11,842 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today is the anniversary of the release date of Mae West's third starring feature Belle of the Nineties (1934), directed be Leo McCarey. The film is kind of a "might have been", one that one…
Today is the anniversary of the release date of the very early Laurel and Hardy talkie short They Go Boom (1929), directed by James Parrott. This is one of their comedies with a…
It’s the first day of Autumn! And here to ring it in for us are Fibber McGee and Molly (Jim and Marian Jordan) in a 1953 episode of their radio program entitled Autumn Leaves Drive …
Today is the birthday of Melvin “Slappy” White (1921-1995). Comedian White was a little too young to have come up through black vaudeville, but he did spend much  time in its …
Today is the birthday of the legendary comedy director Norman McLeod (sometimes billed as Norman Z. McLeod, 1895-1964). A Michigan native, McLeod had been a fighter pilot in WWI, experience …
Today is the anniversary of the release date of Harold Lloyd’s feature length comedy The Freshman (1925). The Freshman is up there with Safety Last as being one of Lloyd’…
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Comedy, Hollywood (History), Movies, PLUGS, Silent Film Tagged: BROOKLYN, City Reliquary, silent movies, Slapstick Under the Stars
Today is the birthday of Blanche Payson (Mary Elizabeth Bush, 1881-1964). Payson’s near-giant proportions (6’4″, 238 lbs) made her highly useful in silent comedy, and Mack …
Tomorrow morning on Turner Classic Movies, two comedy classic starring Jack Benny. 7:00am (EST): The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) was Jack Benny’…
Tonight on TCM, two of Mae West’s best movies, interesting shown in reverse order: 9:45pm (EST)  I’m No Angel (1933).  I’m No Angel was the follow up to West’…
Today is the anniversary of the release date of the hilarious Charley Chase short Bromo and Juliet (1926) directed by Leo McCarey. In this silent comedy classic Charley plays a you…
Today is the anniversary of the release date of the Harry Langdon comedy The Strong Man (1926), the very first feature film directed by Frank Capra. In The Strong Man, Langdon play…
Today is the anniversary of the release date of the Buster Keaton comedy Battling Butler (1926). Some background: Keaton’s recent feature Go West had not done so well, so h…
Today is the anniversary of the release date of W.C. Fields’ very first film Pool Sharks (1915). Most folks don’t know that before he made talkies, Fields had a silent film…
Today is the anniversary of the release date of the Laurel and Hardy comedy Come Clean (1931). This hilarious short opens with a retread of the opening of their 1928 silent Should M…
Today is the birthday of the gifted comic actor Fred Willard (1939). Most contemporary people know him I imagine from his turns in movie comedies from the last 20 or 30 years. I first bec…
We were much saddened by the recent passing of the late comedienne Joan Rivers, not just because she was a pioneer (for some context on that go here), and not just because she was terr…
It being the birthday of Roddy McDowell (center) it seemed a perfect time to toot a horn on behalf of a favorite show of mine when I was the ripe old age of nine. The Planet of the Apes…
Today is the birthday of the late Roddy McDowell (1928-1998), one of the few child performers to weather the career doldrums of adolescence and enjoy a successful career in adulthood. A seco…
Today is the birthday of the great comedy film producer and director Jules White (1900-1985). White is alternately revered and reviled among comedy and film fans; I am unabashed in my …
Today is the birthday of Dolores Costello (1903-1979). The daughter of stage and screen star Maurice Costello, she began acting in films as a child at age six along with her sister Helene. B…
Today is the anniversary of the release date of the Laurel and Hardy feature Pack Up Your Troubles (1932). Their second feature for Hal Roach, it is as close as the team came to organi…
The fact that the true "star" of any Mack Sennett film was always the ensemble is evidenced by his studio's most famous legacy (after Charlie Chaplin), the Keystone Kops. The phrase has beco…
This little show is from before my time, but I associate it with a particular time in my life. My high school years coincided with the early ’80s explosion of cable television, which m…
Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS, SOCIAL EVENTS Tagged: A Night of Burlesque, Foxy Vermouth, Francine, Ivory Fox, Kita St. Cyr, Melody Jane, Planned Parenthood of New York C…
