11,873 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today’s the birthday of our greatest President. TCM ran Abe Lincoln in Illinois last night, an adaptation of the Robert Sherwood play. Raymond Massey (who created the role in the…
Today is the birthday of the Mills Brothers’ dad and manager John Mills (not to be confused with the English actor!) My full article on the family act is here.  And now here t…
This is part five of the series on the show biz ancestry of Cynthia Fujikawa, which we launched here about four weeks ago. It’s in her own words. A year after the Crash…
Today is the birthday of the great Hollywood screenwriter, producer and director Joseph Mankiewicz. The list of important movies Mankiewicz had a hand in, in one or more of those three capac…
Today is the birthday of Thomas Edison (1847-1931). What’s he got to do with show biz history? He is CENTRAL to show biz history! First, his incandescent light bulb revolutionized the …
Today is the birthday of the lovely Anita Garvin (1907-1994). A New York City native, she started out as a teenager in vaudeville and as a chorus girl for Earl Carroll and Ziefeld before …
Today is the birthday of Bert Brecht (1898-1956!) Let’s get one thing straight from the outset — I don’t give a crap that he became a communist. Some people (thousands o…
Today is the birthday of one of my favorite Tin Pan Alley lyricists Bert Kalmar (for much more on him and his songwriting partner Harry Ruby go here ). The team is best known for the tunes (…
Today is the birthday of Star of Vaudeville #117: Jimmy Durante (for my full biographical article on him go here). Poor Durante! The most mainstream mention he gets nowadays is a lot of  …
Today at 1pm Eastern TCM is showing the “zany 60s comedy classic” Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965). I place the description in quotes, because I went back an…
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 good Creighton (1906-1973). If you g…
Today is the birthday of Frieda Pushnik (1923-2000). Born without arms or legs (except a small stump for a left arm) she was sometimes billed as "The Little Half Girl." It was said that she …
Today is the birthday of the great Brill Building songwriter Carole King (b. 1942). Most people know (either or both) her spectacular solo success in the early 1970s…or her equally imp…
Today is the birthday of Gypsy Rose Lee (for my full biographical article on this burlesque legend go here). Though famous for her class she still had a lot of sass, as evidenced by this cli…
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. The preposterous pose of superiority assumed by many a legit …
Today is the birthday of the great American humorist, journalist, novelist and playwright George Ade (1866-1944). He is sadly neglected today. I only discovered him because an old 30 pound d…
Today is the birthday of Johann Petursson (1913-1984). Born in Dalvik, Iceland , he was completely normal until age 15, when his astounding growth spurt began. He eventually reached a hei…
This post is one of a series honoring Black History Month. Ginger Jack Wiggins got his start on the TOBA circuit and black vaudeville, training with the Whitman Sisters and performing with t…
Today is the birthday of the great film director King Vidor (1894-1982). There is so much to celebrate about the man: his 1928 silent comedies with Marion Davies The Patsy and Show People; h…
Today is the birthday of Hollywood character actor Lyle Talbot (1902-1996). And the timing couldn’t be better, as my son got me this terrific new book for Christmas. A biography of Lyl…
Today is the birthday of the great science fiction pioneer Jules Verne (1828-1905), a great favorite of my youth as he no doubt was of yours. And if you are one of those impediments to human…
Some of us must work to find our place in show business; others are lucky enough to be born into dynasties. “Baby Ruth” Pontico (1904-1941) was a THIRD generation circus fat lady…
This post is one of a series honoring Black History Month. Today is the birthday of the great bluesman Lonnie Johnson. For his full bio go here. In honor of the day, we share his 19…
Brooklyn native Eddie Masher (nee Hagner, 1892-1962), billed himself in side shows as the “Skeleton Dude”. However, one notes with interest that he begins to appear on the scene …
The Irish Rep has grown to be one of my favorite companies in the city. They just have a knack for programming, and they consistently hit what they aim at — that’s the least one …
