11,518 stories by "Trav S.D."
Actor William Farnum (1876-1963) was a movie man in the middle: a middle brother (between actor Dustin and director Marshall), and a middle generation (his parents were actors; his daughter …
Some scattered bits on ventriloquist Phil D'Rey (David Cuthbert, d. 1970), pictured above with his wife/assistant Nell Calling (aka Sandra the Sand Artist) and the dummy "Dugan" or "Skinny D…
"He was still alive?" was my not unnatural question when I just now learned that theatre director Peter Brook passed way in Paris yesterday at age 97. When I was at theatre school (1986-88) …
Things have improved for screenwriters in recent decades but long about the mid 20th century they were by most measures invisible, swathed in anonymity, and forced to adapt impersonal styles…
In the mad frenzy to turn back the clock, the Supreme Court reached back more than twice the calendar distance of Roe v. Wade to overturn New York State's 1911 Sullivan Act, which requires a…
The name of Jack Hylton (1892-1965) was central to British popular culture for around four decades. One is tempted to call him the approximate English equivalent of Paul Whiteman, with a sig…
Some little attention paid today to dancer, comedian and actor Guy Raymond (Raymond W. Guyer, 1911-1997). What a great stage name for a comedy dancer, right? Inevitably it reminds me of one …
Congress declared July 1 to be National Boating Day in 2017, and under the assumption that this remains the case, we pick today for a little exploration of the stage and screen phenomenon kn…
Today a few words of acknowledgement for popular dancer Jennie Louise Spalding (1888-1958), best known under the stage name Louise Alexander. Originally from Kentucky, Alexander was only 18 …
I have been a fan of Bindlestiff Family Cirkus ever since the '90s, when I first saw their seat-of-the-pants, old school yet cutting edge show at Collective Unconscious. Two moments I'll alw…
The professional statistics of stage and screen actor Robert Frazer (Robert Browne, 1891-1944) are astonishing: 230 films over a 32 year career. When one encounters volume like that, the per…
This morning we confer all honor and praise to composer/producer Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895-1943). The son of a successful doctor, Rodgers' journey into show …
A little thing today on a husband-wife acting couple, both of whom many screen fans probably know well without necessarily realizing they were a couple. And they were a couple for a LONG tim…
Just got the very sad (and shocking) news that indie theatre/film colleague Lanie Zipoy has died. I say shocking mostly because of the timing. She had just directed and produced her first fe…
Today, an overdue appreciation for a miraculous man of the theatre, George Abbott (1887-1994). Abbott wrote, directed, acted, and produced for the stage, and to a lesser extent, for the scre…
Today marks the centennial of the birth of actress Eleanor Parker (1922-2013). Parker is best known today for playing the Baroness in The Sound of Music (1965), the older, jealous rival of g…
Good news for fans of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company and the caretaker of its legacy Everett Quinton. Everett is staging a reading of the early Charles Ludlam play Big Hotel tonight, with…
We are sad to report the passing of James Rado (James Radomski, 1932-2022) earlier this week. Rado was best known as the writer of the book and lyrics (with partner Jerome Ragni) of the musi…
Though we've had around 60 opportunities to mention Billy Wilder (1906-2002) on Travalanche we've only done a couple of posts dedicated to him. One was about Ball of Fire (1941), which Wilde…
We don't usually pay huge amounts of attention to show biz agents here (William Morris is one who comes to mind), but I think you'll see why Irving Fein (1911-2012) merits an exception. Fein…
Today we wish a sassy 75th to that galactic star Candy Clark (Candace June Clark, b. 1947), whose name always seems to skirt perilously close conceptually to this: 75 is not the roundest ben…
"I've stranded more stars than the Shuberts ever starred" " quoth writer/director/producer Will Morrisey (1887-1957) according to his obituary. He was a known figure in his day. Today, not s…
Today marks the 80th birthday of Sir Paul McCartney (he doesn't look a day over 64!). It would be a benchmark in any case, but Sir Paul and others have helped the event along with several re…
The fame of Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (1910-1968) is magnified for us through the lens of Elvis Aaron Presley. Foley's 1935 song "Old Shep" (released 1941) was a favorite of Elvis's; he'd sun…
My review of the documentary Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, which is playing today and tomorrow in the Tribeca Festival, is now up at Chelsea Community News. It is my second piece…
