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The Lucien Carr Centennial
Born 100 years ago today, the man who brought the Beats together Lucien Carr (1925-2005). (Confusingly, this important figure has nothing to do with either Lucien Truscott IV or C. Carr, whose bylines...
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100 Years Ago: Harpo’s First Movie
March, 1925 marked the release date of the silent comedy/adventure Too Many Kisses, which contains the earliest extant footage of a Marx Brother prior to the release of The Cocoanuts four years later....
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The Creation of Kurt Weill
Today marks the 125th anniversary of the birth Kurt Weill (1900-1950). (I sure love his music, but pictures of him always make me think he would have been good in the lead role in M. This was one of...
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Where Were You When You Heard Cookie Mueller Died?
Believe it or not I actually know where I was — not because it was a major trauma for me, but because it was when I first took note of the name in the first place. Cookie Mueller (Dorothy Karen...
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Catching Up with Kazurinsky
On the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special the other night, one participant you might not have noticed (for he was seated in the audience, and at 5’2″ is easy to miss) was former cast member...
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The Mysterious End of Washington Irving Bishop
I first learned about mentalist Washington Irving Bishop (1855-1889) many decades ago from Ricky Jay’s indispensable Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women. Born in New York City (plainly to fans of a...
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Suzy Wandas: The Lady with the Fairy Fingers
March 5 is the birthday of lady magician Suzy Wandas (Jeanne Van Dyke, 1896-1986). Suzy was a second generation conjurer, born and raised in Belgium to a husband-wife variety team. Her initial role in...
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Gladys Leslie: The Girl With the Million Dollar Smile
I first encountered Gladys Leslie (Gladys Leslie Moore, 1899-1976) as Houdini’s leading lady in Haldane of the Secret Service (1923). Though she was a star in her own day, Haldane was to be one of her...
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Three Cheers for Penn Jillette
The Happiest of birthdays to Penn Jillette (b. 1955) who enters his seventh decade today. My previous Penn and Teller post was published on Teller’s birthday, because he was the one I got to interview...
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You’ll Never Guess About Gus Meins: A Little Known Hal Roach Scandal
This is a mind blower of a story; I’m astounded that it’s not more widely known. I wasn’t aware of it myself until I sat down to write this post. And for once I won’t bury the lede: Gus Meins (Gustave...
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The Willard Scott Story
I had been creating Travalanche for many years before I began taking note of centennials and other major anniversary benchmarks here (I think 500 may be the oldest I’ve observed). I didn’t begin the...
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On the Weeks Sisters (As Opposed to the Weak Sisters)
Ada May March 8 was the birthday of stage and screen performer Ada May (Ada May Weeks, 1896-1978.) She was the most successful of four performing sisters from Oyster Bay, Long Island named Weeks. Of...
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A Sidelong Look at Sue Ane Langdon
First off, that’s not a typo: Sue Ane Langdon (b. 1936) spells the second part of her first name with a single “n” — as in “Nything to stand out in show business.” In her heyday, she was mostly known...
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Later This Month: Help us Celebrate the “Sally of the Sawdust” Centennial
This one goes out to all W.C. Fields fans, silent movie fans, circus fans, and fans of the Borough of Queens and its history! I sure hope that covers everyone! My old friends at the Greater Astoria...
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The 600 Screen Credits of Stuart Holmes
Actor Stuart Holmes (Joseph Liebschen, 1884-1971) may have appeared in as many as 600 movies from the years 1909 through 1964. Throughout his career he was mostly a supporting player, often known for...
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Losing Luba Lisa
Had she lived a bit longer, Luba Lisa (Luba Lisa Gootnick, 1941-1972) would almost certainly be well known and associated with the other show bizzy chicks of her generation: Barbra Streisand, Bette...
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New Yorkers! Don’t Miss Your Chance to See “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”...
This one is strictly for New York area hardcore comedy freaks. Tomorrow, March 11, 2025, at 7:30pm — a rare chance to see what many feel is the comedy to end all comedies, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad...
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Still Shilling for Shemp
Today happens to be a notable comedy history day for two reasons: 1) it is the centennial anniversary of the released of the Buster Keaton comedy Seven Chances (1925). But I wrote about that movie...
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Three Cheers for Robert Prichard and Surf Reality!
March 11 is the birthday of downtown impresario Robert Prichard, co-founder and bull goose looney of the much missed performance space known as Surf Reality (or, by the full title, Surf Reality’s...
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Excavating Clay M. Greene
We all return to Clay. And by that I mean Clay M. Greene (1850-1933), playwright, critic, journalist, film-maker, and man of business. The phrase also happens to apply to Greene’s life. A contemporary...
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