11,933 stories by "Trav S.d."
Today is the birthday of soul singer-showman Mr. James Brown (1933-2006). By rights I suppose I should include him in my Hall of Hams, so elaborate were his histronics. He and his Famous Fla…
Today is the birthday of Doug Henning (1953-2000). I’ll be frank: when I was a kid, Henning was the absolute measure of awful, unwatchable, the thing one must never do, the thing one m…
Having already done posts of just about all of the other principle cast members of the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz (most of them having been in vaudeville) it gives me great pleasure to f…
Today is the birthday of Percy Abbott (1886-1960). Originally from Australia, he began performing magic and ventriloquism professionally in his early twenties, at the same time working in a …
Martin Laurello (born Martin Emmerling in Nuremberg Germany in May 1886) was born with the unique gift of being able to turn his head around 180 degrees backwards. The above photo may look l…
Today is the birthday of Pinky Lee (for my full article on this important burlesque comedian and children’s tv host go here). A special treat today: a clip of him doing his old schtick…
I had a chance to go down to Philly this past weekend to see a show with Cynthia Fujikawa (she of this sextet of posts). On the agenda was If She Stood, a new play by Cyndy’s old…
Today is the birthday of Vernon Castle. For more on him and his wife Irene (the pair of whom revolutionized social dancing in America) go here. If you’ve heard of their famous da…
Today is the birthday of pop singer Lesley Gore (b. Lesley Goldstein, 1946), best known for her 1963 #1 hit “It’s My Party”. While that tune has its musical virtue…
Today is the birthday of Jack Paar (1918-2004). I’ll admit to you right here and now that my exposure to him has been nearly nil. His time as the “middle caretaker” of T…
Today is the birthday of the hysterically funny Louie Nye (1913-2005). Born Louis Neistat in Hartford, CT he started out as an actor in radio before doing his hitch in World War II (w…
Today is the birthday of George Dewey Washington (1898-???). Named after an Admiral in the Spanish-American War, George Dewey Washington was a African American bass-baritone who sang in vaud…
Today is the birthday of Marion Walter Jacobs (1930-1968), a.k.a. “Little Walter”. This legendary master of the blues harp was born and raised in rural Louisiana, leaving as a te…
Today is the birthday of Mary Florence Cecila “Babe” Egan (1897-1966). A California native, she moved to Hollywood in 1919, playing her violin on silent film sets as a profession…
Today is the birthday of Charles K. Harris (1867-1930). A master of the banjo, he sang in minstrel shows and early variety and vaudeville. His importance to posterity however lies in the ove…
Sadly, and somewhat surprisingly, I haven’t been able to find a photo of this whole amazing family in one shot. The Baroness Sidonia de Barcsy (born this day in 1866) was a bearded lad…
Today is the birthday of blues musician Reverend Gary Davis, a.k.a Blind Gary Davis, a.k.a Blind Reverend Gary Davis (1896-1972). (I don’t know if anyone called him the last nam…
Tonight through May 19 at 59e59 Theaters – The Girl I Left Behind Me, written by Neil Bartlett and Jessica Walker, and directed by Mr. Bartlett for Brits Off Broadway. From the press r…
Today is the birthday of the divine Chloris Leachman (b. 1926). Equally adept at comedy or drama, capable of grace and loveliness on the one hand (see above) or comical ugliness (as i…
Today is the birthday of Alice B. Toklas (1877-1967), most famous as secretary and companion to Gertrude Stein. Far more importantly, her name became a synonym for a certain type of elici…
Today is the birthday of Al “Grandpa” Lewis (for my full article on that star of Car 54 and The Munsters  go here). To learn a little but about Lewis as we New Yorker…
Despite what her unfortunate name suggested Grace McDaniels (1888-1958) did not resemble a mule. She was born in Numa, Iowa with a condition called Sturge-Weber Syndrome which by around a…
Today is Duke Ellington’s birthday, but I hope you’re not too disappointed to learn that I am much more excited about the fact that it is Tommy James’ birthday today (b.194…
Congratulations to Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, who received an Olivier Award last night for their production of the stage adaptation of the 1935 RKO movie starring Fred Astaire and Ginge…
The Hall of Hams is my series on some of my favorite actors who have brought the art of melodramatic acting into the modern era. Today is the birthday of the greatest actor of our tim…
