Friday, December 12, 2008

BETTIE PAGE - PIN UP ICON DIES AT 85 IN L.A.



Bettie Page, the pinup girl from the 1950's, who is credited with contributing to the sexual revolution in America, has passed on to other realms. She died in a Los Angeles hospital after suffering from pneumonia and a heart attack. She was 85.

What was different about Bettie was her popularity, which hit mainstream America at a time when the so called sexual revolution was taking off. Her web site, BettiePage.com, gets 20 million hits a month. Her photos have been popular continuously for the last 60 years. She appeared as a centerfold in Playboy Magazine in 1955. "I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society," Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told The Associated Press on Thursday. "She was a very dear person."

"She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," her agent Mark Roesler said. "She is the embodiment of beauty." She has been said to be a pioneer of women's liberation. She is said to be one of the most photographed people of the last century. Bettie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Peabody College in Tennessee in 1944, according to her official biography. She claimed that teaching was impossible because she "couldn't control her students, especially the boys." She had similar troubles in Hollywood, being plagued by romantic producers. Her trademark black bangs, and her sparkling eyes became the subject of photographers across the country. The fact that she is so well known, even today, is a commentary on her powerful personality.

Bye Bettie... rest in peace.


Jiva

BROADWAY BABY

A CHORUS LINE

BARBARA COOK

FABULOUS PALM SPRINGS FOLLIES

Ziegfeld Girls & Marilyn Miller 1929

CONAN ANGELO PRODUCTIONS

I like to watch them both at the same time.

What time is it? I think it's NOW. (translated: Eastern Daylight Time)

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