11,933 stories by "Trav S.d."
This is the sixth and final of the series on the show biz ancestry of writer-actress Cynthia Fujikawa, which we launched here several weeks ago. We met a couple of weeks ago and she took me …
Today is the birthday of tin pan alley songwriter Albert Von Tilzer (1878-1958). He started out as a musical director in vaudeville, then he went to work for his brother, tin pan alley songw…
He’s reading the funnies Quick! Call a cab! Today, tomorrow and Sunday at 11am, the IFC Center in NYC is showing  Will Rogers‘ 1934 feature Judge Priest. Time has…
Today is the birthday of Billy Quirk (1873-1926). Quirk was one of the first comedy stars, but his time at the top was short and in the final analysis he is considered a minor figure. He sta…
A post in celebration of Women’s History Month The International Sweethearts of Rhythm were the first fully integrated all-girl band, featuring members who were black, white, Latin Ame…
Dynamism! Adaptability! Change! Progress! The Future! For over a century these have been the American watchwords and I certainly consider myself one to sign on to them as virtues and hopeful…
Today is the birthday of magician Fred Keating (1897-1961). When he was eight years old he saw Buatier de Kolta perform, and this is what gave him the idea he wanted to go into magic. Years …
Today is the birthday of creepy-beauty vampy spider lady Gloria Swanson (1899-1983). Ya didn’t know, did ya? That she got her start with Chaplin at Essanay and then moved on Mack Senne…
The Fred Karno Troup was the pre-eminent company of British Music Hall pantomimes. Karno's most distinguished alumni included both the man who revolutionized the art of silent comedy (Charli…
There have apparently been rumors afoot for the past several years that there is an umpteenth remake of Brewster’s Millions in developent. Nothing is more depressing than googling s…
Today is the birthday of flamboyant glam rock songwriter and performer Sir Elton John (b. Reginald Dwight, 1947). Where to start? Impossible to start. His career sort of coexists timewise wi…
Today is the birthday of Andy Clyde (1892-1967). Best known to modern audiences from roles on Lassie and The Real McCoys, Clyde was a second general Scottish actor (his father was acto…
A post in honor of Women’s History Month. Winona Winter (1888-1940) was the daughter of pre-eminent minstrel man and songwriter Banks Winter. She made her vaudeville debut as a soub…
Yiddish Theatre is one of the many theatrical cul-de-sacs I’ve found myself investigating as an inevitable by-product of my exploration of vaudeville. But even I, who know far more …
A post in celebration of Women’s History Month. Originally from New Jersey, Florence Bindley (1868-1951) made her name initially as a male impersonator in both American vaudevil…
Today is the 100th birthday of New York’s Palace Theatre. Built on this day in 1913 as the flagship for the big time vaudeville circuit run by E.F. Albee and Martin Beck, manager of th…
Today is the birthday of Donna Pescow (b. 1954). She was always more cute and loveable than she was funny, although John Travolta did get a few cruel laughs at her expense in Saturday Night …
A post in celebration of Women's History Month. The Harlem Playgirls were an all girl African American swing band of the late 30s and 40s. Assembled from former members of the Dixie Sweethea…
Today is the birthday of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle (1887-1933). Born in Smith Center, Kansas he moved with his family to Santa Ana, California the following year. His mother …
Today is the birthday of sui generis comedian Marty Allen (b. 1922). From 1957 to 1968, and then in 1974, and then from 1984 to 1985, and then from 1990 to 1994 he was teamed with crooner…
Today is the birthday of Joan Crawford (Lucille LeSueur, 1904-1977). We leave to others the task of talking about High Crawford, i.e. the classic Crawford of Mildred Pierce (1945) and Grand …
A Post in Honor of Women’s History Month. Helene Mora (1861-1903) was considered to be in the front ranks of American vaudevillians in the 1890s but died too young to have secured hers…
Today is the birthday of Hazel Dawn (Hazel Tout, 1890-1988). Born into a family of Utah Mormons, she and her entire family moved to Wales as missionaries when she was eight, and HazelÅ
Today is the birthday of Chico Marx (1887-1961). I might be one of the few people who rates Chico as high as his two brothers as a comedian. He may not be as original as the two others, but …
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. The piece below is adapted and expanded from a guest column I…
