11,521 stories by "Trav S.D."
Were she not untimely taken from us, ventriloquist Angela Martin (Angel Mignanelli, 1942-2004) would be turning 80 today. Martin was a child prodigy from Astoria, Queens. She was still a twe…
I first became aware of Agnes "Aggie" Herring (1876-1939) from her key role in Harold Lloyd's Among Those Present (1921) as the society dame mother of the girl Harold is courting, and from s…
A few days ago I got a couple of related but separate news bulletins from Undercrank Productions. Their latest DVD/Blu-ray release Zander the Great (1925) dropped on Tuesday; and a day or tw…
Having long been familiar with Edmund Goulding's original 1947 Nightmare Alley, and recently read William Lindsay Gresham's original 1946 novel, my reaction to Guillermo del Toro's recent re…
Sure, February 2 is Groundhog Day but it also happens to be National Ukulele Day, and for reasons that should be obvious, that will always take precedence where I live. I had planning on per…
Very excited to report that Jim Moore's gorgeous new photography book Don't Miss This: A Decade of Eccentric Performing Arts Photography is now available to purchase in pre-sales! Don't Miss…
A few months ago, I was laid up with a bad back and you know how when you're unwell and immobile you'll watch anything, because well you HAVE to? So I found myself watching Atlantis: The Los…
"Chief" Willie Bowlegs (1896-1964) was a sword swallower, alligator wrestler, knife thrower and juggler from the Everglades of Florida. A full-blooded Seminole, he was named in apparent homa…
I first became aware of David Wayne (Wayne James McMeekan, 1914-95) from his role as Jim Hutton's dad on the very fun mystery series Ellery Queen (1975-76). Over the years I caught him in do…
Say hello to the 1,702nd vaudeville performer we have written about on Travalanche. Toby Claude (Harriette Mary Kavanaugh, 1877-1962) was the Dublin-born daughter of English burlesque perfor…
In the mid '80s, I was briefly diverted by the charmless charms of a low-budget independent horror movie called Mother's Day (1980). I am not ordinarily a fan of graphic horror, nor was I th…
It's always amused me that though Howard McNear (1905-1969) was a key member of the ensemble on The Andy Griffin Show from 1961 to 1967 he did not play Howard. That was Jack Dodson. McNear w…
The first William Redfield (1927-1976) performances I ever saw were among his last (and I figure my experience is not unusual). He was the persnickety "Harding" in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's…
Fragments this morning on a vaudeville couple. I'm uncertain how I became aware of them " most likely from movie comedies in which they played supporting parts. May Milloy (1875-1967) was fr…
I don't write today to celebrate the person in the title of this post per se. Ray Stevens (b. 1939) left the American mainstream 40 years ago and for at least half that time he has devoted h…
A few words today in celebration of the great instrumentalist Django Reinhardt (Jean Reinhardt, 1910-1953). Not only has the word "legend" been overused in show business, so has the phrase "…
January 23 is National Pie Day, and so I thought I would, rather grudgingly, address a topic that may be of some interest to some classic comedy fans, and one I have sort of danced around in…
I have no recollection of how I first learned of the existence of the fascinating Burtis "Bert" Valjien Brookhart (1881-1942) but not only do I have no regrets, I find myself more interested…
Well, that inappropriately hilarious headline had to happen sometime, and if it sounds like Hazel burnt the dinner, the fault lies with the high school football coach of Dallas native Marvin…
We were delighted to learn this morning that beloved Scottish character actor Finlay Currie (1878-1969) had a vaudeville and music hall background. Currie occupied a wonderful casting niche,…
Here's a poser for all you aesthetically philosophical journalists out there: which photo of Cindy Sherman does one use to go with the story? There are thousands, all different. I chose the …
I undoubtedly first became aware of Lancelot "Lanny" Ross (1906-1988) by way of his film work, which is an irony, because there is so little of it. Ross's fame was chiefly on radio and recor…
On our first date my wife and I talked of many things: "of shoes and ships and sealing wax, and whether pigs have wings" doesn't begin to cover it. And of the thousand things we discovered w…
It's been 10 years since my original, rather cursory post on Danny Kaye. This year I thought I would mark the occasion of his birthday with a look at his major film and TV work in a little m…
Like many lovers of classic comedy and other vintage Hollywood movies I had no doubt seen Jack "Tiny" Lipson (1901-1947) dozens of times, but his sight-gag walk-ons were too brief for me to …
