282 stories by "Trav S. D."
John J. Murdock (better known as “J.J.”) was one of the ruthless crop of top vaudeville managers who hid behind businessman-like initials (B.F. Keith, E.F. Albee, F.F. Proctor). …
This is why we all live in New York, gang! Drag diva extraordinaire Lypsinka Von Rasputina is doing some kind of free performance in the window of Bergdorf Goodman’s tonight between 7 …
Tonight the divine enigma Poor Baby Bree (and her collaborator Franklin Bruno), are launching their new monthly series at Bowery Poetry Club. Needless to say, this come recommended highly &#…
Tonight at 6pm, the Lightship Lilac (Hudson River Pier 25) will open a new exhibition of photography, video and oral history about the role of mariners in responding to 9/11, from evacuation…
The impeccably curated NY Clown Theatre Festival opens its 2011 edition at the Brick Theater tonight, this time in a smaller version that pits quality over quantity, although I must say …
 Kitty Doner (1894-1988) was a dame who danced just like a feller! A second generation vaudevillian, her act seems almost a perfect splicing of her two parents’ skills. Her mother h…
Bessie Clayton (1888-1948) has been called “America’s first prima ballerina” and the “mother of toe tap”. The latter skill refers not to simply tapping one̵…
This hilarious sounding clown duo from Dublin opens their show at 59 e 59 tonight. From their press materials: “Enjoy 50 minutes of comic mayhem as two idiots put on a Cirque-du-Soleil…
James Doyle (1888-1927)Â and Harland Dixon (1885-1969) were each successful song and dance men in their own right who teamed up for a successful vaudeville act from 1912 to 1921. Of the tw…
This troupe of little people dates from the post-vaudeville period. They crossed the puddle from their homebase in Vienna for the 1939 World’s Fair and just stayed, touring the U.S. th…
The expression on Buster’s face here says it all. When it comes to film-going I’m a proponent of the philosophy of Ernie Kovacs: “Everything in excess”. I like nothin…
Pic from “Vaudeville, Old and New”, Routledge Press Lucky me, to have found a singularly appropriate vaudevillle act to present for LABOR DAY! Willie, West and McGinty’s wh…
Jews have done so well for themselves in American comedy for close to a century now that it’s difficult to imagine a time when the dominant Gentiles would actually impersonate them in …
Billy Watson was born Isaac Levie in the Lower East Side circa 1852. His nickname arises from his most famous gambit — presenting parodies of burlesque shows starring women in the vici…
Laura Keene’s Resting Place. Photo by Cashel Stewart When the subway was down last week, we resorted to the nearest tourist attraction within walking distance — Green-wood Cemeta…
I don’t usually traffic in such purely commercial information, but I strongly suspect this will be of interest to some readers. On Thursday, September 8, there will be an auction of vi…
I am going to attempt to make it out to the beach for Coney Island History Day today but in case I can’t, it turns out I won’t have to stray far off the plantation for a little t…
Vaudeville’s premier comedy team Weber & Fields has a host of imitators (Kolb & Dill among them), but none were more pernicious than the Rogers Brothers. Not only did they stea…
 Alphonse Berge’s entire act revolved around taking bolts of fabric and fashioning original gowns out of them on a couple of onstage models. Also known as The Great Drapo, he c…
History Day and the Coney Island Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held today, Saturday, September 3rd, from 1-5pm. Celebrate historic Coney Island with us this Saturday at the 1st …
A rare example of old school show biz overlapping with New York’s cultural elite. Jean Dalrymple (born this day in 1902) is best known to contemporaries as one of the founders and prin…
Edith Wilson (born Edith Goodall this day in 1896) was a blues and jazz singer who got her start in black vaudeville and Chicago night clubs before moving up to all-black Broadway revues in …
Jack Norton (born this day in 1882) was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable bit players of the 1930s and 40s, usually but not always, playing a comic drunk with at most a line or two.…
John W. Kelly was a garroulous Irish storyteller, credited by some with helping to ease Irish stage representation out of the age of leprochaun-looking knockabout acts, into one a tad more t…
Michael Shea (born 1858, date unknown) was the vaudeville kingpin who controlled the territory around Buffalo. If that sounds a trifle unimpressive, it must be remembered that a century ago …
