11,746 stories by "Trav S.d."
Today is the birthday of stage and screen Renaissance man Hugo Haas (1901-1968). Haas is an intriguing cinematic figure whom I am only just now discovering for myself, and the process …
Theoretically today was a day of a general strike, which normally means a day when no one works or buys anything or conducts any business, but looking around the busy city I got the feeling …
Today is the birthday of the brilliant British comic actress Dame Patricia Routledge (b. 1929). What a testament to the importance of luck in the creation of performance magic is Routledg…
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Contemporary Variety Tagged: BROOKLYN, Freddy's Bar, Granny's Bluemers
Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: Bunny Buxom, burlesque, Slipper Room, Up the Rabbit Hole
Filed under: Art Stars, Indie Theatre, PLUGS Tagged: Austin Pendleton, David Mamet, Not My President, Penny Arcade, Tammy Faye Starlite, The Anarchist, theatre, WOW Cafe
Today is the birthday of Jose Escobar “Pepito” Perez (1896-1975). Originally from Barcelona, Pepito got his start as a clown in Spain in 1914. He came to the U.S. in 1922 and per…
So much circus and variety news lately, this may have to become a regular feature! As we reported in our earlier bulletin, but may have gotten lost in the list of items, the theme of this…
“There’s someone for everybody” goes the old matchmaker’s expression, and perhaps no words rang truer on February 9, 1863, the day that professional little person Tom…
Today is the birthday of actor Stuart Erwin (1903-1967). Originally from Squaw Valley, California, Erwin had a little stage experience before being cast in a small role in his feature featur…
Today is the birthday of Florence Roberts (1871-1927). This is yet another Florence Roberts, quite a different one from the professional old lady we wrote about here. This Florence Rob…
Today is the birthday of Aida Overton Walker (1880-1914). singer, dancer, actor, choreographer, comedienne and “Queen of the Cakewalk”. Born Ada Overton (she later embellished th…
Today is the birthday of actress Helen Dauvray (1859-1923). A prominent stage actress of her day (and one of the few female actor-managers), today she is best remembered for her private life…
This new series of posts came out of the realization that I have relatives and roots in all 50 U.S. states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them (all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent), and I …
This new series of posts came out of the realization that I have relatives and roots in all 50 U.S. states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them (all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent), and I …
Yesterday, after I posted my piece about the various contemporary secession movements (hint: none of them are in the middle of the country), Dick Zigun, Coney Island’s Unofficial Mayor…
Filed under: CULTURE & POLITICS, Indie Theatre, Protests, Valentine's Day Tagged: Charas, El Bohio, rally, theatre
Today is the birthday of actress Helen MacKeller (1895-1966). Originally from Detroit, MacKellar began trouping in melodramas and vaudeville as a teenager. I see references to her in reviews…
Sometimes the difference between comedy and satire can seem slight, but when the latter is properly done, you can drive a truck through the gulf. Satire is comedy made by an angry moralist. …
Today is the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln. How sad Lincoln would be to know that 152 years after his death, the country would still be divided, and for reasons not too different fro…
Today is the birthday of dancer Ralph Riggs (1885-1951). With his wife Katherine Witchie (d. 1967) had an acrobatic dance act in vaudeville for many years. A description of their act from Th…
It may beyond the capacity of younger people to imagine, but there was a time within living memory when New England’s smaller cities (towns like Worcester, Providence, Hartford, Waterb…
Well, I’m, very blue today to hear that Rich Conaty has passed. I’d heard that he was very sick, but I somehow missed the news that he’d left us. I’ll let my 2009 pro…
Just a few oddments of circus news I’ve gotten in recent days, so it made sense to loop ’em together. As we wrote here, the Big Apple Circus went under earlier this year. As repo…
At Travalanche we are of the opinion that all who were once household words…should always be so. My friends at the Metropolitan Playhouse share a similar mission, making the works of p…
