11,818 stories by "Trav S.D."
Though I was but a teenager, I think I was a little scornful of Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988) when it debuted. “There’s already Hawaii 5-0,” I reasoned, as though there could on…
Great news! The award-winning, critically acclaimed horror film I’m in The Moose Head Over the Mantel is now available for home viewing through all manner of media: DVD, Blu-Ray, strea…
The terrific director Archie Mayo (1891-1968) was born on this day. Originally a stage actor, Mayo began directing silent L-KO comedy shorts in 1917. Later he would direct shorts for Christi…
This started out to be a post about Cecil Spooner (1875-1953) an important actress and theatre manager of her day, but it makes no sense to tell her story without telling that of her entire …
African-American character actor Sam McDaniel (1886-1962) was born on this day. The older brother of the better known Hattie McDaniel, he started performing with his sister and other sibling…
Sammy Lerner (1903-1989) was a Tin Pan Alley songwriter with many credits you well know! Born in Romania, he immigrated with his family to Detroit when he was seven. In early adulthood he mo…
We bookend today’s flurry of posts with articles in observation of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Our first (The Last Laugh) was about a very recent film that explored that event. This one…
January 27 is the birthday of Iowa writer Phil Stong (1899-1957), who, though he wrote more than 40 books, is today almost exclusively known for having written the 1932 novel State Fair. If …
Over time I have grown interested in the phenomenon of live theatre in Los Angeles — and already I know you’re hearing condescension in my remarks which I don’t intend. Yes…
A brief nod for Kentucky-born actress Joyce Compton (1907-1997), often cast in films as “dumb blondes”. She was elected to the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926, after only having been i…
A tribute today to sideshow artiste Mimi Garneau (Hazel Kirk Thomas,1890-1986). Here’s one I believe I have some kinship to, somewhere in the distant past. Her father was a Welsh coal …
It’s Holocaust Remembrance Day — we thought it would be the best day on which to recommend The Last Laugh, Ferne Pearlstein’s thoughtful 2016 documentary which simultaneous…
Glorifying the American Girl turns 90 years old this year, though the anniversary isn’t until December. We re-watched it last night and I can’t wait a whole year to post somethin…
Tomorrow and Monday at the Film Forum in New York as part of the Far-Out in the ’70s series, two hit comedies by Peter Bogdanovich, both of which were hugely important to me as a kid. …
This amounts to foreshadowing; my Jeffersons post is coming up in about a week, on Sherman Hemsley’s birthday. But when I stumbled across a reference to Zara Cully (1892-1978) the othe…
A brief nod now to King Donovan (1918-1987). From 1960 until his death, Donovan was the husband of Imogene Coca. He was, if you will, the Brad Hall to her Julia-Louis-Dreyfus. Like Coca, Don…
Far-Out in the 70s: A New Wave of Comedy 1969-1970 I’m freaking out twice over! First because I didn’t notice this mind-blower of a film series at the Film Forum until it had alr…
Some words of tribute to Frank B. Cooper (1891-1959), sometimes billed as F.B. Cooper, or Jack Cooper. Originally from Stockport, England Cooper started out performing in music hall in his n…
I see differing dates for the birthday of Carlotta Monti (Carlotta Montijo, 1907-1993); some give January 20, some the 25th. It makes me no never mind. The fact that today is the 25th is wha…
Film and TV director James Frawley passed away on Tuesday at the age of 82. Between directing the original Muppet Movie (1979) and half of the episodes of The Monkees, Frawley had a huge for…
We were watching an old episode of 30 Rock earlier this week and were amused when Liz Lemon bragged that she was going to see a movie at Anthology Film Archives. She said it to impress someb…
I promise this won’t be a habit, but it’s happened again! What are the odds? Yesterday we wrote about two old time performers named Sally Starr whose birthdays were two days apar…
I got a wonderful surprise when looking into the background of B movie western star Bob Steele (Robert Adrian Bradbury, 1907-1988); he too was in vaudeville. He grew up in a performing vaude…
Just a quick shout-out for the great cartoonist George McManus (1884-1954). Best remembered today as the creator of Bringing Up Father a.k.a. Jiggs and Maggie (or Maggie and Jigg…
Imagine my delight the other day when, after a brief confusion, I learned that there were not one but two 20th century performers named Sally Starr, both of whom worked with great comedians.…
