11,863 stories by "Trav S.D."
Originally posted in 2011 Ms. Dresser (b. Louise Josephine Kerlin) is at the center of one of vaudeville's more excellent subterfuges. A perfomer since age 15, three years later she chanced …
Today is the birthday of Melville Morris (1888-1987). Morris started out as a song demonstrator for tin pan alley publishing firms, and then broke into vaudeville, performing solo, and also …
Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, EXHIBITIONS & LECTURES, PLUGS Tagged: Dirty Martini, Murray Hill, new burlesque, New Yorker Festival, Tigger Ferguson, World Famous Bob
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 at 3:00 PM CLASSIC SILENT FILMÂ ON THE LOEW'S MOVIE PALACE BIG SCREENÂ (Journal Square, Jersey City) "MY BEST GIRL"Â Â starring Mary Pickford and Charles "Buddy" …
"Maybe you think you were handled roughly as a kid " watch the way they handle Buster!" " a 1905 ad for The Three Keatons Here's something we haven't seen in a while"a domestic abuse act! Ma…
We just learned that character actor Jay Robinson (b. 1930) has passed on. In his memory, we re-post this piece we did on him in our Hall of Hams back in April. I learned something ab…
1. Ten years ago today (October 3 fell on a Friday in 2003), I was just about to leave the office for my weekly weekend trip upstate to visit my kids when I got this message: “Dad̵…
Today is the birthday of one of my favorite character actors, Charles Middleton (1874-1949). The son of a Kentucky millionaire, Middleton started out in circus and vaudeville before breaking…
Today is the birthday of the angelic Gertrude Berg (Tillie Edelstein, 1898-1966). Berg was a kind of show business superhero — it’s crazy to me that her name isn’t a househ…
George Nichols (1864-1927, sometimes billed as George O. Nicholls) was both an actor and director during the silent years, known chiefly today for his years at Keystone (1913-1915), for h…
Today is the birthday of magician Harry August Jansen (1883-1955), originator of the magic words “Sim Sala Bim!” Interestingly, the phrase is not Arabic, as one would assum…
Originally posted in 2012 Today is the birthday of Josephine Sabel (nee Domingue, 1866-1945). A native of Lawrence, Massachusetts, she performed in vaudeville (and the music halls of Europe)…
Today is the birthday of one of the greatest comedy directors of all time, Leo McCarey (1898-1969). Fresh out of law school, McCarey went to work for Tod Browning as A.D. on three pictures i…
Today is the birthday of Evan Burrows Fontaine (1898-1984). Born in rural Texas, and descended from several heroes of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, as a teenager she studied and performe…
One more post for Bud Abbott’s birthday! Simultaneous to the launch of their film career in the early forties Abbott and Costello became weekly radio fixtures, first on the Chase an…
Another post in honor of Groucho’s birthday! For six months from late 1932 through early 1933, the Marx Brothers had their own radio situation comedy, Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel.Â…
Today is Bud Abbott’s birthday. Those who really know me know I’m a huge fan of Abbott, and, um, less enthusiastic about Costello (see previous post here and my section on them i…
Rare pic of all 5 Marxes Today is Groucho’s Birthday With the possible exceptions of Ed Wynn and Fred Allen, no vaudeville comedy act ever attracted more highbrow approval …
Today is the birthday of George “Spanky” McFarland (1928-1993). Unspeakably adorable at age three, he was less so at 13 when he neared the end of his reign as leader of Our Ga…
Neither the small Scotty dog from The Wizard of Oz, nor the rather embarrassing 70s' rock band, nor the later Italian movie star, this Toto was a successful clown who conquered many ki…
It’s a red letter day at Travalanche, for tonight marks the season premiere of season three of Investigation Discovery’s Lt. Joe Kenda: Homicide Hunter. It may shock and a…
Originally posted in 2011 Charles T. Aldrich was the father of well-known character comedian Gale Gordon (1905-1995), best-known (to this correspondent) as Mr. Mooney on Here’…
Filed under: Coney Island, PLUGS, SOCIAL EVENTS, Women Tagged: Coney Island, fashion show, Hillary Flowers, Lola Star
Measured in terms of popularity and longevity, one can safely say that this is the most successful act in the history of show business. Over the past 80 years, their popularity has only grow…
Andrews with her performing mother and stepfather Originally published in 2012 Today is the birthday of universally-beloved singer-actress Julie Andrews (born 1935). Her stage and scre…
