Bettie Page, whose beaming blend of wholesome naughtiness for 1950s hobbyist photographers scandalized the Bible Belt but made way for sex-positive media like this site, died Thursday in Los Angeles. She was 85.
Page was a secretary who was bored with typing. When a photograoher named Jerry Tibbs spotted the 27-year-old taking a workday breather on Coney Island and asked her to pose, she thought nothing of it. What’s more, when members of the era’s hobbyist photo clubs requested something racier, the Nashville-born Page didn’t see anything wrong with showing off what God gave her.
Soon the curvy brunette would pose gleefully brandishing whips or while tied and spread-eagled. Aside from some discomfort in her joints, she didn’t see why anyone would have a problem.
But crusading Senator Estes Kefauver did, and his investigation into “perversion” in America brought unwelcome scrutiny on the meek hobbyist community and purveyors of pinup mags.
Page quit her fledgling modeling career when federal agents tracked her down, and she retreated from public view. Her 1959 conversion to born-again Christianity did not spur a Linda Lovelace-style repudiation of her career or former employers, but she did shun the limelight, resurfacing only a few times, such as for occasional autograoh events (where her signature would get $300) and a 1998 Playboy interview.
“I never thought it was shameful,” she said of her nudie career. “I felt normal. It’s just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous.”
Page’s post-pinup life was not monotonous. She suffered three divorces, landlord battles, and an institutionalization, but in later years seemed tolerant – if not engaged – with her iconic status.
Goodbye, Bettie, and thanks for making this fun.
· Bettie Page, 1950s Pinup Girl, Cult Figure Decades Later, Dies (bloomberg.com)
· Bettie Page (bettiepage.com)
