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Remembering Gunther Gebel-Williams
September 12 was the birthday of animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams (1934-2001) Are there circus stars any more? I don’t mean circus performers who are highly regarded by peers within their field,...
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Ernie Bushmiller and “Nancy”
It’s hard to turn an ocean liner around, but I may be weakening in my lifelong animadversion to the art of Ernie Bushmiller (1905-82) as represented by his comic strip Nancy. Some may balk and squawk...
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Kessler Twins, Auf Wiedersehen
For 89 years, the Kessler Twins, Alice and Ellen (1936-2025) did everything together. Last November, they collaborated one last time — on a joint assisted suicide. The triple threat duo were all about...
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Rah, Rah, Redenbacher!
For the life of me I’ll never understand public facing millionaires who don’t trouble to visit the dentist. Here at Travalanche we love entrepreneurs in general especially ones who appeared as...
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Lou Gehrig and The Show Business
June 19th was the birthday of multiple record-setting baseball great Lou Gehrig (Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, 1903-1941), the Pride of the Yankees. Gehrig played 17 consecutive seasons with the Yankees,...
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The Maximum Minna Gombell
Tribute today to actress Minna Gombell (1892-1973). Gombell was prized mostly for her comic abilities, and was known for playing tough talking and shrewish characters by her movie years, although...
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Bits on Billy Engle
Only the barest bones biography on William “Billy” Engle (1889-1966), for we know scarcely more than his (over 300) screen credits, though there are probably enough clues for some intrepid sleuth...
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The Beginning and the End of Schlitz
May 15 was the birthday of Joseph Schlitz (1831-1875). And May 15, 2026 was the day on which it was publicly announced that Schlitz Beer was to be discontinued. One more batch is being brewed; it’ll...
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For Trans Day of Visibility: A Tribute to Eva and Adele
A few months ago I learned (from Eve’s Obits, I think) of the death of Eva, the taller member of the Berlin performance art duo (and married couple) Eva and Adele. I have no idea who they really are,...
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In Which We Extricate Ourselves From Paul Fix
Your piece is too small, Sheriff. I believe you’re going to need a RIFLEMAN. I was already resolved to include Paul Fix (1901-1983) in this history for having played Micah on The Rifleman (1958-63)...
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Vicki Baum: “Grand Hotel” and Beyond
January 24 was the birthday of Hedwig “Vicki” Baum (1888-1960). The Viennese-born writer is not widely known by name in the U.S. though she ought to be: her name is on over a dozen Hollywood movies,...
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A Capful of Oscar Apfel
Oscar Apfel (1878-1938) was a major figure in the early film industry as a director; he later opted to take a back seat as a very minor actor, apparently for the sheer enjoyment of it. Originally from...
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Unearthing Will Oakland
Today, one of those occasional Travalanche essays that exceed what you will be able to find elsewhere on the internet. The subject is vaudeville countertenor Will Oakland (Herman Hinrichs, 1880-1956)...
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Richard F. Outcault and The Yellow Kid
This dashing dude is Richard F. Outcault (1863-1928), once hailed by many as the inventor of the newspaper comic strip. Many hands went into the evolution of this unique art form however; it’s more...
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Harold and Lola and “The Dance of the Cobra”
I was made aware of the dance team of Harold and Lola due to their inclusion in the 1948 film Variety Time, which I wrote about here. “Harold” was Harold Liebmann (1895-1960), born of a January 7, and...
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The Story of the Brothers Grimm
Ever since the advent of the World Wide Web I have sought to track down the edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales I owned as a small child, all in vain. My own copy eventually fell apart and had to be...
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Rudy Wiedoeft: Saxomaniac
Rudy Wiedoeft (1893-1940) is widely revered as the man who pioneered and popularized the jazz saxophone. Wiedoeft was Rudy Vallee’s musical hero (Vallee’s first name is an homage to Wiedoeft; his own...
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The Theatre of Marianne Faithfull
This one goes out to my good friend Tammy Faye Starlite, New York’s, and probably the world’s, pre-eminent Marianne Faithfull impersonator. Tammy also does Mick Jagger, which makes me YEARN for a very...
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Thomas Nast: Father of the American Cartoon
Okay, the title of this post is hyperbole. Whenever you think you’ve I.D.’d the first anything, you’re sure to be foiled. And of course everyone CLAIMS primacy. That’s just p.r. 101. But Thomas Nast...
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Max Schreck: Not Just Nosferatu
100 years ago today in New York City, the Universal horror film The Phantom of the Opera was receiving its world premier. In related news, on that same day, 4,000 miles east of New York, Friedrich...
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