11,534 stories by "Trav S.D."
Born 100 years ago on this day: Abraham "Al" Jaffee (b. 1921), creator of the Mad Magazine "fold-in", as well as other regular features in Mad, such as as "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions…
Hey Queens fans, boosters, and inhabitants! This weeks' Queens Gazette features an interview with yours truly. Queens is the closest NYC borough to me these days geographically, so naturally…
Back in the day, there were at least four or five actresses running around calling themselves "Florence Lee". Their credits are all run together on the major databases. Someone ought to take…
Jessie Matthews (1907-1981) was a major British stage and screen star of the 20th century, who also worked in the States. Raised in poor circumstances, Matthews made her professional debut a…
Tomorrow, March 11, at 7:30pm, The Smith Center for the Arts is presenting a virtual discussion of the silent film  WITHIN OUR GATES (1920), produced and directed by the pathbreakin…
Eddie Foy's birthday seems the fitting time to let you know that next Wednesday, March 17 at 7pm, I'll be after giving a free illustrated talk on the Irish in vaudeville and film comedy. As …
This frivolous little post came about because I recently re-watched the original Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) and was reminded of how crazy I was about the theme song to that movie when it …
Little is known about female magician Mademoiselle Margo (1889-1936) but that she was from Irish and her period of greatest professional activity was primarily 1911-1917. Having begun as an …
For International Women's Day, today we induct the historically important Worrell Sisters into these precincts. Hailing from Cincinnati, the trio, Irene, Jennie and Sophie, were daughters of…
March 4 is the D.O.B. of stage and screen actress and education Maude Fealy (Maude Mary Hawk, 1883-1971). Fealy was the daughter of actress Margaret Fealy (1865-1955) and stepdaughter of Raf…
A rare example of a show person to whom I may be related, if distantly, is Harriet "Big Hattie" Bowen, ca. 1840-1890. (Another Bowen connection is here). Hattie hailed from Fairhaven, Mass.,…
There are many reasons for us to be especially interested in Rochelle Hudson (1916-1972): her roles in classic comedies, her status as a beauty queen, and her late dabbling in schlock horror…
There's nothing false about Geordie Austin; I've been a fan of his deep, risky, soul-baring oeuvre for over 20 years now (and I can hear him mocking"oeuvre" even as I type this). Geordie's n…
As a fan of some 40 years' standing, I was pleased as punch to learn of that 2020 Emmy going to Catherine O'Hara (b. 1954) for her work on Schitt's Creek. O'Hara plays the broadest character…
For some reason, we've had a cluster of Australians here recently, direst Louise Lovely, then Sydney Deane, and now The Great Levante (Leslie George Cole, 1892-1978). Since we generally work…
A thing or two about Jack-of-All-Trades Chief Tahachee (Jeff Davis Tahchee Cypert, 1904-1978) " not to be confused with the similar-sounding Chief Yowlachie, another Native American actor. .…
A salute today to the amazing Rafaela Ottiano (1888-1942). Originally from Venice, the young actress moved to the U.S. at the age of 22 " hence the thick Italian accent that characterized he…
Big time props today for movie star Cathy Downs (1926-1976). Now that I've been a Long Islander for three years, when I hear that she's from nearby Port Jefferson, I think of her as a local …
Much like Bob Hope, Donald Novis (1906-1966), was an English immigrant who came to the U.S. at a very young age and made it big on Broadway and on radio and in the movies. Born in Hastings, …
I'll cop to being a fickle, fairweather fan of The Carpenters. I was about four or five when their hits started, and about 11 when they stopped. Their years of smash success coincided almost…
When I was a kid, David Niven (1910-1983) was in the midst of a so-called comeback period that had begun with Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and continued with a 1957 remake of My Man Go…
Yep, Uncle Cyp and Aunt Sap. Want to make something out of it? This husband-wife rube comedy team kept rural audiences in stitches for over a half century, from the days of tented wagon show…
Sydney Deane (1863-1934) was both one of the first Australian stars in Hollywood as well as one of the first athletes-turned-stars. A rugby and cricket champ in his youth, the Sydney native …
I have been able to uncover little about the early life and career of Hank McCune (1917-2005) beyond that he served in WWII and he began his show biz career in radio. From out of the blue he…
I briefly contested a claim I saw which described Louise Lovely (Nellie Louise Carbasse, 1895-1980) as being the first Australian actress to become a Hollywood star. After all, Annette Kelle…
