12,169 stories from Trav S.D.
Mary Martin (1913-90) is certainly one of the first performers I knew primarily as a stage star. This is because she's only in a handful of movies, none of them blockbusters or enduring clas…
The identical Connor Twins, Velma (1906-1987) and Thelma (1906-1981) hailed from Hornbeck, Vernon Parish, Louisiana. The harmonizing sisters toured big time vaudeville with a Gus Edwards rev…
Note this morning on character actress Josephine Whittell (1882-1961). Born Josephine Cunningham, either in Tucson or San Francisco, Whittell started out as drummer in an all-girl band in Sa…
When television began to dominate American lives in the 1950s, it made possible an unprecedented phenomenon: fame untethered to accomplishment. Well-known people would be booked for the endl…
Other than that he was born on November 29, and that he was an eccentric dancer, I've been able to learn almost nothing of Al Norman (Samuel Newman, 1906-99). He was from New York and was ni…
Some tribute today for the late film director Michael Ritchie (1938-2001). Ritchie was primarily associated with comedies, which is the main reason we are moved to write about him this morni…
The career of Bobby Watson (Robert Watson Kuchner, 1888-1965), assumed an interesting trajectory: from vaudeville, to medicine shows, to Broadway, to films, to…impersonating Adolf Hitler. …
African American character actor/ comedian Dudley Dickerson (1906-1968) is today best remembered for his comic turns in many Three Stooges shorts, although he appeared in films starring near…
Readers of No Applause may have gleaned that I am not a fan of impressionist Rich Little (b. 1938), but I've had occasion to mention him here a few times, so I thought it advisable to create…
The complex life of Bartholomew "Bat" William Barclay Masterson (1853-1921) contained enough incident to fill many books, and has. Today, as we did with his wild west colleagues Wyatt Earp, …
The promising life and career of Christine Maple (Christine Raphael, 1912-1947) was cut short by episodes of bad behavior ostensibly stemming from mental illness, though whether her unhappin…
The career of Adele Jergens (1917-2002) is an interesting instruction on how influential burlesque is on the culture at large. While I haven't come across any information on her working on t…
I know there's an entire Thanksgiving between now and then but today still seems the right time to plant the bug in your ear about Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. For…
Three things are normally brought out about Helen Gahagan Douglas (1900-1980): her one starring role in Hollywood; her celebrity husband (Melvyn Douglas); and her political significance. We'…
Some brief tribute today to Mexican illusionist Cantu (Abraham J. Cantu, 1896-1949). Originally from Monterey, Mexico, Cantu began his working adult life as a barber, gradually making his wa…
The extent to which the careers of certain silent screen stars' careers were destroyed by sound is often exaggerated, but the case that that is what happened to Ethlyne Clair (Ethlyne Wil…
We got the word from pal Sheila O'Malley just now that Michael J. Pollard is dead at the age of 80. I first knew Pollard from the classic Star Trek episode "Miri", where he and Kim Darby (an…
As we find ourselves neck deep in televised impeachment hearings, it feels particularly apropos to celebrate the memory of impressionist David Frye (David Shapiro, 1933-2011). As Vaughn Mead…
Of his nearly 200 screen roles, Robert Armstrong (1890-1973) is known today almost enirely for one. But what a one! Armstrong was born in Saginaw, Michigan where his father and uncle operate…
 We take the opportunity of Jodie Foster's birthday (b. 1962) to recall an interesting blip in her early career that has no doubt been forgotten by most. Foster was ubiquitous as a child…
Thanks to the 2016 book Unsung Hollywood Musicals of the Golden Era: 50 Overlooked Films and Their Stars 1929-1939 by Edwin M. Bradley, and the intrepid gang at Nitrateville, I have managed …
His name is not exactly a household word but Paul Sills (1927-2008) was one of the most influential figures in American comedy history, the principal founder of Second City and the key guru …
Good news for folks who may have missed our earlier performances of Jason Trachtenburg's Me and Lee over the past year at Sidewalk, Dixon Place, the Brick, and Theater for the New City. W…
The name Katie Crippen (Catherine Crippen, 1895-1929) would undoubtedly be better known if she weren't taken at such a young age, for her career intersected with many legendary performers an…
Many famous actresses have been associated with the plum role of Peter Pan over the past century: Maude Adams, Mary Martin, Sandy Duncan, and most recently Allison Williams. The star of the …
