11,555 stories by "Trav S.D."
Billy Golden (William B. Shires, 1858-1926) was a blackface** comedian in minstrel shows and vaudeville, and later a recording artist. Originally from the river towns of Cincinnati and St. L…
Lillian Gale (1885-1972) is a slight enigma. The Pictorial History of Vaudeville tells us she was “the first little girl to sing from the audience” and supplies us with this pict…
Though he passed away on May 24, it was widely reported only yesterday that Jerry Maren (Gerard Marenghi, 1920-2018) had passed away at the age of 98. We saved our post for today because we …
With the Coney Island summer season now imminently underway we thought it a good time to do a post on a pair of men who penned a once-famous musical comedy on the fabled destination, the tea…
Frances Starr (1886-1973) was an important early 20th century stage actress who later dabbled in screen work as well. Originally from upstate Oneonta, New York, she started out it with an Al…
Reine Davies (Irene Douras, 1883-1938) was the older sister of Marion Davies, and inevitably the person who inspired her to go into show business herself. It was Reine who first adapted the …
The Brick Theater’s Festival of Lies opens today! I’m so excited to be able to present the first developmental workshops of my new solo show TALL TALES at that venue and in that …
Western star William Boyd (1895-1972) was born on this day. Almost exclusively known as “Hopalong Cassidy” today, Boyd had acted in pictures for nearly two decades before that fo…
I’ve seen the late Dennis Weaver (1924-2006) in a wide variety of vehicles over the years: the TV western Gunsmoke (1955-1964), Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958), Way……
The late Tony Curtis (Bernard Schwartz, 1925-2010) was born on this day. This won’t be a terribly in-depth post, but will essentially take a look at the fact that for a period roughly …
Jerry Mathers came into the world on June 2, 1948. I wasn’t yet born during the original run of Mathers’ great claim to fame, Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963); I began to watch …
A terrific plug for my book Chain of Fools in the NY Times today in Jason Zinoman’s review of a new novel about Stan Laurel: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/books/review/john-connol…
Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Mortenson, 1926-1962) was born on June 1. It may seem madness that I did a post on Jayne Mansfield five years ago, but have not yet done one on Monroe, the much mo…
Born on June 1, Ada Jones (1873-1922), one of the first popular recording artists and one of the first female singers ever recorded. Originally from Lancashire, she immigrated to the U.S. at…
The title of this post refers of course to the 1960s, not the age of the performers, although that certainly applies as well. I struggled mightily with what to title this piece. The real sub…
I fulfilled a long-standing bucket list goal last week in getting to meet the legendary Black-Eyed Susan of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company! On the table (besides those pill bottles) was a…
Russ Brown (1892-1964) is best remembered for winning his Tony winning performance as Van Buren, manager of the Washington Senators in the original 1955 Broadway production of Damn Yankee…
Today is the birthday of Ian Fleming (1908-1964). Having already written about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and having often referred to the Bond franchise, cultural touchstone that it is, on th…
Johnny Wayne was born today — not the Duke, whose birthday was a couple of days ago, but the Canadian comedian (1918-1990) whose real name was Louis Weingarten. For over half a century…
James Arness (1923-2011) was born this day. A World War Two vet with some radio experience in his native Minneapolis, Arness came to Hollywood in the 1940s where his good voice, likable pers…
Times like this weekend I wish I stilled live a half hour subway ride from Coney Island. Tonight Dick Zigun and Chicava Honeychile open their new Bettie Page show at Coney Island USA: And…
Singer Billy Murray (1877-1954) was born on this day. The son of Irish immigrants, Murray was born in Philly and raised in Denver and apparently not a close relation of the 20th century scre…
Screen actor Creighton Hale (1882-1965) was born on this day. Born Patrick Fitzgerald in County Cork, Ireland he moved to America early in the 20th century with a touring theatrical troupe. …
Just heard that Clint Walker (b. 1927) passed away a couple of days ago. Walker was a star I particularly liked. It’s hard to articulate why — he wasn’t a tremendously g…
Movie fans who know and love James Gleason (1882-1959) as a crusty character actor in such films as Meet John Doe (1941), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)Â …
