All stories by Trav S.D. on BroadwayStars

Monday, July 27, 2026

Joseph Moncure March and The Movies by Trav S.D.

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]
Sunday, July 26, 2026

The James Best Centennial by Trav S.D.

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]

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 26, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

R.I.P. (The Other) Lambs Club by Trav S.D.

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]

Halving Hal Yates by Trav S.D.

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]
Saturday, July 25, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 25, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

For National Day of the Cowboy: A Tip of the Stetson to Jack Perrin and Josephine Hill by Trav S.D.

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]
Friday, July 24, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 24, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

Jean Webster (Daddy Long Legs) at 150 by Trav S.D.

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]
Thursday, July 23, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 23, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

“Animal Crackers” in 3-D??? by Trav S.D.

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]

Bert Convy: Beneath the Surface by Trav S.D.

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]
Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 22, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

R.I.P. Peter Jason by Trav S.D.

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]

Love for Luana Walters by Trav S.D.

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]
Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 21, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

The Cardboard Lover (1928) on Home Video by Trav S.D.

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]
Monday, July 20, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 20, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

On Tom McDermott: Spotlight on a Supporting Player by Trav S.D.

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]
Sunday, July 19, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 19, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

On Thackeray, Vanity Fair, and Becky Sharp by Trav S.D.

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]

R.I.P. Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon by Trav S.D.

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 Helen Gallagher Centennial by Trav S.D.

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]
Saturday, July 18, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 18, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

New Yorkers! “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” is Coming to Screens Near You! by Trav S.D.

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]

The Wide World of Walter Hiers by Trav S.D.

“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]
Friday, July 17, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 17, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

Mabel Van Buren: Maven of the Movies by Trav S.D.

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]

Trav S.D. in the WSJ! by Trav S.D.

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]

The Late Blooming Lucille Benson by Trav S.D.

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]
Thursday, July 16, 2026

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for July 16, 2026 by Trav S.D.

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]

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