11,851 stories by "Trav S.d."
For International Women's Day, today we induct the historically important Worrell Sisters into these precincts. Hailing from Cincinnati, the trio, Irene, Jennie and Sophie, were daughters of…
March 4 is the D.O.B. of stage and screen actress and education Maude Fealy (Maude Mary Hawk, 1883-1971). Fealy was the daughter of actress Margaret Fealy (1865-1955) and stepdaughter of Raf…
A rare example of a show person to whom I may be related, if distantly, is Harriet "Big Hattie" Bowen, ca. 1840-1890. (Another Bowen connection is here). Hattie hailed from Fairhaven, Mass.,…
There are many reasons for us to be especially interested in Rochelle Hudson (1916-1972): her roles in classic comedies, her status as a beauty queen, and her late dabbling in schlock horror…
There's nothing false about Geordie Austin; I've been a fan of his deep, risky, soul-baring oeuvre for over 20 years now (and I can hear him mocking"oeuvre" even as I type this). Geordie's n…
As a fan of some 40 years' standing, I was pleased as punch to learn of that 2020 Emmy going to Catherine O'Hara (b. 1954) for her work on Schitt's Creek. O'Hara plays the broadest character…
For some reason, we've had a cluster of Australians here recently, direst Louise Lovely, then Sydney Deane, and now The Great Levante (Leslie George Cole, 1892-1978). Since we generally work…
A thing or two about Jack-of-All-Trades Chief Tahachee (Jeff Davis Tahchee Cypert, 1904-1978) " not to be confused with the similar-sounding Chief Yowlachie, another Native American actor. .…
A salute today to the amazing Rafaela Ottiano (1888-1942). Originally from Venice, the young actress moved to the U.S. at the age of 22 " hence the thick Italian accent that characterized he…
Big time props today for movie star Cathy Downs (1926-1976). Now that I've been a Long Islander for three years, when I hear that she's from nearby Port Jefferson, I think of her as a local …
Much like Bob Hope, Donald Novis (1906-1966), was an English immigrant who came to the U.S. at a very young age and made it big on Broadway and on radio and in the movies. Born in Hastings, …
I'll cop to being a fickle, fairweather fan of The Carpenters. I was about four or five when their hits started, and about 11 when they stopped. Their years of smash success coincided almost…
When I was a kid, David Niven (1910-1983) was in the midst of a so-called comeback period that had begun with Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and continued with a 1957 remake of My Man Go…
Yep, Uncle Cyp and Aunt Sap. Want to make something out of it? This husband-wife rube comedy team kept rural audiences in stitches for over a half century, from the days of tented wagon show…
Sydney Deane (1863-1934) was both one of the first Australian stars in Hollywood as well as one of the first athletes-turned-stars. A rugby and cricket champ in his youth, the Sydney native …
I have been able to uncover little about the early life and career of Hank McCune (1917-2005) beyond that he served in WWII and he began his show biz career in radio. From out of the blue he…
I briefly contested a claim I saw which described Louise Lovely (Nellie Louise Carbasse, 1895-1980) as being the first Australian actress to become a Hollywood star. After all, Annette Kelle…
Today we tip a boater to Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986) with an appreciation for what is both our favorite Minnelli film as well as our favorite post-Wizard of Oz musical by MGM's Freed Unit.…
One would think "Fred Thomson" (1890-1928) is not a terrific name for a movie star, and yet he was one " a major one " for eight years, and via one of the most unlikely of paths possible. Th…
Seldom am I tempted to treat of contemporary actors, but I find the life and career of Charlotte Stewart (b. 1941) so fascinating I had to make a little noise about it. We share a surname, t…
Frequent TCM viewers will undoubtedly be familiar with the Technicolor short subjects entitled TravelTalks, which the network employs in much the same way as these little films were original…
If there were a vaudeville today, Marilyn Michaels (Marilyn Sternberg, b. 1943) would be a star of it. It's an odd thing: back in the day, many or most of the show biz impressionists were fe…
Oh, did I say, "important"? I meant impotent, but whatever gets you to click the link! This marks my fifth Travalanche post on Zeppo Marx, over and above my numerous posts on the entire team…
A few words of homage to recording pioneer George W. Johnson (ca. 1846-1914). I had previously been under the mistaken impression that Williams and Walker were the first African American rec…
The above chronicles my obligatory pilgrimage to City Lights Bookstore during my sojourn there in October 2019. Its co-founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti passed away yesterday at the age of 101! …
