11,511 stories by "Trav S.D."
A celebration today of stage and screen actor Philip Coolidge (1908-1967). The photo above is of course from William Castle's The Tingler (1959), one of a handful of well known movies the ch…
We've been remiss in not treating of comedy auteur Lewis R. Foster (1898-1974) 'til now. Foster came out of the same Hal Roach cradle as better known guys like Leo McCarey, George Stevens, a…
We may have indulged ourselves (and oldest friends and family) at some point by doing a post on New England broadcaster Salty Brine (Walter Leslie Brine, 1918-2004), but we hop to it today b…
Today is opening day of the Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. We thought it an appropriate time to recall the Toni Twins advertising campaign, and the most famous of those who were amon…
The New York Daily News photo above was taken at the moment the building that housed the Mercer Arts Center collapsed on August 3rd, 1973. I first heard of the incident from researching my o…
Born 100 years ago today, actress Jean Hagen (Jean ver Hagen, 1923-1977), not be confused with That Hagen Girl, who of course was Shirley Temple, opposite Ronald Reagan. Chicago native Hagen…
Having already knocked my brains out writing this piece about rock bands earlier today, I'll keep this 70th birthday tribute to Butch Patrick (be. 1953) short and sweet. However, isn't it fu…
The sad news about the passing of Paul Reubens (PeeWee Herman) sent me into a tailspin of of genuine grief and I don't mind admitting it because it seems like everyone I know felt the same w…
In light of our recent post concerning the joys of the Garden State, we must stipulate that we haven't suddenly become obsessed with New Jersey, we just coincidentally happen to have some ne…
July 31 was the birthday of the pioneering showman Hachaliah Bailey (1775-1845). We're guilty of having been neglectful of this important show biz founder. By rights, he should have been one…
Arnold Schwarzenegger (b. 1947) turns 76 today; we observed the occasion earlier this week by watching the new Netflix "documentary" series Arnold (2023). The quotes are because the series i…
What to do for International Tiger Day (July 29)? I already connected you with all my posts on big cat trainers in my World Lion Day post. (It's fairly unheard of for a tiger tamer not to al…
Born of a July 29, midwestern humorist, poet, novelist, playwright and newspaperman Don Marquis (1878-1937). Hailing from Walnut, Illinois (two hours west of Chicago), Marquis's career inclu…
Shame on me for not letting you know about this sooner (I don't know what I was thinking) but technically there's still some time for New Yorkers to get their butts up to the mountains to th…
Just a head's up for New Yorkers that a great documentary short by Gary Beeber entitled The Savior of Coney Island will be showing tonight (July 28, 8pm) as part of the outdoor Art of Brookl…
Blanche Mehaffey (1908-1968) lived in a time of Blanches: Blanche Sweet, Blanche Ring, Blanche Merrill, Blanche Payson, Blanche Bates, Blanche Walsh, and her own mother, the Cincinnati sopra…
July 27 is not only National Walk on Stilts Day, it also happens to be National New Jersey Day. I love that it's not just "New Jersey Day" " the added qualifier is a suggestion that the enti…
July 27 is National Walk on Stilts Day! There's not tons to be said on the topic; you may be astonished to learn that there's anything to be said at all. But we've had occasion to refer to t…
A head's up about Undercrank Productions' latest restored silent film release, featuring two Tom Mix pictures Sky High (1922) and The Big Diamond Robbery (1929). As we wrote in our post abou…
Born this day, 80 years ago, Sir Michael "Mick" Jagger (b.1943), front man for The Rolling Stones, and a thing or two besides. Some may be surprised to learn he is that old, as he never let …
At the age of 45, silent screen actor J. Warren Kerrigan (1879-1947), star of such major features as The Covered Wagon (1923), The Girl of the Golden West (1923), and the original screen ver…
I was so sad to learn just now that my new friend Mari Lyn Henry passed away last month. It was just about a year ago that I spent the loveliest time at Mari Lyn's apartment listening to her…
Alan Curtis (Harold Ueberroth, 1909-1953) was well on the way to some kind of lasting stardom when a bad reaction to a routine kidney operation took him at age 43. Despite a somewhat forgett…
July 23 marks the beginning of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week this year, an annual tradition since 1988. I have always been shocked at how successful this promotional campaign has been w…
Vivian Martin (1893-1987) was a Broadway actress and movie star of the silent era, one of the many rivals to Mary Pickford as a sweet screen damsel, and a for a time the wife of actor Willia…
