11,836 stories by "Trav S.D."
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 5, 2026 are about 150 Years of the Yiddish Theater, Harriet McGibbon (The Beverly Hillbillies), and September 11 victims from my home state. It is…
This one goes out to one of Travalanche’s best friends, the superlative biographer, inexhaustible gossip, and hilarious wit Ms. Eve Golden, one of the few human beings whose advice I will …
October 5th 1876 saw the world’s first professional theatre production in the Yiddish language. Previous to this there had been amateur productions, concerts, poetry readings, singing and …
This is one of the more provincial posts I’ll burden my readers with but it’s probably an inevitable one. It concerns the intersection of the place where I spent the first 1/3 of my life…
I first became aware of Cowboy Jack Patton (Frank Aloysius Piecuch, 1914-1995) as a cohort of eden ahbez, the man who gave us the song “Nature Boy”. Patton grew up in the Polish communit…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 4, 2026 are about Bob Finlayson, Brother Bones, Mr. Fingers (Irv Weiner), and Cowboy Jack Patton. Also RIP Marjoe Gortner And for Fire Prevention …
This swell looking book by Scott Martell came out several months ago but I thought I would wait to plug it on the birthday of its illustrious subject, Boston based magician Mr. Fingers (Irv …
October 4th was the birthday of entertainer Brother Bones (Freeman Davis, 1902-1974), also billed sometimes as Whistling Sam. Born in Montgomery Alabama, Davis later moved to Los Angeles whe…
As if any additional evidence were required that James “Jimmy” Finlayson was one of the classic comedy greats, we’ve learned recently that he too, much like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Kea…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 3, 2026 include ones on Thomas Wolfe and Black Cherry Lane: Presence. Earlier Travalanche posts for October 3 (in no particular order) include one…
It’s been more than a minute since I’ve had a guest contributor here on Travalanche. Past ones have included my wife Carolyn Raship, Lauren Milberger, and Cheryl Rice. Today I am delight…
The title of this post is because my previous post on Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) had (not unpredictably) to do with vaudeville, specifically that author’s distaste for it. Wolfe is one of my…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 2, 2026 include ones on Nick Mohammed and Richard Hell. Earlier Travalanche posts for October 2 include ones on: Groucho Marx Bud Abbott Spanky Mc…
Sleep well, Baby Boomers and over, and all those of tender and delicate sensibilities. We are not becoming a full time punk blog, nor never will be. It’s just that we’re in the midst of …
The title of this post is no metaphor! It will not be experienced as a scoop by my British readers, but I bet most Americans don’t know it. Nick Mohammed (Nicholas George Muhammed, b. 1980…
Hear ye, hear ye! Stuff is in the works, readers, and I’m here to let you know all about it! October 3, after 3pm: This Saturday! I’ll be participating in the Fall of Freedom, by way of …
Today’s new Travalanche posts for October 1, 2026 are about the Bangs Sisters and some upcoming Trav S.D. events. Also October is Bat Appreciation Month, and this year marks the centennial…
Knowest thou the demonic doings of the Bangs Sisters? These paranormal paragons were Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bangs (1859–1920) and Mary “May” Bangs (1862-1917). Truth to tell, we might …
Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 30, 2026 include ones on playwright Mary P. Hamlin and Generation X. Earlier Travalanche posts for September 30 include ones on: The Gabor Siste…
Obviously, some in Generation X are older than a half century — I know that all too well, as I’m at the upper limit of the Gen X bracket, and I was ten in 1976. But, as you can see, I pu…
We seldom deal in dilettantes or dabblers here, vastly preferring those who’ve made the sacrifice and commitment of living outside conventional society as artists. However, we make an exce…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 29, 2026 include ones on a lost collaboration between Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance and Josef Von Sterberg; and the Marx Bothers musical Minni…
Some claim that September 29 is “Broadway Musicals Day”, but frankly, I’m skeptical — mostly because Broadway does not seem to be observing it in any way. The official Broadway theat…
Happy Silent Movie Day! We hope you will take the occasion, if one were needed, as an opportunity to browse the over 1,600 Travalanche posts on silent film. As always, the search function on…
September 28 happens to be the birthday of disgraced character actor Jefferey Jones, but I don’t guess I ought to celebrate him here today. Fortunately there is an entirely different theat…
