legendary, uniquely original, and sadly missed
"The Queen of Curves"
"For all the sweetness of her glances, the innocence
of her most exotic poses, the ineffable quality that shines out of
every muzzy, scratchy 'still' printed on magazine paper...she was
(and reportedly still is) one of the sexiest women who ever lived."Harlan Ellison-prize winning Sci-Fi author.
Had I not done this Website to Roxy Brewer, my second choice would have been Bettie (but there were already quite a few sites devoted to her).
There is no way, in a one page, to explain the influence and lasting appeal of the amazing Bettie (not Betty!) Page, the first post-WW2 Pin-Up superstar. And unlike Betty Grable and others of the War era, she's one whose impact has lasted and spread through 50 years of pop culture. The bare-bones basics are these:
She was born in Nashville, April 2nd, 1923, the second of six children.
The family was often destitute, and Betty was placed into an orphanage
at the age of 10. Later rejoining her family on a farm, she began to
suffer sexual abuse at the hands of her father.Showing a tenacity to overcome her background, she began to flourish in high school; joining almost every school organization, becoming an editor of the school paper, editing the yearbook, being chairman of a college club, acting in drama club productions, and all the while keeping up her grades to be in the running for a valedictorian scholarship. Voted most likely to succeed, she graduated second in her class with a near perfect grade point average. Getting a scholarship from the Daughters of the American Revolution(!) she went on to a teaching college.
She also married her high school sweetheart, but he was soon drafted into the military. Graduating from college with her teaching credential, she joined her husband in San Francisco, where he was being shipped out to the Pacific. Getting office jobs as a secretary, she came to the attention of a talent agency who talked her into posing for newspaper ads, which subsequently caught the attention of 20th Century Fox, which arranged for a screen test. Though it didn't lead to a movie career, she began getting runway-model work and started entering beauty pageants.
Her marriage failed and feeling unsure about a teaching career, she moved to New York to try her hand a getting into the fledging TV industry. After a series of other office jobs and rootless moving,she came to the attention of amateur camera clubs, which were then flourishing in The Big Apple.
This is when the reality and legend of Bettie began to merge. Quickly
becoming a photog favorite, she caught the eye of self-styled
pin-up king Irving Klaw, who began to use her almost exclusively
in pictures and film loops, and also came to the attention of
photographer and model herself, Bunny Yeager, who used her in a series
of Florida-based sessions - including a very popular one featuring
Bettie at a jungle park romping with animals.The men's magazines of the time soon took notice and started using her photos at almost every opportunity, including Playboy which featured her in one their most popular pinups of all time. The famous 1955 Bettie Santa picture.
As Bunny Yeager said recently, "What I wouldn't give to find another like Bettie! I still believe she was the best pinup -glamour model that ever lived...We made a good team.She seemed to know just what I wanted."
And this was before the days of silicone and "surgical enhancements" which now seems to be automatically equated with sexual allure. Bettie was not a 'busty' babe, and seemed to care less. As Bunny Yeager observed: "Bettie was a Vargas girl brought to life. She was like a drawing-a perfect woman; unreal, fun, fantasy. Bettie always portrayed a women that hinted she'd be lots of fun to be with."
In 1957 it all came to an end with Senate hearings on pornography. Before they were over, Bettie had left the world of modeling, gotten married to a family man with 3 children, and had found fundamentalist religion.
This led to the dark period in Bettie's life, filled with mental aberrations, breakdowns, and ultimately violent episodes leading to confinement in mental institutions (often blamed on schitzophrenic episodes tied to the abuse she received from her father).She was ultimately released and retreated into seclusion.
But all the while her reputation only grew with both men and women. Her trademark hairstyle and bangs turning into a fashion statement, her photos and magazines, highly prized possessions and always in demand. Pop stars like Madonna copied her costumes, and films like "The Rocketeer" paid homage to her. And now recently the movie "The Notorius Bettie Page" gave her the full screen bio treament. (Or rather partial treatment, not going into the darker passages of her life).
However, Bettie has survived and in 2003 she came out of seculsion to appear
at a dinner party given by long time friend and supporter Hugh Hefner
(who has helped with legal bills in trying to secure some of the product
income that was made out of her name and image).And for the first time
since she walked out of her modeling career in 1957, she allowed a picture
to be taken.So here she is...the real "survivor", and a true original - Bettie Page at 82! (We should all look so good! And what a smile!!!)
And here she is at her pin-up best:
Number 30 was a photo she didn't like, not because it showed her in a dominatrix mode (which she did plenty of) but because it showed her smoking - something she was adamently against. She was also not a drinker and preferred milk (take a peek at the inside joke in # 12 ). And # 31 is a rare picture of Bunny Yeager and Bettie working a photo session. Finally what better way to end the gallery by getting a Noel wish for peace on earth from Bettie. # 31
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The above biographical information was gleened from
Richard Foster's fascinating biography "The Real Betty Page".
And check out her official website on
our Last Page/Links tag below.
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