She was Playboy's" Miss January" in 1955. I was two years old. In the era of the "sweater girls," it would be years before I became aware of Bettie Page and what a "pin-up" was. Mangham, Louisiana in the early '50s was about as sexually liberated as Victorian England. Mr. Harper's corner drug store had comic books displayed on spinner racks. All the other magazines were lying in stacks on top of a nearby counter. I didn't see magazines displayed like we have today until I was in high school. Somewhere along the way, the "Santa's Helper" shot from Playboy filled my eyes and I fell for an icon.
Back in the early '60s, I didn't know much about Bettie Page other than her irresistible appeal and charming good looks. For me, an important aspect of her appeal was her confidence and comfort showing off for the camera. Over time, the more I learned, the more we had in common. We both grew up in rural farming communities, she in Tennessee and I in Louisiana. Small towns, small Protestant churches, strictly disciplined childhoods connected us as well. However, it would be almost 30 years before I broke free of the Victorian bonds from my childhood. Bettie fared much better.
Bettie Page was the salutatorian of her class, got a BA in 1943, and soon was in New York City working as a secretary with the desire to become an actress. Camera clubs had sprung up as a way of circumventing pornography laws and as soon as Bettie got in front of those guys with her lack of inhibition, the dominoes began to fall faster and faster. From the time I was born until I started kindergarten, she was in the prime of her modeling career posing for pin-up shots and performing in motion pictures, sometimes nude, but never sexually explicit. Like most farm girls of that era, she had learned to sew and was responsible for much of her own wardrobe, particularly the leopard skin outfit seen in the famous "Jungle Bettie" shoot. By the time I was in first grade, the most famous pin-up model, the uninhibited, fun-loving Bettie Page, had returned to Christianity and was posing professionally no more.
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Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
After looking at these pictures and reading your article, I can understand your "crush" perfectly.
2 - GG
I loved her 'spanking' photos the best.
Nothing hotter than Bettie spanking another girl... LOL
3 - Patti
A few errata, in case you'd like to update your post: (1) Bettie got her BA in June, 1944 (not 1943). (2) Camera clubs were all the rage even before the 1950s. Their subjects were not merely nude women; camera club members focused their lenses on an array of subjects from still life to scenery, too. (3) Bettie said she worked for Billy Graham for 19 evenings when his Crusade came to Chicago; it was not her career, though many people seem to think she actually worked for him on a long-term basis (which is incorrect). (4) She was photographed at two different Playboy parties at Hef's mansion in the years before her death; if you'd look at her, you'd see that Bettie still looked GRRRRREAT! (5) She had assorted colorful experiences, even before her 1950-1957 modeling career. (6) She only lived on a farm for a very short period and didn't learn to sew until much later -- at a community center.
4 - Bill
She was a beauty Chip & had a very interesting life...thanks for your thoughts.
Hugs,
Bill
5 - Ron Genini
I never got to meet her in person but we exchanged many letters (her penmanship was excellent) and I spoke with her on the telephone many times, sometimes she would call, others I would. We exchanged Christmas presents, etc. I did this by taking a chance and sending her a book and some articles I had written (history) and asked if she wanted another biography in order to slam the hatchet job the last biographer had done on her; she didn't. She didn't want to meet any of her 1960s fans because she didn't look the same; however, her picture at Hef's 80th birthday party doesn't show too much of a change - given her age; an old woman, yes, but the LOOK is still there. When she died I gave our local paper an interview which was posted on their blog. - Ron