11,873 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today is the birthday of J. Harold Murray (b. Harold Roulon, 1891-1940). A native of Maine, he started out a song plugger, becoming a singer in vaudeville circa 1918. He was such a hit that …
Today is the birthday of Kathleen Clifford (1887-1963). She began her career when still a teenager, in music comedies such as the 1907 show The Top o’ the World. By 1910 she was supple…
Today is the birthday of Patty Andrews (1918-2013). She passed away six weeks ago, and it was tempting to do a post then, but of course that day everyone was posting about the Andrews …
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…
American vaudeville’s second favorite Scotsman (after Sir Harry Lauder) was Will Fyffe (1885-1947). Fyffe was a second generation actor in stock companies who began acting with h…
Today is the birthday of Cesar Romero (1907-1994). The “Latin from Manhattan” (half Italian, half Cuban) got his start in a vaudeville and nightclub dance act with Janette Hacket…
Today is the birthday of British music hall star George Mozart (b. David John Gillings, 1864-1947). Mozart was gifted not only as a singer (mandatory in the halls) but also as an actor, clow…
Today is the birthday of Bud Jamison (1895-1944). The plus-sized actor enjoyed what must have been the most satisfying career it is possible to have for a supporting comedian. After a bri…
I had originally planned to do this post in May, but a recent development has pushed it to the front of the queue. Julia Pastrana (1834-1860) was a Native American woman from the mountains o…
100 years ago today, the first movie containing an appearance by a young unknown extra named Harold Lloyd was released to theatres. Using a tactic not unlike his “glasses” charac…
Today at 1pm (Eastern) on TCM: The Great Ziegfeld (1936). In this heavily bowlderized account of the life of this notorious ladies man, William Powell plays Florenz Ziegfeld as just a shade …
Not forgotten to the folks who actually watched it in the early 1970s…but younger people have been less fortunate! I had last seen the show when I was about 7 or 8 years old, so was ve…
This post is one of a series honoring Black History Month. Today is the birthday of the late, great Gregory Hines (1946-2003). While his brother and dad also tapped (the three — and…
Today is Teller’s birthday! Teller indulged me with a lengthy, generous interview when I researched No Applause. He is quoted there at length and you’ll have to buy it to lear…
In Joseph L.Mankiewicz's 1950 film All About Eve, a huffy Thelma Ritter rebuffs a slight from some character who belittles her career as a vaudevillian: "I closed the first half for eleven y…
In addition to being Valentine’s Day, today also happens to be the birthday of Star of Vaudeville #118: Jack Benny (for the full story on him go here). This day was frequently the occa…
“Jack Sprat Could Eat No Fat; His Wife Could Eat No Lean…” A love story for the ages! John Battersby (c.1831-1897) was a circus thin man who weighed at various times betwee…
A native of Oovonin, Oudh, Laloo Ramparsad (1874-1905) was born with a parasitic twin springing from his chest. The brother (although it was sometimes dressed as a sister) possessed arms, le…
I was thrilled to sit down with Martin Denton a few weeks back to talk about my long career in NYC as a playwright, discussing my diverse and sundry stageworks going back to the late 1…
Madame Devere is important to our history for having possessed the longest facial hair ever recorded on a bearded lady — 14 inches. While there is some confusion about her birthdate (I…
Today is the birthday of the great American painter Grant Wood (1891-1942). I relate mightily to this artist’s consuming subject matter (Americana) and the attitude he brings to it (an…
Today is the birthday of Peter Tork of the Monkees (b. 1942). As all Monkees fans know, the not-so-secret secret is that while Michael Nesmith was the best songwriter, Mickey Dolenz the b…
Today is the birthday of William Edward Maguiness, better known as Ted Mack (1904-1976). His name is of course inseparable from the radio and television he hosted from 1948 through 1970, …
Today is the birthday of Star of Vaudeville #296: music hall star Marie Lloyd (for a full biographical article on her go here). Now here she is singing that ever-popular number “The Co…
Today is the birthday of Charles Darwin (1909-1882). His On the Origin of Species was published in 1859 and gained widespread acceptance circa the 1870s, although speculation on the topic, i…
