11,829 stories by "Trav S.D."
June MacCloy (born this day in 1909) worked with many of the comedy greats on stage and in the movies, and was noted for her ability to sing in what was essentially the baritone range, makin…
Andy Griffith was born on June 1, 1926. Look at that face! It seems strange to exist in a world without him. He and his best known character seem like Benjamin Franklin or something, part of…
Today is the birthday of Al Shaw (Albert Schutzman, 1902-1985), one-half of the legendary vaudeville team of Shaw and Lee. I’ve uncovered next to zero about their early years in vaudev…
The legendary Broadway figure Peggy Fears (1903-1994) was born on this day. Originally from New Orleans and later Dallas, Fears was the daughter of a wealthy banker. She was all of 14 when s…
Adapted from my book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube available from Bear Manor Media, copyright (c) 2013, Travis Stewart, All Rights reserve…
As promised I’m making big changes at Travalanche — close to 3,000 posts have been removed. Most were disposable and have been/will be trashed. Others are being moved on to other…
As you can see from our “Human Anomaly” section of Travalanche, the Born Different have always occupied a cherished, if sometimes controversial show biz niche. The spectacle of t…
Today we honor the character comedy contribution of the late actor Steve Franken (1932-2012). The son of a Hollywood agent, Franken had an easy entree into film and tv roles, although …
May 25 is the natal day of the late character actor Roger Bowen (1932-1996). Bowen is best known today for having played Lt. Col. Henry Blake in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H (1970). I didn&…
Hi! Two great chances to see me strut my stuff are in the offing for this weekend: Saturday, May 27 at 7:20pm: I’ll be debuting ten minutes of my one-man vaudeville act in the Lower Ea…
Guest contributor Lauren Milberger’s previous pieces for Travalanche have included essays on Gracie Allen and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Today she observes the 40th anniversa…
This summer will mark the 50th anniversary of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company. Our most avid readers know this is a subject near and dear to my heart. I have blogged previously about the c…
The foregoing is adapted from my book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube: Douglas Fairbanks' early career is today overshadowed by his later r…
Today, as we warned a few months ago, is the final performance ever of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus The circus world will carry on. But RBBB was an institution, the only Am…
Tom Lewis (Thomas Lewis McGuire, 1867-1927) was born on May 17. Originally from New Brunswick, NJ, he was a comedian who played both in vaudeville and on Broadway, and later in silent films.…
It’s film director Frank Capra’s birthday. This post has come about because in recent years I’ve filled out my Capraducation some — I’ve seen a bunch of his mor…
Eddie White (Michael Weintraub, 1898-1983) was born on May 18. White comes to the attention of modern buffs almost entirely from his 1928 Vitaphone short called I Thank You, after his oft…
A few scraps on Florence Brady (Florence A. McAleer, ca. 1902- ca. 1943) We first learn of her in the 1920 Broadway show Her Family Tree, with Nora Bayes and Julius Tannen. She appeared in v…
Joseph Cotten (1905-1994) was born on May 15. The late year of his death surprised me. Cotten’s last film had been in 1981 and I couldn’t imagine him ever not acting. But a strok…
When I was in my late teens, my buddies and I, fans of Walter Hill’s recent hit 48 Hours (1982), somehow stumbled upon his earlier not-such-a-hit Southern Comfort (1981). I…
Silent film star Billie Dove (Bertha Bohnny 1903-1997) was born on this day. Born to Swiss immigrant parents in New York City, the stunningly beautiful teenager began her working life as a m…
I’ve only managed to gather a few scraps about cowboy singer Oklahoma Bob Albright, who has managed to rise from beyond the grave thanks to his 1929 Vitaphone short Oklahoma Bob Alb…
I was unprepared for how much I would love Kevin Fitzpatrick’s latest guidebook World War I: A Guide to the City’s Enduing Ties to the Great War. I shouldn’t have been; I l…
I discovered Doodles Weaver (1911-1983) by a path that might confound his long time fans. But then, his was a most confounding life and career. I noticed him in the 1971 low budget exploitat…
Ringling Brothers! Big Apple! Cole Brothers! The Venice Beach Freak Show! The age old art form of the circus is in trouble from coast to coast and we’ve got to do something to stem the…
