Thursday, October 10, 2013
Today is the birthday of Al Flosso (Albert Levinson, 1895-1976). This legendary magician got his start playing in vaudeville and at Coney Island, thus his stage name “The Coney Island …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:28AM[SHARE]Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Originally posted in 2010 Today is the birthday of Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944). The famous female evangelist Sister Aimee, one of the country’s premiere fundamentalists, receive…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:52AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of the sublime Jacques Tati (1907-1982), the world’s premiere exponent of clown cinema in the post silent era. Of Russian and Dutch extraction (his full las…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:19AM[SHARE] Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey   directed by Charlotte Moore October 9th- December 8th starring: Ciarán Byrne * J. Smith-Cameron * Terry Donnelly * Joh…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:15AM[SHARE]Today (or tomorrow, the birth record is a little ambiguous) is the bicentennial birthday of the great opera composer Giuseppi Verdi (1813-1901). Jokes are often made about the fact that his …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:56AM[SHARE]If there’s any building in New York liable to have spirit inhabitants it’s the old Merchant House Museum (http://www.merchantshouse.org) and according to many, it does. I caught …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:59AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Wally Brown (1904-1961). A Massachusetts native, Brown had been monologist in vaudeville and finally made it to pictures at RKO in 1943. Initially appearing in a Leo…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:29AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Marjorie Beebe (1908-1983). Originally from Kansas City, the 18 year old began acting in shorts and features for Fox in 1927, starring in at least one feature The…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:02AM[SHARE]Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Today is the birthday of tv and movie comedian Cornelius Crane “Chevy” Chase (b. 1943). To the slapstick comedy fan, Chase’s cinematic career (like nearly everybody’s…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:47PM[SHARE]Originally posted in 2010Â Today is the birthday of Clarence Williams (1893-1965), one of the first artists to use the word “jazz” to publicize his work. The Plaquemine, Louis…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:18AM[SHARE]Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, PLUGS, SOCIAL EVENTS, STEAMPUNK/ VICTORIANA Tagged: R Bar, Steampunk Gothica
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:15AM[SHARE]Originally posted in 2010 "THE GREATEST SINGLE WOMAN SINGING COMEDIAN IN THE WORLD" Vaudeville's greatest diva (and that's really saying something), Bayes was a complex mixture of traini…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:18AM[SHARE]Monday, October 7, 2013
Today (the Duchess reminds me) is the death day of Edgar Allen Poe, a fitting time to let you know that on Saturday the Edgar Allen Poe House in Baltimore (pictured above) re-opened for visi…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:53PM[SHARE]I had the BEST time this weekend bonding with my progeny at the University of Vermont’s Parent’s weekend (officially known as UVM Alumni and Family Weekend). Not a minute of t…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:30PM[SHARE]Just got word that Ain’t In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm is now available to pre-order from Kino Lorber. We note the occasion with a re-posting of our earlier review…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:30AM[SHARE]Tonight, October 7, Steve Massa will discuss silent comedy and his recent book Lame Brains & Lunatics at the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. Some rare…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:27AM[SHARE]This is one in a series of posts we are producing in connection with our new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, available from Bear Ma…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:17AM[SHARE]Sunday, October 6, 2013
Today is the birthday of late funny-man/ impressionist Fred Travalena (1942-2009). Travalena was someone I recall seeing constantly in the 1970s on programs like the Merv Griffin show …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:08AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of the great screen light comedienne Carole Lombard (1908-1942). As impossible as it may seem to disassociate your mental image of her from that ethereal voice, t…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:57AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind (1820-1887). The Swedish opera singer had been renowned throughout the halls of Europe for twelve years when P.T. Barnum bo…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:53AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Francis Joseph Flynn (1872-1898), professionally known as “General Mite”. Born on a farm in upstate New York, his birth weight was two and a half pounds …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:50AM[SHARE]Originally published in 2012 Today is the birthday of Milton Ager (1883-1979). Chicago native Ager began his career as an accompanist in nickelodeons and then vaudeville. His songs began to …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:46AM[SHARE]Saturday, October 5, 2013
FORGOTTEN SHOWS, SATURDAY MORNING EDITION Korg: 70,000 B.C. was a live-action Hanna-Barbara Saturday morning kids show (they usually specialized in cartoons) about a family of Neanderthal…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:00AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of the “middle stooge”, Larry Fine (1902-1975). With hair like that, he could have been an intellectual! Look at Einstein! For more on Fine and how he came …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:15AM[SHARE]Originally posted in 2011 The father of MGM contract player Gloria de Haven was an old vaudeville and stage star himself. Born Francis O’Callaghan today in 1886, he started…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:10AM[SHARE]Originally posted in 2011 Ms. Dresser (b. Louise Josephine Kerlin) is at the center of one of vaudeville's more excellent subterfuges. A perfomer since age 15, three years later she chanced …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:09AM[SHARE]Today is the birthday of Melville Morris (1888-1987). Morris started out as a song demonstrator for tin pan alley publishing firms, and then broke into vaudeville, performing solo, and also …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:02AM[SHARE]Friday, October 4, 2013
Filed under: Burlesk, Contemporary Variety, EXHIBITIONS & LECTURES, PLUGS Tagged: Dirty Martini, Murray Hill, new burlesque, New Yorker Festival, Tigger Ferguson, World Famous Bob
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:00AM[SHARE]SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 at 3:00 PM CLASSIC SILENT FILMÂ ON THE LOEW'S MOVIE PALACE BIG SCREENÂ (Journal Square, Jersey City) "MY BEST GIRL"Â Â starring Mary Pickford and Charles "Buddy" …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:15AM[SHARE]"Maybe you think you were handled roughly as a kid " watch the way they handle Buster!" " a 1905 ad for The Three Keatons Here's something we haven't seen in a while"a domestic abuse act! Ma…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:40AM[SHARE]We just learned that character actor Jay Robinson (b. 1930) has passed on. In his memory, we re-post this piece we did on him in our Hall of Hams back in April. I learned something ab…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:10AM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
