11,754 stories by "Trav S.d."
Madame Devere is important to our history for having possessed the longest facial hair ever recorded on a bearded lady — 14 inches. While there is some confusion about her birthdate (I…
Today is the birthday of the great American painter Grant Wood (1891-1942). I relate mightily to this artist’s consuming subject matter (Americana) and the attitude he brings to it (an…
Today is the birthday of Peter Tork of the Monkees (b. 1942). As all Monkees fans know, the not-so-secret secret is that while Michael Nesmith was the best songwriter, Mickey Dolenz the b…
Today is the birthday of William Edward Maguiness, better known as Ted Mack (1904-1976). His name is of course inseparable from the radio and television he hosted from 1948 through 1970, …
Today is the birthday of Star of Vaudeville #296: music hall star Marie Lloyd (for a full biographical article on her go here). Now here she is singing that ever-popular number “The Co…
Today is the birthday of Charles Darwin (1909-1882). His On the Origin of Species was published in 1859 and gained widespread acceptance circa the 1870s, although speculation on the topic, i…
Today’s the birthday of our greatest President. TCM ran Abe Lincoln in Illinois last night, an adaptation of the Robert Sherwood play. Raymond Massey (who created the role in the…
Today is the birthday of the Mills Brothers’ dad and manager John Mills (not to be confused with the English actor!) My full article on the family act is here.  And now here t…
This is part five of the series on the show biz ancestry of Cynthia Fujikawa, which we launched here about four weeks ago. It’s in her own words. A year after the Crash…
Today is the birthday of the great Hollywood screenwriter, producer and director Joseph Mankiewicz. The list of important movies Mankiewicz had a hand in, in one or more of those three capac…
Today is the birthday of Thomas Edison (1847-1931). What’s he got to do with show biz history? He is CENTRAL to show biz history! First, his incandescent light bulb revolutionized the …
Today is the birthday of the lovely Anita Garvin (1907-1994). A New York City native, she started out as a teenager in vaudeville and as a chorus girl for Earl Carroll and Ziefeld before …
Today is the birthday of Bert Brecht (1898-1956!) Let’s get one thing straight from the outset — I don’t give a crap that he became a communist. Some people (thousands o…
Today is the birthday of one of my favorite Tin Pan Alley lyricists Bert Kalmar (for much more on him and his songwriting partner Harry Ruby go here ). The team is best known for the tunes (…
Today is the birthday of Star of Vaudeville #117: Jimmy Durante (for my full biographical article on him go here). Poor Durante! The most mainstream mention he gets nowadays is a lot of  …
Today at 1pm Eastern TCM is showing the “zany 60s comedy classic” Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965). I place the description in quotes, because I went back an…
The Hall of Hams is my series on some of my favorite actors who have brought the art of melodramatic acting into the modern era. Today is the birthday of good Creighton (1906-1973). If you g…
Today is the birthday of Frieda Pushnik (1923-2000). Born without arms or legs (except a small stump for a left arm) she was sometimes billed as "The Little Half Girl." It was said that she …
Today is the birthday of the great Brill Building songwriter Carole King (b. 1942). Most people know (either or both) her spectacular solo success in the early 1970s…or her equally imp…
Today is the birthday of Gypsy Rose Lee (for my full biographical article on this burlesque legend go here). Though famous for her class she still had a lot of sass, as evidenced by this cli…
The Hall of Hams is my series on some of my favorite actors who have brought the art of melodramatic acting into the modern era. The preposterous pose of superiority assumed by many a legit …
Today is the birthday of the great American humorist, journalist, novelist and playwright George Ade (1866-1944). He is sadly neglected today. I only discovered him because an old 30 pound d…
Today is the birthday of Johann Petursson (1913-1984). Born in Dalvik, Iceland , he was completely normal until age 15, when his astounding growth spurt began. He eventually reached a hei…
This post is one of a series honoring Black History Month. Ginger Jack Wiggins got his start on the TOBA circuit and black vaudeville, training with the Whitman Sisters and performing with t…
Today is the birthday of the great film director King Vidor (1894-1982). There is so much to celebrate about the man: his 1928 silent comedies with Marion Davies The Patsy and Show People; h…
