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The Weird Case of William Dudley Pelley
I wish to God this were not a timely story, but we are never masters of our own chronologies. In the interest of dramatic reveal, I will make you wait a bit for the astounding parts. William Dudley...
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Recalling Robin Duke
Oh, the Duke ain’t Dead! Don’t ya fret on that score. It’s just that the 50th anniversary year of Saturday Night Live seemed the appropriate time to remember her peak years, when she was a cast member...
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R.I.P. Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones (1933-2024) would have been 92 today; he passed away with much accompanying fanfare back in November. I saved this appreciation for today so it wouldn’t get lost in the flurry of...
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Ford Dabney and the Story of “Shine”
Ford Dabney (1883-1958) was an African American composer, pianist, and bandleader of the ragtime and early jazz eras, best known for writing the tune to the song “Shine” a.k.a. “That’s Why They Call...
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The Curious Corinna Mura
March 16 was the birthday of singer/guitarist Corinna Mura (Corrina Wall, 1910-1965). Mura’s career was brief but fascinating. Through only one quarter Spanish she made a career as a “Latin American”...
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Clara Morris: Passion’s Daughter
No one is quite certain of the birth date of Clara Morris, although IBDB informs us with great assurance that it was March 17, 1848, so we go with that — with the caveat that others tell us the true...
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A Morsel on Maurice
His full name was Maurice Oscar Louis Mouvet (1889-1927), though professionally he was usually known simply as “Maurice”. Though he was an international trendsetter for nearly two decades his name has...
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Happy St. Patrick’s, Harry Kelly
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Given the importance of the Irish to the history of vaudeville, I annually feel I don’t do enough to celebrate this day, and perhaps someday I’ll get it together. It honestly...
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50 Years of Brad Dourif
Today is actually Brad Dourif’s 75th birthday, but we’re coming up on 50 years since he first came to widespread public attention as Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). I was...
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Celebration of the Rooster
Well, it’s National Poultry Day, and I’m getting mighty sick of talk of the price of eggs, so I thought I’d skip the hens and give a shout-out to the place of roosters in pop culture. Chickens were...
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Some Cool Movies in New York This Week
Just thought I’d give you a heads up about some film screenings in New York that got ME excited, at any rate: Tomorrow, March 20, 2015 at 7:30pm: Ben Model (preservationist, author, presenter, and...
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Salute to Spike Lee
Quite possibly the least representative photo of Spike Lee ever, chosen not cuz I don’t dig Spike but as always cuz of the boater. Spike Lee (b. 1957) has been a public figure for nearly 40 years now,...
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For World Puppetry Day: Some Quality Time with the Flexitoon Folks
March 21 is World Puppetry Day and that seemed like the perfect time to realize my long standing ambition to get the full skinny on a pair of impressive folks I met about a year ago at Marxfest 2024:...
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Ziegfeld, A-Z (A Finding Aid for Flo)
Today is the birthday of the great showman Flo Ziegfeld! I thought I would use the occasion of to present you without a little finding aid to help you navigate our several post about the great...
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For World Poetry Day: The Poets of Travalanche
I don’t really need to rationalize the reasons why profiles of poets are a content stream on Travalanche, though it has has theatre and show business at its core. But I will. All poetry was originally...
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The Mystery of Stephen Sondheim
When Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021) passed away a few years ago and the entire theatrical world went into a mass keening we marked the occasion with held tongue. I find the reverence the world has for...
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250 Years Ago Today: Patrick Henry’s Speech
This vintage Currier and Ives print is the most commonly circulated image of Patrick Henry’s famous speech before the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775. It was created well after the event...
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Love for Lorenzo Fuller
Thanks friend Henry Bial for putting me wise to the existence of Lorenzo Fuller (1919-2011). Henry’s a University of Kansas prof; Fuller was a native Kansan and a KU alum, and they are rightly proud...
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The Wonders of Wordsworth Donisthorpe: Cinematic Pioneer and Victorian...
What a fascinating specimen was Wordsworth Donisthorpe (1847-1914). He was a man of too many parts to name. We’ll naturally lead with talk of his work as a pioneer of cinema, but he was also a...
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Lessons of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
March 25, 1911 was the date of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. We marked the centennial a few years ago here on Travalanche, along with the fact that there was an off-Broadway play up about it...
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