved anything like the success of her famous sibling. Violet made ju…
My quandary yesterday: be a day late with a tribute to Carol Channing (1921-2019), or be very late and wait until her birthday, which is just two weeks from today, when I was already plan…
