
July 27 was the birthday of Joseph Moncure March (1899-1977). Revered today for his Jazz Age poetry, March’s American ancestry stretched back to colonial times. He had a lot to live up to.…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:30AM[SHARE]Born 100 years ago today James Best (Jewel Franklin Guy, 1926-2015) Yes, okay, Best is best known for having played Roscoe on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985, with various reunions thereafte…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:15PM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche post for July 26, 2026 are about Hal Yates, James Best, and the Lambs Club. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 26 (in no particular order) include ones on: Gracie A…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:15PM[SHARE]This has been a lucky year for America’s oldest theatrical club The Lambs (est. 1874). First, their hard hustling “Shepherd” Kevin Fitzpatrick found them a new headquarters right in th…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:00PM[SHARE]July 26 was the birthday of slapstick comedy film director Hal Yates (1899-1969). Which presents us with an opportunity to clear something up. There is a widespread misconception across the …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:35AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche post for July 25, 2026 is about husband-wife western stars Jack Perrin and Josephine Hill. Also: Happy National Merry Go Round Day Earlier Travalanche posts for Jul…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:10PM[SHARE]Fortuitously this year the birthday (July 25) of Jack Perrin (Lyman Wakefield Perrin (1896-1967) falls on National Day of the Cowboy (4th Saturday in July). Perrin was a star of silent and e…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:50AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche post for July 24, 2026 is about Jean Webster and Daddy Long Legs. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 24 (in no particular order) include ones on: Ruth Buzzi William…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:25PM[SHARE]Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of author Jean Webster (Alice Jane Chandler Webster, 1876-1916). Webster’s best known book Daddy-Long-Legs (1912) was adapted for stage and s…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:05AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche post for July 23, 2026 are about Bert Convy and a new 3D version of Animal Crackers Earlier Travalanche posts for July 23 (in no particular order) include ones on: …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:40PM[SHARE]Yes that’s right! Eyepop 3D, the same folks who produced the retrofitted 3D version of The Cocoanuts which we screened at Coney Island last year, have done a new version of Animal Crackers…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:25PM[SHARE]Respect for Bert Convy (1933-1991)? When I was a kid in the ‘70s and early ‘80s the very idea would have struck me as a howler. At that time, Convy was thought of primarily as a game sho…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:20AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche post for July 22, 2026 are about Luana Walters and the late Peter Jason. Earlier Travalanche posts for July 22 (in no particular order) include ones on: Emma Lazaru…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:55PM[SHARE]Peter Jason (Peter Ostling, 1944 2025) passed away last year. The name may not ring a bell, but the prolific character actor had over 250 screen credits. The one I always think about is his …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:45AM[SHARE]Luana Walters (1912-1963) was widely considered the sexiest damsel in B movie westerns. Her looks had gotten her in the pictures in the first place. An LA local, she was touring United Artis…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:25AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche post for July 21, 2026 is about Undercrank Productions’ release of their restored version of Marion Davies’ 1928 comedy The Cardboard Lover for home video. Also…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:05PM[SHARE]Good news for Marion Davies fans — Undercrank Productions has just announced the imminent release of their restored version of Davies’ 1928 comedy The Cardboard Lover for home video. …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:50AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche post for July 20, 2026 is about character actor Tom McDermott. For National Moon Day: On Tin Pan Alley songs about the moon On the 1969 moon landing(s) on TV The Gr…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:15AM[SHARE]Among the thousands of showbiz biographies on Travalanche, this one on stage and screen actor Tom McDermott (1912-1996) delineates one of the more minor careers we’ve covered. Yet it is no…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:15AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 19, 2026 are about Helen Gallagher, William Makepeace Thackeray, and the recently late Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon. Earlier Travalanche posts for J…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:15PM[SHARE]July 19th was the birthday of William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), author of some 30 books, though we’ve only had the wherewithal for three: We touched on The Luck of Barry Lyndon (184…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:15PM[SHARE]Thanks, Eve Golden, for news about the passing of Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon (Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr., 1936-2026.) We’ve had occasion to mention Cannon here on Travalanche a …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:40AM[SHARE]The actress Helen Gallagher (1926-2024) was born 100 years ago today, and left us a mere matter of a few months ago. It’s probable that Gallagher is most widely known for having played the…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:30AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 18, 2026 are about silent screen comedian Walter Hiers and New York area screenings of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Earlier Travalanche posts f…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:00PM[SHARE]Another shoe dropping in the wake of our recent post on James Curtis’s new book Comedy is a Grim Business: The Making of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World — not to mention our original m…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:55AM[SHARE]“I’m told you need my type”, is what Walter Hiers (1893-1933) is reported to have said upon meeting D.W, Griffith at Biograph in 1910. Fortunately he was correct, and others concurre…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:55AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 17, 2026 are about Lucille Benson, Mabel Van Buren, and some recent ink I got in the Wall Street Journal. Also happy National Tattoo Day. Earlier Tra…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:35PM[SHARE]July 17 was the birthday of silent screen actress Mabel Van Buren (Mabel Brown Southard, 1878-1947). Not to be confused with Abigail Van Buren a.k.a. Dear Abby! Originally from Chicago, Mabe…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:15PM[SHARE]Hey guess what? I was quoted a couple of days ago in the Wall Street Journal! WSJ gave my first book No Applause a glowing review back in the day for which I remain most grateful. But it’s…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:10PM[SHARE]If you’re around my age you’ll have no trouble recollecting character actress Lucille Benson (1914-1984). Benson’s years of peak visibility were her last ones, in the 1970s and early …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:05AM[SHARE]Today’s new Travalanche posts for July 16, 2026 are about Orville Redenbacher, Millicent Hearst, and Mary Philbin. Also RIP Hal Williams. For World Snake Day: On Sideshow Snake Charmers an…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:10PM[SHARE]

