11,900 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 29, 2026 are include tributes to Houdini in New York, Arthur Borella, and Leigh Whipper. (Subscribers please note: there was a glitch in our Houdi…
On October 29th, 1914 Harry Houdini committed an uncanny magical feat for which we should all be grateful, because we can still experience it. He recorded his voice onto an Edison cylinder. …
Born 150 years ago today, African American stage and screen actor Leigh Whipper (1876-1975). He lived nearly a century! Whipper certainly made plenty of history on his own account, but he ha…
October 29th was the birthday of the great Italian-American circus clown Arthur Borella (1868-1946). Originally from Galveston Texas, Borella was educated at Saint Edward’s University in A…
A little treat for National Immigrants Day, which was instituted in 1987 by Ronald Reagan to coincide with the anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. This is a post I can’…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 28, 2026 are about the Statue of Liberty, and Houdini’s Budapest. Earlier Travalanche posts for October 28 (in no particular order) include ones…
October 28, 1886 saw the public unveiling of Liberty Enlightening the World a.k.a. the Statue of Liberty. 140 years isn’t the roundest of benchmarks, but several factors combined to inspir…
Today: a confluence of two content streams linked to major anniversaries that we’ve been leaning into this month, Harry Houdini and The Bowery. As posts go, this one is a “short beer�…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 27, 2026 are about The Name of the Game (RIP Susan St. James) and Houdini on The Bowery. Earlier Travalanche posts for October 27 (in no particula…
Well, yesterday was the birthday of Tony Franciosa (1928-2006) and we’ve just learned about the passing today of Susan St. James (1946-2026), practically mandating a little post on the NBC…
This Halloween marks 100 years since the passing of the great magician, scholar, and escape artist Harry Houdini. As promised a few days ago, here is the lowdown on this Saturday’s onlin…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 26, 2026 are about Pat Sajak, and the upcoming Houdini seance! Earlier Travalanche posts for October 26 (in no particular order) include ones on: …
Happy 80th birthday, Pat Sajak (B 1946). Sajak has only been retired for about a year, but I find regarding him as someone from another era to be unavoidable. 1981 was when he took the reins…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 25, 2026 are about a visit to Houdini’s Grave, the opera houses of New York City, and little person Gustav Shaffrath. Today is also Internationa…
October 25th is celebrated as International Dwarfism Awareness Day, in honor of Billy Barty, whose birthday it is. We use the occasion to add another entry to our store of over 100 posts on …
October 25th is World Opera Day. Have you visited the Opera section of Travalanche? It consists mostly of profiles of operatically trained singers who crossed over into vaudeville or other a…
October 25 through October 31 is National Magic Week, as designated by the Society of American Magicians! The natural time for me to encourage you to read 250 articles about great stage illu…
Today’s new Travalanche post for October 24, 2026 is about May Pang. Earlier Travalanche posts for October 24 (in no particular order) include ones on: The Marx Brothers (almost) in A Day …
Vaudeville notwithstanding, the musical act I have written about the most on Travalanche by a factor of ten is The Beatles, with well over 50 posts published, and several others planned. It�…
Counting down to the Centennial of Harry Houdini’s legendary passing, which famously took place on Halloween, 1926. The anniversary is just over a week away. I was going to save this post …
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 23, 2026 are about a great new kids book about vaudeville, and all the upcoming events marking the 100th anniversary of the death of Houdini. Earl…
Today we take the unaccustomed step of recommending a contemporary vaudeville book that’s not our own. It’s less because I’ve suddenly become a paragon of generosity, than a reflection…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 22, 2026 are about Bowery Theatre and Joseph N. Welch. Als, thanks Adam McGovern, for the shout-out in your recent post about Liza Minnelli! Earli…
Unclear as to the significance of the subject of this post, Joseph N. Welch (1890-1960)? But you have all the clues you need in the title and in the photo above! Welch was lead counsel for t…
One of New York City’s most storied venues, The Bowery Theatre, first opened its doors 200 years ago today. The playhouse changed its name and its mission many time over the course of its …
