Merv! by Trav S.d.

Today is the birthday of Merv Griffin (1925-2007). When I was a kid Merv represented the summit of bad show biz to me. His syndicated talk show came on in the afternoon after school where I …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:04am on July 6, 2014☆⚑

Harold Lloyd in "Billy Blazes, Esq." by Trav S.d.

Today is the anniversary of the release date of the Harold Lloyd comedy Billy Blazes, Esq (1919). This is one of several parody westerns Lloyd made in his early years. A bunch of bad g…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 8:45am on July 6, 2014☆⚑

Burlesque-A-Pades Comes to Washington DC! by Trav S.d.

Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: Birchmere, burlesque, Burlesque-a-Pades, Washington

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:36am on July 5, 2014☆⚑

Three Cheers (One to Each) for Bathtub Jen and Her Henchmen by Trav S.d.

It was just kind of perfect. We had a free night, we had a meeting nearby and we had missed Bathtub Jen and her Henchmen’s previous attempt at full length show. So we popped in to Unde…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:38am on July 5, 2014☆⚑

Court House Crooks by Trav S.d.

Today is the anniversary of the Keystone ensemble comedy Court House Crooks (1915), directed by and starring by Ford Sterling. This little comedy has a number of interesting features, …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 8:32am on July 5, 2014☆⚑

Stars of Vaudeville #872: Vince Barnett by Trav S.d.

Today is the birthday of a minor but legendary show biz character, Vince Barnett (1902-1977). Barnett was a second generation vaudeville comedian, who graduated to Broadway revues in the lat…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 8:46am on July 4, 2014☆⚑

On James A. Bailey (The Guy Whose Name Comes After Ringling and Barnum) by Trav S.d.

Today is the birthday of circus impresario James A. Bailey (James A. McGuiness, 1847-1906). He is of course the guy whose name falls at the end of “Ringling Brothers, Barnum and……

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 7:47am on July 4, 2014☆⚑

Happy Independence Day! by Trav S.d.

The old gal’s been around the block a couple of times, but she ain’t beat yet!Filed under: Comediennes, Comedy, Hollywood (History), Movies, Vaudeville etc., Women Tagged: Mae We…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 6:44am on July 4, 2014☆⚑

Wasabassco's 4th of July Specials by Trav S.d.

Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, HOLIDAYS, FESTIVALS, MEMORIALS & PARADES, PLUGS Tagged: 4th of July, Bell House, City Winery, Doc Wasabassco's Burlesque

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:44pm on July 3, 2014☆⚑

Liberty Belle Extravaganza by Trav S.d.

Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, HOLIDAYS, FESTIVALS, MEMORIALS & PARADES, PLUGS Tagged: burlesque, Fourth of July, Independence Day, Liberty Belle Extravaganza

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:37pm on July 3, 2014☆⚑

Tonight: Mae West on TCM! by Trav S.d.

Tonight on Turner Classic Movies, a bill of films by that seminal writer, performer and vaudevillian, the idol of millions the great Mae West (for my full article on West and her career go h…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 8:26am on July 3, 2014☆⚑

Celebrate Halfway New Year's Eve! by Trav S.d.

Filed under: Contemporary Variety, Illusionists, Music, PLUGS Tagged: Corn Mo, Sideshows by the Seashore, Tanya Solomon

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 2:00pm on July 2, 2014☆⚑

The Return of the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest for Kids! by Trav S.d.

  Kevin Maher wrote and directed this comicalriffic and gastronomically evocative video just in time for the grown-up version of the contest that will take place two days from now on t…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:02pm on July 2, 2014☆⚑

You MUST See "Bound By Flesh" by Trav S.d.

Everyone within the sound of my voice: you MUST see Leslie Zemeckis’s wonderful, definitive new film about the Hilton Sisters. As the Mad Marchioness said last night, Zemeckis is reall…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54am on July 2, 2014☆⚑

The Canadians of Vaudeville by Trav S.d.

Got the idea for this post just under the wire: Today is Canada Day! So here’s a little shout out for all the vaudevillians and other performers from Canada we have written about on Tr…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:31pm on July 1, 2014☆⚑

Midnight on TCM: A Woman of Paris by Trav S.d.

Tonight at midnight on TCM, Charlie Chaplin’s 1923 melodrama masterpiece A Woman of Paris. (He wanted us to call him “Charles” at this stage. You’ll never find a g…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:21pm on June 29, 2014☆⚑

Raymond Griffith and Betty Compson in "Paths to Paradise" by Trav S.d.

  Today is the anniversary of the release of the Paramount Raymond Griffith-Betty Compson comedy Paths to Paradise (1925) In this sparkling feature, Griffith and Compson play a pair of…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:15am on June 29, 2014☆⚑

Laurel and Hardy in "Men O' War" by Trav S.d.

Today is the anniversary of the release date of the Laurel and Hardy comedy Men O’War (1929). In this, one of their first sound shorts, the boy are a couple of sailors on shore l…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:27am on June 29, 2014☆⚑

Roscoe Arbuckle in "Fatty's Plucky Pup" by Trav S.d.

    Today is the anniversary of the release date of the Roscoe Arbuckle comedy Fatty’s Plucky Pup (1915). This was one in a series of comedies in which Arbuckle co-starre…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 9:03am on June 28, 2014☆⚑

New Hilton Sisters Documentary Opens Tonight! by Trav S.d.

Very excited! Bound By Flesh, Leslie Zemeckis’s new doc about the conjoined Hilton Sisters opens in New York (IFC Center) and in LA today! It’s also available on demand, so…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 1:48pm on June 27, 2014☆⚑

Summer Circus Cabaret Tonight! by Trav S.d.

Filed under: BROOKLYN, Circus, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: Big Sky Works, Summer Circus Cabaret

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 1:30pm on June 27, 2014☆⚑

Hot Jazz on a Tall Ship: Tomorrow by Trav S.d.

Filed under: Contemporary Variety, Dixieland & Early Jazz, Music, PLUGS Tagged: Clipper City, Hot Jazz, Hot Mess, Jessy Carolina, Tall Ship

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 1:13pm on June 27, 2014☆⚑

Champagne Riot Tonight by Trav S.d.

Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: Champagne Riot, Dandy Wellington, Gelber and Manning, Julie Atlas Muz, Tango House

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:23pm on June 27, 2014☆⚑

Burlesque-a-Pades at Coney Island Tonight! by Trav S.d.

Filed under: BROOKLYN, Burlesk, Coney Island, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: Burlesque at the Beach, Burlesque-a-Pades, Coney Island USA, Pontani Sisters

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:55am on June 27, 2014☆⚑

Stars of Slapstick #188: Alberta Vaughn by Trav S.d.

Today is the birthday of silent comedy hotsy totsy Alberta Vaughn (1904-1992). A native of Kentucky, she broke into film in 1921 in a Hal Roach short called Stop Kidding, then worked f…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 8:55am on June 27, 2014☆⚑