11,873 stories by "Trav S.D."
A new feature wherein we record and chronicle contemporary busking performers for fun and very little profit. I’ve always wanted to present mariachi in my live show; here’s the n…
Some prodigies are born, some prodigies are made. And still others are deferred. Amand Siebert (1880- 1940) was a perfectly average 120 lb pound woman until she gave birth to her first child…
Today is the birthday of Cecil Lyle (1892-1955). Billed as “The Great Lyle”, he was a star of Maskelyne and Devant’s presentations at St. George’s Hall. He began appe…
Tomorrow morning at 11 the Film Forum is showing the Chaplin feature that tends to fall through the cracks, his 1928Â The Circus. It is a beautiful film and a funny one, and by no means &#…
Filed under: PLUGS, SOCIAL EVENTS Tagged: Dandy Wellington, Flute, Kita St. Cyr, Wit's End
Today is the birthday of director Norman Taurog (1899-1981). This may tee some people off, but based on what I’ve seen — and I’ve seen a lot of Norman Taurog movies —…
Today is the birthday of Star of Vaudeville #120, Dave Apollon, the Mandolin King (for the full skinny on this fascinating person go here). Submitted for your Saturday delectation, some of h…
Today is the birthday of the popular Shakespearean actor Fredericke Warde (1851-1935). His theatrical career began in his native England in the mid 1860s; he moved to the U.S. in 1874 to app…
Today is the 100th birthday of the great Bengali magician Protul Chandra Sorcar (1913-1971). After graduating from college with a mathematics degree, he began to pursue his true pas…
Today is the birthday of film director Victor Fleming (1889-1949). I tend to think of him as a creature of the studio system, producing rather impersonal but competent work over a diverse…
Alzoria Lewis and Johanna Dickens were presented jointly on Coney Island sideshow stages from the 1930s through the 1950s. Though unrelated, they were usually presented as “sist…
This coming Sunday, The Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut celebrates the 150th anniversary of “The Fairy Wedding,” an event that captured the nation’s heart when cel…
And it makes me wish I was in Topeka. That’s the first time I’ve said that all year! I fully intend to be there next year though  come hail or high water. For a full schedule …
The very film I was ranting about in my blogpost here just a few weeks ago. John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln is a perfect film to inspire young people (and old people), and to remin…
This is one in a series of posts we are producing in connection with our new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, available from Bear Ma…
Filed under: Contemporary Variety, PLUGS Tagged: Kyle Peterson, Loose Caboose
Filed under: BOOKS, EXHIBITIONS & LECTURES, PLUGS, SOCIAL EVENTS Tagged: Cooper Union, New York Nineteenth Century Society
New Yorkers, the Film Forum is in the midst of its 1933 series. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be pointing out certain noteworthy bills that tickle my fancy. Today they̵…
Today is the birthday of Lew Cody (1884-1934). Of French stock, the New England native acted in melodramas for the stage before the silver screen made use of his suave good looks starting in…
Today is the birthday of Mildred Davis (1901-1969). She is best known for having been Harold Lloyd’s leading lady from 1919 to 1923, at which point she is best known for being Harold L…
This post is one of a series honoring Black History Month. Today is the birthday of Star of Vaudeville #300: James Reese Europe. For more on this groundbreaking African American bandleader g…
Today is the birthday of Robert Wadlow (1918-1940), the tallest man ever recorded (at least the tallest since Goliath). At the time of his death, he was 8′ 11.1″ tall, but I̵…
Today is the birthday of David Devant (David Wighton, 1868-1941). Devant was a top of the bill English music hall magician, revered to this day for his humor and presentationalism. He is cre…
Today is the birthday of Fannie Ward (Fannnie Buchanan, 1872-1952). She began acting in local companies in her native St. Louis as a teenager. moving to New York for her career in 1889. She …
This post is one of a series honoring Black History Month. Here’s one that’s fallen through the cracks. That’s My Mama was a step down in the evolution of the black sit-com…
