11,534 stories by "Trav S.D."
How very odd. My wife and I were looking at this photo of Felix Silla (b. 1937) a couple of days ago and now we learn that he died yesterday. Is there something crackling through the ether? …
100 years ago today was born that very deep well known as Peter Ustinov (Sir Peter Alexander Frieherr von Ustinov, 1921-2004). When I was a kid, I knew Ustinov vaguely (from talk shows and t…
Here are three very good reasons to visit the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum's website today through Sunday: Today (April 16) is Charlie Chaplin's birthday! The Niles Essanay Silent Film M…
Well, here's one unexpected positive outcome of the Covid-19 epidemic: for the first time in decades I've seen nearly all of the films nominated in major Oscar categories. This is naturally …
Two more films to add to our bid to see most of this year's Oscar nominees prior to the April 25 ceremony. These two movies share a common theme of couples torn apart by tragic loss. Warning…
Pugilist James J. "Jim" Jeffries (1875-1953) is better known to posterity by his other nickname "The Great White Hope", but we disdain to endorse the concept by enshrining it in the title of…
All sorts of exciting things afoot; though fairly unrelated, I thought I'd bundle them all toegther in this handy news bulletin: Go here for my review/ article on Mike Daisey's new show at t…
Some words of appreciation today for character actor Charles Napier (1936-2011). A native of Kentucky, army vet (sergeant in the paratroopers), and former basketball coach, Napier was workin…
WARNING: I always include spoilers. Most descriptions of Promising Young Woman I'm seeing, whether by critics or marketing people, seem to bump their heads against the limitations of an indu…
While plenty of show biz buffs can tell you about Joel Grey (b. 1932), and some are probably aware that actress Jennifer Grey (b. 1960) is his daughter, I imagine far fewer know that the fam…
April is a crazy month for classic comedy anniversaries, including the birthdays of Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd and (this year) the centennial of the first comedy short directed by Bust…
I pen this post on the 90th birthday of a national treasure named Milt Larsen (b. 1931). I had the great honor of interviewing Mr. Larsen in preparation for my 2005 book No Applause: Just Th…
We've already written (from a somewhat negative perspective) on the legacy of Hugh Hefner (1926-2017). Today, we thought we'd balance the picture out some, with a look in particular at his i…
Today we blow taps for character actor James Hampton (b. 1936) who passed away a couple of days ago at the age of 84, of complications due to Parkinson's. Many may remember Hampton best as D…
Strange but true " Shecky Greene (Fred Sheldon Greenfield, b. 1926), a comic whose name has been a byword for "old school" for over half a century, is still alive and kicking. Over the years…
Thanks to reader Michael KInter, who let it be known that baseball legend John McGraw (1873-1934) deserves a place in the vaudeville annals. Kinter is currently working on a musical about Mc…
I've been doing plenty of hustling of late, of my first book and my third book, leaving my second one as a veritable orphan! Luckily, I just heard that now through April 12 the publisher Bea…
In the majestic hierarchy of blonde pin-up actresses of the 1950s, Joi Lansing (Joy Rae Brown, 1929-1972) runs fourth behind Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van Doren, but only in…
Oklahoma native Ray Cooke (1905-1963) was 22 when he began working as a bit player in Hollywood pictures. He frequently played bellhops, sailors, messenger boys, cab drivers, chauffeurs, and…
For Eastertide: several films about the life of Jesus. There are fewer movies on this subject than you might think given the dominance of the Christian religion in America, but I think a com…
You may know Arthur Byron (also billed as A.S. Byron, 1872-1943) from some of the talkies he made towards the end of his career. He played sypporting roles in a couple of dozen pictures betw…
Disco era character actress Debralee Scott (1953-2005) enjoyed a brief time in the sun, although it must be said that during that time (roughly 1975-80) she was practically ubiquitous. Hers …
Now that we have a complete set I can share my series of stories I wrote for the Chelsea Community News for Black History Month and Women's History Month. I decided to concentrate on New Yor…
Naturally, any Marx Brothers fan worthy of the name already owns all of the Marx Brothers' starring films in one form or another, but it's going to be real handy for us lazy slugs not to hav…
For some of us, the words "Frances McDormand, Senior Citizen" sound like the clanging of a tomb door above our heads, but there it is. It was McDormand who saw a role for herself in a film a…
