Bettie Page (1923 - )
Lifespan: 1923
Related: John Willie - BDSM - Bizarre magazine - Irving Klaw - American erotica - fetish erotica - fetish photography - pin-up - model - Playboy - bondage
Bettie Page: Bondage Queen (1998)
[Amazon.coom]"...Cult Epics presents on DVD the complete volumes of the bondage, fetish and cat-fight films featuring Betty Page and other glamour girls." Betty Page first became popular in the 1950's when magazine store owner Irving Klaw began selling photos of pin-up girls for 5 cents each. Before long, certain patrons began requesting cheesecake and bondage photos. It was then that Irving Klaw started his studio, using models like Bettie Page, and burlesque dancers like Baby Lake, Tempest Storm, Blaze Starr, and of course Lili St. Cyr. After being accused of being a pornographer by the government, Klaw burned over 80% of his collection. "...Betty Page, famous for her pin up modeling appeared in these bondage short films. These unique classics are the first film sources of today's fetish and SM scene and appear nowadays surreal, tender and joyful." Excellent source of images for any serious collector of Betty Page or historical erotica. --Tony Crosgrey for amazon.com
Bettie Page, Bizarre nr. 14
Famed pin-up model of the '40s and '50s who did a significant amount of fetish-based work. She helped popularize playful tease, high heels, girdles and stockings, appearing as both a whip-wielding mistress and a helpless bondagette. Her allure was added to by her "disappearance", but she has been recently reported to be alive and well, enjoying her life out of the public eye.
Biography
Bettie Mae Page, also known as Betty Page (born April 22, 1923) is a United States model, the subject of numerous "pin-up girl" photographs in the mid 20th century.
[A]t first Page posed for camera clubs, sometimes in the nude, because the photographs were not to be published. In 1951 her image appeared on the cover of men's magazines with names like Eyeful, Wink, Titter, Black Nylons, or Beauty Parade. At the same time she posed for photographer Irving Klaw for mail-order photographs with a bondage or sado-masochistic theme, making her the first famous bondage model.
During one of the annual pilgrimages to the sun, sand and surf she adored, Bettie Page met Bunny Yeager in Miami, Florida in 1954. At that time Page was the top pin-up model in New York, and Bunny Yeager an aspiring photographer. Bunny signed Page for a photo session at the now defunct USA Africa Wildlife Park in Boca Raton, Florida. The 'Jungle Bettie' photographs from this shoot are some of her most celebrated and include nude shots with a pair of cheetahs. The leopard skin patterned 'Jungle Girl' outfit she wore for the shoot was made by Bettie herself.
After Bunny Yeager sent shots of Bettie Page to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, she was featured as "Playmate of the Month" and centerfold for Playboy magazine in its January 1955 issue. Bettie also became one of Hugh Hefner's obsessions. When Page was almost forced to file for bankruptcy, it was Hefner who bailed her out.
In an industry where the average career of a model was measured in months, Page was in demand for several years, modelling until 1957. Although she frequently posed in the nude, she never appeared in any scenes with explicit sexual content. When Howard Hughes, movie maker and billionaire, sent her a letter asking to meet her, she declined.
[T]he Playboy model Barbi Benton revived interest in Page as some considered the younger woman to be in her image. Then in 1978, Belier Press began to reprint some of the pictures from the private camera club sessions, which reintroduced Page to a new generation. Within a few years, Page became an icon of the 1950s, her renewed fame rivalling Marilyn Monroe's. Bettie Page, as idealized by Dave Stevens, whose "Rocketeer" comic helped to bring her back into the public eye
In the early Eighties, Comic Book talent Dave Stevens based the love life of his hero Cliff Secord alias "The Rocketeer" on Page. A fanzine was started called The Betty Pages and recounted tales of the camera club days. When Bettie asked the fan club to stop, it did.
Dark Horse Comics published a comic based on her fictional adventures in the 1990s after Jim Silke did a large format comic featuring her likeness.
[I]n a recent interview, Page has stated she will not allow any current pictures of her to be shown, because she is 25 to 30 pounds overweight. A friend believes the reason for her reluctance is more likely insecurity. "If your grandmother looked like Bettie does today, you'd be thrilled. Her eyes still sparkle. She really looks like her old self." --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettie_Page [Jun 2005]
Fast Facts
Full name : Bettie Mae PageBirth date :April 22, 1923
Born :Nashville, Tennessee
Height : 5 feet 5 1/2 inches
Weight :128
Marriages : Billy Neal (1943 - 1947), Armond Walterson (1958 - 1963) and Harry Lear (1967 - 1972)
Children : none
Hair color : black
Eye color : blue-gray
Measurements : 36-23-35
Education : Bachelor of Arts degree from Peabody College
Favorite actress : Bette Davis in Dark Victory
:: In 1955 she won the title "Miss Pin-up Girl of the World."
:: In January 1955, she was the centerfold in Playboy’s January issue.
:: She was nicknamed the "Girl with the Perfect Figure."
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