11,855 stories by "Trav S.d."
I've long wanted to do a post on Alfred "Alf" Reeves (1876-1945). There's not much to be said, but he deserves to be honored. The brother of the better remembered Billie Reeves, Alf was init…
The title of this post is of course a screen name. It belonged to Matilda Fernandez (1897-1976), a local Los Angeles girl, who initially danced on the stage before an injury forced her to re…
Tribute today to Flo Bert (Florence Bert, 1898-1981), sometimes rendered as Flo Burt, or Flo Sophie Bert, but never apparently as "Flaubert". She is not to be confused with African American …
A few words on early talkie star June Clyde (Ina Parton, 1909-1987), whose screen career and name both seem like a mash up of June Haver and Andy Clyde. Billed as Baby Tetrazini, Clyde began…
The career of William Tracy (1917-1967) was fairly blessed while he remained young (and young-ish, thanks to a boyish face and persona) but hit a brick wall all at once in middle age. The Pi…
There is no way to give a pat, simple description of the life and career of Jack Sheldon (Beryl Cyril Sheldon, Jr, 1931-2019). He was most accomplished as a jazz trumpeter, but he also made …
What a stroke of genius it was casting Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989) in Aaron Sorkin's Netflix movie The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020). The recreation of Hoffman's (and Jerr…
Happy St. Andrew's Day, for them that celebrate! A fitting time, says I, for a brief tribute to the Collins Variety Agency, which ruled Scottish music hall for the first half of the 20th cen…
Jacqueline Logan (1904-78) was a movie star for precisely one decade (1921-31), starring in over five dozen films. Her gorgeous looks made her a shoe-in for silents. She also had decent stag…
I recently re-watched a favorite movie of mine, Wild in the Streets (1968), whose nightmare satircal scenario is that people under 30 get their wish and take over the world, The career of Di…
Some brief notes on the brief career of Betty Mack (Idalene Thurber, 1901-1980). A rural Illinois girl, Mack started out as a Broadway chorus girl at the age of 18. She was in the shows Red …
Curious how African American classic blues singer Lucille Hegamin (Lucille Nelson, 1894-1970) has been forgotten, when so many of her peers have been remembered, despite the fact that she le…
A tip of the Stetsomn today to legendary stuntman, action director, and actor Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (1895-1986). Canutt is best known today for: several stunts in John Ford's Stagecoac…
On the one hand, Garry Shandling (1949-2016) left us way too early; on the other hand, now that the book is closed you can see his life as a self-contained system. Shandling is already in th…
I've never met anyone who was less than enthusiastic about Gloria Grahame (Gloria Grahame Halward, 1923-1981). Grahame was the daughter of Scottish actress and acting instructor Jean Grahame…
We were delighted to see that Criterion just added comedy shorts of W.C. Fields to its streaming platform. Unlike most of the so-called classic comedians, Fields made relatively few shorts: …
I was eight years old when the news of Bruce Lee's (1940-73) sudden, early death exploded around the world. Naturally he was on my radar. He was the father of the martial arts craze that has…
We regret that we haven't yet turned up information on the earliest years of pathbreaking African American screen actor George H. Reed (1866-1952). Reed was one of the few genuine black acto…
Anne Nichols (1891-1966) is one of those figures whose own fame has been eclipsed by her greatest creation. We'll get to her most famous play presently, but first some background. Nichols ha…
Tis the gift giving season, what what the onslaught of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber-Monday and then, um, another three weeks of potential holiday shopping on the horizon.…
Nearly a decade has passed since my first post on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a look at the coffee table book America's Parade. This year, since New Yorkers and their visitors can't …
I am thrilled to report I'm appearing on a bill that includes literary luminaries Neil Gaiman, Alice Hoffman, Jennifer Egan, as well as Kevin Baker, Bill Griffith (of Zippy the Pinhead) and …
Some fragments today on the vaudeville and Broadway dance team of Adelaide and Hughes. The team consisted of Mary Adelaide Dickey (1882-1960, known to friends and family as Adelaide or Addie…
500 lb R.J. James hailed from Wayne County, Ohio, and went by the billing "The Ohio Fat Boy". He is known to have performed with Drew's Dime Museum in Cleveland and Sells Brothers Circus in …
Victor Jory (1902-1982) is best remembered for his scoundrel parts, although several of his role were in the "good guy" side of the column. He's always reminded me a little of Charles Middle…
