11,717 stories from Trav S.D.
At this juncture, I feel the need to reorient my attitude toward TV personality Gary Collins (1938-2012). Is it a fit subject for worry? I reckon not. At any rate, I always found him likable…
William H. Crane (1845-1928) had a long career in the theatre, but is best known to us today from the handful of silent motion pictures he made during the last years of his life, a couple of…
April 30 was the birthday of puppeteer and vaudeville entertainer John Coates Till (1843-1910). Forgive me, but I can’t recall now who put me on to the existence of “Professor” Till an…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 29, 2026 are about big bandleader Russ Morgan, and actress Eve Plumb, best known from The Brady Bunch. Also it is International Dance Dance, birthda…
Yes, I am an unabashed fan of the lovely Eve Plumb (birth year redacted for both our sakes) for all sorts of reasons, including 1) the fact that I met her once, when she was acting in my for…
Strange that in all of our thousands of posts we haven’t yet had occasion to mention big bandleader Russ Morgan (1904-1969) even once. Remedied today! Morgan was born and raised in Scranto…
Today’s new Travalanche post for April 28, 2026 is about Harper Lee (born 100 years ago today) and To Kill a Mockingbird. Also for National Superhero Day, check out nearly 50 posts about s…
Alabama novelist Harper Lee (Nelle Harper Lee, 1926-2016) was born 100 years ago today. A relative of Robert E. Lee (though not a descendent), the author was born, raised, and died in the sm…
Most educated people know but one thing about Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872); today we aim to fill the portrait out with some additional intel which amplify the signal of his greatness (see w…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 27, 2026 are about Samuel F.B. Morse, pin-up artist George Petty, playwright/screenwriter and Don Mullally. Earlier Travalanche posts for April 27 (…
April 27 was the birthday of pin-up artist George Brown Petty IV (1894–1975). This year (2026) marks a century since Petty opened his successful painting studio. You may have some vague i…
I first learned about screenwriter Don Mullally (1886-1933, sometimes spelled Mullaly) because he co-wrote Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) with the similarly ill-fated Carl Erickson. He is …
Today’s new Travalanche post for April 26, 2026 is about agent and producer Charles K. Feldman. Also it’s World Burlesque Day. The Finding Aid to Burlesque on Travalanche is here. Earlie…
There are many paths to a creative career in the film business. Some are less conventional than others. Charles K. Feldman (1905-1968) started out as an attorney for talent agencies, then be…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 25, 2026 are about the late Randy Bourscheidt, the late Lynn Hamilton, and the still later Paula Trueman. Also check out this post for World Penguin…
Actress Lynn Hamilton (1930-2025) passed away back in June; as I often do, I decided to push what amounts to an obit back to the decedent’s next birthday. She is not to be confused with Li…
Those who know the work of Paula Trueman (1897-1994) at all likely know her as one of those ubiquitous professional old ladies of the ’70s and ’80s, along with the likes of Ruth Gordon, …
Thanks, James Monroe, of Monroe and Company, for conveying the sad news that our mutual mentor Randall “Randy” Boursheidt (1944-2026) passed away about a week ago. I had the pleasure of …
Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 24, 2026 are about Willem de Kooning, Lord Haw Haw, and comedy writer Gary Belkin. Earlier Travalanche posts for April 24 (in no particular order) i…
April 24 was the birthday of abstract-expressionist painter Willem de Kooning (1904-1997). This year (2026) marks a century since the Dutch kid hopped a ship in Rotterdam and stowed away, ar…
Today marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of William Joyce (1906-1946); we’re also in the 80th year since his execution for treason. Let his story stand as a cautionary tale to broadc…
I have had numerous occasions to mention Michel Fokine (Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokin, 1880-1942) on Travalanche, for he was an important figure in the history of ballet, and many of his cohort…
Today is the centennial birthday, according to the New York Times, of comedy writer Gary Belkin (1926-2005). Contrary to a popular misconception, not everybody in the writers room of Sid Cae…
Today’s new Travalanche posts for April 23, 2026 are about Lucy Worsley’s new show on the American Revolution, and a little acknowledgment of World Book Day. And also Happy St. George’…
Somewhere in space there is another dimension where I’m still the p.r. director at the New-York Historical Society, and got to assist Lucy Worsley and her crew in displaying the broken pie…
