Sunday, June 4, 2017
On a sleepy Sunday four years ago, we did a little survey to see which vaudevillians were most popular on Travalanche; the results were posted here. Noticing that the standings had changed a…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:06AM[SHARE]Saturday, June 3, 2017
Stage and screen performer Dorothy Stone came into the world on June 3, 1905. The daughter of Broadway and vaudeville legend Fred Stone (the original Scarecrow in the Broadway version of …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:42AM[SHARE]Friday, June 2, 2017
Well, I’m surely the farthest thing from unique in celebrating the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band’s U.S. release today…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:05AM[SHARE]June MacCloy (born this day in 1909) worked with many of the comedy greats on stage and in the movies, and was noted for her ability to sing in what was essentially the baritone range, makin…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:42AM[SHARE]Thursday, June 1, 2017
Andy Griffith was born on June 1, 1926. Look at that face! It seems strange to exist in a world without him. He and his best known character seem like Benjamin Franklin or something, part of…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:33PM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Al Shaw (Albert Schutzman, 1902-1985), one-half of the legendary vaudeville team of Shaw and Lee. I’ve uncovered next to zero about their early years in vaudev…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:12PM[SHARE]The legendary Broadway figure Peggy Fears (1903-1994) was born on this day. Originally from New Orleans and later Dallas, Fears was the daughter of a wealthy banker. She was all of 14 when s…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:36AM[SHARE]Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Adapted from my book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube available from Bear Manor Media, copyright (c) 2013, Travis Stewart, All Rights reserve…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:42PM[SHARE]Tuesday, May 30, 2017
As promised I’m making big changes at Travalanche — close to 3,000 posts have been removed. Most were disposable and have been/will be trashed. Others are being moved on to other…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:06AM[SHARE]Sunday, May 28, 2017
As you can see from our “Human Anomaly” section of Travalanche, the Born Different have always occupied a cherished, if sometimes controversial show biz niche. The spectacle of t…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:54AM[SHARE]Saturday, May 27, 2017
Today we honor the character comedy contribution of the late actor Steve Franken (1932-2012). The son of a Hollywood agent, Franken had an easy entree into film and tv roles, although …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM[SHARE]Thursday, May 25, 2017
May 25 is the natal day of the late character actor Roger Bowen (1932-1996). Bowen is best known today for having played Lt. Col. Henry Blake in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H (1970). I didn&…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:33PM[SHARE]Hi! Two great chances to see me strut my stuff are in the offing for this weekend: Saturday, May 27 at 7:20pm: I’ll be debuting ten minutes of my one-man vaudeville act in the Lower Ea…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:33PM[SHARE] Guest contributor Lauren Milberger’s previous pieces for Travalanche have included essays on Gracie Allen and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Today she observes the 40th anniversa…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:06AM[SHARE]Wednesday, May 24, 2017
This summer will mark the 50th anniversary of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company. Our most avid readers know this is a subject near and dear to my heart. I have blogged previously about the c…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM[SHARE]Tuesday, May 23, 2017
The foregoing is adapted from my book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube: Douglas Fairbanks' early career is today overshadowed by his later r…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:54PM[SHARE]Sunday, May 21, 2017
Today, as we warned a few months ago, is the final performance ever of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus The circus world will carry on. But RBBB was an institution, the only Am…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:33AM[SHARE]Friday, May 19, 2017
Tom Lewis (Thomas Lewis McGuire, 1867-1927) was born on May 17. Originally from New Brunswick, NJ, he was a comedian who played both in vaudeville and on Broadway, and later in silent films.…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:48AM[SHARE]Thursday, May 18, 2017
It’s film director Frank Capra’s birthday. This post has come about because in recent years I’ve filled out my Capraducation some — I’ve seen a bunch of his mor…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:33PM[SHARE]Eddie White (Michael Weintraub, 1898-1983) was born on May 18. White comes to the attention of modern buffs almost entirely from his 1928 Vitaphone short called I Thank You, after his oft…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:24AM[SHARE]Tuesday, May 16, 2017
A few scraps on Florence Brady (Florence A. McAleer, ca. 1902- ca. 1943) We first learn of her in the 1920 Broadway show Her Family Tree, with Nora Bayes and Julius Tannen. She appeared in v…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:24AM[SHARE]Monday, May 15, 2017
Joseph Cotten (1905-1994) was born on May 15. The late year of his death surprised me. Cotten’s last film had been in 1981 and I couldn’t imagine him ever not acting. But a strok…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:24AM[SHARE]When I was in my late teens, my buddies and I, fans of Walter Hill’s recent hit 48 Hours (1982), somehow stumbled upon his earlier not-such-a-hit Southern Comfort (1981). I…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:24AM[SHARE]Sunday, May 14, 2017
Silent film star Billie Dove (Bertha Bohnny 1903-1997) was born on this day. Born to Swiss immigrant parents in New York City, the stunningly beautiful teenager began her working life as a m…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:05AM[SHARE]Saturday, May 13, 2017
I’ve only managed to gather a few scraps about cowboy singer Oklahoma Bob Albright, who has managed to rise from beyond the grave thanks to his 1929 Vitaphone short Oklahoma Bob Alb…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:48AM[SHARE]Friday, May 12, 2017
I was unprepared for how much I would love Kevin Fitzpatrick’s latest guidebook World War I: A Guide to the City’s Enduing Ties to the Great War. I shouldn’t have been; I l…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:42PM[SHARE]Thursday, May 11, 2017
I discovered Doodles Weaver (1911-1983) by a path that might confound his long time fans. But then, his was a most confounding life and career. I noticed him in the 1971 low budget exploitat…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:12AM[SHARE]Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Ringling Brothers! Big Apple! Cole Brothers! The Venice Beach Freak Show! The age old art form of the circus is in trouble from coast to coast and we’ve got to do something to stem the…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:06PM[SHARE]“Sic Semper Tyrannis” With those immortal words, John Wilkes Booth ruined his acting career. In an exceedingly strange and ironic way, when Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln, he…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:24AM[SHARE]Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Probably best remember today as a western sidekick in B movies, John “Fuzzy” Knight (1901-1976) came to acting through show biz. Surprisingly he started out as  LAW STUDENT (!…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:02PM[SHARE]Great news! Now through Friday you can get a copy of my critically-acclaimed book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube for one third off the usua…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:54PM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
