Saturday, April 21, 2012
El Barto was the stage name of magician named James Barton (not to be confused with singer/performer/actor of the same name). Born on this day in 1859, he was an oprhaned and homeless tee…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:28PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Beatrice Kay (1907-1986) best known for repopularizing songs of the Gay 90s long after the fact. She got her start in vaudeville, radio, and Billy Rose’s Diamo…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:10PM[SHARE]created and performed by Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle directed by Aleksandra Wolksa Kingsborough College, Brooklyn - Saturday April 21st, 8:00 – tickets and information HERE - and E…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:32AM[SHARE]Friday, April 20, 2012
Today is Harold Lloyd’s birthday (for my full biographical essay go here). Check out this cool video someone posted on Youtube, cutting classic shots of Harold to the Beatles’ He…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:37AM[SHARE]Thursday, April 19, 2012
Today is the birthday of singing single Grace La Rue (1880-1956). She got her start singing in variety saloons, tent shows and burlesque, working her way into vaudeville after performing wit…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:37PM[SHARE]I may have seen as many as two dozen exhibitions at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts over the years, and this one is without a doubt the best one I’ve seen. Entitled…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:39PM[SHARE]Our Vaudephone taping schedule is officially on hiatus as I work on my new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube. We will be resuming with a who…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:49AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of vaudeville child star Sylvia Froos (for my full article on her go here). Now here’s a clip of her singing “Snuggled On You Shoulder” (1932) lovingl…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:05AM[SHARE]Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Today is the birthday of Dewey “Pigmeat” Markham. For the full story on this hilarious character go here. And here he is in a vintage burlesque sketch from 1949, “The Love-…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:06AM[SHARE]Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Tomorrow morning (4/18/12) TCM is running three pictures from the early 30s starring the always hilarious Joe. Brown. (Go here for his amazing life story).The line up will be: 6:15am: Firema…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:31AM[SHARE]Don’t miss this (very reasonably priced) gala event for one of my favorite causes! Among the honorees this year are Don Wilmeth, author and editor of numerous indispensable theatre his…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:28AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of the great British music hall singer Harry Champion (1865-1942). His real name is William Crump, which in its way is just as good a stage name). Champion had never be…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:17AM[SHARE]Monday, April 16, 2012
Today is the birthday of faux Frenchie Fifi D’Orsay — the original “ooh la la” lady. For my full bio on this interesting person go here. And here she is in a clip fro…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:44AM[SHARE]Today is Charlie Chaplin’s birthday; my full biographical article on him is here. In celebration of the day, TCM is showing several of his film, this morning. The line up is: 6am: Pay …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:00AM[SHARE]Sunday, April 15, 2012
Today is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of R.M.S. Titanic. Like the Countess, I was very much appalled to see online where several young people “had no idea” that the Titan…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:16PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Lita Grey Chaplin (1908-1925). A child actress, she appeared in Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921) and was slated to co-star in The Gold Rush (1925) when the six…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:43PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Lew Leslie (actually Lessinsky, 1888-1963), known, despite his Russian extraction, as the “Black Ziegfeld“. Born in Orangeburg, NY, he got his start with…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:17PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Empress of the Blues Bessie Smith. For more background on her, go here. And here she is singing one of the most seminal of classic blues classics: To find out more a…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:56AM[SHARE]Saturday, April 14, 2012
Three cheers to the Farrelly Brothers for getting the most important aspect of their long awaited Three Stooges feature right. The fidelity to the Stooges’ comic style is really as tru…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:37AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Flournoy Miller of the team of Miller and Lyles. For a full article on the team, go here. Here’s some audio of them in action from 1921 courtesy Okeh Records: …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:53AM[SHARE]Friday, April 13, 2012
The incomparable Poor Baby Bree revives her show I Am Going to Run Away at LaMama tonight (full details here). We love her so much we made her our first first Vaudephone recording. For an…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:39AM[SHARE]Today is opening day for the annual Congress of Curious Peoples at Coney Island USA. For full information please go here.
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:19AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of the birthday of the great dialect comedian Willie Howard. For more on Willie and his brother and comedy partner Eugene, go here. And now here’s Willie as the Y…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:51AM[SHARE]Thursday, April 12, 2012
Today is the birthday of David Letterman (b. 1947). How odd to think that he has been sitting behind that desk even longer than Carson had ruled The Tonight Show . My perspective on…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AM[SHARE]Wednesday, April 11, 2012
You'd have to heave a heart of stone not to feel for the victims in Bully. Lee Hirsch's documentary follows five families as they struggle with the effects of schoolyard bullying. But whi…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:30AM[SHARE]Sunday, April 8, 2012
Today is the birthday of the great songwriter Yip Harburg (1896-1981). I wrote a little more about him here. To mark the day here’s one of his best songs (above). I sang this once in h…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:51AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Bert Gordon (1895-1974) best known as “The Mad Russian on Eddie Cantor’s radio show and in comedy films of the 1930s and 40s. NOT to be confused with Ber…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:24AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Lulu McConnell (1882-1962), best known as a cast member on the radio & tv parody game show “It Pays to be Ignorant” from 1942 through 1951. The daugh…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:03AM[SHARE]Saturday, April 7, 2012
Today is the birthday of that complex American phenomenon (and child vaudevillian) Walter Winchell. For his full bio go here. And here is delivering this exceptionally strange promo for Jerr…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AM[SHARE]Drat, drat and double drat! I am traveling today or else I definitely would have attended this! Today, April 7th at 2:30, The Silent Clowns Film Series will present… “Forgotten Funny…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:13AM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
