12,175 stories from Trav S.D.
Having already done a post on Peggy O’Day, I couldn’t very well ignore an actress with whom she is often confused, who was born on this day, and went by the screen name of Peggy O’ Dar…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 2, 2026 are a review of the book Jester Prince: How the Flying Karamazov Brothers Reinvented Theatre and Saved the World, Almost and part two of…
This is a post about numbers. Most people have a vague idea at best about the scale of the disaster at the World Trade Center on September 11. This will be an attempt to paint a fuller, more…
As we reported back in May, the voluble Howard Jay Patterson of the genius juggling troupe The Flying Karamazov Brothers has come out with an autobiography, and as promised at that time, her…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 1, 2026 are about a wonderful new play in TNC’s Dream Up Festival and Why I Will Not Shut Up About the World Trade Center. Previous September …
At this writing we find ourselves approaching the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. As I have done most years since the tenth anniversary, I will be observing the occasion here w…
Theater for the New City’s Dream Up Festival is now underway so I wanted to take a moment to plug a friend’s show, to New Yorkers at any rate. Apart from my son, who was a toddler at the…
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 31, 2026 are on Dorothy and DuBose Heyward, and Itzhak Perlman. Previous August 31 posts include ones on: Fredric March Arthur Godfrey Buddy Hackett…
One or two things in celebration of violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman (b. 1945) on his birthday. Perlman’s life is an extraordinary mix of good and bad luck…luck both worse and better than …
In the latest chapter of “AI has turned Google to garbage”, of the names that were proffered in response to my query just now regarding South Carolina authors, DuBose Heyward (1885-1940)…
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 30, 2026 is about 19th century stage star Kitty O’Neil. Earlier August 30 posts include new ones on Joan Blondell Fred MacMurray Fritzi Scheff R. …
Thus far we have given you Peggy O’Neil, Sally O’Neil, and Nance O’Neil, as well as lots of Kitties: Kitty Doner, Kitty McHugh, Kitty Kelly, et al. Almost inevitably then, it would see…
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 29, 2026 are about British comedian Lenny Henry, vaudeville singer Edward M. Favor, and the Orton Brothers Circus (and a deadly fire in 1884). Previ…
In August, 1991 I went to check out a major new comedy release by Touchstone Pictures. It was called True Identity, and it had received a lot of ink, at least a lot that I had happened to co…
In the wee hours of August 29, 1884, a circus train was making its way from Fort Collins to Greeley, Colorado when an appalling disaster struck. A barrel full of gasoline exploded in one of …
August 29 was the birthday of stage, screen and recording star Edward M. Favor (Edward Addison Favor, 1856-1936). Though he was of Anglo-American stock, much of Favor’s material, both as a…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for August 28, 2026 are about the Bow Ties of Vaudeville, and Archeophone Record’s new release, an anthology of historic tracks by Irish tenor George J. Gas…
August 28 is National Bow Tie Day! I’ve wanted to observe the day here for quite some time on account of the bow tie’s vaudeville associations, much as I have done with such accoutrement…
Excited to report the news that our friends at Archeophone Records have dropped their latest landmark release, George J. Gaskin Anthology: The Silver Voiced Irish Tenor. Belfast born George …
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 27, 2026 is about silent comedy supporting player (and brief star) Tom Wilson. Also (very important!) today marks the 250th anniversary of The Battl…
Tom Wilson (1880-1965) was a key player in the ensembles of several major silent comedies by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks, and Lloyd Hamilton; was in both of D.W. Griffi…
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 26, 2026 is about Jules White’s series of Dogville comedies for MGM. Also Happy Women’s Equality Day! Okay, I know it’s a sad one. We just los…
The title of this post is of course intended to clarify that it is not about the 2003 arthouse film by Lara Van Trier. But you probably new that anyway! Today being National Dog Day, it seem…
Today’s new Travalanche post for August 25, 2025 is about vaudeville, radio, and screen performer Dick Ryan. Previous August 25 posts include ones on: Chic Sale Ruby Keeler Monty Hall of L…
I’m not sure how I stumbled upon the existence of Dick Ryan (1896-1969), a minor figure to be sure, but he has the kind of stage and screen credits we pay attention to! Originally from New…
