Bye, bettie. I'll always remember your smile and the dimple in your left thigh. Thanks for bringing bangs back for my generation. posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:19 PM on December 11, 2008 [3 favorites]
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I was glad to read that she finally started getting some money from the Bettie Page "revival" that went on in the 80s and 90s. posted by mrbill at 10:23 PM on December 11, 2008
Yeah. Word came back that she had a heart attack and went into a coma a few days ago, so I was expecting this news sooner or later.
I used to buy The Bettie Pages back in the 80s, and I was fascinated with her in the same way that I was fascinated by E.C. Comics -- both were hounded by the Kefauver commission as somehow contributing to juvenile violence, and both represented a wild side to the 1950s that was generally left out of history books. In the real world, my nickname is Bunny, and I have always been pleased that I share it with Bunny Yeager, who is probably best remembered now for taking some of the iconic photos of Page. Strange point of reference, I suppose, but there you go. posted by Astro Zombie at 11:26 PM on December 11, 2008 [2 favorites]
So strange that everyone knows her, remembers her, anddefines her for what was really such a short period of her life.
How odd it must have been to have images of her young self living this expanded alternate life while she went about the business of her own life, which was so different from the fantasy of the images. posted by louche mustachio at 11:37 PM on December 11, 2008 [4 favorites]
RIP. Your hairstyle lives on. posted by Artw at 11:49 PM on December 11, 2008
Most of Irving Klaw's negatives of the bondage and S&M (many of them of Bettie Page)
were destroyed by his own hand, after he was persecuted for creating and distributing
"obscene" material.
What a loss. posted by the Real Dan at 11:50 PM on December 11, 2008
She helped clue me in that there were hidden worlds, subcultures, and people living lives that were not the norm, and that this was true, even in the 1950's, that there were these things that were not always apparant in the popular history. posted by Snyder at 12:12 AM on December 12, 2008 [7 favorites]
One of the reason that her pictures seem different than many others is that she was in her mid 20's when she did most of her posing, and had the figure of a woman, not a girl.
But I think that the thing that was the most different, and the reason her pictures resonate, is that she seemed completely comfortable in front of the camera. She genuinely looked like she was having a good time doing whatever it was she was told to do. There wasn't any residual discomfort at all.
She did start getting money from the pictures in the 90's. One of her fans started giving her a cut of the royalties from the books he was selling. (Something like that.) I'll be damned if I can remember his name, though.
I'm glad they didn't publish any picture of her looking like an old woman. I want to remember her as the 24 year old of the posing sessions. posted by Class Goat at 12:20 AM on December 12, 2008
I'm glad they didn't publish any picture of her looking like an old woman. I want to remember her as the 24 year old of the posing sessions.
The article says, for the record, that she found the title unflattering. She does not give her opinion of the film in any other way. posted by raysmj at 12:30 AM on December 12, 2008
The ever-so-delightfully naughty girl next door. I don't think I have ever seen anyone else that could so effortlessly combine an innocent glee with sheer carnal temptation.
Sad news. So long, Ms. Page. posted by Item at 12:53 AM on December 12, 2008
She had one of the greatest smiles I've ever seen on a person. I don't know how genuine it was but it draws my eye more than her gorgeous figure. Sex/Sexuality needs less pouting and more laughter.
As for many Bettie Page was a formative and formidable figure in my own adolescence and sexual awakening. She was the first hint that there was much more to sex than something people simply did to make more people, and that maybe girls weren't so scary and cooties might not be so... uhh...
GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY WHAT A CURIOUS NEW FEELING AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE SPARKY CURVES ON THAT DAME. Why, I think I could look at her for the rest of the week, at least. Don't let Harley Earl see her, he'll thrown in the towel after hanging himself with it. Better keep the Art Deco Stream-liners in the dark-park too, daddy-o, their fragile modern egos couldn't handle the competition. Humina homina hummus hoo boy howdy hootenanny, she's like... I don't know, cookies or cake for the eyes or something. Eye-candy, you say? Why, that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? Oh, right, I was playing Zork or Wumpus or something just a moment ago, huh? I'm suddenly not so interested in it for some reason. Can I go to the mall? I have a sudden urge to buy a bowling shirt or a skinny tie and lots of hair gel.
Thank you Ms. Page. By either intent or accident you brought a lot of joy in this world. I hope you enjoyed your life.
Erk - what a terrible misspell. She's been eulogised under both her given name (Betty Mae Page) and her performance name (Bettie Page), hence my use of her given name. Hell, you're supposed to make at least one mistake in your first FPP; at least mine was to use her given name. posted by Jilder at 2:46 AM on December 12, 2008 [2 favorites]
Rendering Bettie Page on Crescent board was a rite of passage for every serious airbrush artist. I don't know a single one who didn't have a couple in their portfolio. I feel like breaking out the ol' Iwata now. posted by RavinDave at 3:28 AM on December 12, 2008
The reason myself, and a lot of other folks in the 1980's, discovered Bettie was because of artist Dave Stevens. He introduced a generation of comic book nerds to Bettie.
I'm pretty sure she inspired this doll too. posted by mippy at 4:21 AM on December 12, 2008
I remember the LATimes piece linked by Ottereroticist above -- was it maybe part of an FPP here? It was the first time I'd seen her in a context other than the cheesecake photos.
Anyway, what I always found interesting about Bettie Page, as a teenager in the 1980s, was how intensely a lot of girls I knew felt a connection with her. I never knew any guys with a big Bettie Page fixation, but lots of young women I knew did.
My feeling, looking through about 40 pages of photos of her that were linked above, is that she stands out because she looks like she is having fun. She has this great smile, and it just lights her up. And because she's having fun, the inane costumes and the tacky props don't diminish her at all, but just emphasize how she is appealing and confident. posted by Forktine at 4:30 AM on December 12, 2008 [2 favorites]
Like many, for me Bettie was not only an icon, but also an entry way into the far more interesting world of culture below the mainstream surface. I remember in the early 80's picking up a book on pop culture that had 3 Irving Klaw photos of Bettie that absolutely captivated me in how incredibly cool they looked. Obviously the playful bondage was a shocking image for a high school kid that didn't even know that world existed, but Bettie's haircut and apparent confidence stood out, and that smile hooked me. When I think of Bettie, she'll always be in black and white. posted by Slack-a-gogo at 7:04 AM on December 12, 2008 [1 favorite]
My dad's an artist, he did a lot of figure drawing and kept an inordinate amount of "research" material. Some of that was a trove of Bettie Page material which I'm sure would be worth a fortune today. I think my mom got rid of a lot of it at one point and sadly the Bettie Page collection was part of it.
I remember being in grade school when my dad was in the basement with my uncle. He was kind of showing off to my uncle and grabbed some pastels from his never ending supply of art materials and drew her on the sliding doors in just a handful of strokes. posted by substrate at 7:33 AM on December 12, 2008 [1 favorite]
But imagine how much more thrillingly, sweatily arousing that photo would be if she wasn't sucking her stomach in as if she was wearing an invisible 3" corset. Relax, Bettie! Unclench! We can't have a happy Christmas if you're pretending. posted by Beautiful Screaming Lady at 7:59 AM on December 12, 2008
In the same year, we've lost both Bettie Page and one of her biggest, best fans, Dave Stevens. I can't help but think of her as a full-fledged collaborator on his great retro comic The Rocketeer. posted by Doktor Zed at 8:35 AM on December 12, 2008
she stands out because she looks like she is having fun. She has this great smile, and it just lights her up. And because she's having fun, the inane costumes and the tacky props don't diminish her at all, but just emphasize how she is appealing and confident.
This summarizes why, of the many celebrity Playboy pictorials I've seen - even those by prominent fashion photographers - Drew Barrymore's is the only one that artistically transcends its mercenary context. You can tell from her smile that the wild child is at play. posted by Joe Beese at 8:46 AM on December 12, 2008
Wow, she's awesome! In her 20s and at 80. It's so happy to see a woman looking pleased at having fun and being beautiful in her body. posted by Salamandrous at 8:50 AM on December 12, 2008
A former girlfriend of mine made a documentary about Betty [sic], back when she was still "The Missing Pin-up Queen". She fell in love with her after I bought my first issue of The Betty Pages. One of the most salient point of all the photos was that they were an invitation to joy. Bettie was never less than radiantly wholesome in whatever getup she was wearing (or not wearing). She was pure sex and never scary. That was her secret, absolute sensuality with no trace of shame.
The thing I found most interesting was that she worked full-time for Billy Graham starting in the 60s.
Yeah, she lived a life of contradictions. She spent a long time contributing to the moral degeneracy of American culture. And before that she was a pinup/fetish/nude model. posted by Justinian at 3:50 PM on December 12, 2008 [5 favorites]
my husband: awww, bless her, she shared... and not a lot of girls shared back then.
:) her voluptuous rump is why a lot of us hourglass girls have happy husbands. thanks betty! posted by eatdonuts at 4:09 PM on December 12, 2008 [2 favorites]
It feels just like that Who song, Pictures of Lily, where Dad gives son some nudie pictures. The son is soon smitten with the woman in picture, until Dad informs son that the lady died years ago.
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posted by Jilder at 9:45 PM on December 11, 2008