“1957.05.17 Ted Mack (signed) in its 22nd Year”
by Eddie Germano (1924 – )
11 x 14, 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.
Germano handled the TV beat for a few years. He (or his editor) was able to get hand-written notes from the featured subjects to integrate into the 3-column Sunday illustrations.
In this one, from 1957, features Ted Mack, one of the ultimate predecessors of every reality show featuring America’s Greatest Talents/Idols/Whatever of one kind of another. The Ted Mack “Original Amateur Hour,” a staple on the radio from 1934-45 as the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, moved to TV in 1948 (the same year that Ed Sullivan started) and ran until 1970. Like the Sullivan show, the demographic was skewing too old for the networks.