11,836 stories by "Trav S.D."
It’s well known that Charlie Chaplin employed his brothers Sydney Chaplin and Wheeler Dryden on his films, and then later cast most of his children, and equally well known that Buster …
Today is the birthday of actress Amelia Bingham (1869-1927). Originally from Ohio, Bingham was considered one of the great actresses of her age. After debuting at the People’s Theat…
Our main evidence that Gregory Kelly (ca. 1891-1927) was in vaudeville is Eddie Cantor’s account that he performed with him in Gus Edwards‘ big time Kiddie Kabaret act. …
My quest for a little Irish authenticity, mentioned in a couple of earlier posts, continues apace. My DNA test reported “11% Irish”, but among other things, I don’t know ho…
It might be argued that the period of around two years after their official breakup was the artistic nadir for former Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with both setting back the front…
Today being St. Patrick’s Day, and Women’s History Month, it seemed a fitting time to do a profile on Elizabeth Murray (circa 1871-1946), whose date of birth is unknown. Murray p…
Today is the birthday of Florence Roberts (1861-1940). A stock player who began her career in New York and ran a company of her own in Philadelphia for 15 years, she eventually went into fil…
Filed under: Contemporary Variety, Magicians/ Mind Readers/ Quick Change, PLUGS Tagged: Adam Real Man, Cardone, magic, Matt Holtzclaw, New York House of Magic, Rocco
Today is the birthday of Fiske O’Hara (George Russ Clary Fiske O’Hara, 1878-1945). Originally from Rockland, Maine, he started out with regional stock and minstrel companies, usu…
Filed under: Hollywood (History), Movies, PLUGS, Silent Film Tagged: early films in color, Pacific Film Archives, The Great Nickelodeon Show
Wow — you could have knocked me over with a feather when I learned about this one. I’d long known that back in the day there was some kind of outfit on network radio called ̶…
The word just came down that character George Kennedy has passed away. He was an amazingly busy actor, given that he started out as military advisor to the sit-com Sgt. Bilko. He was a…
The Southern Sideshow Hootenanny returns to New Orleans this week, and I’m honored and thrilled to have been asked to participate in a panel there this Friday, called “Sideshow, …
Today is the birthday of Alice Davenport (Alice Shepphard, 1864-1936). Born in New York, Alice went on the stage as a child and acted in stock and melodrama productions for decades. She was …
Today is the birthday of burlesque legend Tempest Storm (Annie Banks, b. 1928). We’ve waited so long to do a post on her because her proper birthday doesn’t roll around too often…
I first saw Groucho Marx on prime-time television, when he was still alive. This was years before I saw any Marx Brothers movie, but Groucho was a well known figure, and so when I saw him on…
Today is the birthday of Bert Lytell (1885-1954). Lyell was a thespian of stage and screen, whose Broadway career lasted from 1902 to 1946, and whose film career from 1917 to 1953. A notable…
Today is the birthday of the great Marjorie Main (Mary Tomlinson, 1890-1975). The daughter of an Indiana minister, Main started out in vaudeville, on the Chautauqua and Orpheum circuits. She…
This being the birthday of the great Marjorie Main, we thought we’d take the opportunity to publish a little guide to the comedy film series she starred in with Percy Kilbride, Ma a…
Today is the birthday of Miss Juliet (Juliet Delf, 1889-1962). She appears to have been a musical impressionist in the mold of Elsie Janis and to have begun her career in the 1910s. She was …
The Hall of Hams is my series on some of my favorite actors who have brought the art of melodramatic acting into the modern era. Today is the birthday of Alan Rickman (1946-2016). He passed …
Filed under: African American Interest, Comedy, EXHIBITIONS & LECTURES, Indie Theatre, Jews/ Show Biz, PLUGS, Women Tagged: Fried Chicken and Latkes, Museum of Jewish Heritage, performan…
Today is the birthday of Susan Fleming (1908-2002). Appropriately enough, the lady who would one day marry Harpo Marx began her career as a chorine, although she hadn’t appeared in a s…
Filed under: Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: Punch Bowl, Ziegfeld Society
Today is the birthday of Canadian-American song and dance man Donald Brian (1877-1948). Originally from Newfoundland, he started out in medicine shows and then became a tenor in the Boston C…
