Bettie Page: A remembrance
December 08
“I was not trying to be shocking, or to be a pioneer. I wasn’t trying to change society, or to be ahead of my time. I didn’t think of myself as liberated, and I don’t believe that I did anything important. I was just myself. I didn’t know any other way to be, or any other way to live.”
-Bettie Page
It pains me when I am photographing a young, beautiful, shapely woman and she just isn’t giving me what I need. It is important to note that a great photo is not dependent solely on the lighting or the equipment or the set or the costume; a great photo comes from deep inside of the subject. A great photo does not happen, it is created somewhere deep in the psyche of the model and is coaxed from them by the photographer. I will often say, “Give me some Bettie” and more often than not, the blank stare from my subject tells me that they do not know of the woman who has inspired me in so many ways.
Bettie Page passed away from pneumonia on December 11, 2008 nine days after suffering a heart attack. It is a time for me to reflect on the woman who defined pin-up for me and to introduce her to those who have not heard her story.
It is my opinion that Bettie Page had the potential to be as big, if not bigger, than stars the stature of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield but was beset with bad luck, missed opportunities and lack of management. Her story begins on April 22, 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee, where Bettie was born the second of Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle’s six children. Bettie’s early years were unsettled as the Page family traveled around the country in search of economic stability. Bettie learned early how to care for her siblings and carry the responsibility of adulthood.
Bettie’s parents divorced, which worsened the family’s financial situation and when Bettie was only 10 years old, her mother placed her and her two sisters in an orphanage. Bettie’s father, who she describes as a sex addict, took the children from the orphanage after one year but began molesting Bettie at the age of 13. A first marriage to her childhood sweetheart removed her from the situation, where she lived with her sister in San Francisco while her husband was in the service, but the marriage soon failed.
Bettie moved to New York and in 1950, during a walk along the Coney Island shore, Bettie met Jerry Tibbs, a police officer with an interest in photography. Tibbs took pictures of Bettie and put together her first pinup portfolio. It was Tibbs that told Bettie that her high forehead would benefit from having bangs cut over them. It was a style decision that remained with her and became her signature look.
Tibbs introduced Bettie to numerous other photographers including Cass Carr who organized outdoor photographic sessions, which Bettie intensely enjoyed. In a matter of months, Bettie’s modeling career had taken off. Camera clubs led to posing for various magazines such as Wink, Eyeful, Titter, and Beauty Parade. But it wasn’t until her photographs were published in Robert Harrison’s magazines that Bettie became a pinup star beyond comparison.
In 1951 Bettie meets Irving Klaw, a photographer in New York that provides more than just pin-up images to the service men. Bettie quickly found that she would not get paid for the tame photography unless she did some mild bondage work. Bettie, not being burdened with the dogma of sexual society, gladly participates in these bondage images which are, in reality, light and playful poses set by Klaw’s sister, Paula. It is at this time that Bettie begins to attain some renown as the “Queen of Bondage.” At the time, most of these photo sessions were sold on a lucrative subscription basis. The customers often made specific requests as to the scenes and layouts. Bettie is said to have found many of these quite amusing.
In 1954, she meets Bunny Yeager in Florida. Bunny is considered to be the only real professional photographer that Bettie had ever worked with. Their sessions together generate some of the most famous Bettie Page photographs. Some of these were sent to Hugh Hefner, who in January 1955 made Bettie the centerfold in Playboy’s January issue. Amazingly, Bettie is 3 months short of 32 years of age at this point. She was even named the “Girl with the Perfect Figure,” with her photographs appearing in everything from record albums to playing cards. In 1955, Bettie won the title “Miss Pinup Girl of the World.”
Irving Klaw, her New York photographer who created the famous “bondage” images, is arrested for “conspiracy to distribute obscene material” though the US Mail in 1963. Bettie is called to testify in a private session. She is reported to have said that Klaw was absolutely innocent of any charge.
It was then that Miss Bettie Page disappeared from the scene. For decades there were rumors as to why, where and if Bettie was even still among the living. What happened in reality was Bettie’s life continued as a born again Christian who struggled with mental illness and two more failed marriages.
Through the 1980s and the 1990s, Bettie Page re-surged as a modeling icon. The media, intrigued by her mysterious disappearance launched a countrywide search for Bettie. Comic books soon featured characters that resembled Bettie, contemporary artists such as Olivia, Dave Stevens, and Robert Blue immortalized their idol with their powerful images.
Bettie’s undeniable influence is present still today in fashion, films, and magazines just to name a few. The dark-haired girl from Nashville has become a living legend, a modern icon, a symbol of beauty and femininity that transcends ordinary standards. In the heart of her adoring fans, Bettie will forever remain the queen of pinup.
She expressed herself as a sexual being without being promiscuous. She held incredible sexual power in playful winks, she crashed through boundaries and challenged rigid ideals imposed by a sexually repressed and puritanical society and yet, through it all, Bettie was oblivious to the incredible sexual power and cultural significance of her work. She was, after all, just a strong, independent, sexually secure woman who did what she had to do and what she loved doing.
It is a lesson that I try to teach to my armature models. Being pretty is a lot easier than being sexy. Sex comes from within. It is an undefined, enigmatic and playful quality that can’t come from anywhere but the soul.
I hope that Bettie’s soul has found peace and acceptance. She has inspired me and thousands of others to explore and understand sexuality without exploitation or degradation. It is a fine line to walk, but an extremely important one especially to this photographer who revels in the beauty and power of women and my constant search for an image that has “Bettie” written all over it.
And that is how I see it, from behind the lens.
You comments are always welcome at colleen@digitalmagicbigshots.com. www.digitalmagicbigshots.com
