11,508 stories by "Trav S.D."
150 years ago today: the birth of Polar Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922). It gives me particular pleasure to write about him on the day after Valentine's Day, for Shackleton was on…
And though it is Jack Benny's birthday, and I am developing a longish piece about Benny's movies, the precipitating cause of this post is that February 14 ALSO happens to be the birthday of …
Something appropriate there is about the fact that National Ferris Wheel Day and Valentine's Day are one and the same. I can't think of a more romantic date activity than a ride on one of th…
According to the master calendar that makes this blog happen, there are numerous new people I could be writing about on this Fat Tuesday " but I find I want to talk some more about George Se…
I say "the other" because the better known David Steinberg was a Canadian stand-up comedian who was popular in the 1970s. The one who concerns us today was David J. Steinberg (1965-2010). Th…
I've little original to say upon the the topic, but I cannot let it go unobserved: today marks 100 years since George Gershwin premiered his Rhapsody in Blue at Aeolian Hall in New York (Feb…
The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was incorporated on this day in 1890. I'm not here to celebrate or endorse their product, but RJR did leave a camel print in the shifting sands of show busi…
Harry Beaumont (1888-1966) is not regarded today as a great cinematic auteur, and perhaps he shouldn't be in terms of such matter as camera placement, shot composition, and so forth (and to …
Today's post on Carmen Miranda (1909-1955) goes out to another Carmen M, my friend Carmen Mofungo (Michele Carlo), one of the many performers influenced and inspired by the Brazilian star. (…
I categorically discourage this sort of thing but an acquaintance recently approached me and asked whether the James Murray he saw in some vintage advertising for a vaudeville bill that feat…
You see what I did there, right? It wasn't easy. Just TRY to find an unglamorous photograph of James Dean (1931-1955). Naturally, to focus my search, I went to "as old man in Giant", calcula…
Sudden death always feels like a sucker punch, sometimes more than others. I just got the word that Kenyan actor Charles J. ("Charli") Ouda has passed away at the age of 38. I had the happin…
Today we pause to acknowledge actress Gloria Talbott (1931-2000). We've had a handful of occasion to mention Talbott here, chiefly in relation to her horror films: she has key roles in The C…
The bad news " my hard drive died so I won't be churning out a few thousand new daily words for a couple of days. The good news? I've just opened up to the public over 900 additional posts t…
This one is far from an exclusive but the show biz angle lured me in. I'm quite sure I first heard of Ronald Pellar (1930-2013) a.k.a Dr. Dante a.k.a. Ronald Dante a.k.a. Mr. Hypnotist as th…
Melanie (b. 1947) passed away a week ago. I'd already planned a post for her birthday, which is today, so I thought I'd save the obit and let this one, regrettably, do double duty. Melanie S…
Launching today in New York: Sapph-o-Rama, Film Forum's 30 film series of movies "exploring the eccentric, enduring, and genre-encompassing history of the Lesbian image in cinema". The most …
A somewhat unusual case to contemplate today: a father and son, both of whom made well-known, well-respected and popular movies in two countries: France and America. Maurice Tourneur (Mauric…
It's quite true, although it must be pointed out that there have been three generations of Drs Bronner since the mid 20th century, and many generations of soap-making Heilbronners before tha…
Bill Mumy (Charles William Mumy Jr, b. 1954) turns 70 years old today. For someone who has nearly 100 screen credits accumulated over nearly half a century, and has distinguished himself in …
More than once here have we pointed out the real true fact the many theatrical forms that owe their origins all or in part to France: melodrama, farce, vaudeville, burlesque, revues, even th…
Oh, there's no "dirt" on Tammy Grimes, per se, only information. it's just wordplay and a shameless headline. Grimes (1934-2016) was an actress/performer whose legend was primarily in the th…
We've long since passed 100 posts on the topic of William Claude Dukenfeld, a.k.a. W.C. Fields (1880-1946) on this blog and so we thought we'd mark his birthday (January 29) with this new ha…
Yes! Google it and you will find many published books and articles with titles much like this post! I even dropped his name with reference to the many uses of the word vaudeville in my book …
If I were any kind of a guy, I'd plug every single episode of the Marx Brothers Council Podcast as they drop, but the naked truth is, I can't keep up. It's the only podcast I listen to, but …
