11,754 stories by "Trav S.d."
Today is the birthday of Polaire (b. Emilie Bouchard, 1879-1939). I was flabbergasted to notice I hadn’t already done a post on her; I knew about her and had mentioned her in in No App…
Since today was the most perfect day in the history of the world ever, the Duchess and I took a major stroll around Prospect Park and Grand Army Plaza. On the way home, this classic, early-t…
I hope I’m not dating myself for loving Victoria Libertore’s work as much as I do and for the reasons I do. When I first came to this city, her brand of autobiographical solo wor…
Today is the birthday of Joseph Myrtle Corbin (1868-1928). Myrtle possessed an extra set of small, doll-like legs. Corbin was a dipygus; her axis had split during her development as an embry…
Today is the birthday of perhaps the greatest comic drunk of all time, Foster Brooks (1912-2001). While he got his start in radio in the 1930s, it wasn’t until he was in his 50s that h…
Today is the birthday of the great stand-up comedian Mort Sahl (b. 1927). Sahl is part of the generation that revolutionized comedy starting in the late years of Eisenhower’s presidenc…
Today is Eric Burdon’s birthday (b. 1941). I’d always been a huge fan of all the Animals (and Eric Burdon and the Animals — they were two different bands with two different…
Today is the birthday of the great Salvador Dali (1904-1989). Those of us whose lives were lucky enough to have overlapped his will have no problem digesting why this painter merits inclusio…
Vaudeville was an exhilarating, great new world for me. It had its share of deadbeats and egocentric maniacs and joke-snatchers. But we had warmth and camaraderie and time for laughs. –…
Filed under: American Folk/ Country/ Western, BROOKLYN, Contemporary Variety, Music, PLUGS Tagged: Bayou 'n' Brooklyn, music fest
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Coney Island, Contemporary Variety, Magicians & Quick-Change, PLUGS Tagged: Coney Island, magic show
Today is Donovan’s birthday! Donovan pretty much represents the summit of what I’m looking for in a pop music experience. (What’s another way to say that? Oh, yeah: “…
Where were you last night? I only ask because I saw what appeared to be everybody else! First we went to Clay McCleod Chapman’s book launch at Books of Wonder for his excellent-looking…
Well, this opens nationwide today. I, for one, intend to cut it lots of slack. The story has never been adapted successfully for the screen before, so there is nowhere to go but up. Â Thou…
Today is the birthday of playwright Arthur Kopit (b. 1937) I only know the plays below, but it seems to me he is one of our most important contemporary dramatists, not far behind Sh…
Just got word that the great Taylor Mead has passed on. He was kind of what “downtown” used to be all about, the star all of those seminal early off-off Broadway plays by the lik…
I am now officially obsessed. I never heard of this guy before Tuesday, when Michael Cumella, host of WFMU’s Antique Phonograph Music Program, told me about him over lunch. “You …
Today is the birthday of Sir James Matthew Barrie, First Baronet, OM (1860-1937). This novelist and poet had much to his credit besides his most famous creation Peter Pan. Just two things I&…
In 1929, the French surrealist journal Variétés published photos of Violetta as though she were a living, breathing work of surrealistic art — which, if you think about it, sh…
Today is the birthday of Toni Tennille. Those who are familiar with the Captain and Tennille’s long string of hit records from the mid to late 70s may not remember, know, or care that …
This nuttiness opens tonight at the Snapple Theatre and runs through Mother’s Day. Apparently, Christina Crawford not only survived “Mommy” (Joan Crawford), but also the or…
Today is the birthday of Robert Johnson (1911-1938). I find it amazing that we know that, that we know anything about him, because it used to be that we didn’t. One learned about…
Today is the birthday of Mr. Don Rickles (b. 1926). Famous for being a politically incorrect insult comic in live performance, he originally trained as an actor at the American Academy of Dr…
Well, the focus of this planned blogpost has changed entirely. The original headline and lede was going to be “Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks Celebrate a Five Year Run at Sofia̵…
Coincidentally got word about two great new books by two different friends that are now available to pre-order. Most astounding of all, they aren’t by ME! Steve Massa, from the Silent …
