The original Koo-Koo was Betty Green (Greenburg? Greenspan? Greenbaum?), a Jewish lady from Massachusetts who performed a comic routine as "Koo-Koo" in show business but who also kept a "real" job as owner and operator of five large apartment houses in Boston.
As a hobby, she collected autographs of movie stars that visited her in the sideshow. As the story goes, she took a role in the MGM film "Freaks" in the hope of securing Ronald Coleman's autograph who was then under contract with the same studio.
The other "Koo-Koo" was Minnie Woolsey. Minnie was known originally as Minnie-Ha-Ha and later as Koo-Koo, the Blind Girl from Mars. The "blind" part was no act, however, as she eventually was completely blind. Showman Joseph Ferari supposedly "got" her from a Georgia mental institution and put her in his show.
Though often pictured in the same or nearly the same costume, the two Koo-Koos are easy to tell apart.
BETTY had a pointed nose and chin whereas MINNIE had a bulging forehead and almost lacked a chin.
Look at the photos here and see if you can tell which is which. Mouse over for the answers.
