Saturday, September 7, 2024

50 Years of “Land of the Lost” (and RIP Spencer Milligan) by Trav S.D.

A bulletin has just reached my desk about yet another half-century anniversary. Today marks 50 years since the premiere of the original Land of the Lost (1974-76). How fortuitous that it hap…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:02PM

Julie Kavner: 50 Years a Star by Trav S.D.

It’s Julie Kavner’s birthday as I type this (b. 1950), but we’re also a couple of days shy of a second benchmark — 50 years since many of us have known who she is. Rhoda premiered on…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:36AM
Friday, September 6, 2024

Ray McCarey: Leo’s Kid Brother by Trav S.D.

No foolin’–Leo McCarey’s younger brother Ray (1904-1948) was also a hard-working screen director, one also associated with comedies. I’m not quite sure why this is an obscure fact. L…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:36AM
Thursday, September 5, 2024

Two Upcoming Marx Brothers Events by Trav S.D.

Save the dates and stop the presses! For those who missed Marxfest, the Marxian fun is not yet over by a long way! I have two upcoming launch events tied to the release of my new book The Ma…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:48AM
Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Billie Carleton: First Victim of the Jazz Age? by Trav S.D.

If the Jazz Age followed hard upon World War One, no one was in more of a hurry to pivot than British stage star Billie Carleton (Florence Leonora Stewart, 1896-1918), whose sordid drug deat…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:42AM
Tuesday, September 3, 2024

R.I.P. James Darren by Trav S.D.

Thanks, Eve Golden, for the intel that James Darren (James Ercolani, 1936-2024) left us yesterday. I am going to lead with the elephant in the room, which most other obits have been either t…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM
Monday, September 2, 2024

World Coconut Day: Great Moments in Coconut Culture by Trav S.D.

September 2 is World Coconut Day! We observe it as we did with National Banana Day last year, with a little survey of key moments when the humble coconut (sometimes spelled cocoanut) has ins…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:02AM
Sunday, September 1, 2024

An Introduction to Helen Falconer Buck by Trav S.D.

This one goes out to my good buddy Kevin Fitzpatrick, who made me more aware than I might otherwise be of Helen Falconer Buck (1890-1968), and who enhanced her Find a Grave entry substantial…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:32PM

This Day in 1966: The Hope-Mao March by Trav S.D.

This is something I only became aware of a few days ago, on a recent trip to the Museum of Modern Art. On September 1, 1966, artist Öyvind Fahlström staged and filmed a work of street thea…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM

The Sunny Jim McKeen Centennial by Trav S.D.

Born 100 years ago today, child star Lawrence “Sunny” McKeen (1924-1933). McKeen was only two years old when he was cast as Snookums in a series of silent comedy shorts based on George M…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:48AM
Saturday, August 31, 2024

Taking the Measure of Big Tiny Little by Trav S.D.

There were two generations of Tiny Littles in this miniature musical dynasty. The elder, Irvine “Tiny” Little (1902-82) was originally from Goldfield, Iowa, but eventually settled in Wor…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:54AM
Friday, August 30, 2024

Centennial: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band: Released Today by Trav S.D.

Today is a banner day for lovers of early American jazz — it’s the release date for Archeophone Record’s epic new box set Centennial: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. The centenary it…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:36AM
Thursday, August 29, 2024

60 Years Ago: Carol Doda and The Birth of Topless Dancing by Trav S.D.

August 29 was the birthday of exotic dancer Carol Doda (1937-2015). And learning about her has provided delights beyond the obvious. To wit: I had long wondered about when American culture t…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:12PM

The 15th Annual NYC Unicycle Festival Launches Today! by Trav S.D.

I think we can go ahead and call my old friends of The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus a New York institution by now. Among their many programs and activities (their Open Stage Variety Show, the F…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:12PM

The Rediscovery of Will H. Dixon by Trav S.D.

Don’t get the wrong idea! I almost never take requests on this blog, maybe one time in a thousand. The fuel that this blog runs on is its author’s own whims. Has to come from me. In fact…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:32AM

The Dinah Washington Centennial by Trav S.D.

Born 100 years ago today, blues, jazz and pop vocalist Dinah Washington (Ruth Lee Jones, 1924-1963). Washington started out singing and playing piano with gospel choirs in her native Tuscalo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:32AM
Wednesday, August 28, 2024

The Descent of Charles Rocket by Trav S.D.

This one comes with a trigger warning, because the story gets pretty dark. In fact it approaches maximum darkness. I’ve occasionally gone there in my writing, though not so often on this b…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM
Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, There Was Harry Hill’s by Trav S.D.

Harry Hill (1827-1896) died of an August 27. The exact date of birth is not known; he was not of the class that kept careful track of such things. Hill was born in the vicinity of Epsom Down…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM
Monday, August 26, 2024

Born 150 Years Ago Today: Zona Gale, First Female Pulitzer Playwright by Trav S.D.

August is both Women’s Equality Day and the birthday of writer Zona Gale (1874-1938). Today happens to be the 150th anniversary of her birth. As Gale was a suffragist and a feminist, the a…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:12PM

Avner the Eccentric by Trav S.D.

Today a long overdue tribute to that leader among the New Vaudevillians, Avner the Eccentric (Avner the Eccentric, b. 1948). I’m quite certain I first learned about Avner from the 1988 boo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:02AM
Sunday, August 25, 2024

Unpacking Van Johnson by Trav S.D.

Almost everything about the real Van Johnson (Charles Van Dell Johnson, 1911-2008) is more interesting than his movie career. I’ve long wanted to give Van Johnson a nod here because he was…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:36AM

Unearthing Durward Kirby by Trav S.D.

The heyday of Durward Kirby (1911-2000) was just a hair before my time. I heard the name as a point of cultural reference on TV shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle and Phyllis and Bewitched when…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:24AM
Saturday, August 24, 2024

Why “Hanging With Doctor Z” is My Favorite Contemporary Show by Trav S.D.

It’s a squeaker. I love Hacks, too, for example. I’m bound to throw in my two cents about that show, too, at some point. But if there is one program (do we say “television” any more?…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:18PM

Jack Collins: Berle, Bewitched, and Bradys by Trav S.D.

Jack Collins (1918-2005), not to be confused with Jack Rollins, or a Tom Collins, was not a household name, but he was definitely a household face. People my age will know him as Mike’s bo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AM

Fred Rose: From Vaudeville to Nashville by Trav S.D.

Our Parade of Roses growses: to Jack Rose, Harry Rose, Billy Rose, Ike Rose, Julian Rose, Broadway Danny Rose, and Max Rose, we now add Fred Rose (1898-1954). Fred Rose is basically the miss…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:03AM
Friday, August 23, 2024

On “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) by Trav S.D.

August 23 was Gene Kelly’s birthday; as my previous post on him was a bit perfunctory (it deals mainly with his family vaudeville act The Five Kellys), I thought I’d expand his footprint…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:48PM
Thursday, August 22, 2024

Jobbing Jay Novello by Trav S.D.

Tribute today to character actor Jay Novello (Michael Romero, 1904-1982). No relation to either Ivor Novello or Don Novello (since he was, as we say, a Romero), one could be forgiven for mix…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:12AM
Wednesday, August 21, 2024

A Bit on Olive Blakeney by Trav S.D.

Born on August 21, Olive Blakeney (1894-1959), best known for playing Mrs. Aldrich in the Aldrich Family comedies (1942-44). Blakeney was a native of Newport, Kentucky; she received her thea…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:12AM
Tuesday, August 20, 2024

On the Fame-Adjacent Virginia Hammond by Trav S.D.

A brief squint today at the life of stage and screen actress Virginia Hammond (Louise Shumate, 1893-1972). Hammond was born into an old Virginia Huguenot family; the original spelling of Shu…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 12:32PM
Monday, August 19, 2024

The William Marshall Centennial by Trav S.D.

Born 100 years ago today, the great actor William Marshall (1924-2003), best known for three pretty outre roles, that of Dr. Richard Daystrom in the 1968 Star Trek episode “The Ultimate Co…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:06AM
Sunday, August 18, 2024

Al Piantadosi a.k.a. “Ragtime Al” by Trav S.D.

Born of August 18, Tin Pan Alley songwriter Al Piantadosi (John Alberto Piantadosi, 1882-1955). Al Piantadosi’s early career reminds me a lot of those of Irving Berlin and Jimmy Durante; a…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:08AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
TBA: Titanic