All stories by Trav S.d. on BroadwayStars

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Forgotten Shows of My Nonage #65: Daniel Boone by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of American folk hero Daniel Boone (1734-1820). Pioneer and frontiersman, he was one of the first to show the way west when he blazed a trail through the Cumberla…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:51AM[SHARE]

Otis Jordan by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Otis Jordan (1926-1990). He’ll always have a special place in our heart because (as it happens) he is the only one of the historical “human anomaliesR…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:05AM[SHARE]

Stars of Vaudeville # 835: Princess White Deer by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Esther Louise Georgette Deere, a.k.a Princess White Deer (1891-1991). A genuine Mohawk Princess and granddaughter of the tribe’s last full chief, Chief Running…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:20AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 1, 2013

Native American Heritage Month on Travalanche by Trav S.D.

As has become an annual tradition, President Obama has declared November to be Native American Heritage Month. We have been tardy in exploring the topic of Native Americans on Travalanche, m…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:50PM[SHARE]

Phantom Masquerade Tonight! by Trav S.D.

The Phantom’s Masquerade is a live event that will play homage to the famous masquerade scene in “Phantom of the Opera.” The Phantom’s Masquerade on Friday, November …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:02AM[SHARE]

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Stephen Crane (1871-1900). Most of us are assigned Crane’s best known novel The Red Badge of Courage in school to read. Today, I’d like to plug (as…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:50AM[SHARE]

Stars of Vaudeville #834: Gus Fowler by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of August Gerald Fowler (1888-1960). Apprenticed to J. N. Maskelyne, he started performing magic in English music halls in 1906. He specialized in manipulating watches …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:10AM[SHARE]

Betty Broadbent, The Tattooed Lady by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of Betty Broadbent (1909-1983). Born in Philadelphia, she was working as a nanny in Atlantic City as a a teenager when she met a number of tattoo artists and performers…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:40AM[SHARE]

A Bewitched Halloween by Trav S.D.

One last Halloween themed post in a series of many! In this 1965 episode of Bewitched Endora (Agnes Moorehead) wants Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) to go away with her to celebrate a tra…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 31, 2013

Reverend Billy: The Toad's in Hot Water (Again) by Trav S.D.

 This just off the transom: "Reverend Billy and Church of Stop Shopping Music Director Neremiah Luckett Face One Year in prison and $30k Bail for Performance in Chase Bank". The sub-heade…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:58PM[SHARE]

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy by Trav S.D.

My sharing of the trailer from Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) may surprise readers who know how I feel about the films of Abbott and Costello. I include it because I think i…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:49AM[SHARE]

Vincent Price Thursdays: Halloween Edition by Trav S.D.

Every Thursday in October, Turner Classic Movies has been screening the films of the incomparable Vincent Price (for my full appreciation of Price, go here.)  Seems like th…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:26AM[SHARE]

On the Greatness of John Candy by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of the late, lamented John Candy (1950-1994). “There’s always a role for John Candy,” I used to say to my pals in the SCTV days, the thrust of my mean…

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

A Jack Benny Halloween by Trav S.D.

In honor of the day, we share with you the radio program many Americans were listening to just BEFORE Orson Welles’ famous War of the Worlds broadcast Halloween 1938…a Hall…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:31AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The East Side Kids in "Ghosts on the Loose" by Trav S.D.

A better than average spook comedy featuring the East Side Kids, directed by William Beaudine, and featuring Bela Lugosi as a Nazi spy….but best of all, as the beautiful love intere…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:16PM[SHARE]

Little Rascals Skeleton Dance by Trav S.D.

And now another clip in celebration of the Halloween season, the classic skeleton dance number from the Our Gang Follies of 1936, produced by Hal Roach! To learn out more about show busin…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:44PM[SHARE]

Lucy's Halloween Nightmare by Trav S.D.

In this cartoonish fantasy sequence from Here’s Lucy, Lucille Ball and sidekick Vivian Vance are trapped in a haunted castle by her boss Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) who is actually qui…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:23PM[SHARE]

A Monstrous Monkee Mash by Trav S.D.

It was bound to happen sometime and for in January 1968 it did…The Monkees aired a spook comedy episode. Lured to a Transylvania castle by a hot Goth chick, Davy is in danger of bei…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:46AM[SHARE]

The Return of the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black! by Trav S.D.

Filed under: Contemporary Variety, PLUGS, Rock and Pop Tagged: Volptuous Horror of Karen Black

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:41AM[SHARE]

The 3 Stooges in "Spook Louder" by Trav S.D.

In honor of the Halloween season we share this funny  Three Stooges spook comedy from 1943, which mixes elements of World War 2 espionage, some very hoary business concerning myster…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:26AM[SHARE]

Bob Hope: The Ghostbreakers by Trav S.D.

In observation of the Halloween season, another radio tidbit. In 1951 Bob Hope broadcast this radio version of his recent spook comedy film The Ghost Breakers for the Screen Directo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:30AM[SHARE]

Century of Slapstick #14: The Speed Kings by Trav S.D.

Today (according to IMDB) is the 100th anniversary of the release of the Keystone comedy The Speed Kings, a one reel short starring Ford Sterling, Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand and Barney…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:05AM[SHARE]

The Hall of Hams #54: Ruth Gordon by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of that divine character Ruth Gordon Jones (1896-1985 — she shortened her name for show business). She wrote several autobiographical books, plus her early life w…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:23AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Stars of Vaudeville #71: Fanny Brice by Trav S.D.

Best known today via Barbara Streisand's portrayal of her in the musical films Funny Girl and Funny Lady, Brice was actually rather unlike Streisand in appearance. Tall and ga…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:14PM[SHARE]

Laurel and Hardy in "The Live Ghost" by Trav S.D.

In honor of the Halloween season we are pleased to share this classic 1934 Hal Roach spook comedy starring Laurel and Hardy. The Live Ghost is a classic “haunted ship” scen…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:49AM[SHARE]

John Barrymore as Jekyll and Hyde by Trav S.D.

Of all the cinematic versions of Robert Louis Stevenson’s perennial horror classic (including the terrific Frederic March one with its pathbreaking onscreen transformations) the 1920 s…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:08AM[SHARE]

Halloween with The Addams Family by Trav S.D.

As a premise, an Addams Family Halloween is kind of like Taking Coals to Newcastle, but there’s no such thing as too much Addams so it’s a ride we will gladly take. Dependi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:22AM[SHARE]

Harold Lloyd in "Haunted Spooks" by Trav S.D.

In honor of the 1920 Halloween season we share Harold Lloyd’s 1920 silent comedy Haunted Spooks, co-starring Mildred Davis. It’s a fairly ordinary spook comedy, with the requi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:57AM[SHARE]

Boris Karloff on the Fred Allen Show by Trav S.D.

Another Halloween themed radio tidbit. In 1945 Boris Karloff guest starred on the Fred Allen show. These radio shots seem to have been a lucrative sideline for him for awhile. The reco…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:43AM[SHARE]

Stars of Vaudeville #70: Walter C. Kelly, "The Virginia Judge" by Trav S.D.

Originally posted in 2009 Grace Kelly's uncle Walter was one of the few unalloyed racists in big time vaudeville. While many, such as Al Jolson or Sophie Tucker may have put on b…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:26AM[SHARE]

Stars of Vaudeville #69: Jack Pearl, a.k.a "Baron Munchausen" by Trav S.D.

Originally posted in 2009.  Born Jacob Perlman this day in 1895, Jack Pearl is best known for the national catchphrase “Vas You Dere, Charlie?”, which he uttered as the “…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:13AM[SHARE]

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