11,519 stories by "Trav S.D."
April 6 is the birthday of Tin Pan Alley lyricist Leo Robin (1900-1984), best known for his collaborations with tunesmith Ralph Grainger. He is chiefly remembered today for having written th…
When I was in the kid in the late 1970s there was a regular feature/program on PBS called Lowell Thomas Remembers. Ironies abounded, then and now, in the heart of that title, for the time qu…
Not to be confused with the hip hop/ martial arts movie director of the same name, Charles "Charlie" Ahearn (1886-1940) was a trick-riding comedy bicyclist in vaudeville " only the second on…
Today we tell of the vaudeville, radio and movie team of Ed East (1894-1952) and Ralph Dumke (1899-1964) as well as their later individual solo careers. We now have yet a couple of new entri…
I began performing in comedy shows with Scott Stiffler just about a quarter of a century ago, from the bowels of the Bowery to Caroline's on Broadway. About half that span ago, our relations…
Just a few fragments I've been able to gather on the act known as the Rossow Midgets. Originally from Vienna, they were sideshow triple threats: "twin" strongmen little people. The twins are…
I first became aware of the team of Henshaw and Ten Broeck when I saw their names amongst the acts that had played the Smith Opera House in western New York. John E. Henshaw (ca. 1853-1939) …
Given the dominant stereotype of Eastern Slavs as a morose, nihilistic people, you may be surprised to learn that the one place in the world where April Fool's Day is an official holiday? Is…
Who among us has been slapped across the face? I have, quite a lot, by both parents. I've always remembered one particular incident, minor in the scheme of things, but it always stuck out fo…
Were he still among the land of the living, Richard Kiley (1922-1999) would be 100 years old today. I mentioned Kiley to a very smart friend recently, who responded, "Who?" though like many …
This year there are two major anniversaries for comedian Paul Reiser (b. 1956): 40 years since his cinematic debut in Barry Levinson's Diner (1982) and 30 years since the launch of his popul…
Fans of American pop culture have long admired two famous Raphaelsons (or Rafelsons), from two generations, who left very different legacies. We've had occasion to mention them both several …
Here's something I seldom stumble across. A MAJOR popular comedy franchise of stage, film, radio, comics, and television of the 1930s, '40s and '50s that even I knew nothing about. And about…
On this day 100 years ago in Sydney, Australia was born the performer known as Fakir Magician Aly (Sometimes "Ali") Kabah (Gerald Holmes (1922-2009). Aly Kabah's act combined elements of mag…
A few words today about a place that was a New York amusement institution for nearly a half century, and whose "story" overlaps somewhat with that of vaudeville: The Eden Musée, Located on …
If you want to work on your Eve Arden impression, say the title of this post 100 times! The autumn of this year will mark the centennial of the Hal Roach film series known as Our Gang, or Th…
In stark contrast with last year, I have only seen about a third of this year's major Oscar nominated films, and have only blogged about a couple: Nightmare Alley and Being the Ricardos. I t…
I found myself irritated by the tagline of the 2016 documentary short Starring Austin Pendleton…"the Most Famous Actor Your Never heard Of". And I should hope you'll immediately spot why. …
Okay, who wants to see a Fanny Brice cage match between Kimberly Faye Greenberg and Beanie Feldstein? Only me? Quel dommage! KFG has been heroically holding the fort for years as New York's …
It is with a good deal of hometown pride today that I celebrate the career of pianist, bandleader, and composer Frankie Carle (Francis Nunzio Carlone, 1903-2001). The son of a Providence fac…
Louie Anderson (1953-2022) passed away two months ago, in a crazy cluster of celebrity deaths that included Peter Bogdanovich, Betty White, Meat Loaf, and Bob Saget. On January 21, when Ande…
Few in show business have had as great an impact in their particular discipline as Gorgeous George Wagner (1915-1963). In the case of George one can use the word "legend" without hyperbole. …
RIP Madeleine Albright. I hope Ian W. Hill doesn't mind my sharing this image from his Flickr page. It's the Former and First Female U.S. Secretary of State at my old haunt The Brick Theater…
Sad am I that I was only a toddler when The Pickle Brothers had their big moment; sadder still that the moment didn't last longer. The trio consisted of three Hofstra theatre alum Michael Mi…
I'm so thrilled to announce that I am among the Little Engines That Could whom Ayun Halliday interviewed for her great new book Creative, Not Famous: The Small Potato Manifesto, from Microco…
