11,870 stories by "Trav S.D."
There are two Little Jack Littles in the annals of show business:. One is a dwarf comedian who worked in burlesque (unfortunately not the subject of today’s post). At all events,  t…
Mademoiselle Gabrielle (1884-?) is one of the very few human oddities known to have performed in vaudeville (as opposed to circuses, sideshows, and dime museums, although she certainly perfo…
Today is the birthday of The Great Raymond (Maurice Francois Sanders, 1877-1948). His magic career began as a child when we worked as an assistant to his uncle. At age ten he was performing …
 Today is the 100th anniversary of the release of the Keystone short The Gangsters, directed by Henry Lehrman. It features Roscoe Arbuckle (right, in the photo above) in one of his…
Bea Lillie was one of the most beloved performers in show business history, adored by both her fans and colleagues alike. She appeared at a glance to be very proper and British but could be …
It being Bob Hope’s birthday and all, and because I watched (and re-watched) all these movies recently it seems a fitting task to provide this handy thumbnail of the 7+ Hope and Crosby…
Originally posted in 2009. Perhaps no more polarizing figure exists in these annals than that of Bob Hope. Years ago, a baby boomer friend spotted a copy of Don't Shoot, It's Only Me, Bob Ho…
Today is the birthday of Armida Vendrell (1911-1989), billed in show business simply as “Armida”. Born in Mexico, Armida was the daughter of the magician Joaquin Vendrell, who bi…
Bob Hope’s birthday is tomorrow; see this blog for no less than two posts about him when the sun comes up. Hope was my maternal grandfather’s favorite comedian; my dad hated him.…
Filed under: Horror (Mostly Gothic), Melodrama and Master Thespians, PLUGS Tagged: acting class, Grand Guignol, melodrama
I think I can say with perfect confidence that Steve Massa is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on the subject of early movie comedy. He has been at it since childhood, and h…
 Today is the birthday of Hank Mann (David Lieberman, 1888-1971), known best from his role as Charlie Chaplin’s boxing opponent in City Lights in 1931. Chaplin had known and …
 Today is the birthday of comedy screenwriter Edward Ullman (1903-1985). Initially a humor writer for magazines, he was hired by Columbia Pictures in 1932 to pen comedy shorts for the li…
The Hall of Hams is my series on some of my favorite actors who have brought the art of melodramatic acting into the modern era. Yes! It’s really true! Christopher Lee’s birt…
The Hall of Hams is my series on some of my favorite actors who have brought the art of melodramatic acting into the modern era. Today is the birthday to be esteemed for his stature…
Today is the birthday of James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok (1837-1876). After years as a famous law man, soldier, scout and trouble-maker, in 1867 he followed in Buffalo Bill Co…
Today is the birthday of Knute Erickson (1872-1945). Though Erickson was of Swedish heritage, he wasn’t born there as he usually claimed, but in Ogden, Utah. He made his career in v…
Originally posted in 2010. Today is the birthday of Mamie Smith. No relation to Bessie, Mamie is best known today for recording “Crazy Blues” in 1920, which created the 1920s cra…
I missed this when it hit the Washington Post on Friday; thought it was scheduled for today. Celia Wren my old editor at American Theatre quotes me in her current piece about new burlesque h…
The Hall of Hams is my series on some of my favorite actors who have brought the art of melodramatic acting into the modern era. Today is the birthday of Robert Morley (1926-1992). I find…
Today is the 100th anniversary of the release of the Keystone short Toplitsky and Company starring Ford Sterling, Nick Cogley, Alice Davenport, and Edgar Kennedy. Sterling plays a helper at …
The Hall of Hams is my series on some of my favorite actors who have brought the art of melodramatic acting into the modern era. Today is the birthday of Peter Cushing (1913-1994). After sta…
Today is the birthday of Sammy Lee (1890-1968). (Though he was an important choreographer for several crucial years, I could only find a picture of his one-time vaudeville partner Ruby Norto…
Originally posted 2011 Today is the birthday of America's greatest philosopher/essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. His Transcendentalist writings were a major influence on my Mountebanks Manifesto…
May 25 of every year (Bill Robinson’s birthday) is National Tap Dance Day! And how better to observe it than by learning about many of America’s great tap dancing artists on Trav…
