282 stories by "Trav S. D."
Here’s something you don’t see every day…or every half century for that matter. An archive has recently turned up Eugene O’Neill’s 1920 play Exorcism , long tho…
I was up in Ithaca, New York over the weekend, and we chanced to pass by the local demonstration in support of Occupy Wall Street. There were only a couple of dozen people there (it was rain…
Another side benefit of my weekend sojourn in Ithaca – -I got to see this swell exhibition Roman,s Exploits & Peril: When Movies Were Made in Ithaca, organized by the Ithaca Mot…
Today is Oscar Wilde’s birthday (1854-1900). I fell under Wilde’s spell in the 1990s, so much so that I named my second son (Charles Wilde Stewart, b. 1998) after him. To be a co…
What: 2011 NYC Regional American Youth Circus Organization Festival When: October 16, 2011, 8:30am-6:30pm Who: Produced by Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and Playful Productions for the American …
Today is the birthday of Ford Lee Washington, a.k.a. “Buck” of Buck and Bubbles. For more info on that team go here. See them in action in the 1937 film Varsity Show below. To…
Tonight’s the memorial service for the late Aaron Baker (far right, above) at the Brick Theater. Fate decreed that I would be out of town this weekend, but I surely will be thinking of…
Today is the birthday of John L. Sullivan (1858-1918), who worked the vaudeville circuits in his later years. For a little squib on him, go here. The informative doc below was produced by ES…
Today’s the birthday of Lillian Gish (1893-1993). She was the principal muse of one of my favorite film directors D.W. Griffith, starring for him as early as 1912, back when the pictur…
Today is the birthday of Pert Kelton; among many other credits, she was the original Alice in The Honeymooners. For the full bio on her go here. To learn more about the roots of variety ente…
Today is the birthday of Hollywood character actor Clarence Muse (1889-1979). Like Paul Robeson, he possessed a law degree, but the prejudices of the times made it of little use. so he went …
The Fartiste opens with a might blast tonight at Sofias, just a few blocks downwind of Times Square and Broadway. For tickets and info go here.
Today is the birthday of Julia Rooney. Born in 1887, she was a daughter of the famous Pat Rooney, Sr. and was thus a member of an important vaudeville dynasty. From approximatelely 1895 thro…
Today is Lillie Langtry’s birthday; go here for more info on her. Below, the classic scene from William Wyler’s The Westerner (1940) wherein Gary Cooper buys a little time from h…
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of the great Ned Harrigan, one of the unjustly neglected giants of the American Theatre. To celebrate his life and work (and that of his pe…
The Six Brown Brothers were a sextet of Canadian saxophonists (or should I say a saxtet of Canadian sexophonists? Perhaps not) The group is largely credited with helping to popularize the sa…
Today is the birthday of one of vaudeville’s most legendary acts: Peg Leg Bates. See him in action below. And for the full bio go here. To learn more about the variety arts past and…
Since this is Italian American appreciation day on Travalanche, it seems like an auspicious time to plug the new sandwich joint in our neighborhood, Zito’s. Mostly we want to do this b…
Today we strike out into terra incognita. I’ve done hundred of biographical essays of vaudeville stars from back in the day, and of contemporary vaudevillians whom I have presented in …
Tony Pastor, Father of Vaudeville: Italian-American Happy Columbus Day! Â In New York at least, with our huge Columbus Day parade, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the day has become…
 This post is one in a series that defines for the layman the various types of variety arts. For the full panoply go here.  Varieta, also known as the caffe-concerto, refers to …
Today is the birthday of Harry Richman, a huge star in his day, now forgotten. Below is a clip of him doing his signature song, one of Berlin’s best. For more info on Richman go here. …
Today is the birthday of Will Ahern (1896-1983). Inspired by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West troupe (where he literally learned the ropes), the Waterbury native Ahern made his professional de…
Today is the birthday of Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944). She is #242 in my Stars of Vaudeville series, although you’ll find only one tiny (though racy) anecdote there. Sister Aimee…
 Today is the birthday of the sublime Jacques Tati (1907-1982), the world’s premiere exponent of clown cinema in the post silent era. Of Russian and Dutch extraction (his full last…
