Saturday, July 2, 2022
The name of Jack Hylton (1892-1965) was central to British popular culture for around four decades. One is tempted to call him the approximate English equivalent of Paul Whiteman, with a sig…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM[SHARE]Friday, July 1, 2022
Some little attention paid today to dancer, comedian and actor Guy Raymond (Raymond W. Guyer, 1911-1997). What a great stage name for a comedy dancer, right? Inevitably it reminds me of one …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:12PM[SHARE]Congress declared July 1 to be National Boating Day in 2017, and under the assumption that this remains the case, we pick today for a little exploration of the stage and screen phenomenon kn…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:12PM[SHARE]Thursday, June 30, 2022
Today a few words of acknowledgement for popular dancer Jennie Louise Spalding (1888-1958), best known under the stage name Louise Alexander. Originally from Kentucky, Alexander was only 18 …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:42PM[SHARE]I have been a fan of Bindlestiff Family Cirkus ever since the '90s, when I first saw their seat-of-the-pants, old school yet cutting edge show at Collective Unconscious. Two moments I'll alw…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:42PM[SHARE]Wednesday, June 29, 2022
The professional statistics of stage and screen actor Robert Frazer (Robert Browne, 1891-1944) are astonishing: 230 films over a 32 year career. When one encounters volume like that, the per…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:24AM[SHARE]Tuesday, June 28, 2022
This morning we confer all honor and praise to composer/producer Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895-1943). The son of a successful doctor, Rodgers' journey into show …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:24PM[SHARE]Monday, June 27, 2022
A little thing today on a husband-wife acting couple, both of whom many screen fans probably know well without necessarily realizing they were a couple. And they were a couple for a LONG tim…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:12PM[SHARE]Sunday, June 26, 2022
Just got the very sad (and shocking) news that indie theatre/film colleague Lanie Zipoy has died. I say shocking mostly because of the timing. She had just directed and produced her first fe…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:12PM[SHARE]Today, an overdue appreciation for a miraculous man of the theatre, George Abbott (1887-1994). Abbott wrote, directed, acted, and produced for the stage, and to a lesser extent, for the scre…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:03PM[SHARE]Today marks the centennial of the birth of actress Eleanor Parker (1922-2013). Parker is best known today for playing the Baroness in The Sound of Music (1965), the older, jealous rival of g…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:37AM[SHARE]Friday, June 24, 2022
Good news for fans of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company and the caretaker of its legacy Everett Quinton. Everett is staging a reading of the early Charles Ludlam play Big Hotel tonight, with…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:33AM[SHARE]Thursday, June 23, 2022
We are sad to report the passing of James Rado (James Radomski, 1932-2022) earlier this week. Rado was best known as the writer of the book and lyrics (with partner Jerome Ragni) of the musi…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:24AM[SHARE]Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Though we've had around 60 opportunities to mention Billy Wilder (1906-2002) on Travalanche we've only done a couple of posts dedicated to him. One was about Ball of Fire (1941), which Wilde…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:12AM[SHARE]Tuesday, June 21, 2022
We don't usually pay huge amounts of attention to show biz agents here (William Morris is one who comes to mind), but I think you'll see why Irving Fein (1911-2012) merits an exception. Fein…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AM[SHARE]Monday, June 20, 2022
Today we wish a sassy 75th to that galactic star Candy Clark (Candace June Clark, b. 1947), whose name always seems to skirt perilously close conceptually to this: 75 is not the roundest ben…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:54PM[SHARE]Sunday, June 19, 2022
"I've stranded more stars than the Shuberts ever starred" " quoth writer/director/producer Will Morrisey (1887-1957) according to his obituary. He was a known figure in his day. Today, not s…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:48AM[SHARE]Saturday, June 18, 2022
Today marks the 80th birthday of Sir Paul McCartney (he doesn't look a day over 64!). It would be a benchmark in any case, but Sir Paul and others have helped the event along with several re…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:06PM[SHARE]Friday, June 17, 2022
The fame of Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (1910-1968) is magnified for us through the lens of Elvis Aaron Presley. Foley's 1935 song "Old Shep" (released 1941) was a favorite of Elvis's; he'd sun…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:54AM[SHARE]My review of the documentary Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, which is playing today and tomorrow in the Tribeca Festival, is now up at Chelsea Community News. It is my second piece…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:37AM[SHARE]Thursday, June 16, 2022
Ilona Massey (1910-1974) was no relation to Raymond or Anna. Her real last name was Hajmássy and she hailed from Budapest. Unlike her countrywomen the Gabor sisters, Massey came from pove…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:03AM[SHARE]Wednesday, June 15, 2022
We have previously shared with you news of an Irish Giant, a French One, a Norwegian one, a Chinese One, and numerous others associated with U.S. States and regions of Great Britain, so it p…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:42AM[SHARE]Tuesday, June 14, 2022
In his time John McCormack (1884-1945) was the most popular Irish tenor in the world, and Victor's second most popular recording artist after Caruso. He did not play vaudeville that I have b…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:42AM[SHARE]Monday, June 13, 2022
Today a salute to broadcast announcer, producer, and host Ralph Edwards (1913-2005). Edwards grew up in the greater San Francisco area, and started out working at local radio stations as a t…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM[SHARE]Sunday, June 12, 2022
50 years ago today, FWIW, the American release of John Lennon' s worst solo album. I can't imagine that there'll be much debate about that here or anywhere else. Obviously, Lennon made terri…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:12PM[SHARE]Saturday, June 11, 2022
Having already done posts on Hazel Green, Hazel Deane, and Hazel Dawn, I am chagrined to realize that I have not yet done one on Hazel Scott (1920-81), who made significant marks in nearly e…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:54AM[SHARE]Friday, June 10, 2022
Born 100 years ago today, the world-shaking Judy Garland (Frances Gumm, 1922-1969). Poor Judy never even made it halfway to 100; she was famously killed by the very business that elevated he…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:48PM[SHARE]Today, a tip of the Mouse Ears (or coonskin cap, if that is your preference) former child star Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran (1949-2015). Corcoran was particularly associated with the film and te…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:48PM[SHARE]Thursday, June 9, 2022
A few words about stage and screen comedienne Louise Carver (Mary Louise Steiger, 1869-1956). The daughter of a Davenport, Iowa teamster, Carver studied singing in her youth, and performed i…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:42AM[SHARE]Wednesday, June 8, 2022
It's opening day at the Tribeca Festival (June 8-19) and I want to take the occasion to plug one film they're showing in particular. I don't usually get excited about modern movie shorts but…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:33AM[SHARE]Today is National Best Friends Day, a worthy occasion to celebrate, especially these days, when I imagine that many a friendship has been strained by the challenges of the times. Vaudeville,…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:07AM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
