11,836 stories by "Trav S.D."
I’ve been remiss! I meant to plug this in time for Christmas…but ya know what? It would be a really strange Christmas gift. Buy it for yourself, but first buy this and this. step…
Tomorrow at Noon, hear me talk vaudeville (new and old) with the multi-talented Jennifer Harder on her new Radio Free Brooklyn show “Blonde Thunder Presents”. Also in the line-up…
Today is the birthday of Henry E. Dixey (1859-1943). Dixey started out as a child performer, acting in a production of Augustin Daly’s Under the Gaslight at the Howard Athenaeum in …
Filed under: Clown, Comedy, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: class, clown, Hilary Chaplin, physical comedy
Today is the birthday of Peter F. Dailey (1861-1908). A major star of his day, Dailey had a hand in most of the popular theatrical forms then going. The son of a Brooklyn fishmonger, he brok…
Today is the birthday of the American operatic baritone David Bispham (1857-1921). Bispham’s should be a heartening story for all late bloomers. The son of Philadelphia Quakers, Bishop…
The lovely Carol Martinheira of The Old Hollywood Garden has nominated me for a Liebster Award. It’s an award given to bloggers/blogs and when one gets a nomination, they have to answe…
Today is the birthday of Blanche Walsh ( 1873-1915). The daughter of an Irish Tammany Hall politician, Walsh was a professional New York stage actress from the time she was 15. Â For years…
Today is the birthday of Lina Abarbanell (1879-1963). Abarbanell was a Berlinese soprano who appeared in both opera and musical theatre. She trained and began her career in her native German…
Saddened to hear of the passing of Wayne Rogers a couple of days ago. Not deeply saddened, but nostalgic. My best friend in high school and I absolutely modeled ourselves on Trapper an…
Today is the birthday of Edward “Eddie” Dillon (1879-1933). New York native Dillon was a professional horse jockey who transitioned into acting in stage plays with the likes of O…
Oh, to be only the third most famous person named William Morris! Neither the famous show biz agent, nor the famous Renaissance Man of the Arts and Crafts movement , this William Morri…
Filed under: HOLIDAYS/ FESTIVALS/ MEMORIALS/ PARADES, Hollywood (History), Movies, New Year's Eve Tagged: New Year's Eve, Poseidon Adventure
Today is the birthday of Mike “King” Kelly (1857-1894). Irish-American Kelly was one of the first sports stars to go on the vaudeville stage. Baseball right fielder, catcher and …
Happy New Year! (in a few hours). Below is my little pictorial recap of some high points from 2015, in the way of Thanksgiving to the Universe and to You. And below that some hints at our pl…
I knew TCM wouldn’t let me down! Tomorrow, they close out 2015 in the best way possible: a day of Marx Brothers films. (Followed by a Thin Man marathon, but you know where our heart li…
The sad passing of Meadowlark Lemon prompts this post, of course. Meadowlark has easily got to be my first black hero, as I’m sure he was for millions of others of kids, and it was lar…
The great cinematographer Haskell Wexler died yesterday at age 93. There will be a million appreciations of him today; I just thought I’d tip my hat to him about something quite small …
Filed under: Comedy, Jack Benny, PLUGS, Radio (Old Time Radio) Tagged: Charles Dickens, Christmas Carol, Jack Benny, old time radio
Another chunk of my family history clicked into place the other day, and it’s quite possible that I am close to the solution to a mystery. This gave me nice things to think about at Ch…
Tomorrow morning, Turner Classic Movies presents two classic musical films of the 1930s: 6:00am (EST): A Night at the Opera (1935) A Night at the Opera usually presents a bit of a problem…
Tonight on Turner Movie Classics, three classic musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers: 8:00pm (EST): Swing Time (1936) The dancing and songs are so great in these films the fact t…
Today is the anniversary of the Syd Chaplin  comedy A Submarine Pirate (1915). A major hit in its day and still one of the the best known comedies of its star Syd Chaplin (Charlie̵…
There is something not an entirely inappropriate about Christmas also being the birthday of Baron Lew Grade (Lev Winogradsky, 1906-1998). After all, the British TV mogul headed up the Indepe…
Just under the wire, with an hour and a half of Christmas left to go! Some Christmas cards by my first cousin, thrice removed, the illustrator Harrison Cady: Filed under: Christmas, My Famil…
