Third time's a charm! What a pleasure it was to return to the Marx Brothers Council Podcast to chat with Matthew Coniam and Noah Diamond. On this occasion we talk about the team of Gallagher…
We continue our 250th anniversary celebration of the American Revolution today with a nod to General Francis Marion (1732-1795), affectionately nicknamed "The Swamp Fox". Marion was a South …
Today's new Travalanche posts for February 26, 2026 are about quotes by me in today's Irish Echo, the origin of Kellogg's Cereal, Christopher Marlowe, and dancer Judy Landon (wife of Brian K…
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) was baptized on a February 26; presumably his birth was a couple of days earlier as was the custom. I often think of Marlowe as the John the Baptist to Shakes…
February 26 was the birthday of John Harvey Kellogg (1852-1943). 2026 marks the 150th anniversary of his taking charge of the Western Health Reform Institute in Battle Creek, Michigan, and 1…
A wonderful surprise greeted me when I fired up Ole Betsy (my laptop) this morning and looked at what's doing. Today, the Irish Echo quoted me at length on the topic of William Muldoon and M…
The best known role of Judy Landon (1928-2021) is undoubtedly that of silent screen vamp Olga Mara in Singin' in the Rain (1952) Originally from Cook County, Illinois, she was appearing in l…
Today's new Travalanche post for February 25, 2026 are about Brenda Joyce (one of Tarzan's many Janes), and character actress Helen Jerome Eddy (Klondike Annie) Earlier Travalanche post for …
Well? Which is it? Brenda or Joyce? Actually, she is better known as Jane. Betty Graftina Leabo a.k.a. Brenda Joyce (1917-2009) is best known for being the seventh woman to portray the chara…
Helen Jerome Eddy (1897-1990) enjoyed a 25 year career as a supporting player in Hollywood movies (1915-1940). Early in her career at Lubin Sudios Eddy was given vamp roles in melodramas, bu…
A sad theme is emerging today. I had no sooner completed my post on poet-suicide Weldon Kees when I learned via that harbinger of gloom Eva Golden that Robert Carradine (1954-2006) has gone …
Today's new Travalanche post for February 24, 2026 are about the passing of Robert Carradine, and poet Weldon Kees. Earlier Travalanche post for February 24 (in no particular order) include …
Writing about silent screen actor Milton Sills a month ago caused me to stumble upon a reference to him in the poem "1926" by Weldon Kees (1914-1955), which sent me down a completely new rab…
I don't know how "proper" it is, but I assign the adjective because my previous post on director Victor Fleming (1889-1949) was only about the two Douglas Fairbanks films he directed (at the…
Today's new Travalanche post for February 23, 2026 are about Victor Fleming and silent screen actress Josephine Earle. Earlier Travalanche post for February 23 (in no particular order) inclu…
February 23 was the birthday of stage and screen star Josephine Earle (Josephine MacEwen, 1892-1961). My title for this post is a little misleading. It's crafted for musicality, though it is…
Apologies to those who may have received a draft version of this post yesterday: I accidentally hit the "publish" button prematurely! You can relate, right, fellahs? Today's new Travalanche …
The great British comic actor Kenneth Williams (1926-88) was born 100 years today. I was introduced to this astounding specimen of performing genius as a regular in the Carry On films (1958-…
The career of stage and screen actress Enid Markey (1894-1981) may be neatly divided into phases for maximal digestion! To wit: Markey began as a child performer in stock theatre and vaudevi…
Today's new Travalanche post for February 21, 2026 is about the late, great Rue McClanahan. Also Happy International Tourist Guide Day! Earlier Travalanche post for February 21 (in no partic…
I apologize to whomever the title of this post offends (not really). I try to write catchy headlines, sometimes with alliteration, provocative if possible, and if I say so myself, this one i…
Today's new Travalanche posts for February 20, 2026 are about intersex theatre impresario John Kenley, comedy director and screenwriter Andrew Bergman, anarchist writer and activist C.E.S. W…
I was saddened to hear from my friend the composer David Mallamud that pianist/composer Christopher Berg passed away a few days ago. When Opera on Tap presented selections from our comic ope…
February 20 was the birthday of a fascinating figure: writer, lawyer, activist, and painter C.E.S. Wood (Charles Erskine Scott Wood, 1852-1944). I first learned about Wood in the context of …
February 20 is the birthday of comedy director and screenwriter Andrew Bergman (b. 1945). Bergman's cinematic career is a fascinating study of roller coaster ups and downs, ranging from clas…