August 17 was the birthday of Buck Mack (1888-1959), best known to vintage film fans as “Uncle Buck”, the somewhat shadowy friend, fixer, butler, bodyguard, and all around caretaker for Barbara Stanwyck. Ha…

In addition to today’s new Travalanche post on The Unholy Three, previous August 16 articles include ones on: Fess Parker, who played Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone Early screen star Mae Clarke Dancing Catwom…

August 16, 1925 was the release date of the Tod Browning’s The Unholy Three. Browning had been directing in Hollywood for over a decade when he got a greenlight to direct his second picture with Lon Chaney, f…

August 14 was the birthday of Tin Pan Alley lyricist Ned Washington (Edward Michael Washington, 1901-1976). A Scranton native, Washington broke into vaudeville around 1922 both as an emcee and as an artists’ …

The new Travalanche posts for today (August 15, 2025) are ones on: The 80th Anniversary of V-J Day The 60th Anniversary the Beatles at Shea Stadium Hawaiian Statehood Day The 100th Birthday of Oscar Peterson Th…

60 years ago today, the historic Beatles’ first concert at Shea Stadium (August 15, 1965). Did they intend for it to be scheduled on the 20th anniversary of V-J Day? I can’t imagine that they did, but surel…

I usually strive mightily not to be so basic in my choice of images, both because that’s how I roll, and because ya get fewer clicks if the pic you use is everywhere else. But this famous one for Life magazin…

The third Friday in August is celebrated annually as Hawaiian Statehood Day. This year it just so happens to fall on the 80th anniversary of V-J Day, reminding us that the war with Japan began with that nation�…

For a long time throughout my youth, the entertainer Don Ho (1930-2007) was the unelected, unofficial mascot for Hawaii in American pop culture. The Don Ho phenomenon was not unlike that of Charo. He was basica…

Well, I obviously learned about this interesting man when researching his near-namesake Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was so named not as the result of a coincidence. It was a del…

Born 100 years ago today, the great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson (1925-2007), a.k.a. “O.P.” There was much to set Peterson apart from his contemporaries in the jazz field of his day. First, he was not Americ…

Today we announce a new Travalanche feature that will hopefully help you maximize the value of this increasingly unwieldy site. Travalanche is about 17 years old now if my math is correct, which means that many…

I am tardy in appreciating playwright/screenwriter/director Tom Eyen (1940-1991), but am gratified to redress the lapse today. For some reason, Eyen is seldom included in capsule narratives of the fields he con…

August 14 was the birthday of the popular Jazz Age cartoonist, illustrator and caricaturist Ralph Barton (Ralph Waldo Emerson Barton, 1891-1931). Though I’m sure I’d encountered his work in the past, my cur…

Not to be confused with Gene Rayburn, Gene Sheldon, Gene Austin, or Gene Pitney, though I see how that could happen. Gene Raymond (Raymond Guion,1908-1998) was a sort of middling movie star starting in the ’3…

There are many red herrings to put young people off the scent of the real significance of singer, actor, and tv personality Jimmy Dean (1928-2010). The smell of sausage may be the initial distraction. While Jim…

August 13 was the birthday British puppeteer and comedian Rod Hull (1935-1999). Hull and his obnoxious Emu puppet tried their luck in the States from time to time, so I have vague childhood memories of seeing h…

Just a few word in acknowledgment of the existence of writer and director Melvin Frank (1913-1988). We’ve had half a dozen occasions on which to mention the man, usually in relation to his writing-directing p…

Today would have been the 87th birthday of Dave “Baby” Cortez (David Cortez Clowney, 1938-2022). Cortez passed away back in 2022, but was reclusive, so the news wasn’t reported or publicly known until las…

I don’t know why, but it always seems that little items of clown and circus news seem to float my way and accrue, so I tend to bundle the items into little bulletins. We’ve done it a few times in the past. …

August 12 was the birthday of Al Goodman (1890-1972), a musical director for Broadway, radio, and television, especially associated with the shows of Al Jolson and Bert Lahr. Goodman was the son of a cantor, bo…

This is the promised part two of a pair of posts on my return to the city of my birth, Westerly, Rhode Island (part one being the review of Frank Ferrante’s Groucho show at Wilcox Park). I originally consider…

“I seen my opportunities, and I took ’em.” — Tammany Hall politician George Washington Plunkitt. This past weekend was sock-o for a zillion reasons, but the catalyst for it all was the fact that world-f…

If you’re my age, and even a little older, you grew up knowing only a couple of things about Eddie Fisher (1928-2010): 1) he had caused a stir by leaving Debbie Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor, and 2) he was Ca…

Today’s post is a bit of a bunt, as I am on the road today for reasons I will report back on later. As I frequently do, I will likely backdate some more content to make the day’s output more respectable! Me…

My old friend and sometime editor Scott Stiffler made an announcement this week that ought to be of interest to many of our readers. In just about two months (October 7) he is launching an ambitious new website…

I was already interested in actor Adam Roarke (Richard Jordan Gerler, 1937-1996) on his own account, but learning about his show biz parents absolutely sealed the deal for his inclusion in these annals. It’s …

I’ve wanted to crow my enthusiasm for Verna Bloom (1938-2019) here for some time. Hers wasn’t a household name, but she gave so many incredible performances in enough important American movies that she ough…

We continue our series of posts observing the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution with this acknowledgment of the natal day of General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786). Greene was reputedly second only to …

August 7 was the birthday of opera singer and actress Ida Grace Brooks Hunt (1878-1929) — and if that isn’t a Gilded Age millionaire sounding name I’ll eat my top hat. Hunt’s main claim to fame was havi…

I surely became aware of Irene Purcell (1896-1972) because she appears in The Passionate Plumber (1932) with Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and Polly Moran. Purcell’s movie career only lasted a few months, but…

A few words on jazz singer, activist, and occasional actress Abbey Lincoln (Anna Marie Wooldridge, 1930-2010). First, what a crazy-good stage name, right? I just like the sound of it, period. But more than, it …

In honor of Lucille Ball’s birthday, a handy dandy finding aid for the many Travalanche posts relevant to the ribald red-head: My original 2013 biographical post on Lucy’s career and her various shows On De…

Those who think Travalanche is a blog about obscure character actors have not been paying very close attention to what’s written here. There are scores of content areas here, and if there is a commonality tha…

August 6 was the birthday of Andy Warhol, Lucille Ball, Paul Bartel, Leo Carrillo, Louella Parsons, Robert Mitchum, Hoot Gibson, Hannah Chaplin (Charlie’s mother), Bunny Breckenridge, William B. Williams, gia…

Loni Anderson (1945-2025) would be turning 80 years ago today, but as you surely have heard by now she passed away a couple of days ago of an “acute, prolonged” yet undisclosed illness. There was something …

August 4 is a very musical day, insomuch as it is the birthday of Louis Armstrong, Abe Lyman, Helen Kane, and Sir Harry Lauder. And today we add another, ragtime revivalist Johnny Maddox (1927-2018). Maddox was…

A good time was had by sprawl at Coney Island Vaudeville this past Friday night. All thanks to Coney Island USA for the generous hosting as well as that sweet prime time slot! It was easily one of the best bill…

For International Owl Awareness Day (August 4), we add to our growing store of animal themed posts with a survey of famous owl mascots and screen characters. The association of owls with wisdom in Western Europ…

When two guys have names so similar, and work in the same industry, and have the same birthday, I’m sorry, but they’re going to have to share a blogpost. That’s just how it is. They are: Ray Bloch (1902-1…

The Eton Boys, a.k.a. The Four Eton Boys were a nostalgia act in vaudeville, radio, and films from the 1920s to the early ’40s. Basically, they were what we are accustomed to calling a barbershop quartet, bas…

August 1 is the birthday of British scholar and author Montague Rhodes (M.R.) James (1862-1936). James’s primary work was as a Cambridge scholar whose academic specialty was the Medieval period. On the side h…

In the unlikely event that you missed the memo, this handy reminder that my American Vaudeville Theatre, in collaboration with Surf Reality’s Radical Vaudeville is coming to Coney Island USA tomorrow as Coney…

Lonesome Luke’s Lively Life: Hal Roach, Harold Lloyd and the Rolin Film Co. by Steve Massa. We’ve had over 50 occasions to mention silent comedy educator, preservationist, scholar, presented and author Stev…

Dutch Giant Carel Struycken (b. 1948) was born on July 30. Some might object to my describing him this way, and might prefer me to refer to him as “a very tall actor”, or “an actor of height,” or someth…

July 30 is the birthday of Lisa Kudrow. Kudrow was one of the first contemporary Hollywood stars I have written about on this largely antiquarian blog, and remains one of the few who has inspired me to make the…

July 30 was the birthday of stage and screen actor Holmes Herbert (Horace Edward Jenner, 1882-1956), sometimes billed as Holmes E. Herbert, H.E. Herbert, H.J. Herbert, anything one hopes, except H.H. Holmes —…

Forgive the barebones nature of this post but I only just got tipped off that the 2023 documentary Shari and Lamb Chop is playing at the Quad in New York through Thursday. So this is not a review — no time fo…

On July 28, 1945, a U.S. B-25 bomber accidentally smashed into the Empire State Building, killing 14 people and injuring another 24 (the headline above says 13 dead, but another body was found the next day). Th…

It’s not a coincidence that we announced a Thelma Todd Celebration just a few days ago — that regularly-held event takes place every few years around the time of the late actress’s birthday, which is toda…

Born of a July 29, children’s author Ruth Plumly Thompson (1891-1976), best known as the second and most prolific of the Royal Historians of Oz. The Philadelphia writer had published one book The Perhappsy Ch…

Two months ago, the world lost journalist, musician, and film-maker Sacha Jenkins to a rare neurodegenerative disorder. Jenkins was especially associated with hip hop culture and graffiti art. Throughout his a…

British friends — I have multiple reasons for recommending this show in Edinburgh Fringe. A) My wife Carolyn Raship designed the poster art (below); B) The play itself, The Marriage of Alice B. Toklas by Gert…

Just a few words in memory of comedy magician Johnny Thompson, a.k.a. The Great Tomsoni (1934-2019). When we call Thompson a comedy magician, we don’t mean like Carl Ballantine, whose routine was that he was …

I’m sorely tempted to hold this post for the bicentennial of the birth of John Vorhis (1829-1932), but for the fact that it is altogether likely that Travalanche will be on a slab itself by that time. My loos…

The name may elude you, but the young man it belonged to, Ross Alexander (Ross Alexander Smith, 1907-1937) was technically a leading man at the time of his untimely death, though he was more like a second lead …

Today’s peculiar portmanteau-post arises from the coincidence of the birthdays of George Bernard Shaw and Stanley Kubrick, and the 250th anniversary of The American Revolution, and my attempt to loosely lash …

July 29 (this coming Tuesday) marks the birthday of every comedy nerd’s favorite heartthrob Thelma Todd. As they have done most years for the better part of three decades this weekend (July 26-29) The Thelma …

We have Kevin Fitzpatrick, Shepherd of The Lambs to thank for the present post, for he pointed me in the direction of painter Lee Lash (1864-1935). Lash had studied in Paris to be a proper fine art painter. If …

I was delighted to learn just now that the guy who played General Henry Knox (1750-1806) in the HBO mini-series John Adams was none other than Del Pentecost, who played the title character in Fatboy, John Clanc…

We are thrilled to be participating yet again in another Hilobrow.com “…Your Enthusiam” guest-blogging series. I believe the original impulse for the name of this series of series came from Curb Your Enth…

The title of this post is a rhetorical question. It does not imply that I am asking YOU or ANYONE what the answer is. Three time Emmy winning TV star Michael Richards (b. 1949) set his career on fire a couple o…

I have been a fan of comedy character actress Edie McClurg (b. 1945) for just about the entirety of her half century career. Though I surely saw her very first TV performances dating to back to the mid ’70s, …

As is not uncommon, we got a flurry of obit notices yesterday from the The Dark Angel known as Eve Golden. The one that hurt the most was Malcolm-Jamal Warner the likeable Theo Huxtable from the The Cosby Show.…

I promise that we are not becoming a poetry blog. It’s just that the birthday of Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) comes immediately after that of Hart Crane. And her contribution seems especially worth contemplating …

July 21 was the birthday of the enigmatic midwestern poet Hart Crane (1899-1932). Little known fact: Crane’s father invented Life Savers! Not the flotation device, the candy! He was was a restaurateur and can…

July 20, 1925 was the date of birth of the influential anti-colonialist thinker Frantz Fanon. As should be apparent by now, I am attracted to observing these big, round anniversaries. Still, I debated marking F…

As promised earlier this morning, our second grim show biz post in a row. This one concerns stage and screen actress Isabel Jewell (1907-1972). Jewell had scads of good supporting parts in Hollywood films. Two …

The first of a couple of grim posts scheduled for today, this one on silent screen actress Florence Deshon (Florence Danks, 1893-1922). Deshon was born in Tacoma, Washington to a couple of unconventional musici…

Of the so-called New Journalists thus far I have written about Truman Capote and Norman Mailer, and just a little about Tom Wolfe (more on him to follow). My wife is the in-house expert on, and advocate for Joa…

July 18 was the birthday of Red Skelton, Lupe Velez, Dave Chasen, Monty Banks, Jane Frazee, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Dion DiMucci, and the Unsinkable Molly Brown, among many others we’ve written about. Today we…

Here’s a post that links our ongoing series honoring the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution with our core content stream of vaudeville. It concerns a grandfather and a grandson, both named Elbridge …

We seldom talk about food on this blog, and in the opinion of my wife, today we won’t be doing that either. But the humble hot dog has such a close association with Coney Island, one of our principal content …

Today is World P.R. Day and believe it or not I have a post for that, too. These days P.R. has bad P.R. of all things, largely the fault of an industry which has done too much work on behalf of the devil. But I…

Born 100 years ago today, documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker (Donn Alan Pennebaker, 1925-2019). Like most moderately well-educated Americans of my age, I have seen most of Pennebaker’s major films more tha…

The death of Hugh “Bud” Ernst (1910-1950) is often told, for it made all the papers, but we’ll add as much about his life as we can, for it was also interesting. Ernst was an aviator, a radio professional…

Since we have written about so many other members of the Ed Wood stock company, we thought it only fitting to do something on James “Duke” Moore (1913-1976), whose only credits were in Wood films. Moore was…

Born this day in 1945 comic actress Leigh French. Born in Kentucky, a former member of The Committee (based in San Francisco and L.A.), French specialized in three types of characters: hillbillies, hippies, and…

I originally intended this post for last year, it being the 50th anniversary of the ascension of Gerald R. Ford (Leslie Lynch King, 1913-2006) to the U.S. Presidency. But I didn’t get to it, and this years wo…

Never would I have dreamt, once upon a time, that Travalanche would grow to such an extent that a second post on comedian Ken Murray (1903-1988) would be warranted. But at the moment I happen to be neck deep in…