Saturday, November 1, 2025
We had occasion to mention 19th century actor Daniel Bandmann (1837-1905) the other day. As it happens, November 1 was his birthday. A German Jew from the Grand Duchy of Hesse, Bandmann firs…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:31AMFriday, October 31, 2025
Ah, Worlds within Within Worlds Within War of the Worlds! As it happens, 50 years ago was the broadcast premier of the TV movie The Night That Panicked America (1975)…whereas the actual �…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:36AMBrian Doyle-Murray (b. 1945) turns 80 today. I always find it amusing when someone who has seemed old and crusty and cantankerous for many decades reaches such a benchmark, because what’s …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:36AMHappy Halloween! Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 31, 2025 are about Brian Doyle-Murray, John Keats, a new documentary about John Candy, the 1975 TV movie The Night That Panicked …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:36AMJohn Keats (1795-1821) had a lot of nerve being born on Halloween when it was Byron and Shelley who were were at that Frankenstein party, but on the other hand he was obsessed with death, an…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:36AMHow fitting for a man named Candy to have been born on Halloween, eh? My original post on John Candy (1950-1994) was written a dozen years ago, and now it’s over three decades since he lef…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:36AMI have very little intel on character actress Jessica James (1929-1990) but man oh man am I intrigued, and only partially because of the attribute so energetically highlighted above. This po…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 03:18AMTed Shapiro (1899-1980) was a show biz legend, though he was usually mentioned as a sort of footnote to other stars. The son of Jewish immigrants from what is now Lithuania, he came to fame …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:18AMThursday, October 30, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche post for October 30, 2025 is about Bobby Alto. Earlier Travalanche posts for October 30 (in no particular order) include ones on: Ruth Gordon Ruth Gordon’s Darker…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:42PMBobby Alto (Robert Altomare, 1938-2012) was born on October 30, though this post won’t strictly be about him, because he often worked with partners. I came across Alto’s name when I was …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AMWednesday, October 29, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 29, 2025 are include tributes to the late Prunella Scales, as well as Lew Parker (That Girl), and vaudeville and Broadway comic actress Rose Stahl…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:36PMThanks to Eve Golden for the sad intel about the passing of Prunella Scales (b. 1932). Natch every obit is foregrounding Fawlty Towers but she’s just supporting John Cleese there. For my m…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:36PMThe title of this post is to clarify that we are not referring to the ex-wife of troubled actor Nick Stahl, who has acted and done other work in the film business, but was born Rose Murphy. …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:31AMThat Girl with Marlo Thomas was one of the very first TV shows I ever watched when I was a very small child. A few years ago I reconnected with it and it was a very happy experience. It reaw…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:24AMTuesday, October 28, 2025
Folks my age recall Dolores “Dody” Goodman (1914-2008) primarily as a comedienne or comic actress. She came off as a kind of dippy, flighty, small town woman, probably Southern, with a s…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:24AMHere’s why you’d better pay attention when the ringmaster or emcee tells you “no flash photography”. Ormer Locklear (1891-1920) was a barnstorming stunt pilot who perished while in t…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:24AMToday’s new Travalanche posts for October 28, 2025 are about comedienne and dancer Dody Goodman, mind-reader J. Randall Brown, and ill-fated stunt pilot and silent movie star Ormer Lockyea…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:24AMHow fortunate for one’s Halloween mood that the best pic of J. Randall Brown (1851-1926) is this spirit photograph? While the ghost is unidentified, we do have some knowledge of Brown, one…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:18AMMonday, October 27, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 27, 2025 are about burlesque queen Rose La Rose and actor and director Ted Wass (Soap, Blossom). Earlier Travalanche posts for October 27 (in no p…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:42AMI am convinced that the only reason Ted Wass (b. 1952) was never better known was because he has one of the worst professional screen names I have ever heard. “Wass” is an exhalation, an…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:42AMBorn of an October 27, burlesque legend Rose La Rose (Rosina DaPello or DaPella, 1916-1972). ‘ Originally from New York, La Rose started out as a cashier at a Minsky’s house, and decided…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:36AMSunday, October 26, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 26, 2025 are about the 100th anniversary of the world premiere of the Marx’ Brothers The Cocoanuts; and the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal …
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:06PM100 years ago today, October 26, 1925 marked the first out of town tryout for The Cocoanuts, starring the Marx Brothers: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo. The show opened in Boston on that d…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:54AMThe Erie Canal was completed on October 26, 1825 — 200 years ago today. In light of the Halloween season, and the fact that my first impulse is always to spell it Eerie, but it isn’t. It…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:54AMSaturday, October 25, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 25, 2025 are about The Wiz (just turned 50); Johann Strauss II (for his 200th birthday) along with some other Strausses; and silent screen comedia…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:31PMBrief acknowledgment of the career of silent screen comedian Eddie Barry (Edward Burns, 1887-1966). Not to be confused with Eddie Lyons, and no relation to Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Barry, Eddie Ba…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:31PMToday marks the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) — and not coincidentally it’s also World Opera Day. Folks of Strauss’s day would be distressed to learn that Strauss wou…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:24PMOctober 23 was the birthday of Charlie Smalls (1943-1987), best remembered as the composer of the songs in The Wiz. Smalls was a child piano prodigy (or “whiz”, if you prefer) who was al…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:06AMFriday, October 24, 2025
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 24, 2025 are about Several Stars Who Had Polio, and Grass, the first film made by Merian C. Cooper, creator of King Kong. Earlier Travalanche post…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:24PMOctober 24 was the birthday of Dr. Jonas Salk (1914-2995), who literally gave the world the polio vaccine. By literally, I mean, he didn’t patent it. He chose not to profit from his discov…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:18AMA century ago: the world premier of Grass (1925)! That’s right! Grass was invented in 1925! Prior to that, nothing but sand pits, gravel banks, mud holes! Once grass arrived, there could b…
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:02AM 
