11,807 stories by "Trav S.D."
The title of today's post comes by virtue of the fact that our only previous post dedicated to this major entertainer focused on but a single accomplishment, my favorite creation of hers (th…
Born 150 years ago this day: Howard Roger Garis (1873-1962), most notable for creating the children's book character Uncle Wiggily. The title of this post is derived from that of his son's 1…
Check it out! I'm today's guest on Avi Woolf's terrific Gilded Age podcast series "Stumbling Colossus". The topic is vaudeville of course " you wanna talk about income disparity and opportun…
How delightful that Albert Zugsmith (1910-1993) shares a birthday with William Castle (1914-1977), for they have so much in common. Both became famous as independent, low-budget schlockmeist…
There is a poetic resonance in the fact that Ronald Neame, CBE (1911-2010) was born on St. George's Day, the Feast Day for England's Patron Saint, for there is something quintessentially Eng…
Very sad news to report, and I'm glad I learned it from my old editor Jason Zinoman, who nowadays has the comedy beat at the NYTimes (I wouldn't have liked to have learned it from someone wh…
There is no shortage of significant April 22 birthdays. As I write this, it is the centennial of the births of Bettie Page and Aaron Spelling; last year it was Charles Mingus. Also born this…
April 21 is the natal day of Jim Osterberg (b.1947), universally known by the handle Iggy Pop. He is top of mind at the moment, since we recently watched Gimme Danger, Jim Jarmusch's 2016 do…
This is a show biz blog and Burt Pugach (1927-2020) had a modest footprint in show business. He was invested in New York nightclubs, and he produced the crime drama Death Over My Shoulder (1…
I learned about silent comedienne Wanda Wiley (1902-1987) through the good offices of the Silent Comedy Watch Party and That Slapstick Show, both of whom have presented her shorts. How wonde…
I don't know that Dickie Goodman (1934-89) WAS the "King of Novelty" precisely (it's a crowded field), but that is the title of his son Jon's 2000 biography about his dad. The book has a for…
I have no idea who decreed it to be National Banana Day, but the instant I learned of its existence I thought of this post, for the banana is one of your top comedy fruits, as well as one th…
April 18 is World Heritage Day, also known as International Day of Monuments and Sites. I thought it would be an appropriate day on which to introduce you to my other blog, the Trav-a-Log, w…
Dawn Evelyn Paris (1918-1993) had two movie careers, the first as child star Dawn O'Day, the second, under the billing of the character she played in Anne of Green Gables (1934), Anne Shirle…
April 16 was the natal day of Pearl "Polly" Adler (1900-1962); it seemed the most apt date for this review of Debby Applegate's 2021 book Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jaz…
Thank you, Travalanche friend Anthony Di Florio, for letting me know about Italian-American entertainer Eduard Migliaccio, a.k.a Farfarfello (1880-1946). Migliaccio was a star of New York's …
Just a few brief lines about major silent screen star William Russell (William Lerche, 1884-1929) who appeared in over 200 films over the course of two decades. The son of stage actress Clar…
We don't often get occasion to add to our little section of posts defining the various types of variety arts and their venues, so we thought we would embrace National Gardening Day as an occ…
I became aware of silent screen actress Glady Walton (1903-1993) by way of my recent post on Hazel Howell. They had appeared in the 1921 feature Desperate Youth together. I was naturally mos…
I haven't written tons on this blog about the sort of art that is hung in galleries (just about 3 dozen posts, most with some sort of connection to our usual beat of show business), but this…
April 12 was the natal day of silent screen star Robert Harron (1893-1920). Harron's was an unusual trajectory. He was a local New York Irish kid who was hired to sweep up an do odd-jobs at …
I've spent a ton of time in gorgeous (gorges) Ithaca, New York over the last 20 years. My kids grew up there and we spent countless hours roaming the beautiful natural vistas around Cornell,…
I don't know if it registers with younger viewers (I'm not sure how it could) but when Michael Lerner (1941-2023) showed up in his Oscar nominated turn in Barton Fink (1991) his casting read…
Shirley Grey (Agnes Zetterstrand, 1902-1981) appeared in nearly 50 films over a six year period, and it's quite a respectable footprint, though hers is a name that has hardly been etched int…
April 10, 1963 marked the debut of the legendary San Francisco (and later, also L.A.) based improv comedy troupe The Committee. Formed by Second City alum Alan Myerson (b. 1940) and others, …
