11,508 stories by "Trav S.D."
Among those few who've even heard the name Larry Parks (1914-1975) there is a tendency to know just two or three things: that he made a big splashed playing Al Jolson in The Jolson Story …
Just got the unhappy news that Andre Braugher (b. 1962) has passed away at the young age of 61. News report are vague as to cause, mentioning only a "brief illness". Typically we write about…
I raved my my spiritual soul sister Kathy Biehl's previous Eat, Drink and Be Wary here two and a half years ago. And as it happens, my own next book release won't be until early '24, so Ima …
Multiple benchmarks go toward justifying today's spotlight on the late Bob Barker (1923-2023). He was born 100 years ago ago today; he passed away back in August, just a couple of months shy…
I've done posts on Young Frank and Old Frank, but not one yet on Middle Frank, which is arguably the peak of his art. To be accurate, Late-Middle Frank is probably the real peak. Early-Middl…
December 11 was the birthday of a distant relative of mine, Caleb Chase (1831-1908), who, with partner James Solomon Sanborn (1835-1903) formed the Chase and Sanborn Coffee Company in 1862. …
I don't know how such things happen, but somehow I managed to do posts on Ray Henderson and Buddy De Sylva a decade ago, but their songwriting partner Lew Brown (Louis Brownstein, 1893-1958)…
For tickets go here!
December 9 was the birthday of English actress and comedian Elsie Randolph (1904-1982). Wasn't it lucky that just a couple of nights ago I was re-watching the early Alfred Hitchcock film Ric…
December 8 was the birthday of a Southern coffee broker by the name of Joel Owsley Cheek (1852-1935). Cheek's chief claim to lasting fame is that in 1892 he convinced Nashville's Maxwell Hou…
On the off chance that you thought things were getting too treacly 'round here, here's news of a show that really puts the "X" back in "X-mas". Burlesque jack-of-all-trades Jonny Porkpie is …
For whatever reason, we are ringing the Christmas bell hard this year. Some years it scarcely seems to exist; this year we have jumped in with both feet, having already posted on Oneofus' Ch…
We first posted on "Little Richard" Penniman (1932-2020) back in 2012, and have had occasion to mention the long, tall shadow he cast on American music over 50 times on Travalanche. As a tee…
The release date of the motion picture Serpico (1973) was 50 years ago today. We went back and re-watched this classic of my youth a few months ago, prompted by Isaac Butler's excellent book…
Don't get confused! I don't mean Blythe Danner or Tyne Daly, but just what I said, Blythe Daly (1901-1965), although I've seen many spelling permutations of same, including Blyth Daly, Blyth…
This is not a review but just a notice that today is the release date for the new documentary A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps. Full disclosure: I have a dog in this hunt! My so…
In spite of the fact that I have done posts of Max Baer, Sr., as well as The Beverly Hillbillies, Paul Henning, Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, and Nancy Kulp I'm pretty certain I'd never have done…
As promised a few days ago, I traveled out to Park Slope to see the first performance of the 25th Anniversary season of Dzieci Theatre's Fool's Mass last night. This is the second of a proje…
Today would have been the 90th birthday of talk show host and actor Les Crane (Lesley Stein, 1933-2008). There is an Icarus-like quality to Crane's brief fame. He was nationally prominent fo…
Well, I'm still grinning from ear to ear. I was one of the lucky few hundred who were at last night's invited dress for ONEOFUS's latest holiday panto at the Abrons Arts Center, Sleeping Bea…
Yes, it's true, Sarah Silverman (b. 1970) has the same birthday as Woody Allen, Bette Midler, Richard Pryor, and Dick Shawn. Did she just decide to become a combination of all of them? She k…
Our most devoted readers know that the mission of this blog and our books, talks, podcasts, etc has to do with much more than some kind of "salute to vintage pop culture". That may well cons…
For Scotland's National Day we celebrate a Glasgow venue that many claim is the oldest music hall in Great Britain, The Britannia Music Hall (also known in later years as The Panopt…
November 30, 1912 was the date of the first Royal Variety Performance, also known as the Royal Command Performance. Attentive readers know that this writer is no fan of monarchy and pretty h…
Just the briefest of tributes to Australian swimming champ Beatrice Kerr (1887-1971), for she had the briefest of show biz careers. Kerr was only about 17 when she won several contests and b…
