All stories by Trav S.D. on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Family in 50 States #6: Oklahoma by Trav S.D.

This new series of posts came out of the stunning realization that I have family in all 50 U.S. states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them, all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent, and I have …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Films of Fields #1: Pool Sharks by Trav S.D.

We’ll be blogging about comedian W.C. Fields all through November and December as part of our tribute to the comedian called Fields Fest.  For a full list upcoming live Fields Fe…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54AM[SHARE]

Accidentally Preserved, Volume 4: Available Today! by Trav S.D.

Great news! Today Undercrank Productions releases its 4th volume of rare surviving silent films entitled Accidentally Preserved. The first three volumes consisted of home-market 16mm prints;…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 14, 2016

Stars of Vaudeville #1014: Eugene O'Brien by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Eugene O’Brien (Louis O’Brien, 1880-1966). Originally from Boulder, Colorado, O’Brien studied first to be a doctor and a civil engineer before fina…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM[SHARE]

This Week in Fields Fest by Trav S.D.

Fields Fest resumes this week with three (and a half) exciting events! Here’s what’s coming up over the next few days! Thursday, November 17, 7:00pm: Hear and Now with Rachel Cle…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 13, 2016

The Five Film Careers of Fields by Trav S.D.

I have Fields Fest events coming up this week and so I have been trying to psyche myself up for how to get into a Fieldsian frame of mind from the dark funk I’ve been in since Black Tu…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:18PM[SHARE]

Stars of Vaudeville #1013: Nita Naldi by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Nita Naldi (Mary Dooley, 1894-1961). Naldi was the child of working class Irish parents in New York City. When her (then single) mother died in 1915, she was forced …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AM[SHARE]

Century of Slapstick #104: Chaplin Takes Us "Behind the Screen" by Trav S.D.

Today is the 100th anniversary of the release date of the Charlie Chaplin movie Behind the Screen (1916). While made at the peak of Chaplin’s Mutual period, this comedy feels to me …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AM[SHARE]

Stars of Vaudeville #1012: Norma Terris by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Norma Terris (Norma Allison, 1904-1989). Originally from Kansas, Terris started out in vaudeville performing singing celebrity impressions, an act that sounds not un…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:36AM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 12, 2016

The Anti-Trump Protests in NYC by Trav S.D.

Well, we’ve done our best not to have a TOTAL blackout here on the blog, but it was hard, especially on Wednesday, when I pretty much wanted to just Get Off the Earth. I think within a…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:36AM[SHARE]

Family in 50 States #5: Washington by Trav S.D.

This new series of posts came out of the stunning realization that I have family in all 50 states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them, all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent, and I have writt…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 10, 2016

Gay's Paree by Trav S.D.

Yesterday was one of America’s darkest days, and like many of you all I spent most of it immobilized, prostrate, occasionally mustering the energy to rail or theorize or eulogize or di…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:42PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Charles Feltman: Inventor of the Hot Dog by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Charles Feltman (1841-1910), Coney Island entrepreneur, restaurateur, inventor of the hot dog. To be much more accurate (as few seldom are) he is the inventor of the…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:42AM[SHARE]

Hall of Hams # 110: Norman Lloyd by Trav S.D.

Happy 102nd birthday to Norman Lloyd (Norman Perlmutter, b. 1914), who has enjoyed surely one of the most amazing theatrical careers in history. Lloyd has been a performer since 1923 —…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:42AM[SHARE]

Family in 50 States #4: Montana by Trav S.D.

This new series of posts came out of the stunning realization that I have family in all 50 states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them, all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent, and I have writt…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:24AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 7, 2016

Hall of Hams #109: King Baggot by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of King Baggot (1879-1948). I know — sounds like a good name for a Hobbit’s Doberman Pinscher. What he was, was one of the first movie stars whose name was …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:42PM[SHARE]

Tonight: The New York House of Magic by Trav S.D.

Filed under: Contemporary Variety, Magicians/ Mind Readers/ Quick Change, PLUGS Tagged: Cardone, magic, magicians, New York House of Magic, Slipper Room

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:06AM[SHARE]

Unfilmed Fields: 20 Films W.C. Fields Might Have Made But Didn't by Trav S.D.

We’ll be blogging about comedian W.C. Fields all through November and December as part of our tribute to the comedian called Fields Fest. (This one is a re-post from September of la…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:48AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 6, 2016

Jan Duggan: A Fields Find Par Excellence by Trav S.D.

We’ll be blogging about comedian W.C. Fields all through November and December as part of our tribute to the comedian called Fields Fest. For a full list upcoming live Fields Fest e…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM[SHARE]

Stars of Vaudeville #1011: Chuck and Chuckles by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of tap dancer Chuck Green (1919-1997). The Georgia native danced on street corners as a child, won third place in a contest at age six, moved to New York with a talent …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:54AM[SHARE]

Theatrical-Vaudeville Visions of Everett Shinn by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of the great American realist painter Everett Shinn (1876-1953),member of both the Ashcan School and “The Eight”. I discovered this remarkable artist from m…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:54AM[SHARE]

Irene Ware: The Best of Both Worlds by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Irene Ware (Irene Catherine Ahlberg, 1910-1993). And what are the “both worlds” of which we speak in our headline? Why, classic horror and chorus girl mu…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:54AM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 5, 2016

Don't Miss "The Marx Brothers on Broadway 1924-1929" by Trav S.D.

The Marx Brothers on Broadway: 1924-1929, An Illustrated lecture by Noah Diamond, sponsored by Zelda Magazine Date: Wednesday, November 30th Time: 7pm Admission: $8 Location: Morbid Anatomy …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:06PM[SHARE]

"W.C. Fields and Me"…and You by Trav S.D.

 We’ll be blogging about comedian W.C. Fields all through November and December as part of our tribute to the comedian called Fields Fest. For a full list upcoming live Fields Fe…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AM[SHARE]

Joel McCrea: The Westerns by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of the great Hollywood star Joel McCrea (1905-1990). Today McCrea is a beloved movie star in all genres, and I’ll wager that most of my show biz friends know him …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 4, 2016

Of Flim-Flam and Falstaff: Fields as Fictional Character by Trav S.D.

  Over the past few decades the public has come to have a vague, simplistic and inaccurate image of the formerly-universally-beloved W.C. Fields — an image I call “the bobbl…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:06AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 3, 2016

On Fields and Freedom (The Classic Comedian as Libertarian) by Trav S.D.

Though he’s rarely icon-ized this way (he’s usually shown with a top hat or boater and with the bulbous nose of his later years), this photo depicts what W.C. Fields looked like …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:32PM[SHARE]

Tonight on TCM: A Movie About the First Woman President by Trav S.D.

Tonight on Turner Classic Movies at 8pm Eastern: a timely screening of an extremely dated thingamajig, the 1964 “comedy” Kisses for My President. (Warning: you’ll alw…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AM[SHARE]

Remembering William Cullen Bryant by Trav S.D.

  Today is the birthday of William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878). 19th century America would be astounded to know that a man of his standing and eminence could be so swallowed up by time &#…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:06AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Burt Lancaster: The Westerns by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of the great Hollywood star Burt Lancaster. The toothy tall one made many films in many genres, but for the sake of focus (and because I already have the notes written …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:18PM[SHARE]

Family in 50 States #2 and #3: The Dakotas by Trav S.D.

This new series of posts came out of the stunning realization that I have family in all 50 states. My ancestors lived in 14 of them, all on the eastern seaboard or adjacent, and I have writt…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:06PM[SHARE]

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