12,167 stories from Trav S.D.
Edward Brophy (1895-1960) was one of those streetwise character actors they loved so much in the '30s and '40s: short, bald, stocky, with a high-pitched squeaky voice. Whether cast in an imp…
This is a local event that will only be of interest to some, but as a card-carrying member of the Great-Neck Historical Society I feel compelled to spread the word. A week from today, Tuesda…
One of the delightful rewards of creating a blog like this is the cool stuff you uncover once you dig beneath the surface of the history of someone you only know glancingly, usually from the…
The stars are aligned today such that there are three interrelated occasions to celebrate: Mardi Gras, Commedia dell'Arte Day, and the birthday of the great Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni…
Somewhere down the line, Eddie Murphy (b. 1961) went from being a mere comedy star to a national institution. And I've realized something startling " Murphy may have set a record for the lon…
Despite his unprepossessing screen name, Jon Hall (1915-79) had a fascinating life and career. When it comes to that, "Jon Hall" was only one of his professional names. He also went by his g…
February 23, 1857 was the date of the debut of Bryant's Minstrels, the second longest-lasting blackface minstrel** troupe formed prior to the Civil War (after E.P. Christy's). The Bryant Bro…
Never conclude that you have seen and heard everything. I'd never heard of Thomas Dilward (1840-87) until quite recently " and he's the remarkable sort of person you'd figure everybody, let …
Tribute today to a show I enjoyed in my youth, the comical detective show, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe (1980). Tenspeed and Brown Shoe was producer Stephen J. Cannell's first show after The Rock…
A celebration today of comic character actor Paul Dooley (Paul Brown, b. 1928). It is interesting to learn of Dooley's humble West Virginia origins. Because of his Second City/ Compass Playe…
Despite the fact the he wrote one of my favorite songs, I haven't yet written about songwriter Nacio Herb Brown (1896-1964, sometimes billed as Herb Nacio Brown) chiefly because, unusual for…
Screen comedian Harry Depp (1883-1957) was a little fellow in the vein of Bobby Vernon, Bud Duncan and Harry Langdon, though Langdon wouldn't make it to the screen until years later. Origina…
Plus-sized, toothsome Johnny Brown (b. 1937) was a highly visible figure on TV when I was growing up in the '70s. The Florida native started out as the singer in a jazz combo led by "Sam the…
Today is the national release date for the latest adaptation of the ultimate love poem to dogs, Jack London's 1903Â The Call of the Wild. I first read this ripping and brutal yarn in Junio…
 Today we give the lie to our own self-delusion that we dislike both superhero franchises and musical theatre in one swell foop. As to the former…this makes our sixth Superman related …
It was only a few days ago that I was walking around depressed about a lack of a legacy on the part of our generation of indie theatre makers…certain things, certain institutions I thought…
The first thing we think of when the name of Sidney Poitier (b. 1927) is mentioned is his pioneering role as Hollywood's first African American leading man, especially in integrationist dram…
British-American stage and screen actor Bramwell Fletcher (1904-1988) is of that generation of Pre-Code Hollywood stars that includes the likes of his first wife Helen Chandler, as well as p…
The news went out yesterday through multiple sources that Ja'Net DuBois has passed away. There are multiple spellings of both her first and last name in the public record, and many conflicti…
By rights this review could and should be vastly more in-depth, but the piece in question is only running until Saturday and the next performance is tonight, so we are in a hurry to publish …
Having had frequent occasion to mention Harlem-born actor Teddy Wilson (1943-1991) in the past, we thought we'd give him his own post here today. Wilson's easy going manner and pleasant, war…
Today is the release date for Undercrank Productions new DVD The Douglas MacLean Collection. Douglas MacLean was known as "The Man with the MIllion Dollar Smile", and in these newly restored…
First off, don't answer that. I love to ask rhetorical, open-ended questions and speculate in a Socratic fashion. I despise facile answers by know-it-alls. People who come at it me in that w…
We take the birthday of Orville "Hoppy" Jones (1905-1944) as an opportunity to acknowledge The Ink Spots. I think of The Ink Spots as a rare pre-rock Beatlesque scale phenomenon. They we…
For the longest time, it seems, I mixed up Fred Guiol (1898-1964) with Buster Keaton's problem solver, the man who found an ocean liner for him for The Navigator. But that was Fred Gabour…
