11,744 stories by "Trav S.d."
The past few years have seen nothing but circapocalypse news when it comes to the sawdust and canvas, so we feel obliged to share some rare good news. The Big Apple Circus has hired Bindlest…
Thank you, Scott Stiffler, for reminding me of the existence of Reta Shaw (1912-1882) the bulldog-like character actress who played any number of severe housemaids, nurses, lady military off…
I realized with something like awe the other day that I have been covering and following Company XIV and their genius artistic director Austin McCormick for eight years, almost as long as th…
Like yesterday’s post on Elsa Schiaparelli and the upcoming series on Agatha Christie, this is a post that might have been better left in the hands of Carolyn Raship, the “lead i…
I am the fashion equivalent of tone deaf, so I toss this one over to the Mad Marchioness, instigator and author of this piece. Schiap’s life overlapped with the usual themes of this…
Edward Einhorn’s The Resistible Rise of J.R. Brinkley opens in the New York International Fringe Festival October 12 and tickets will sell out fast (just 5 performances in a 70 seat ho…
Star Trek debuted on this day in 1966; some are observing “Star Trek Day”. My natural thing to do on such an occasion is a blogpost. I’m old enough to just wanna call i…
September 7 is the birthday of the late Peter Lawford (1923-1984) and his son Christopher Lawford passed away just two days ago. We’ve had occasion to refer to Lawford from time to tim…
There is one thing worse than dying — that’s dying on the same day as Burt Reynolds. That is, if you’re in show business. And that’s what happened to comedian and imp…
Apparently it is #NationalBeerLoversDay by virtue of some decree. Who am I to make waves? I thought I’d observe the day with a little survey of classic comedies of screens and small re…
Just got the word that Burt Reynolds (b. 1936) passed passed away today and I confess the news finds me less prepared than I usually am at such times. I’ve been planning to do somethin…
The 2018 NFL season kicks off tonight with the Falcons playing the Eagles in Philly. We thought we’d mark the occasion with a brief survey of the many football player actors who dotted…
Detroit born Fred Duprez (1884-1938) became a star of stage, screen, phonograph, and radio on two continents. He made his stage debut circa in 1899, and later left medical school for the the…
Our multi-talented friend West Hyler is branching out! We know him mainly as a director and creator of musicals and circus spectaculars, from editions of Big Apple Circus and Cirque du Solei…
You know the old saying — when you research Weber and Fields, everything is connected to Weber and Fields. Well that would be true in any case, but here’s an example where it may…
A journalist wrote to me recently asking me about the history of pie throwing in comedy. I sent her packing! Not because I don’t know something about it, but because it’s the sor…
By Golly, you’ve just got to know about Henrietta Crossman (1861-1944)! well, you don’t, you really don’t, but perhaps, like me you won’t regret being made aware of t…
I teased Clay McLeod Chapman a few months back when he announced he was ending his two-decade old Pumpkin Pie Show, a much beloved Halloween ritual at Under St Marks. No one wanted it to go …
Johnny Mack Brown (1904-1974) was one of those Jazz Age athletes whose fame crossed over into mainstream pop culture, culminating with movie stardom. He was star halfback of the University o…
A few words about illusionist Bill Neff (1905-1967), whose career started out on an interesting note and only grew more so. Neff began doing magic as a teenager in Indiana, reportedly tau…
Word is exploding among the sideshow community today that its most revered member, impresario Ward Hall has passed away at age 89. I never had the pleasure (or the honor) of meeting the man,…
This may seem an odd thing to say, but I think a proper appreciation of Buddy Hackett (Leonard Hacker, 1924-2003) depends on getting beyond his looks. Now, clearly I don’t mean igno…
Actor Fred MacMurray (whose birthday it is today) had at least three public incarnations during his long career. In the first, he was a jazz age musician and good-looking crooner, as we wrot…
At the outset, my Shirley Booth post was strictly going to be about Hazel, but I rapidly realized that was mad injustice. The actress was a dynamo on stage, and on radio as well as screens b…
The great stentorian thespian Raymond Massey (1896-1983) turns out to be another distant relative of mine. Our mutual ancestors moved to Massachusetts in the 1630s. Massey’s ancestors …
