11,834 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today is the birthday of the great stage and screen actor Walter Hampden (Walter Hampden Dougherty, 1879-1955). For better or worse, Hampden is probably best known today for the meta, self-r…
Today is the birthday of American minstrelsy entrepreneur J.H. Haverly (1837-1901). Haverly was one of the first minstrelsy producers who was not a performer himself. He was strictly a busin…
Today is the birthday of Odette Myrtil (Odette Quignard, 1898-1978). Odette (that was often her entire billing) was a second generation stage performer. She was born in Paris and attended a …
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Coney Island, PLUGS, Summer Solstice/ Mermaid Parade, VISUAL ART Tagged: BROOKLYN, Coney Island, Luke Ratray, Mermaid Parade, photography, Urban Folk Art Gallery
Tonight (actually tomorrow) at midnight (E.S.T.) on Turner Classic Movies: two silent comedy classics featuring Buster Keaton : Go West (1925) While among Keaton’s more personal fil…
This post has germinating for a long time; Britain’s recent step backwards in voting to leave the E.U. has moved it to the top of the pile. It grows out of some previous posts, includi…
Just heard the news that yesterday New York Times society photographer Bill Cunningham succumbed yesterday to the stroke which had felled him a few days earlier. He was 87, still riding arou…
Today at 4pm (EST), Turner Classic Movies will be showing the 1953 American film version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Visiting some family about a month ago, and having a couple …
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Comedians, Hollywood (History), PLUGS, Silent Film, Women Tagged: comedy, Queens of Early Film Festival, silent film, Standard Toykraft
Today is the birthday of Jack Whiting (Albert Draper Whiting Jr., 1901-1961). Originally from Philadelphia, Whiting enjoyed great success as a male juvenile on Broadway in the 1920s. One his…
Filed under: African American Interest, Contemporary Variety, Jews/ Show Biz, PLUGS, Singers, Singing Comediennes Tagged: cabaret, Divorced Dangerous & Divalicious, Iridium, Rain Pryor, …
! A little more than midway through our announced run of  I’ll Say She Is, our revival of the lost 1924 Marx Brothers Broadway musical, notices have begun to pile up and it’…
It being the annual day given to honor Paternal Progenitors it seemed appropriate to look at a few with a vaudeville connection, as we had done with Mothers previously. We have already blogg…
Today is the birthday o actor William Courtney (William Hancock Kelly, 1875-1933). Courtenay played big time vaudeville (including the Palace) but is most known as a legit actor of Broadway …
Today is the birthday of the much beloved character actor Charles Coburn (1877-1961). How perfect that it happens to fall on Father’s Day this year, for the first role that comes…
We’re skipping the annual Mermaid Parade this year. We’re disinclined to be Judges at present, and as Judges is the only way we go. I’ve grown disenchanted. While Coney Isl…
This Sunday (June 19, 2016) at 11am, Film Forum will be showing Charlie Chaplin’s landmark feature The Kid (1921) as part of their Film Forum Jr. series. In some ways, The …
Filed under: Contemporary Variety, PLUGS, Singers, Singing Comediennes Tagged: Amy Engelhardt, cabaret, Don't Tell Mama, My Own Devices, singer
This long-planned post is prompted by the fact that TCM is showing all the Mexican Spitfire comedies today. Â My aim is to get a handle on my passionate (but until recently, too vague) con…
Tomorrow (June 16, 2016) on Turner Classic Movies, a special showing of all the “Mexican Spitfire” comedies starring Lupe Velez (read more about the talented and gorgeous Latin s…
Continuing our little series of posts celebrating the re-launch of I’ll Say She Is, today a look at the Marx Brothers’ wives. But first we begin with the most important Marx Woma…
Tomorrow on Turner Classic Movies, they are showing comedy related pictures all the live long day. We wanted to point out three comedies we thought would be of especial interest to our reade…
Today is the birthday of June Walker (1900-1966). Originally from Chicago, Walker was a popular Broadway actress from 1919 to 1958, best known as the original Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Pre…
I’ve been wanting to publish this post for many months. It is essentially a follow up to this earlier post about the continued flying of the Confederate flag I wrote about a year ag…
Today is the 100th anniversary of the release date of the Charlie Chaplin comedy The Fireman (1916). Sometimes even a brilliant comedian will get an otherwise great idea that just some…
