Bettie Page

What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, The bell tolls for pin-up queen
Bettie Page, felled by a heart attack at age 85. She struck a blow for femininity, teaching Fifties America that women could be sexy and strong, as well as demure. But it wasn't about sex. It was never about sex.

Whip me, beat me, kick me, love me...

Off 21st Avenue in Nashville, in one of the "we must be cool because we're across the street from Vanderbilt" neighborhoods, sits a trendy, touristy-college retro store. You know the kind, vinyl albums, posters, comic books, t-shirts, tourist memorabilia. Naturally, you'll find displays of the popular artists. Whose likeness do you suppose is featured most prominently of all? Not Garth. Not Reba. Not Toby. Not Kenny C. or Kenny R. or Kenny G or Elvis nor any other music star.

It's Nashville's own Bettie Page, brunette pin-up star and icon of feminine empowerment. "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," Hugh Hefner told The Associated Press. "She was a very dear person." Hefner described her appeal as "a combination of wholesome innocence and fetish-oriented poses that is at once retro and very modern."

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It wasn't about sex, even though it was surrounded by sex. It was never about sex. It was about freedom, and expression, and release of inhibitions. It was a generation of American women daring to say "I enjoy the life I've chosen, but I'm not afraid to see what's behind door number two."

Bettie Page was a 27-year-old typist when she was first spotted by a Coney Island photographer in the fall of 1950. She had been taking acting classes after work in the hope of losing her Tennessee accent. Bettie was anxious to get exposure in the entertainment world, so she was delighted when he asked to photograph her.

A few months later, after making the acquantaince of a professional photographer with a taste for S&M., she changed her hairstyle and began to pose in bondage gear. With her black bangs and no-holds-barred demeanor, she came to personify the leather-clad dominatrix in pinups that covered countless GI's walls.

She appeared in all the major Men's magazines. Hefner personally selected her as Playmate of the Month for January 1955. And on film, her exuberant performances helped open the frontiers of sexual expression. She so personfied the "lifestyle" as they called it then, that she was supoenaed to give testimony to a Congressional invesigation into sexual perversity.

Entertainment reporter Tim Estiloz chatted face-to-face with the REAL Bettie Page in this exclusive "one on one" 1997 TV Interview. Bettie's current business rep... who meets and talks with Bettie Page regularly - confirms this 1997 TV interview is most likely the FIRST and ONLY lengthy "in depth" TV interview she ever gave.

In 1957, at the pinnacle of her fame, fatigued by a failed marriage and subsequent nervous breakdown, she dropped from view. Bettie Page avoided the public spotlight for decades, but saw a revival of her career in the 1990's. She was grateful for the attention, but repeatedly declined to be photographed, prefering than fans remember her as she appeared in her prime.

Make sure to catch "Betty Page: Pinup Queen, a 1998 documentary made with her blessing and participation. Also look for "The Notorious Bettie Page," a 2005 HBO movie starring Gretchen Mol. Reportedly she liked the film, but not the use of the word "Notorious".

Then again, screw her, she's dead. Let's go look for crocodiles.

StevenK