11,499 stories by "Trav S.D."
Several great comedians were born on June 28: Mel Brooks, Gilda Radner, John Byner. But we've already written about them so today we treat of someone frankly less hilarious: stand-up comedy'…
80 years ago today (June 26, 1945), 45 nations signed the charter that founded the United Nations. Today it has 193 member states, nearly all the nations of the earth. It has done much good,…
Temperatures spiked into the triple digits in NYC this week. To escape it, we did what folks from hereabouts used to do around the turn of the last century, which is spend a few days by the …
With apologies to Paul Simon! Back on May 19 we told you about the swell launch party for the new arts mag Slips Slips. Today, the publication's substack sister posted a four question interv…
I have scant intel on ventriloquist Roy Douglas other than he was popular during the 1940s and '50s, other vents respected him and bought dummies from him, and his most famous gimmick was wo…
Thanks, Eve Golden, for the reminder that June Lockhart's 100th birthday is upon us. June was born the day before Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush was released! I'm on vacation at the moment,…
As vaguely promised in our post on Harvey Lembeck eight years ago, a piece finally on his son Michael Lembeck (b.1948) whose work may be better known to those of my generation. Oddly, I grew…
I learned of Jack Sterling (Jack Sexton,1915-1990) whilst research Electric Vaudeville, my upcoming book on radio and tv variety. Sterling was the ringmaster and host of the CBS children's p…
Back in the day it was a matter of course that you could see more than one sideshow presentation in Coney Island on the same day, and by that I mean different presentations by different orga…
We find ourselves guided by world events, a desire for peace, and, as always, the historical calendar in the title of today's post. As it happens, two major literary figures from The Great W…
June 21, 1985 was the release date of that red-headed step-child known as Return to Oz. Ozania is its own content area on Travalanche; we now have over five dozen posts on the books, the fil…
Brian Wilson (1942-2025) would have been 83 today. As promised when he passed a couple of weeks ago, here is further tribute. It's still a bunt. There's scads more to be said. I found much t…
Audie Murphy (1925-1971) was born 100 years ago today. It is very strange that this once prominent American has been swallowed up by time, for he has one of the most unique biographical prof…
350 years ago today, several Pokanoket warriors attacked homesteads in the vicinity of Swansea, located in what was then the Plymouth Colony (now Massachusetts). This was the start of King P…
We've had numerous occasions to mention actress Mildred Natwick (1905-1994) on Travalanche; high time for her own entry. We love her of course principally for being everything you would want…
Among my favorite surprises is taking in the mail and discovering someone sent me a book out of the blue. The other day it was a review copy of Dorothy Parker's New York by Kevin Fitzpatrick…
Today (June 18, 2025) marks two years since the submersible Titan imploded at a depth of about 3,800 meters (12,500 feet), killing all five people aboard. We are prompted to mark the occasio…
Most of us know Nedra Volz (Nedra Gordonier, 1908-2003) from the last act of her life's drama, when she was a ubiquitous tv character actress and an occasional presence in films as well. Sur…
A tip of the hat today to singer, dancer, actor, and all-around performer Avon Long (1910-1984). A Baltimore native, Long got his start in Harlem in the late 1920s, at such venues as the Laf…
How delightful that April March (Velma Fern Worden, b. 1935) has a June birthday! Mark your calendar " I certainly did! April March is still very much with us, feted and lauded as one of the…
Today is the official publication date of my friend Ben Model's much-awaited new book The Silent Film Universe. We have long admired the entrepreneurial Model, who has built an empire on his…
June 17, 1775 was the date of the Battle of Bunker Hill. It is fascinating to me (in my old age) to mark these anniversaries off so that you can mark the progress of Revolutionary War events…
As promised in our National Alligator Day post " an entirely separate one on crocodiles. Because we are crazy in just that way! This one will be very brief in comparison with the alligator p…
June 17 was the birthday of magician Paul Valadon (Adolphe Weber, 1867-1913). Originally from Cologne, Germany, Valadon began his working life as a hairdresser, though magic was always his u…
Valerie Mahaffey would have been 72 today, but she passed away a couple of weeks ago. While I had certainly seen some earlier performances, the comic excellence of Mahaffey didn't really reg…
