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A Mabel Normand Finding Aid
How wonderful that Mabel Normand shares a birthday with Marie Dressler, Snub Pollard, and Ed Wynn! That’s an astrological club that kind of makes a little sense! Anyway, having done so many posts on...
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The Russell Johnson Centennial, or The Education of a Professor
What do you do when you’re inconveniently far from home and have a couple of hours to kill between appointments? I know I’m a dying breed, but I often deal with that predicament by ducking into a...
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Hosannas for Hogarth
An enthusiasm for 18th century painter, illustrator, and engraver William Hogarth (1697-1764) is one of the million ties that bind my wife and I together. Among other things, Hogarth was known for...
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On Dryden’s “Indian” Plays
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity on this...
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Sympathy for Sinbad
The title of our post has to do less with the fact that it’s been a good quarter century since the peak of Sinbad (David Adkins, b. 1956) than that the comedian suffered a stroke in 2020 from which he...
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Fort Parker, “The Searchers” and the Downfall of the Comanche
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity on this...
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The Geraldine Page Centennial Celebration at Torn Page
Starting tooday (November 12, 2024), Torn Page is marking the upcoming centennial birthday of the late, great stage and screen actress Geraldine Page (1924-1987). They’ll be screening Page’s eight...
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An Undelivered Speech to the Clowns on Opening Night of the Coney Island...
I was honored to give the opening speech on opening night of Glen Heroy’s Coney Island Clown Skool at CIUSA last night. Congratulations to him and to all concerned for getting this wonderful new...
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John R. Neill: Illustrator of Oz
November 12 was the birthday of illustrator John R. Neill (1877-1943), primarily associated with L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. While W.W. Denslow had illustrated many of Baum’s earlier stories, such as...
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The Genocidal Writings of L. Frank Baum
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity on this...
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Neil Young: Old Man
Okay, this set-up is my idea of heaven. I’ve taken to embracing round anniversaries, so I considered pushing this post on Neil Young (b. 1945) off ’til next year. But who knows if any of us will be...
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On the Intractability of Tribes
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity on this...
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The Legacy of Devil Bill Rockefeller
This is to be a post about the Rockefeller Family (and don’t worry, there are pop culture angles, which ought to be obvious.) It’s customary to pick up the narrative with John D. (1839-1937), but I...
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For November 13: An Odd Couple Finding Aid
The narration from the opening credits in the first season of the sitcom The Odd Couple has provided the pretext for November 13 being an annual day to celebrate the show. The choice of date was...
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From the West to the Western: Native American Representation in Classic...
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity on this...
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The Liltin’ Miss Martha Tilton
Martha Tilton (1915-2006) was a popular singer of the big band era who made her mark on record, radio, television, and film. Tilton was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas; Edna, Kansas; and finally Los...
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How the Mohawks Built New York
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity on this...
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The Brief Candle of Bertha Galland
Stage actress Bertha Galland (1876-1932) enjoyed a decade at the top during the first 10% of the 20th century, often spoken of in such terms as “the next Modjeska“. She left acting in her...
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The Dish on George Petrie
I became (mildly) interested in George Petrie (1912-1997) after rewatching The Day After during the Covid lockdown. I needed something to cheer me up! And I was curious to see how it held up after 40...
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Songs of The American Indian Movement
November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity on this...
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