THIS WAS BURLESQUE

 

I was able to take every teenage boy’s fantasy and turn it into reality.  Naked women… they have been the focus of lust by young men since earliest recorded history.  But I didn’t just experience their seductive bodies in the pages of “Playboy.”  I had the chance to work with them up close and personal.

It was my first summer working in Summer Stock.  And one of the shows that played a week of performances at Storrowton Music Fair in West Springfield, Massachusetts where I worked was Ann Corio’s “This Was Burlesque.”  It was back in the 1960’s and many decades removed from the heyday of Burlesque and Vaudeville… but the show retained all the charm, wit and sexuality of its original incarnation.

First off… there was Ann Corio herself.  Back in the day, Ms. Corio rivaled Gypsy Rose Lee as the Queen of Burlesque… and even decades later in the 1960’s, she retained a dynamite body that could make men salivate.

During the Overture to the show, I secreted myself in the orchestra pit, just below a runway that crossed over the pit.  Toward the end of the overture, Ms. Corio would step up onto the runway in the dark.  The orchestra would then play the first elongated three notes of the song “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody.” On the third note, I would squeeze the handle of an industrial fire extinguisher, which would send a cloud of smoke up into the air above the runway.  The lights would then come up on Ms. Corio as the smoke dropped to the floor, revealing her body for all to see. 

Note: The only attempts at “modesty” in the show were “pasties” and a G-string.

Then, there was Gloria LeRoy. (I can still remember her name a half century later.)  Gloria was a “tassel-twirler.”  This gifted young lady had tassels connected to her pasties and could swivel the tassels around in time with music.  To accomplish that feat, Gloria had to shake her shoulders which, in turn, made her breasts bobble back and forth. 

But there’s more.  Gloria had two tassels attached to her butt cheeks.  And this fine young specimen could rotate BOTH her breast tassels and her tush tassels at the same time!!!  Ah…such talent!!!  And believe me, it did not go unnoticed by the male members of the audience.

Yes… there were also the baggy-pants comics that Burlesque was noted for.  And there were ribald sketches about men’s shoe sizes as compared to their sexual endowments… or lack thereof.

But my favorite memories from the show were the mammaries… and the lovely ladies who displayed them with such abandon!!

The clip below is dated nearly 15 years after my involvement with the show.  There is no "fog" upon Ms. Corio's entrance... and the girls you'll see are way overdressed...but you'll get the idea.

Bill Cosby and Me

I think Bill Cosby is one of the funniest men alive.  And if you have ever seen him perform one of his many stand-up routines, I think you will agree.  Certainly, he was funny on his TV show, and was a groundbreaking actor on "I Spy", but I have some very early memories of Mr. Cosby.

I was working as a Technical Director at Storrowton Music Fair in West Springfield, Massachusetts in the summer of 1963.  Near the end of the summer season, the theatre booked a traveling Hootenanny Show.  I don't remember much about the show, but I DO remember the featured comedian:  Bill Cosby.  He was practically unknown to the audience, but his routine brought the house down!  It was the first time I saw him do his "Superman" bit with Clark Kent trying to change into Superman in a phone booth, and is spotted by a cop.  VERY funny stuff.

Fast-Forward one year..... Bill Cosby had become a household name.  He was performing at that time, at the Latin Casino, a nightclub in Philadelphia.  I was the touring (as the Technical Director) with the show "No Strings" starring Diahann Carroll.  We played one week at Valley Forge Music Fair... not too far from Philadelphia.

One night, Bill Cosby showed up to take Miss Carroll to dinner after her show.  I re-introduced myself to Mr. Cosby as having worked with him the previous summer.  The night air was a bit chilly even in the heart of the summer, and Miss Carroll took her time preparing for her dinner date.  I suggested to Mr. Cosby that we go into the lighting booth which was still warm from the show.

And there... in this small lighting booth backstage at Valley Forge Music Fair... Bill Cosby had me in stitches for at least 20 minutes!  He told jokes.  He told me about his routines.  And he made me laugh again and again.  It was an amazing one-on-one experience that remains with me to this day.

Thank you, Mr. Cosby... for a "performance" I will never forget.