All stories by Trav S.d. on BroadwayStars

Sunday, September 14, 2025

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 14, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche post for September 14, 2025 is about movie director Alfred Santell, who started out in the days of silent comedy. Other Travalanche posts for September 14 include one…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:18AM[SHARE]

The Alfred Santell Story by Trav S.D.

September 14 was the birthday of Alfred Santell (1895-1981). Santell was a director who started out in the days of silent slapstick comedies and made over 100 films over a 30 year period. He…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:12AM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 13, 2025

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 13, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche post for September 13, 2025 is about producer and agent Leland Hayward. Other Travalanche posts for September 13 include ones on: Claudette Colbert Jesse Lasky Mae Qu…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:42PM[SHARE]

Lunching with Leland Hayward by Trav S.D.

Born of a September 13, talent agent and producer Leland Hayward (1902-71). Hayward wasn't the flashy impresario type like so many I'm drawn to and have written about. He's one of those figu…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:24PM[SHARE]
Friday, September 12, 2025

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 12, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche posts for September 12, 2025 are about the 15 Best Movie Comedy Stars of All Time; an upcoming seminar series on Charlie Chaplin; and tomorrow's 400th birthday celebr…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:32PM[SHARE]

Tomorrow: The 400 Celebrate New York's 400th by Trav S.D.

As generally happens to me on September 11, yesterday I found myself thinking the phrase "I love New York so MUCH". In In the Shadow of the Towers, Art Spiegelman said that the closest emoti…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:32AM[SHARE]

The REAL 15 Best Comedy Movie Stars of All Time by Trav S.D.

This exercise is due to the fact that Looper recently published a listicle they called the 15 Best Comedy Movie Stars of All Time, Ranked " and it was so dreadful it was downright risible. S…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:18AM[SHARE]

Charlie Chaplin: World Conquest Through Comedy by Trav S.D.

This is an unpaid endorsement for an online class produced by the 92nd Street Y starting in a couple of weeks. I don't usually shill for such things (and the class is a little pricey) but I …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 11, 2025

You Travalanche Daily Digest for September 11, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche post for September 11, 2025, includes several new posts connecting the events of 2001 to the world of show business, including ones on Ultra Violet and her 9/11 artwo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:36PM[SHARE]

The Deeds of Debi Ryan: A 9-11 First Responder with a Coney Island Connection by Trav S.D.

While I have participated in oral history projects about both September 11 and Coney Island, both of which topics factor into this post, Travalanche is not an oral history blog, by a long wa…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:06AM[SHARE]

Art Spiegelman: In the Shadow of No Towers by Trav S.D.

20 years on, it is interesting in new ways to engage with In the Shadow of No Towers, Art Spiegelman's lesser known second comic masterwork. There are ways, technically, in which it surpasse…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AM[SHARE]

Ultra Violet and IXXI by Trav S.D.

About a week ago I did a post on Superstar Ultra Violet and learned about an art project she created in 2011 for the 10th anniversary of September 11. It made sense to me to save talk of tha…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:54AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Your Travalanche Digest for September 10, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche post for September 10, 2025 is about my kid! And I Iied! I promised some new show biz posts for today, but the truth is I had a dental implant installed yesterday and…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:06PM[SHARE]

The History of "Cashel Byron Stewart" by Trav S.D.

My son Cashel Byron Stewart hits the benchmark of 30 years old today so I hope you'll forgive a sentimental old father the indulgence of doing something here in his honor. And after all, the…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:54PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 9, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche post for September 9, 2025 is on Richard Webb, star of Captain Midnight. Other Travalanche posts for September 9 include ones on: Adam Sandler Colonel Sanders The Dea…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:48AM[SHARE]

Richard Webb: The Man Who Played Captain Midnight by Trav S.D.

Actor Richard Webb (1915-1993) was born on September 9. Webb was best known for starring in the serial The Invisible Monster (1950), and for playing the title character in the television ver…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:32AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 8, 2025

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 8, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche post for September 8, 2025 is a brand new finding aid for my posts related to Sid Caesar. Also today happens to be the centennial of the birth of Peter Sellers! My po…

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

A Sid Caesar Finding Aid by Trav S.D.

September 8 being the birthday of comedian Sid Caesar, I thought it would be useful to do this post linking you to the many Travalanche posts relevant to the comedian. Consume responsibly! M…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:12PM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 7, 2025

R.I.P. Stephen Mendillo by Trav S.D.

They're dropping like flies lately over on Eve's Obits so that one can hardly keep up. The saddest news of the last few days has been the passing of Mark Volman of The Turtles, The Mothers o…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:24PM[SHARE]

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 7, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche posts for September 7, 2025 are on Sir Anthony Quayle and the late Stephen Mendillo. Today is the first day of Suicide Prevention Week " my post on that somber topic …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:24PM[SHARE]

Flushing Sir Anthony Quayle by Trav S.D.

I acknowledge off the bat that the title of this post is unfortunate. The intention is to suggest the drawing out of an elusive bird, not for the purposes of shooting him but for getting a b…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:12AM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 6, 2025

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 6, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche posts for September 6, 2025 are about Max Schreck (Nosferatu), Warhol superstar Ultra Violet, big band singer and actress Julie Gibson (who lived to be 106), and two …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:48PM[SHARE]

Tuning in to Ultra Violet by Trav S.D.

September 6 was the birthday of Ultra Violet (Isabelle Collin Dufresne, 1935-2014). Dufresne was a French debutante who fell into Salvador Dali's orbit immediately after graduating college. …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:42PM[SHARE]

Julie Gibson: Longest-Lived Person on Travalanche! by Trav S.D.

I don't know if it's true to a certainty, but it sure sounds correct " of the thousands of public figures I have profiled on Travalanche, the longest-lived was likely Julie Gibson (Gladys Ca…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:42PM[SHARE]

Max Schreck: Not Just Nosferatu by Trav S.D.

100 years ago today in New York City, the Universal horror film The Phantom of the Opera was receiving its world premier. In related news, on that same day, 4,000 miles east of New York, Fri…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:24AM[SHARE]

Two Dudes Named Daniel Sully by Trav S.D.

This post concerns two gentlemen named Daniel Sully, both with theatrical connections, both born in Providence, Rhode Island within a few years of each other. I am going to make a rash specu…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 5, 2025

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 5, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche post for September 5, 2025 is about an almost famous vaudeville by the name of Eddie Vogt. Previous Travalanche posts for September 5 include ones on: Bob Newhart Lou…

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

Eddie Vogt: Spotlight on a Middling Vaudevillian by Trav S.D.

Some fragments this morning on vaudeville performer and early screen actor Eddie Vogt (1889-1960), a minor figure to be sure, and our telling is not as complete as it might be, but we post h…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:32AM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 4, 2025

A Look at Leonard Frey by Trav S.D.

September 4 was the birthday of actor Leonard Frey (1938-88). Frey once worried aloud that all anyone would remember him for (if they remembered him for anything) was for creating the role o…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:18PM[SHARE]

Your Travalanche Daily Digest for September 4, 2025 by Trav S.D.

Today's new Travalanche post for September 4, 2025 are about Pete Smith Specialties, radio comedian Charlie Cantor, Waldo and Jennifer Salt, and actor Leonard Frey. Previous Travalanche post…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:18PM[SHARE]

A Dash of Salt (Waldo and Jennifer) by Trav S.D.

We love multigenerational show biz stories here on Travalanche, and this one is especially rewarding. It begins with screenwriter Waldo Salt (1914-1987). Having just written about Waldo Pepp…

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

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off