11,843 stories by "Trav S.d."
Lillian Hall-Davis (1898-1933) was one of the top British film actresses of the silent era. Then things changed " brace yourself for an unpleasant finish. A taxi driver's daughter, Hall-Davi…
Though not as a resident in a flop! I just got a nice note from David Mulkins of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors informing me that a couple of the placards I wrote for their storefront exhi…
The quotation marks surrounding part of this post's title are highly intentional. I have no doubt that many could and would vie for the coveted titled of "Father of Swing", and I have no opi…
I love those days of alignment, where several significant anniversaries pile up and add resonance to the moment. I know little of astrology, but we can favorably summon astronomy here as wel…
We take the opportunity of the Summer Solstice to continue our series of posts acknowledging the four seasonal Pagan/Christian holidays and their relation to ritual and theatre. We've done t…
Born this day, stage star Camille D'Arville, (Cornelia Dysktra, 1863-1932), also rendered Darville, d'Arville, and D'arville. Originally from the Netherlands. D'Arville trained in Amsterdam …
There are many bio-pics about composers: pictures of Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) make me wish Felix Bressart has starred in one about him, or perhaps, a few decades later Rene Auberjunois.…
Two toots on the steam whistle today for stage and screen actress Helen Holmes (1892-1950). Holmes' greatest claim to fame was starring in the Hazard of Helen movie serials (1914-1917), a pr…
That International Surfing Day should fall on the same day every year as the Mermaid Parade is not fortuitous coincidence; clearly they're both pegged to the Summer Solstice. Having already …
We've had many an occasion to mention Clayton "Bud" Collyer (Clayton Heermance, Jr, 1908-1969) and so we thought it fitting to point out his multiple significances on his natal day. I don't …
Today's the day of Coney Island's Annual Mermaid Parade. Having attended my first one in 1989 (the same year Disney's animated The Little Mermaid came out, coincidentally), I have been entra…
We don't know the calendar birth dates of many historical Native American leaders but somehow it appears to be established that June 16 was the birthday of Geronimo (1829-1909). We're just a…
Today, June 15 it so happens, is the anniversary of the death of Will Sommers in 1560. History lovers, especially performance history lovers, may recognize the name, but I imagine few others…
Funny it is that 19th century actress Maggie Mitchell (1837-1918) was born on Flag Day " for legend has it that she once danced on an American flag during a performance in Montgomery, Alabam…
During our brief stay in Newport last week our lodging happened to be across the street from this historical museum operated by the Artillery Company of Newport. On our visit, I recognized r…
Yesterday we learned the sad news that actor Treat Williams (b. 1951) perished on his motorcycle at the age of 71. That's old to be riding a hog, but not as old as I thought he was. We saw h…
On sale today (June 13, 2023), Undercrank Productions latest exciting release: Raymond Griffith: The Silk Hat Comedian. It's a wonderful opportunity to acquaint yourself with one of the unsu…
June 12 is celebrated as Independence Day in the Philippines (it's the day the archipelago declared independence from Spain in 1898). Irrelevant to the concerns of this blog? How wrong you'd…
The second Sunday in June is Children's Day in the U.S. (November 20 is World Children's Day). We take the opportunity to point out that Travalanche has nearly 250 posts on child actors and …
The Duchess, whom I've sometimes referred to as a Countess or a Marchioness (I'm unclear as to her exact rank, but she's definitely a decadent aristocrat of some sort) was the guest on the S…
Born 100 years ago today, French movie actress Madeleine LeBeau (1923-2016). Most Americans know LeBeau perhaps without knowing her name. Her most famous Hollywood performance was in Casabla…
By someone's decree, I guess the Walt Disney Corporation's, June 9 is Donald Duck Day, marking the anniversary of Donald's first appearance in a short, 1934's The Wise Little Hen. But why sh…
There were a couple of shown bizzier figures in my daily tickler I might have written about today, but, hell, it's Pride Month, and I've scarcely done anything to observe it yet this year, s…
How wonderful that John Albert Chamberlain Kefford (1905-1996) chose the professional name of John Abbott " for that is what he looked like, like some kind of Medieval monk. Occasionally he …
75 isn't the roundest anniversary in the world but it is nevertheless one of the raisons d'être for my upcoming book Vaudeville in Your Living Room: A Century of Radio and TV Variety. We …
