The Go-To Girl
In the late 1980s, artist/writer Greg Theakston launched an ambitious little fanzine called The Betty Pages. Pages revisited the career of a somewhat forgotten pinup model named Bettie Page, who had retired from modeling in 1957, after years of popularity in girlie magazines. Where had she gone and why did she leave? Through the pages of his fanzine, Theakston tried to uncover the answers, while captivating readers' imaginations with reproductions of Page's photos and various articles about 1950s pinup culture.
Other people were interested in Page, too. Some of her pictures had been reprinted in a 1976 magazine called A Nostalgic Look at Bettie Page. Artist Robert Blue was inspired by vintage fetish photos to create paintings that portrayed her in kinky poses. Pinup artist Olivia famously recreated Page's image in her work, and comic book maestro Dave Stevens was inspired by Page's look to create the character Betty in his influential series The Rocketeer. Ultimately, it was a prominent 1991 article in USA Today that brought the mystery of Bettie Page to the mainstream.
When she finally emerged from obscurity in 1992, Page herself couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. After all, there were many pinup models in the 1950s, but the only one remembered so fervently today is Page. So what was it about her that engendered such a spirited and enduring revival? Was it the cute-yet-sultry hairstyle-a longer, tress-curled version of Louise Brooks' infamous black helmet? Was it the way she modeled for the BDSM photos of the 50s underground, with a look of earnestly southern hospitality, no matter what sort of bondage predicament she'd been placed in? Or was it something more...intangible?
Page appeared across the spectrum of the erotica of her time: in burlesque-style pictorials in girlie magazines like Titter and Eyeful; for artistic figure photographers and amateur camera club buffs; for glamour magazine professionals like Bunny Yeager, who took Page’s best outdoor swimsuit and nude shots; and for fetish photographers Irving and Paula Klaw, who captured her in both stills and short 8mm movies with a tabloidish black-and-white glare in gleaming leather and skyscraper heels, sometimes with a whip, other times being spanked, and in tight bondage. Although she was never a stripper, Page also appeared in three theatrical burlesque films: Strip-O-Rama, Varietease and Teaserama.
In essence, Page was the consummate professional model-a female who willingly portrayed a full range of sexual fantasies-whether or not such scenarios held any personal appeal. For example, while she enjoyed posing nude, as she did for Bunny Yeager, she did the Klaw bondage poses strictly for the money: “I never had any inkling along that line,” she told interviewer Nerve.com in 1998. And as she modestly admitted during a Nashville Citysearch chat in 1998, “I don't know what they mean by [calling me] an icon...I was just modeling, thinking of as many different poses as possible. I made more money than being a secretary.”
However, she was only famous under the radar: after all, while Page worked steadily until her sudden “retirement,” she wasn't exactly getting rich, earning roughly $10 per hour, while living in an inexpensive flat in New York.
Unfortunately, she became infamous under the radar, too. In 1955, Estes Kefauver, a headline-seeking Tennessee Democrat with an eye on the White House, investigated the effects of pornography on juvenile delinquency. His committee put the spotlight on the Klaws' bondage photo business. Although Page was called to testify, in the end she didn't have to. Still, anticipating such an experience frightened her, and began to sour her on modeling.
Even though their photographs were never classified as obscene, the Klaws' business, a regular source of income for Page, was badly damaged. Within two years, despite having her image everywhere from magazines to matchbooks to album covers to paperback art to science-fiction illustrations, the “Queen of Curves” retired from modeling, abandoning a world of double-edged fame and infamy.
Other people were interested in Page, too. Some of her pictures had been reprinted in a 1976 magazine called A Nostalgic Look at Bettie Page. Artist Robert Blue was inspired by vintage fetish photos to create paintings that portrayed her in kinky poses. Pinup artist Olivia famously recreated Page's image in her work, and comic book maestro Dave Stevens was inspired by Page's look to create the character Betty in his influential series The Rocketeer. Ultimately, it was a prominent 1991 article in USA Today that brought the mystery of Bettie Page to the mainstream.
When she finally emerged from obscurity in 1992, Page herself couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. After all, there were many pinup models in the 1950s, but the only one remembered so fervently today is Page. So what was it about her that engendered such a spirited and enduring revival? Was it the cute-yet-sultry hairstyle-a longer, tress-curled version of Louise Brooks' infamous black helmet? Was it the way she modeled for the BDSM photos of the 50s underground, with a look of earnestly southern hospitality, no matter what sort of bondage predicament she'd been placed in? Or was it something more...intangible?
Page appeared across the spectrum of the erotica of her time: in burlesque-style pictorials in girlie magazines like Titter and Eyeful; for artistic figure photographers and amateur camera club buffs; for glamour magazine professionals like Bunny Yeager, who took Page’s best outdoor swimsuit and nude shots; and for fetish photographers Irving and Paula Klaw, who captured her in both stills and short 8mm movies with a tabloidish black-and-white glare in gleaming leather and skyscraper heels, sometimes with a whip, other times being spanked, and in tight bondage. Although she was never a stripper, Page also appeared in three theatrical burlesque films: Strip-O-Rama, Varietease and Teaserama.
In essence, Page was the consummate professional model-a female who willingly portrayed a full range of sexual fantasies-whether or not such scenarios held any personal appeal. For example, while she enjoyed posing nude, as she did for Bunny Yeager, she did the Klaw bondage poses strictly for the money: “I never had any inkling along that line,” she told interviewer Nerve.com in 1998. And as she modestly admitted during a Nashville Citysearch chat in 1998, “I don't know what they mean by [calling me] an icon...I was just modeling, thinking of as many different poses as possible. I made more money than being a secretary.”
However, she was only famous under the radar: after all, while Page worked steadily until her sudden “retirement,” she wasn't exactly getting rich, earning roughly $10 per hour, while living in an inexpensive flat in New York.
Unfortunately, she became infamous under the radar, too. In 1955, Estes Kefauver, a headline-seeking Tennessee Democrat with an eye on the White House, investigated the effects of pornography on juvenile delinquency. His committee put the spotlight on the Klaws' bondage photo business. Although Page was called to testify, in the end she didn't have to. Still, anticipating such an experience frightened her, and began to sour her on modeling.
Even though their photographs were never classified as obscene, the Klaws' business, a regular source of income for Page, was badly damaged. Within two years, despite having her image everywhere from magazines to matchbooks to album covers to paperback art to science-fiction illustrations, the “Queen of Curves” retired from modeling, abandoning a world of double-edged fame and infamy.
I think I've actually watched the movie of her life story. It's amazing how she changed the bondage business.