11,839 stories by "Trav S.D."
A quick-shout for two exhibitions I caught over the weekend at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, both seemingly calculated to appeal to this correspondent. Having just finished reading Mark Tw…
The Internet is an amazing thing. When memories fail, it can sometimes help us recover the facts with a clarity that startles. For example, I now know that July 21, 1979 was the first time I…
August 25, 1873 was the natal day of actress Blanche Bates, best known for her long years with David Belasco’s stock company where she created the female leads in the original producti…
Today is the birthday of Viola Richard (1904-1973). Â The entirety of her short career in films consisted of roles in silent Hal Roach comedy shorts between the years 1927 and 1928, normal…
Today is the birthday of dancer and stage and screen actor Mary Hay (Mary Hay Caldwell, 1901-1957) . An army brat, she was born at Fort Bliss, Texas. Her start in show business came about fr…
Today is the birthday of Daniel Frohman (1851-1940) oldest of the three Frohman brothers, who helped revolutionize theatrical production in the U.S. With his brothers Charles and Gustave, he…
Happy Friday! Because people love nothing more than comedy that depresses them, I thought I would do a little post today about the sad exits of several classic comedy stars. By sad, I meanÂ…
I don’t really know how to describe this so I’m just going to show some pictures and connect you to some links! Um…they have these artists’ residencies on Governor…
5:00pm (EST):Â Little Murders Today is Alan Arkin day on TCM, and as everyone I’ve ever met agrees, Alan Arkin is one of our great comic actors, and has quietly, diligently maintaine…
Wow, I can’t believe I’ve let my “Forgotten Shows” series languish for nine months! Just plum forgot about it. But I’ve wanted to do a post on The Great Grap…
Opera soprano Emma Trentini (1878-1959) was brought to the United States from her native Italy in 1906 by Oscar Hamnerstein to appear at his Manhattan Opera House. She soon began appearing a…
For someone so legendary in his own time, tantalizingly little information is readily available about Joe “Banjo” Roberts. (If anyone out there has more information than we have …
Orville Harrold (1878-1933) was a rare singer in that he had extensive credits in opera, operetta, musical theatre and vauideville (i.e. moving freely up and down between “high” …
Filed under: Contemporary Variety, PLUGS, SOCIAL EVENTS Tagged: benefit, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, gala, Hovey Burgess
A brief shout-out for Brent Monahan’s 1997 novel The Bell Witch: An American Haunting which mysteriously appeared at the foot of my bed a few days ago. I guess I’m giving out …
Today is the birthday of frequent Laurel and Hardy comedy foil Charlie Hall (1899-1959) A native of Birmingham, England, Hall was trained as a carpenter (his father’s trade) and also l…
We watched Gone with the Wind on TCM last night and into this morning. This is the fifth time I’ve seen the movie, I think. The first time was on its first network television bro…
This post grew out of my conviction that the prevailing trope of there being a “Big Three” or a “Big Four” among silent film comedians is a false portrait of reality,…
Mae West was a pro — she had been in show business for several decades. In fact, it would be technically accurate to say that she had been a professional actress and performer s…
In continuing celebration of Mae West’s birthday….a little post about a historical event which occurred on December 12, 1937. That is the date on which Mae appeared on The Cha…
Here’s a little tidbit that should be known not only to every classic comedy fan — but to every soul, living or dead who has ever spent time on planet earth. For God’s Sake…
Continuing with our series of posts honoring Mae West in celebration of her birthday, herewith is my entirely subjective ranking of her films. As with the Marx Brothers, her output was far t…
For over 80 years, Mae West has ruled the screen, as one of the pantheon of so-called “classic comedians”, as one of the top female comedians of all time, and as a boundary break…
 My first paid acting job was in a production of an educational history play about the migration of settlers from Connecticut to the Western Reserve of Ohio in the early 19th century. It…
As readers of this blog know, an area of especial interest to us is the connection between the ancient art of theatre (with all its myriad manifestations…(clowning, high melodrama, vau…
