1972.07.25 “A Different Comic Strip”
by Eddie Germano (1924-2026)
11 x 15, ink and wash on board
Coppola Collection
A native Bostonian, Germano became a full-time cartoonist in 1948, at age 24, after serving in WWII. Among other positions, he worked as the editorial and sports cartoonist for the Brockton Enterprise from 1963-1990.
Ann Corio started while still in her teens. Her good looks and shapely physique that lead to showgirl roles and to a hugely popular striptease artist. Her rise to stardom as a featured performer began on the Mutual burlesque circuit in 1925. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles and the movies around 1939. If Hollywood needed an actress in a skimpy costume, Corio was the B movie go to, starting with Swamp Woman in 1941. Other gems were, Call of the Jungle and Sarong Girl.
She was in her mid 50’s when she came up with the idea for the How to Strip albums. She was riding the success of her Broadway show This Was Burlesque (1961) and the book by the same name when the album was released, and it was successful enough for volume 2. She took the show on the road often the final time in 1982.
The South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, Massachusetts, just outside Boston near Nantasket Beach, is an iconic, 2,300-seat open-air tent theater that features a unique revolving stage and seating in the round. Begun in 1932, it is one of only two continuously operated tent theaters in the round in the United States (the other being the Cape Cod Melody Tent).
