Peter Driben

Peter Driben was born in Boston and studied at the Vaesper George Art School.  He moved to Paris in the mid 1920’s.  It was here that

he began his popular pen and ink drawings of the Paris showgirls.  The 1934 American Pulp magazine “Tattle Tales” is where his first known pin up front cover appears.  In 1941 Driben contracted with the men’s magazine “Beauty Parade”.  The artist painted a multitude of pinups for that publication as well others.  These include the popular Flirt, Whisper, Titter, Wink Eyeful, and Giggles. 

Dribbens style included the use of many bold colors with emphasis on red, green, yellow and blue.  His leggy dream girls appeared on the front covers of five or six magazines each month, making him one of the more proficient pinup artists of his time. 

Peter Dribben was married to Louise Kirby.  She was an actress, poet, and artist in her own right.  Peter Dribben died in 1975 and his wife Louise in 1984.

Edwin Runci

Edward Runci was born in Genoa, Italy in 1921 and was brought up by his mother and grandparents in the coastal town of Catania, Sicily. The tranquil setting coupled with his mothers encouragement moved Runci to start drawing at an early age.

In 1930 he move to the United States with his mother and brother, joining his father in Pennsylvania. Despite Edward Runci wining a painting contest and being offered a scholarship his father forced him to quit school and seek employment. The family moved to Detroit in 1937, and shortly after Edward Runci joined the Marine Corps. During this time he met Maxine Sunderman at the Hollywood Canteen and they were married later that same year, in 1943. Maxine was a gifted artist herself, and often posed for her husbands paintings.

Runci's career took off after the war had finished, with his first public viewing in 1945. Soon after he was a highly sought after portait artist "to the stars and residents of Hollywood". He started producing his pin-up and calendar girls in the late forties, moving on to advertising in the early fifties. His wife Maxine, also produced a number of pin-up and glamour paintings at the same time.

A recently recieved e-mail from Drienne Runci Spencer, Edward Runci's daughter pointed out that the picture entitled 'A Pair of Winners 1950' was not painted by her father, but rather was painted by her mother Maxine. The painting is signed M. Stevens, the artistic name Maxine Sunderman used in her early years. Later she painted under the name M. Runci.

Copyright © 2004  Akron Cigar Club. All rights reserved.
Revised: 05/20/05.