11,728 stories from Trav S.D.
Today's new Travalanche post for March 22, 2026 is about the Compton dynasty (which includes such luminaries as Fay Compton, Compton Mackenzie, and Tracy Reed, the girl with George C. Sco…
Today's new Travalanche post for March 21, 2026 is about the poet Phyllis Wheatley, in observance of World Poetry Day. If that ain't vaudeville enough for yer, earlier Travalanche posts for …
Today being World Poetry Day, one that falls during the 250th anniversary year of American Independence, it seemed the ideal moment to acknowledge one of America's first significant poets, P…
The first day of Spring used to be the first day of the year on European calendars (it's slightly complicated but that's why April Fool's Day is April 1. It was originally part of New Year's…
Today's new Travalanche posts for March 20, 2026 are about Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and the First Day of Spring. Earlier Travalanche posts for March 20 (in no particular order) include on…
I have a damning admission to make, one that risks alienating some readers. I found the revival of interest in Fred Rogers (1928-2003) several years ago, surrounding the release of the films…
Knowest Thou of Poster House? Apparently it opened in 2019, a year when I was out of town a lot, and then came Covid and the lock-down, and that went on for a couple of years at least. Plus …
Today's new Travalanche posts for March 19, 2026 are about Tod Slaughter, the late John Bengtson, and some great recent exhibitions at Poster House. Earlier Travalanche posts for March 19…
What a happy, happy discovery we have made in the person of British stage and screen star Tod Slaughter (Norman Carter Slaughter, 1885-1956). Where has he been my whole life??? Most American…
We were sorry to learn from Eve Golden of the passing away of silent comedy film historian and author John Bengtson (1957-2026) a couple of days ago. Bengtson died on January 29, though it t…
Today's new Travalanche posts for March 18, 2026 are about Susan Tyrrell, Charley Pride, and the launch of issue #2 of Slips Slips. Earlier Travalanche posts for March 18 (in no particular o…
Saturday Night I celebrated St. Patty's early with a show at the Irish Rep, and a couple of pints of stout with one of me lads. TWO pints, mind you, which one customarily doesn't feel. I'd b…
Thank you Jeff Lewonczyk for sharing this Becca Rothfeld quote (below) as part of your rollout of Issue #2 of Slips Slips. You remember Slips Slips, don't you? We announced its advent with g…
I maintain a running list of significant people who were taken by Covid-19 during the pandemic: black country singer Charley Pride (1934-2020) was one of them. There is, or was, an unfortuna…
March 18 was the birthday of the rare exotic bird Susan Tyrrell (Susan Creamer, 1945-2012). I'd certainly seen many of Tyrrell's screen performances over the years, but only recently did I e…
Today's new Travalanche post for March 17, 2026 is about the late Patty Mahoney. Happy St. Patrick's Day for those who celebrate. We invite you to look at our brief post on the Irish in vaud…
How thoughtful for a lady named Patricia "Patty" Maloney (1936-2025) to be born on St. Patrick's Day. Maloney died less than a year ago, but it seemed (forgive me) magically delicious to hol…
Citoyens Français, écoutez mon appel ! Je vous crie dessus depuis un pays barbare, une nation sans culture, une terre sans goût ni discernement. Cette terre, ce sont les États-Uni…
Today's new Travalanche posts for March 16, 2026 are about the Jerry Lewis Centennial, the Charles Halton Sesquicentennial, National Panda Day, and silent star Conrad Nagel. Earlier Travalan…
March 16 is National Panda Day, so I thought I'd add to my store of animal representation features on Travalanche with this brief tribute. Pictured above are Ling-Ling (1969-1992) and Hsing-…
The title of this post references a quip in an episode of M*A*S*H, surely the first place I ever heard uttered the name of Conrad Nagel (1897-1970). March 16 was Nagel's birthday, but today …
Born 150 years ago today, Hollywood character actor Charles Halton (Charles Herzberg, 1876-1959). With his pinched features, wire spectacles, and wispy thin comb-over, Halton was prized for …
Today's new Travalanche post for March 15, 2026 is about about Andrew Jackson and our recent trip to The Hermitage. Also, it's the Ides of March " so here's a post on Julius Caesar in the mo…
The Ides of March happens to be the birthday of that American Caesar, Andrew Jackson (1767-1845). This is not a U.S. history blog per se, but there are numerous places of overlap here with o…
Today's new Travalanche post for March 14, 2026 is about artist Reginald Marsh. Earlier Travalanche posts for March 14 (in no particular order) include ones on: The Mathematicians of Travala…
