{"id":3902,"date":"2005-11-18T08:47:04","date_gmt":"2005-11-18T13:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=3902"},"modified":"2015-05-19T08:41:31","modified_gmt":"2015-05-19T12:41:31","slug":"congratulations-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=3902","title":{"rendered":"Congratulations …"},"content":{"rendered":"

My deepest heartfelt congratulations go to Trav S.D., who just published his first book: No Applause–Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous<\/a>\"\"<\/i>. It has been reviewed in The Washington Post<\/i>, the Wall Street Journal<\/i> and The New York Times<\/a><\/i>. Trav is an old old friend of mine, we go way way WAY back. He was my boyfriend, briefly, in high school (although he was a bit older than I was.) I took him to my senior prom. We then lost touch for, oh, EIGHTEEN YEARS … until 2003 – when we got back in touch again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the most beautiful things for me, about the success he has now achieved, is that it is not at all a surprise – remembering the boy he was. The boy who, at 18, made me watch all the Marx Brothers movies, because he was horrified I hadn’t seen them. Who didn’t just watch the Marx Brothers … he STUDIED the Marx Brothers. The boy who was, even then, encyclopedic on vaudeville – knew all the names, all the anecdotes … and I remember the feeling, back then, that to him – WC Fields, and the Marx Brothers, and Mae West, etc. etc. were as vital and important to him as modern-day movie stars. It’s how I feel now, in my life, having the Cary Grant, Bogart, Gary Cooper love that I have … They are as much a part of my consciousness as the guys who are in the movies NOW – as a matter of fact, they have even MORE of an impact. I compare everyone to them. I prefer the old movies. It’s just the way it is. Trav was like that as a teenager. And now – he’s published his first book, on the history of vaudeville. How beautiful, how APT.<\/p>\n

Congratulations, my old old friend. I couldn’t be happier for you. I can’t WAIT to read it!<\/p>\n

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