12,167 stories from Trav S.D.
Since we're all going to die, today I deliver a heresy: Â Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) is a figure I respect enormously as an icon and a star but most of whose movies I have little use for. …
We find the qualifier in the headline necessary to differentiate our present subject from the pioneering female stand-up comedian Jean Carroll, who'd been in the team of Carroll and Howe. To…
More than a few thoughts, lifted from my notebooks, to mark the birthday of playwright/screenwriter William Inge (1913-73). I was guilty of being dismissive of Inge for many years, mostly…
Today Hedda Hopper (1885-1966) is almost exclusively remembered as a Holy Terror of a right-wing gossip columnist, champion of Joan Crawford, J. Edgar Hoover, and HUAC, and scourge of Charli…
There is a herky-jerky aspect to the career of Betty Ross Clarke (May Clarke, 1892-1970), preventing her career from attaining the kind of momentum it required to really get going. Clarke wa…
Several points of interest draw us to the topic of stage and screen actress Rose Hobart (Rose Kefer, 1906-2000). First, she figures in horror classics. She was Fredric March's leading lady i…
April 26, 1947 was the death day of animal impersonator George Ali (George Bolingbroke, born ca. 1866). Thank you, Matt Brady for suggesting him! (BTW, I don't ordinarily take requests. Let …
When I was a kid (it seems to me) a lot of the older women emulated Eve Arden (Eunice May Quedens, 1908-1990). Arden was beautiful and glamorous, but also imposing. She stood 5'7″, whi…
Now that Jay Leno (b. 1950) has become Tip O'Neill, I like him again. I caught him on Bill Maher's show the other day after not having watched him in action for like a decade, and was deligh…
Jerry Seinfeld (b. 1954) is a man who has stood on the shoulders of giants, one who has since become a giant himself, which must be very uncomfortable for the people he's standing on. My nic…
I only just became aware of actress Adele Mara (Adelaida Delgado, 1923-2010) on account of her appearance in the Joe E. Brown comedy western Shut My Big Mouth (1942). She was a Columbia cont…
Someone has decreed today to be Superhero Day and who am I to argue? While I have gotten more than my share of enjoyment out of most of the key comic book franchises, parody (of ANYTHING) is…
This one goes out to Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (1932-2014). Lebanese-American Kasem was from Detroit, and got his start in local radio in high school and later as a student at Wayne Statue Un…
Well now. It was no small matter getting to the bottom of the multi-generational Redgrave pool, with so many twists and turns and tributaries. It's enough material for a book, but as with my…
A few words on silent comedy supporting player Frank J. Coleman (1888-1948). A native of the Hudson River town of Newburgh, New York, Coleman started out acting with barnstorming outfits lik…
James T. Powers (James T. McGovern, 1862-1943) was a great 20th century stage clown, as well as a songwriter and playwright. Born in New York City of Irish-American parentage, Powers fell in…
Today we corral vaudeville animal impersonator Fred Woodward (1882-1960). Yes animal impersonation was a whole sub-specialty in vaudeville! Other animal impersonators we have profiled on Tra…
The Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show was just the most visible face of a vast economic empire based in Oklahoma. The 101 Ranch, located near Ponca City, in what was then known simply…
Paul Desmuke (1876-1949) was a native of Atacosca County, Texas. Born without arms, he became extremely proficient in the use of his feet. With his lower extremities, he could write, play th…
Yes it's true!, April 24 is the birthday of both Barbra Streisand and Shirley MacLaine (Shirley MacLean Beaty, b. 1934). Atsa lotta show biz for one day! The daughter of two Virginia educato…
Stella Adams (1883-1961) appeared in over 150 films, most notably as star, co-star or featured player in comedies produced by the Nestor and Christie studios. A native of Sherman, Texas, Ada…
I've had a couple of dozen occasions to refer to Barbra Streisand (b. 1942) on this blog, yet have never done a post on her (despite having done three posts on Bette Midler, and plans for mo…
Adele Blood (1886-1936) was a socialite and stage star whose finish was as spectacular as that in any melodrama. Three years later, a gun shot rang out again in a horrible echo of that theat…
Just got the news from her daughter Kaitlin Hopkins (also a lovely actress) that the highly respected stage and screen star Shirley Knight has passed at age 83. Knight was "Heavenly" (the…
The most startling thing I encountered about Hollywood bit player Rondo Hatton (1894-1946) this morning was that he never appeared in any of the Dick Tracy pictures with Ralph Byrd, whose bi…
