11,440 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today's new Travalanche post for January 22, 2026 is about the new Mel Brooks documentary! Also, January 22 is National Polka Dot Day. See my post on the origins of the comics character "Lit…
Oscar Eagle (1861-1930) " a man whose name conjures no fewer than two different Muppets! Eagle was an actor and director of the stage and the silent screen. Readers of Travalanche will no do…
Today's new Travalanche posts for January 21, 2026 are about Wolfman Jack and old time director Oscar Eagle (The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers original stage productions). Other earlier Trav…
Yesterday (Jan. 20) was National Disc Jockey Day but it seemed kind of wrong to do a post on DJs until I had honored Wolfman Jack (Robert Smith, 1938-1995), whose birthday is today. But look…
Today's new Travalanche post for January 20, 2026 is a centennial celebration of Patricia Neal. Other earlier Travalanche posts for January 20 (in no particular order) include ones on: Georg…
Today would have been the 100th birthday of Patricia Neal (1926-2010). Both of my parents were fans of this actress, for reasons that are easy for me to glean. Like my dad, she was from Tenn…
Today's new Travalanche posts for January 19, 2026 are about two upcoming events, one celebrating Dorothy Parker, and another William Henry Lane (Juba). Also it's Martin Luther King Day " my…
Here's another one for Martin Luther King Day! It concerns the famous dance-off between the legendary black performer William Henry Lane, known as Juba or Master Juba, and his Irish American…
Speaking of the Laurie Beechman….(we spoke of it yesterday), here is a thing that is happening there tonight to benefit the NAACP. Did you know that when she died Dorothy Parker left her e…
I sometimes come to regret my obituaries for famous businesses and restaurants that fold, because unlike people, some of them come roaring back to life (e.g. The Laurie Beechman, and Hallowe…
Today's new Travalanche posts for January 18, 2026 are about Daniel Webster, the closing of Cafe Un Deux Trois, and vaudevillian Andy Rice. Other earlier Travalanche posts for January 18 (in…
Daniel Webster (1782-1852) was born on January 18; the statue dedicated to him in Central Park turns 150 years old this year. (A terrific article on the 1876 monument is here). When I was a …
The ephemeral reference above is the only image I came across that provides any sort of visual on vaudeville writer and performer Andy Rice (1881-1963). The path that led me to awareness of …
I know I've been assaulting you with posts today, but all the people I'm writing about have a January 17 birthday, and I've been overdue to include them all here. And I really want to includ…
Today's new Travalanche posts for January 17, 2026 are about Amy Sherman-Palladino, Sheree North, Warren Hull, Dick Contino, and Oscar Apfel. Other earlier Travalanche posts for January 17 (…
Most contemporary folks would be apt to know Sheree North (Dawn Shirley Crang, 1932-2005) from memorable recurring roles on sit-coms: she was Kramer's mom on Seinfeld, Blanche's sister on Th…
Oscar Apfel (1878-1938) was a major figure in the early film industry as a director; he later opted to take a back seat as a very minor actor, apparently for the sheer enjoyment of it. Origi…
Having written about Tony Lovello, the Liberace of the Accordion just last month, it would be remiss of me to omit his principal competition in the industry, Dick Contino (1930-2017), whose …
Here's a story of a man who was prominent in every entertainment medium of his day, the stage, movies, radio, and television, but today will be known only to hard-core show biz buffs: Warren…
Today's new Travalanche post for January 16, 2026 is about Jim Stafford. Yes. Jim Stafford. Stay tuned! There are a great many cool ones coming up over the weekend! Other earlier Travalanche…
If you're like me and have any space at all for country comedy musicians of decades past in your cluttered mind, they're all jumbled together. When I was a kid in the '70s guys like today's …
Today's new Travalanche posts for January 15, 2026 are about vaudeville singer Will Oakland, and several recent, current and upcoming indie theatre shows (and celebrity sightings) Other earl…
I used to have a theatre column years ago and lord knows I don't want another one, but over the last (and next) several days there's so much going on that I'd like to see (and have seen), mu…
Today, one of those occasional Travalanche essays that exceed what you will be able to find elsewhere on the internet. The subject is vaudeville countertenor Will Oakland (Herman Hinrichs, 1…
Faye Dunaway (b. 1941) turns 85 today, and not long ago we watched the 2024 HBO doc about her called Faye, not to be confused with the Lee Grant sitcom Fay. And we've mentioned the actress a…
