All stories by Trav S.D. on BroadwayStars

Saturday, December 7, 2024

World War 2 on Broadcast TV by Trav S.D.

By my headline, I don't mean television programming during World War Two, though believe it or not there was such a thing. The major combatants all had some version of TV up and running duri…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:31AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 6, 2024

150 Years Ago Today: The Birth of Leo Sulky by Trav S.D.

There were at least a half dozen other people I might have written about today. I keep a daily tickler, and today's entry contained several folks I haven't written about, nearly all of whose…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 5, 2024

Cutting Up Custer (Pop Culture Takes on a Controversial Cavalryman) by Trav S.D.

Having just done a post on his battlefield opponent Sitting Bull, and this year marking the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book My Life on the Plains (1874), we thought this mig…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:42AM[SHARE]

Virginia Lee Corbin: The Dresden Doll of the Movies by Trav S.D.

Virginia Lee Corbin (1910-1942) became a movie star twice, and was getting her toe wet in movies yet a third time when she died tragically young of TB at age 32. Corbin was the daughter of a…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:24AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 4, 2024

100 Years Ago: The Premiere of Von Stroheim's "Greed" by Trav S.D.

The title of this post has given me no end of agida. After all, it wasn't precisely VON STROHEIM'S Greed which premiered on December 4, 1924. HIS version was over 8 hours long. The version t…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:36AM[SHARE]

The Many Incarnations of Jimmy Jewel by Trav S.D.

OMG, in the UK they give plaques for "Comic Heritage"? What a civilized nation! December 4 was the birthday of British comedian and actor Jimmy Jewel (1909-1995). The name is virtually unkno…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:03AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Please Support Travalanche " Some OTHER Day by Trav S.D.

Giving Tuesday " what a dumb idea! To have every charity in the country beg for money all at the same time! I'd be interested to know if it actually works. I should think you'd have LESS suc…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:48PM[SHARE]

The Spirit of Barbara Fritchie by Trav S.D.

December 3 was the birthday of Barbara Fritchie (1766-1862). I don't expect that you will know the name off the bat but I hope you at least possess a vague sense that you have encountered it…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:03AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 2, 2024

When Travis Stewart Made the News by Trav S.D.

When working on the piece about my recently deceased colleague Kathleen Hulser I did some googling to refresh my memory about our New-York Historical Society days when I stumbled on a few ra…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:03PM[SHARE]

It's CyberMonday: Perfect Time To Complete The Trav S.D. Section of Your Library by Trav S.D.

Well, today is an ideal time to pick up one of my works for that show biz loving loved one in your life as a holiday gift. Major online bookdealers are offering 40-50% off today for CyberMon…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:32AM[SHARE]

On Comden and Green and Company by Trav S.D.

This story begins with a New York cabaret act based in Greenwich Village in the late '30s and early '40s called The Revuers. We've written about two alum of this unusual act: Judy Holiday an…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:12AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 1, 2024

R.I.P. Marshall Brickman by Trav S.D.

How odd to learn one day after Woody Allen's birthday (from Eve Golden, natch) that one of Allen's prime collaborators has passed on. Marshall Brickman (1939-2024) was a behind-the-scenes fi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:42AM[SHARE]

100 Years Ago in Berlin: The Launch of the Kabarett der Komiker by Trav S.D.

The Kabarett der Komiker (the Cabaret of Comedians, often shortened to "Kadeko") was a Berlin variety venue which throve especially during the Weimar Era. It was founded on December 1, 1924,…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:36AM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 30, 2024

Woody Allen: More TV Work (1960-72) by Trav S.D.

November 30 (it turns out) is the birthday of Woody Allen (b. 1935). We used to think it was December 1, but Allen's recent memoir set the record straight. I originally planned a highly ambi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:54PM[SHARE]

Happy Felton: From the Orchestra Pit to the Dugout by Trav S.D.

Yes, I know this photo makes him seem more like "Sinister Felton" but it was the best photo I could find of Francis "Happy" Felton (1907-1964), prior to the guise he was best known for durin…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:36AM[SHARE]

A Meeting Near a Statue by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:31AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 29, 2024

For Native American Heritage Day: A Finding Aid to the Corresponding Section of Travalance by Trav S.D.

The day after Thanksgiving is always Native American Heritage Day, a day, I guess, when things are even more Native American Heritagey than they are during Native American Heritage Month, wh…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:36AM[SHARE]

Memorializing Crazy Horse by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:31AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 28, 2024

A Bio-Pic About Squanto by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 27, 2024

On "Plymouth Adventure" and Other Bad Mayflower Takes by Trav S.D.

All claims (by others) to the contrary, I am at most a partial historian, though I have been at it since childhood, when I was a 13 year old Junior Member of the Pettaquamscutt Histori…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 26, 2024

The National Museum of the American Indian Is Still There: But For How Long? by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:31PM[SHARE]

Turning Another Page by Trav S.D.

Well, our projected three part celebration of Geraldine Page (see my 100th birthday post here) got an unexpected 2.5 installment when we had the honor and privilege of attending a performanc…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 25, 2024

Oddments: Several Items of News Concerning Friends of This Blog by Trav S.D.

Every so often (pretty rarely, in fact) it happens that a number of news items accrue that I'd love to tell the readers of this blog about, and so I bundle them together into their own succo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:36PM[SHARE]

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:06AM[SHARE]

The Roles of Vera Reynolds by Trav S.D.

Celebration today of silent star Vera Reynolds (1899-1962) " not to be confused with Vera Ralston! Reports conflict about where Reynolds was originally from Nebraska or Richmond Virginia. St…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:02AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 24, 2024

Candy Darling Would Be 80 Today by Trav S.D.

Until quite recently, Candy Darling (1944-1974) was the most beautiful male-to-female trans person most people had ever seen. She wasn't just gorgeous, but she possessed a studied, graceful …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:24AM[SHARE]

Charlie Hill: Pathbreaking Native American Comedian by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:18AM[SHARE]

The Eileen Barton Centennial by Trav S.D.

Born 100 years ago today: singer and radio/tv personality Eileen Barton (1924-2006) Barton was a second generation vaudevillian, reported to have joined her parents act at age 2 1/2. Her par…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:12AM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 23, 2024

Redbone: Come and Get Your Love by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:31AM[SHARE]

Harpo Marx on Television by Trav S.D.

November 23 was the birthday of the great clown Harpo Marx (1888-1964). Harpo's gotten a lot of coverage here in the past, in my main post on him, on a movie he made without his brothers, on…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:18AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 22, 2024

I Will Fight No More Forever: The Story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce by Trav S.D.

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip's War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant pol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:36AM[SHARE]

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