11,936 stories by "Trav S.d."
By 1975 producer Norman Lear had gone out on a limb several times, and hit the jackpot every single time, with All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, the Jeffersons and Good …
Today is the birthday of a personal hero of mine, Wynton Marsalis (b. 1961). I can’t presume to weigh in on whether he is or he isn’t a great jazz trumpeter. What I prize him for…
This is one in a series of posts we are producing in connection with our new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, available from Bear Ma…
Today is the birthday of the great songwriter/ guitarist/ showman Chuck Berry, born 1926. I was shocked — shocked — to learn that not only is still with us, he is still giggin…
This looks awesome, does it not???? It opens at Irondale tonight…
Today is the birthday of Lotte Lenya (1898-1981). Only troglodytes associate her primarily with Rosa Klebb. Here is what we celebrate this morning:
I realized two long standing goals last night. First, many, many months after it first open, I finally got to check out the Canal Park Playhouse, an amazing space located in one of Manhattan…
The greatest showman of my day produced spectacles too big for theatres, eventually too big even for arenas. I speak of course of the legendary motorcycle daredevil Evel Kneivel (1938-…
Today is the birthday of Margarita Carmen Cansino, a.k.a Rita Hayworth (1918-1987). A third generation member of a family of professional Spanish dancers, Rita began taking lessons at age th…
Today is the birthday of Irene Ryan (nee Jessie Irene Noblitt, 1902-1973), best known as “Granny” on The Beverly Hillbillies. Most people today don’t know she sta…
Target Margin launches their two-year lab of Yiddish plays at the Brick Theater tonight. To learn more about this fascinating project, listen to a podcast conversation with me and T…
Today is the birthday of Cozy Cole (1909-1981), rhythm man for everyone from Jelly Roll Morton to Willie Bryant to Louis Armstrong. He was a big influence on many rock drummers, and hereR…
As I’ve observed here many times over the past couple of years, we are in an interesting period of Tennessee Williams revival as indie theatre companies are rediscovering his lesser kn…
Re-posted from last year. Today is Oscar Wilde’s birthday (1854-1900). I fell under Wilde’s spell in the 1990s, so much so that I named my second son (Charles Wilde Stewart, …
To paraphrase the rap artist, at this point in time I’d like to share a few words about my libido. Working on Burlesque-A-Pades the last few weeks has caused me to do some thinking abo…
Tonight! Starring the incomparable Cherry Pitz!
Today is the birthday of Ford Lee Washington, a.k.a. “Buck” of Stars of Vaudeville #246: Buck and Bubbles. For more info on that team go here. John Bubbles is ordinarily thoug…
Today is the birthday of the great American playwright Eugene O’Neill (1888-1953) In my view he towers over (nearly) every other American playwright..because of his ambition, his restl…
Today is the birthday of the great early blues queen Victoria Spivey (1906-1976). The native Texan got her professional start as a child, singing and playing piano in movie theatres, saloons…
Today is the birthday of the great (and almost universally misunderstood)Â German philosopher Friedrich Neitzsche (1844-1900). Properly appreciated he is not the enemy of goodness, as is c…
Today is the birthday of stage and screen actress Ina Claire (nee Fagan, 1893-1988). The Washington D.C. native got her start in vaudeville as an impressionist at age 17 before breaking i…
Two weeks before Hallowe’en, you can hopefully forgive the Countess and myself for thinking an “interactive event” called “the Warehouse of Horrors” with tou…
Today is the birthday of the great American poet e.e. cummings (sic) (1894-1962). Here’s a little number he wrote when Buffalo Bill passed away: Buffalo Bill’s: defunct who used …
Today is the birthday of Eli Bowen, the Legless Acrobat (1844-1924). Bowen had feet — just no legs. Like many people born with such a condition, he developed his arms into extremely…
Today is the birthday of Harry Anderson (b. 1952). While more famous for his acting roles in the sit-coms Night Court (1984-1992)and Dave's World (1993-1997), and the tv movie version of Ste…
