1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies at 85

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LoRee
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1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies at 85

Post by LoRee »

I heard the news Friday evening on NPR (National Public Radio) But could'd find a printed news article til this morning. All I can say, as one who was "Raised" on Bettie Page, is she will truly be missed. :( :cry:



1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies at 85

The ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 12, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controversial photographs in skimpy attire or none at all helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died yesterday. She was 85.

Page suffered a heart attack last week in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness, her agent Mark Roesler said.

Page attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls in military barracks, garages and elsewhere, where they remained for years.

Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses. The latter helped contribute to her mysterious disappearance from the public eye, which lasted decades and included years during which she battled mental illness and became a born-again Christian.

After resurfacing in the 1990s, she occasionally granted interviews but refused to allow her picture to be taken.

"I don't want to be photographed in my old age," she told an interviewer in 1998. "I feel the same way with old movie stars. ... It makes me sad. We want to remember them when they were young."

The 21st century indeed had people remembering her. She became the subject of songs, biographies, Web sites, comic books, movies and documentaries. Gretchen Mol portrayed her in 2005's "The Notorious Bettie Page" and Paige Richards had the role in 2004's "Bettie Page: Dark Angel."

Her career began one day in October 1950 when she took a respite from her job as a secretary in a New York office for a walk along the beach at Coney Island. An amateur photographer named Jerry Tibbs asked her to pose.

Looking back on the career that followed, she told Playboy in 1998, "I never thought it was shameful. I felt normal. It's just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous."
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Post by anna »

Thank you for all the inspiration Bettie. Rest in peace. :(
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LoRee
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Post by LoRee »

For anyone concerned ;

Here is the link to the Bettie Page memorial site. It has photos of her funeral & Remembrance and other information of interest to those of us who loved her.

http://www.bettiepage.com/obit/obit.html
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