(Travalanche)

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 29, 2026 include ones on a lost collaboration between Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance and Josef Von Sterberg; and the Marx Bothers musical Minnie’s Boys.

Gummo’s chopped liver?

“All the girls are wearing them!”

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 28, 2026 include ones on Dita Von Teese, Rudy De Luca, playwright J.S.

Call me Gabriel, babe, ‘cuz it’s horn tootin’ time!

Once upon a time, I had an early content stream on Travalanche about the contemporary variety scene, which included profiles of the many neo-burlesque, vaudeville and circus people I have worked with, notices about their upcoming shows, reviews, and so fo…

Rudy De Luca was born in either 1931 or 1942, on either September 28 or April 10, and he is either Italian or Jewish.

September 28 happens to be the birthday of disgraced character actor Jefferey Jones, but I don’t guess I ought to celebrate him here today.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 27, 2026 include ones on Leonard Barr and our second Jack Duffy.

Well, this one fairly blew my mind.

Born 100 years ago this day.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 26, 2026 include ones on Donna Douglas of The Beverly Hillbillies, and Leonard Sachs of the music hall revival show The Good Old Days.

For those keeping score, this is the order in which I have posted on the oil rich Ozarkians of Bug Tussle: Buddy Ebsen (2010), Irene Ryan (2012), Nancy Kulp (2014), The Beverly Hillbillies (2015), Bea Benaderet (2018), Paul Henning (2018), and Max Baer, J…

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 24, 2026 include ones on a great new show biz podcast called Hollywood Around the Edges, and a vaudeville artifact that was spotted on The Dick Van Dyke Show In no particular order, other Travalanche posts for S…

I don’t do this a lot (so don’t get any funny ideas) but I want to take the opportunity to plug a podcast I was recently made aware of.

During a recent hang-out with my son the information emerged that he had never seen The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 23, 2026 includes ones on Hilly Kristal of CBGB, and Victoria Woodhull, America’s First Female Presidential Candidate etc.

The image above of Hilly Kristal (1931-2007) is from Spin magazine: the second occasion we have had to mention Spin today (the previous being here), and the second occasion we have had to talk of The Bowery since yesterday.

Congratulations to Liza Lentini, whom, it was announced two days ago, has just been named editor-in-chief of Spin magazine.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 22, 2026 includes ones on the Foy Sisters and some upcoming Bowery events.

Here’s an unprecedented development that delights me to end.

In this particular case we refer not to Mary and Madeline Foy of vaudeville’s famous Foy Family, but the two women who inspired their dad Eddie Foy to take that surname in the first place (he was by birth a Fitzgerald).

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 21, 2026 are about The Great New York Fire of 1776, a new biography of lady magician Adelaide Herrmann, and — oh yeah — a plea for world peace.

“September 21 is World Peace Day aka International Day of Peace,” he said with a hollow laugh.

This has been a year of solemn anniversaries: 250 years of American Independence and 25 years since the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Today is the publication date of a terrific sounding new biographical resource, Queen of Magic: The Wondrous, Unstoppable Adelaide Herrmann.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 20, 2026 are about Elliott Nugent and the late Rudy Cheeks.

Over the past couple of days or so we have lost Duncan Sheik and Gerrit Graham, and I was tempted to eulogize both of them — but there are plenty of others to pick up that gauntlet.

Elliott Nugent (1896–1980) was one of the rare individuals who did everything: wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the theatre; and wrote, directed, and starred in movies.

Today’s new Travalanche post for September 19, 2026 is about actor Mel Stewart.

Mel Stewart (1929–2002) was a regular, sometimes a co-star, on numerous TV shows, including Turn On (1969), Roll Out (1973-74), On the Rocks (1975-76), The Bewitched spin off Tabitha (1977-1978), the What’s Happening!

Today’s new Travalanche post for September 18, 2026 is about voice-over actor June Foray.

What a looker, eh?

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 17, 2026 are about Ken Kesey, vaudeville author Douglas Gilbert, and the McKinney’s Cotton Pickers.

I have a sort of standing rule at Travalanche; if I can find a pic of my subject in a vaudeville style derby or top hat, I use it for my blogpost, especially if the person is of more recent times.

As one does (or doesn’t), your correspondent tends to be cautious in recommending books that are in competition with his own, even when the differences are considerable.

A few lines here on drummer and bandleader Bill McKinney (1895–1969), motive force behind McKinney’s Cotton Pickers.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 16, 2026 are about jazz fiddler Joe Venuti, sideshow performer Pasqual Piñón, and the late Lissa Moira.

We were so sorry to learn this morning that long-time downtown pillar of the arts Lissa Moira has passed on.

Today is Mexican Independence Day!

I have had about a dozen occasions to mention Giuseppi “Joe” Venuti (1903-1978), so I thought I would afford him a quick natal day tribute of his own.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 15, 2026 are about silent comedian George Rowe and Columbia House record club.

I’d seen George Rowe (1894–1975) in dozens of silent comedies but didn’t put a name to his distinctive puss until Steve Massa devoted an entire chapter to him in his 2013 book Lame Brain and Lunatics.

Today has been announced as the last day that Columbia House will accept new orders.

Today’s new Travalanche post for September 14, 2026 is about character actor Tom Pedi.

I was re-watching the glorious Weegee inspired procedural The Naked City (1948) recently and spotted among the ensemble a character actor I recognized but couldn’t immediately place — which is the birth of many a post here.

Today’s new Travalanche posts for September 13, 2026 are about the Hoosier Hot Shots and Solid Gold.

September 13, 1980, was the premiere air date of Solid Gold and I sure hope you didn’t like it, because this won’t be some gauzey-lensed nostalgic look back at cherished memories.

Before Spike Jones and His City Slickers…before Freddie Fisher and His Schnicklefritz…before Bob Burns and His Bazooka…before Stan Fritts and the Korn Kobblers…there were the Hoosier Hot Shots, a vaudeville comedy band from Indiana.

Today’s new Travalanche post for September 12, 2026 is about animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams.