Sunday, September 20, 2020
I don't often do posts about individual films as those tend not to be the most popular with readers, but I saw a picture recently that I am strongly motivated to recommend for those with sim…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AM[SHARE]Saturday, September 19, 2020
Elmer P. Ransom (1862-1942, frequently misrendered "Ranson") was, along with Alexander Herrmann, Carl Hertz, Harry Kellar, Imro Fox, Nate Leipzig, Zancig, William Robinson and a handful of o…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:32AM[SHARE]Ted McNamara (1894-1928) was an Irish-Australian vaudeville comedian who first came to to the U.S. with Pollard's Lilliputian Opera Company circa 1905, along with Billy Bevan, Alf Goul…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:32AM[SHARE]Friday, September 18, 2020
Some tribute today to character actor Jack Warden (John Warden Lebzelter, Jr, 1920-2006). I grew up seeing Warden in supporting parts, usually as aggressive, assertive types, often as athlet…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:42AM[SHARE]I've long opined that the mania about Greta Garbo (1905-1990) had more to do with the tediousness and lack of imagination of commentators than the woman herself. Moody, withdrawn, and posses…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:42AM[SHARE]Thursday, September 17, 2020
Today in 1859, according to some, the natal of Henry McCarty a.k.a. William Bonney a.k.a. Billy the Kid. Long storied as a ruthless killer, I have always found his tale somewhat sad. He fell…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:36PM[SHARE]Back in the day (2002-2004) I was quite a devotee of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn believe it or not. I liked the informal rough and tumble format of the show and frank hashing out of the day…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:54PM[SHARE]Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Rarely do I find contemporary show biz stories as compelling or as inspiring as I do that of magician David Copperfield. In fact, I find his biography far more interesting than his act. …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:32AM[SHARE]While you were busy putting out the fires of your life (not literally I hope) you can be forgiven for not noticing that today marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower's departure from En…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:32AM[SHARE]Blame Allen Funt (1914-1999). As the motive force behind Candid Camera and its predecessor Candid Microphone (1947-2014) Funt may be said to be the father of both reality television and fake…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:32AM[SHARE]Tuesday, September 15, 2020
I first learned about Tom Conway (1904-1967) the old-fashioned way: I saw him in movies, assumed he was George Sanders and then realized that he wasn't. Conway was actually Sander's older br…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:12PM[SHARE]Having profiled over 1500 vaudeville veterans on this blog over the last dozen years or so, some may find it curious that I have dragged my heels on any attention for Bobby Short (1924-2005)…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:12AM[SHARE]There were a couple of levels to Norm Crosby's (b. 1927) act. His routines were littered with malapropisms of a wide variety of kinds: he either used incorrect words, or correct words mispro…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:12AM[SHARE]Sunday, September 13, 2020
Once again I find myself at a crossroads: but that's what the name "Travis" means, I'm literally always "at the crossroads" Not that it's all that objectively significant but I'm unavoidably…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:36PM[SHARE]Here are places where you may have seen Ruth McDevitt (Ruth Thane Shoecraft, 1895-1976): she was a regular on Kolchak: The Night Stalker (as Emily, the columnist); had a recurring role on Al…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:06PM[SHARE]Saturday, September 12, 2020
I first encountered the name Walter B. Gibson (1897-1985) as one of the co-authors of Houdini on Magic. Gibson is a hard man to nail down, for he often wrote under pseudonyms, such as Maxwel…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:36AM[SHARE]Friday, September 11, 2020
We consider one of the missions of this blog to establish as best we can connections to past figures who can seem quite distant. Thus today we give you some relatively minor figures from …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AM[SHARE]Thursday, September 10, 2020
Pearl Williams (Pearl Wolfe, 1914-1991) was one of a generation of raunchy entertainers who emerged in the 1950s and '60s and specialized mainly in comedy records. Some, like Lenny Bruce, ma…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:24PM[SHARE]Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Yeah, I said it! I'd been half-planning this post anyway, but the other day I was running down (critically disparaging) the movies of another SNL alum (okay, I'll name him, Will Ferrell) and…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AM[SHARE]Tuesday, September 8, 2020
One of the largest stars in my personal cosmology is French writer Alfred Jarry (1873-1907). There are many ways in which Jarry can be said to be a Father of All We Hold Dear. A figure of th…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:36PM[SHARE]While this is ostensibly a show biz blog, I have always been gratified by the fact that the 4th most popular Travalanche post of all time is simply a transcription of Tom Joad's speech from …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:48AM[SHARE]The career of Milton Watson (1902-82) intersected with so many of the top names in show business, classic comedians, vaudeville, stage, radio and screen stars. His period of greatest promine…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:48AM[SHARE]Monday, September 7, 2020
Roscoe Karns (1891-1971) is generally remembered for several beloved supporting turns he did in the 1930s and '40s, though his screen career stretched nearly a half century, from 1915 throug…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:48AM[SHARE]Sunday, September 6, 2020
Today at 3pm (Eastern) on the Silent Comedy Watch Party hosts Ben Model and Steve Massa have Suzanne Lloyd as their special guest to chat about her grandfather Harold Lloyd and his short Fro…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:24AM[SHARE]Little Person Jean Bregant (1869-1944) was originally from Cilli, Austria. In Europe he performed under the name Prince Colibri. While touring the American circuits he met his wife, Inez Lew…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:24AM[SHARE]Saturday, September 5, 2020
Let me quickly stipulate that I have plenty of professional respect for actor and director Dennis Dugan (b. 1946). I literally grew up watching his work. It's just that, well, the characters…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:12PM[SHARE]Some brief approving words for Glora Holden (1903-1991). With a little more than three dozen screen parts over nearly a quarter century, she wasn't the most prolific actress in the world, an…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:54PM[SHARE]Today we celebrate the 80th birthday of sex symbol and actress Raquel Welch (Jo Raquel Tejada, b. 1940). Welch was a major pop culture figure in my younger childhood (the early '70s). I knew…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:48AM[SHARE]Around 1976 I had two formative circus experiences, each of which couldn't have been more different from the other. The first I've written about a few times, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:48AM[SHARE]Friday, September 4, 2020
Some bite size factoids today on bandleader, piano player and songwriter Gus Arnheim (1897-1955). Arnheim was born in Philadelphia and raised in Chicago, two great vaudeville towns. Early in…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:18PM[SHARE]This day in 1972 marked the final closure of San Francisco's Playland at the Beach, a great historic amusement park, and really the last of a great collection of attractions that had been in…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:54AM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
