11,517 stories by "Trav S.D."
August 3 was the birthday of cinema pioneer William Kennedy Dickson (1960-1935). Somehow or other, I have managed to write about just about all of the major early American film studios (Edis…
Born 100 years ago today, actress and dancer Martha Holliday (Harriette Olson, 1922-1970). We're not certain whether Holliday would have made it into our annals if not for not that significa…
When it came time to devise a professional name, Mae Smith (1890-1971) of San Rafael, California chose personal significance over immortality perhaps: "Marin", after the county she came from…
August 1, 1962 (60 years ago today) marked the first appearance of the Marvel character Spiderman in Amazing Fantasy #15. This isn't a comics blog, nor one that pays special attention to the…
Just a few lines this morning about minor British character actor Charles Paton (1874-1970), not to be confused with old time blues man Charley Patton! The Paton in question was born and rai…
I realized the other day that of course the celebrity I wanted to meet most in the world was Geraldine Chaplin (b. 1944). (When I was a child, it had been Judy Garland, though that was quite…
Henry Ford (1863-1947) was born of a July 30. Why post about him on a blog that's focused on the history of show business? Well, I'll tell yer! I mentioned Ford no fewer than four times in m…
British comedian, actor, and singer Bernard Cribbins (1928-2022) gave up the ghost today at age 93, and naturally many are leading with his Doctor Who connection, but that'll have to be some…
Not so fast! The true Latin scholar never uses the word "vulgar" vituperatively. Vulgaris means "of the people". I just needed a word with V. As it happens, your correspondent is agnostic on…
Tony Sirico (1942-2022) would have been turning 80 years old today but for the fact that he slipped away from us three weeks ago. Somebody get the lime and shovel out of the trunk! (Too soon…
Don't feel bad if you don't know the name Laird Cregar (1913-1944). He was well on the way to becoming a star, but his early death at age 31 meant he left scarcely more than a dozen films to…
More people should know the name Maureen Dallas Watkins (ca. 1896-1969) but at least now YOU do. Her name honestly ought to be as well remembered as Ben Hecht's, not just because as a journa…
July 26 was the birthday of Stanley Kubrick. Having had cause to mention him on Travalanche around 50 times, it would seem to be about time for a dedicated post on the director, though one c…
I was ready to be done with my blogging for the day but then David Warner (1941-2022) had to go and die on me. And predictably, the idiotic headlines issued forth immediately, e.g., "Titanic…
No sooner do I finish a tribute to the late David Warner than I get the equally disheartening news that Paul Sorvino (1939-2022) has passed. I adored Sorvino as only someone from the very It…
There's no reason anyone under the age of, say, 90 could or should know the name of Al Pearce (1898-1961) though he was popular enough in his own lifetime, nationally, for as long as a quart…
It's too late to register, it's just…what's going on today, and I wish I was there. The Circus Historical Society's annual convention is kicking off in Bridgeport today, so close to NYC on…
Holy crap. Just Holy crap. So…as today is John Leguizamo's birthday, for a laugh I thought I would share a program I saved from 1990 from when I appeared on a bill with him at the Home for…
Today we use the occasion of Harry Cohn's birthday (1891-1958) to fill in a gap in our storytelling. Alone among the Big 8 Classic Hollywood Studios, we haven't yet got 'round to telling abo…
Albert Brooks (Albert Einstein, b. 1947) turns 75 as I compose this, a not unsuitable moment for a little sizing up. Brooks is one of those show biz figures who has pursued several related b…
It's not too soon, right? Nearly a year has passed, so I can go ahead and hate on Norm MacDonald. You'll note that I was fairly measured in my obit piece when he passed last year. I stayed m…
Fans of actor Paul Burke (1926-2009) may object to the title of this post, but I submit it in the calculated spirit in of my earlier Anne Gwynne: Chris Pine's Cool Grandmother, which is with…
I scarcely know anything about actor Philip Wood (1895-1940) apart from his credits, but those are enough to intrigue, and I am quite convinced that if he hadn't been felled by a heart attac…
Born 100 years ago on this day, Native-American singer Kay Starr (Catherine Starks, 1922-2016). Starr was part Iroquois and had some other other Native American blood as well. Born on an Okl…
Ten Days From Today! The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum brings its annual Broncho Billy and Friends Silent Film Festival back to real world 3 dimensional space at its brick and mortar home…
