11,555 stories by "Trav S.D."
You know the old saying — when you research Weber and Fields, everything is connected to Weber and Fields. Well that would be true in any case, but here’s an example where it may…
A journalist wrote to me recently asking me about the history of pie throwing in comedy. I sent her packing! Not because I don’t know something about it, but because it’s the sor…
By Golly, you’ve just got to know about Henrietta Crossman (1861-1944)! well, you don’t, you really don’t, but perhaps, like me you won’t regret being made aware of t…
I teased Clay McLeod Chapman a few months back when he announced he was ending his two-decade old Pumpkin Pie Show, a much beloved Halloween ritual at Under St Marks. No one wanted it to go …
Johnny Mack Brown (1904-1974) was one of those Jazz Age athletes whose fame crossed over into mainstream pop culture, culminating with movie stardom. He was star halfback of the University o…
A few words about illusionist Bill Neff (1905-1967), whose career started out on an interesting note and only grew more so. Neff began doing magic as a teenager in Indiana, reportedly tau…
Word is exploding among the sideshow community today that its most revered member, impresario Ward Hall has passed away at age 89. I never had the pleasure (or the honor) of meeting the man,…
This may seem an odd thing to say, but I think a proper appreciation of Buddy Hackett (Leonard Hacker, 1924-2003) depends on getting beyond his looks. Now, clearly I don’t mean igno…
Actor Fred MacMurray (whose birthday it is today) had at least three public incarnations during his long career. In the first, he was a jazz age musician and good-looking crooner, as we wrot…
At the outset, my Shirley Booth post was strictly going to be about Hazel, but I rapidly realized that was mad injustice. The actress was a dynamo on stage, and on radio as well as screens b…
The great stentorian thespian Raymond Massey (1896-1983) turns out to be another distant relative of mine. Our mutual ancestors moved to Massachusetts in the 1630s. Massey’s ancestors …
Comic character actor Bill Daily came into the world on August 30, 1927, and I’m thankful he did, for he’s made me roar with laughter a hundred times, sometimes seemingly by b…
Today is the birthday of the late Michael Jackson (1958-2009). From a certain perspective you might think he’d be the last artist I’d ever be tempted to write about. He’s S…
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Neil Simon passed away yesterday and in the interest of rapid response I shared an earlier post of mine that was perhaps less celebratory of the writer than one would prefer for a eulogy. Th…
How incredible that a character like Diamond Teeth Mary McClain (Mary Smith, 1902-2000) lived into the 20th century, if only for a few months. A half-sister of Bessie Smith, Mary was born in…
Happy National Dog Day! Today we salute a canine we’ve had occasion to refer to in the past, “Pete the Pup”, or “Pete the Dog”. As with many other famous Hollyw…
It’s the birthday of the recently departed beauty Francine York (Francine Yerich, 1936-2017). I either became aware of her through her recent passing, or by learning she had a lead in …
And now: a story to fill you with titillation, admiration, amusement, horror and melancholy. What a confusing cocktail of emotions come to me when working on a post like this. Yvette Vickers…
Ronny Graham (Ronald Stringer, 1919-1999) was one those infuriating people about whom you can’t just drop a simple job description: he was a stand-up comedian who played the piano, wro…
We heard the news early this morning that comedian Tim Conway (b. 1933) has been sinking into dementia for years. My sympathy for his family, though they have been dealing with it for a whil…
August 29 (Wednesday)Â Screening: I’m No Angel (1933), introduced by Trav S.D.! Time: 7pm Location: Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave, Huntington, Long Island Mae West’s second …
A tribute today to Frank Craven (1875-1945), best known for playing the Stage Manager in both the the stage (1938) and screen (1940) versions of Our Town, but a true jack-of-all-trades of st…
On a fan site someone recently posed the question: Bewitched, or I Dream of Jeannie? It’s no contest, right? On Bewitched, Samantha Stevens is the smartest and most together person on …
Just a few fragments on vaudeville comedian Joe Browning. The movie actor and director Richard Benjamin is Browning’s nephew. Benjamin had occasion to talk about his uncle a little in …
