12,210 stories from Trav S.D.
Today is the birthday of the pathbreaking Ruby Dandridge (Ruby Jean Butler, 1900-1987). Dandridge was one of the few “pushy stage mothers” of famous performing children to achiev…
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Indie Theatre, PLUGS Tagged: Brick Theater, BROOKLYN, Greg Kotis, Lunchtime, Theater of the Apes
This new series of posts came out of the realization that I have relatives and roots in all 50 U.S. states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them (all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent), and I …
March is Women’s History Month. How I wish it could be an opportunity to celebrate America’s first female President this year, instead of bemoaning a President who represents the…
Filed under: Buster Keaton, Comedians, Comedy, Hollywood (History), Movies, PLUGS, Silent Film, Travel/ Tourism Tagged: Buster Keaton, Niles Essanay Film Museum, silent comedy
This new series of posts came out of the realization that I have relatives and roots in all 50 U.S. states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them (all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent), and I …
This new series of posts came out of the realization that I have relatives and roots in all 50 U.S. states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them (all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent), and I …
Today is the birthday of the great Zero Mostel (1915-1977). It would be par for the course that such an eccentric actor and performer as Mostel would also have a highly idiosyncratic career …
On Feb. 26, 1917, exactly 100 years ago, The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) made the first-ever commercial jazz recording,”Livery Stable Blues,” for the Victor Talkin…
Today is the birthday of the great Romantic novelist, playwright, essayist, and political figure Victor Hugo (1802-1885). I have many future posts within me about this great artist; one unav…
Well, this is more of a headline that a blogpost, I’m afraid. It seemed like a nice heretical stunt until I tried to draw up the list. I started with ten, and then realized I’d b…
Filed under: BROOKLYN, Coney Island, Dime Museum and Side Show, PLUGS, SOCIAL EVENTS Tagged: BROOKLYN, Coney Island USA, Coral Jubilee, Mermaid Parade, Spring Gala
February 25 is International Commedia dell’Arte Day! Commedia is the root of everything, and I’m thinking it’s no accident the planners hold this annual event so close to C…
I saw this bar graph on social media this morning and found it very telling. It explains a lot. Â The chart shows Democrats and Republicans differing wildly in their perceptions of whether…
In recent days we’ve been seeing footage of Town Hall meetings across the country as congresspeople meet with their constituents to hear what they have to say about our first month of …
In November, 2016 America elected a reality television star and periodically bankrupt heir to a real estate fortune to the most powerful office in the world, purportedly on the strength of h…
No one is happier than this commentator to see actor/director Charles Lane re-emerging from wherever he’s been for the past 20 years. Lane’s day in the sun was 1989-1993, when he…
There’s only one way to spend Presidents Day in the age of Drumpf — that’s by rejecting the present office holder utterly and vociferously, and refusing to include him in a…
Filed under: African American Interest, British Music Hall, BROOKLYN, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS, SOCIAL EVENTS Tagged: benefit, Black History Through Our Eyes, Black Lives Matter, BROOKLYN…
Today was the “Day of Remembrance”, the 75th anniversary of the day FDR signed an executive order that resulted in the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. IR…
Filed under: American Folk/ Country/ Western, Music, PLUGS Tagged: ACLU, Guitar Bar Jr, Hoboken, Songs of Liberty and Justice
Today is the birthday of tv character actor and voice-over artist Allan Melvin (1923-2008). Don’t shout out just yet where you know him from — the odds are quite good that you kn…
Today is the birthday of stage and screen Renaissance man Hugo Haas (1901-1968). Haas is an intriguing cinematic figure whom I am only just now discovering for myself, and the process …
Theoretically today was a day of a general strike, which normally means a day when no one works or buys anything or conducts any business, but looking around the busy city I got the feeling …
Today is the birthday of the brilliant British comic actress Dame Patricia Routledge (b. 1929). What a testament to the importance of luck in the creation of performance magic is Routledg…
