11,855 stories by "Trav S.d."
Tribute today to a man who usually rode shotgun, broadcast announcer and sometime actor George Fenneman (1919-1997). Fenneman is remembered almost exclusively as Groucho Marx's foil on the r…
I am one wholeheartedly concurs with Louis B. Mayer that Heddy Lamarr (Hedwig Eva Marie Kiesler, (1914-2000) was the world's most beautiful woman, edging out even my favorite (Vivien Leigh, …
Ironically, one of the most important of all modern magicians has a very small internet footprint because he rarely performed in theatres, hence there are few posters, photographs or other m…
The title of this post is my customary hyperbole. I don't mean to imply that there are no other Greek actors besides Titos Vandis (1917-2003), or that he only played Greeks, or that he playe…
Dean Jagger (1903-1991) was a rather non-descript supporting actor with close to 150 screen credits. An Ohio farm boy with a love of oratory, Jagger worked in vaudeville, Chautauqua, and wit…
We're not quite sure why, but we suddenly find ourselves writing about all these people from Minnesota: Ignatius Donnelly (November 3), Gig Young (November 4), and today our topic is screen …
Tonight, starting at 8pm EST, TCM will be showing three more films with circus settings (following upon their recent screening of Jumbo, which we wrote about here.) Two of the films are whop…
November 5 is Guy Fawkes Day. John Lennon makes a joke about it at the end of his song "Remember". As we approach the 40th anniversary of Lennon's death (and have just passed his 80th birthd…
Madness in great ones must not unwatched go. I was recently asked the impossible question of who my favorite (non-comedian) male and female studio era actors were. Acknowledging that any ans…
November 3 was the natal day of demagogic populist politician and pseudo-scientific author Ignatius L. Donnelly (1831-1901). It seems well to take note of him on this day when millions of Am…
On October 19, 1978, Hollywood actor Gig Young (Byron Ellsworth Barr, 1913-1978) was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Manhattan apartment, the body of his newlywed wife Ki…
Who says science fiction movies aren't educational? I first learned the name Frances Faye (Frances Cohen, 1912-1991) from Ed Wood's Plan Nine from Outer Space (1959). There's that scene: "Sa…
Some hometown pride in sharing the story of today's subject and his onetime partner. Jack Cameron a.k.a. Jack Kammerer (Jacques Kammerer, 1883-1956) was born in Noyes, France and moved to Pr…
Today is the pub date for Heather Quinlan's new book Plagues, Pandemics and Viruses: From the Plague of Athens to Covid-19. I have long been a fan of Quinlan's documentary films; the new tom…
Today at 4pm (EST), TCM will be showing the 1962 semi-classic Jumbo. There are multiple reasons to familiarize yourself with this largely forgotten family film: its circus setting, the many …
I first became aware of Clinton Rosemond (1882-1996) by way of his excellent scene as the unnamed White House butler in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), who counsels George M. Cohan (James Cagney…
Enthusiastic attention today for impressionist, comedian and singer Guy Marks (Mario Scarpa, 1923-1987). The son of a musician in the RCA orchestra, Marks spent his young adulthood in the se…
Cully Richards (1908-1978) was minor entertainer and character actor, hailing from Bob Hope's hometown of Cleveland. Richards started out as a comedian, singer, dancer and pantomimist in vau…
In the spirit of the Halloween season, we were enjoing Larry Hagman's jaw-dropping Blob sequel Beware the Blob (1972) a couple of weeks ago on Criterion and it reminded me to schedule a post…
Since we already shined a light on her brother Jingles, some attention today for Buster Keaton's other sibling Louise (1906-1981), like her famous brother an October baby. Over a decade youn…
How will YOU be observing Fanny Brice's birthday? I started this day out by watching Fabulous Fanny: The Songs and Stories of Fanny Brice, Kimberly Faye Greenberg's one woman show that tells…
John Boles (1895-1969) was a major stage and screen star of the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Originally from Texas, he trained seriously in voice, traveled Europe and taught singing and French prior t…
Professor Otto Maurer (1846-1900) was a fixture of New York's magic scene for nearly three decades. Born in Germany, he immigrated to the U.S. as a kid, and was an amateur performer, working…
About a decade ago I did something that was for me unprecedented. A New York Times reporter called asking for comment on Sacha Baron Cohen from the perspective of vaudeville, and I demurred.…
Those of a certain age may remember the name Fred de Cordova (1910-2001). He was the producer of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson from 1970 to 1992. The general public normally doesn't kn…
