"Pinup" redirects here. For other uses of pinup or pin-up, see Pin-up (disambiguation). For the 1944 film, see Pin Up Girl (film).

Betty Grable's famous pin-up photo

A pin-up girl, also known as a pin-up model, is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display, e.g. meant to be "pinned-up" on a wall. Pin-up girls may be glamour models, fashion models, or actresses.

The term pin-up may also refer to drawings, paintings, and other illustrations done in emulation of these photos (see the list of pinup artists). The term was first attested to in English in 1941;^[1] however, the practice is documented back at least to the 1890s.

The pin-up images could be cut out of magazines or newspapers, or be from postcard or chromo-lithographs, and so on. Such photos often appear on calendars, which are meant to be pinned up anyway. Later, posters of pin-up girls were mass-produced and became an instant hit.

Overview[link]

Many pin-ups were photographs of celebrities who were considered sex symbols. One of the most popular early pin-up girls was Betty Grable, whose poster was ubiquitous in the lockers of G.I.s during World War II. Other pin-ups were artwork, often depicting idealized versions of what some thought a particularly beautiful or attractive woman should look like. An early example of the latter type was the Gibson girl, drawn by Charles Dana Gibson. The genre also gave rise to several well-known artists specializing in the field, including Earle K. Bergey, Enoch Bolles, Alberto Vargas, Gil Elvgren, George Petty, and numerous notable artists, such as Rolf Armstrong and Art Frahm.

Notable contemporary pin-up artists include Elias Chatzoudis, Armando Huerta, and Chuck Bauman. Another is popular Pin-Up Artist Olivia De Berardinis who is most famous for her Pin-Up Art of Bettie Page and her pieces in the earlier editions of Playboy.

“To understand both the complicated identity and the subversive nature of the nineteenth-century actress, one must also understand that the era’s views on women’s potential were inextricably ties to their sexuality, which in turn was tie to their level of visibility in the public sphere: regardless of race, class or background, it was generally assumed that the more public the woman, the more “public,” or available, her sexuality.”^[2]

It was conscious contemporaneity and sexual self-awareness on stage that burlesque performers had reached a new age. With this increasing sense of awareness, burlesque actresses/performers used photographic advertisement as business cards to promote themselves and raise their popularity.^[3] These adverts and/or business cards could often been found in almost every green room, pinned-up or stuck into “frames of the looking-glasses, in the joints of the gas-burners, and sometimes lying on-top of the sacred cast-case itself.”^[3] Understanding the power of photographic advertisements to promote their shows, burlesque women self-constructed their identity to make themselves visible. Being recognized not only within the theater itself but as well outside, challenged the conventions of women’s place and women’s potential in the public sphere.^[4]

From mid. 19th century burlesque performers and their adverts/business card cresting their photo to early 20th century photographed oriental dancers in which were highly desired to female caricatures performing ‘ordinary’ things, like the Gibson Girl became popular. The ‘ordinariness’ that these drawn pictures suggested, was erotic. The fact that, unlike the photographed actresses and dancers generations earlier, fantasy gave artists the freedom to draw women, in particular the Gibson Girl in many different ways he would like.^[5] This is where the popular “pin-up girls” from the 1920’s era begins.

“Because the New Woman was symbolic of her new ideas about her sex, it was inevitable that she would also come to symbolize new ideas about sexuality.”^[6] Being sexually fantasized, famous actresses in early 20th century film were both drawn and photographed and put on posters to be sold for personal entertainment.^[7] The 1932 Esquire ‘men’s’ magazine featured many drawings like the Gibson Girl and “girlie” cartoons but most was most famous for their Varga girls. Varga girls were the next pin-up girls. Prior to WWII they were praised for their beauty and less focus was on their sexuality. However, during the war the drawings transformed into women playing dress-up in military drag and drawn in seductive manners, like that of a child playing with a doll.^[8] The Varga girls became so popular that from 1942-1946, due to a high volume of military demand, “9 million copies of the magazine-without adverts and free of charge was sent to American troops stationed overseas and in domestic bases.”^[9] Nevertheless, not one picture could be as significant or memorable as the Varga Girls nose art of the WWII bombers; not seen as prostitutes but patriots for good luck.^[10]

Feminism and the pin-up[link]

"As sexual images of women multiplied in the popular culture, women participated actively in constructing arguments to endorse as well as protest them."^[11]

In the early 20th century, where these drawings of women helped define certain body images such as being clean, being healthy, being wholesome and enjoyed by both "normal" men and women as time progressed it is no surprise that these images changed from respectable to illicit.^[12]

As early as 1869, women have been supporters and protestors of the pin-up. Women supporters of early pin-up content considered these to be a “positive post-Victorian rejection of bodily shame and a healthy respect for female beauty.”^[13] On the contrary, women protesters argued that these images were corrupting societal morality and saw these public sexual displays of women as lowering the standards of womanhood, destroying their dignity and harmful to both women and young adolescence.^[13]

Notable pin-up girls[link]

Other kinds of pin-ups[link]

In comic books, a pin-up is simply a full-page piece of artwork, most often without dialogue, that showcases a character, group of characters, or significant event, published within an issue, rather than made available by itself as a poster.

In professionally published fan magazines for films and television series, a posed photograph of actors or actresses from the subject matter, but which might also showcase specific scenes from the subject matter in photograph form (called stills) are occasionally called pin-ups. The label is very casual, though, as these types of fan media are more accurately described as posters.

Pin-ups are also referred to as "cheesecake", the male counterpart being "beefcake".

In professional wrestling, female superstar of the 1950s Mae Young modelled her in-ring look on the various pin-up girls of the time. Also, Rayna Von Tosh, of SHIMMER fame had a burlesque pin up gimmick.

See also[link]

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

• Buszek, Maria Elena (2006). Pin-up grrrls: feminism, sexuality, popular culture. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3746-0. 
• Meyerowitz, Joanne. “Women, Cheesecake, and Borderline Material”, Journal of Women’s History, Vol 8, No 3 (1996)
• Gary L. Bloomfield, Stacie L. Shain, Arlen C. Davidson, "Duty, Honor, Applause: America's Entertainers in World War II", 2004, ISBN 1592285503. Pages 400-405 discuss pinup girls and nose art.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pin-up-art

• 50 Years of American Pin-Ups - slideshow by The Week UK
• The Pin Up - The Pin Up Magazine for more information on Pin Up Girls from 2000s

The Classic (Hangul: 클래식; Keulraesik) is a 2003 South Korean melodrama / romance film directed by Kwak Jae-yong.

Plot[link]

The film tells the parallel love stories of a mother and daughter. The story of the mother is told partially in flashbacks.

The movie starts in the present day. The daughter, Ji-hye (Son Ye-jin), is cleaning-up around her house when she comes across a box full of old letters and a diary that detail the story of her mother, Joo-hee (who is also played by Son Ye-jin). Periodically in the movie, Ji-hye reads one of these letters, which starts a flashback scene in which the story of the mother is told. These flashbacks are intertwined with Ji-hye's own story, in which she falls for a fellow student, Sang-min (Zo In Sung), who is involved with the school theater.

The movie tells the story of both relationships. The mother, Joo-hee, visits the countryside as a student one summer and meets Joon-ha (Jo Seung-woo). Together they explore the countryside, playing near a river which they both will always remember as their special place. When a storm starts they take shelter together under a tree, but not before Joo-hee twists her ankle and is rendered helpless. Joon-ha carries her on his back and they struggle home, only to be confronted by her angry parents. Before they separate, Joo-hee gives him a necklace, which he keeps close as a precious reminder of their time together.

Unfortunately, as often happens in affairs of the heart, a third party prevents any deepening of their relationship. Joo-hee has been promised by her parents as a bride to Tae-soo, Joon-ha's friend. But Tae-soo, a noble friend, finds out about Joo-hee and Joon-ha's attraction for each other and helps the two communicate secretly by letting them use his own name in place of Joon-ha's in their letters. When Tae-soo's father finds this out, however, he beats Tae-soo. Tae-soo tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide so that his two friends can be together.

Meanwhile, in the present, Ji-hye falls for Sang-min in whom her friend Soo-kyeong is also very interested, but he seems not to notice. Then, in a sweet scene, they take shelter from the rain together under the same tree. He uses his coat to cover both of them and escorts her to where she needs to go. The moment, while magical, does not go anywhere as she feels his help was only due to his generous nature and not from any feelings for her on his part.

Back in the past, Joon-ha is guilt-ridden over his friend's attempted suicide and Joo-hee's own guilt. Determined to prevent any more hurt to her, Joon-ha joins the army and goes to Vietnam. There he loses his eyesight while he tries to retrieve the necklace Joo-hee had given him. When he returns to Korea, he meets again with Joo-hee, and, trying to hide his blindness, convinces her he has married in the hope she will move on with her life. Though heart broken that their relationship cannot continue, she does move on and eventually marries Tae-soo, Joon-ha's kind friend. After they have been married for several years and have a young daughter (Ji-hye) Joo-hee is approached by friends of Joon-ha, who relate Joon-ha's last wish: that his ashes be scattered by Joo-hee in the river, now a reservoir, where they first met. She then finds out that Joon-ha hadn't married, but he later did after Tae-soo and Joo-hee were married. She was told that he had a son also. The heart-break is too much and she cries.

In the present, Ji-hye's own story unfolds. Sang-min reveals his true feelings for Ji-hye - feelings that mirror her own. It is also revealed that their taking shelter together during the storm was no accident: he had purposely left his umbrella behind in a shop so that he could join her under the tree. Then, when Ji-hye pensively reveals her mother's story to him, tears stream down his face. Silently he lifts a necklace from around his neck and places it around hers. It is the necklace that Ji-hye's mother, Joo-hee, had given to Joon-ha when they met. The circle is completed: Joo-hee's daughter and Joon-ha's son have fallen in love.

Cast[link]

• Son Ye-jin in dual role as Ji-hye and Joo-hee (Ji-hye's mother)
• Jo Seung-woo as Joon-ha
• Zo In Sung as Sang-min
• Lee Ki-woo as Tae-soo (friend of Joon-ha)
• Lee Soo-in as Soo-kyeong (friend of Ji-hye)
• Seo Yeong-hee as Na-hee (friend of Joo-hee)
• Lim Ye Jin as Shopkeeper

Development[link]

Several of the school scenes were filmed at various universities in Korea. Notably, the library was in Kyung Hee University. There are many parallels between the flashback and present day stories. In the flashbacks, Joon Ha writes letters in the name of his friend Tae-soo to their mutual love interest. In the present day, Ji-hye writes letters in the name of her friend to their mutual love interest. In the flashbacks, Joo-hee has an annoying female friend that Joon-ha is initially set up with. In the present day, Ji-hye also has an annoying friend that interferes with her relationship. Also, Joo-hee and Ji-hye both receive the same poem from the people they love: "When the sun shines...".

Reception[link]

The Classic was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Awards in the category Best Asian Film in 2004.^[3]

Son Ye-jin received several awards for her performance in the film:^[4]

• 2003 40th Daejong sang Awards: Best New Actress (The Classic)
• 2003 39th PaekSang Arts Awards: Best New Actress (The Classic)
• 2003 24th Blue Dragon Film Awards - Most Favourite Star (The Classic, Crazy First Love)
• 2004 9th Moscow International Love Movie Awards: Best Couple (The Classic)

Music[link]

The film relies heavily on music to help convey emotion.

Korean Songs in the film:

• 그랬나봐 ("Geuraetna pwa" - World without love) - performer: Kim Hyung Joong
• 고백 ("Gobaek" - Confession) - performer: Delispice - played during the art gallery scene
• 너에게 난 나에게 넌 ("Neoehgeh nan naehgeh neon" - Me to you, you to me) - performer: Jatanpung - played during both special umbrella scenes
• 너무 아픈 사랑은 사랑이아니었음을 ("Neomu apeun sarangeun sarangee anieosseumeul" - It wasn't love if it hurt so much) - performer: Kim Kwang Suk - played during train and last meeting scenes
• 사랑하면 할수록 ("Saranghamyon halsoorok" - If we are in love, then...) - Played in different instrumental versions throughout the film - always at emotional moments. It is sung in the final scenes by performer Han Song Min. There is also a Mandarin version of this song titled "Hui Se Kong Jian" (灰色空間 in Mandarin) which is sung by Taiwanese singer Show Luo in Taiwanese drama called "The Outsider II".

The piano piece performed by Joo-Hee on stage is Beethoven's Piano Sonata 8, movement 2 Pathetique Sonata.

Pachelbel's Canon in D was also used as the background music. This same music was featured in the director's earlier film, My Sassy Girl.

Some American songs were used as well.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Classic at the Korean Movie Database
• The Classic at the Internet Movie Database
• The Classic at HanCinema

Bettie Page
Playboy centerfold appearance
January 1955
Preceded by	Terry Ryan
Succeeded by	Jayne Mansfield
Personal details
Born	Betty Mae Page (1923-04-22)April 22, 1923 Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Died	December 11, 2008(2008-12-11) (aged 85) Los Angeles, California, USA
Measurements	Bust: 36" Waist: 23" Hips: 36½"
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[1]

Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 Nashville, Tennessee – December 11, 2008^[2][3]) was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups".^[4] Her look, including her jet black hair, blue eyes and trademark bangs, has influenced many artists.

She was "Miss January 1955", one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine. "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,"^[5] Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told the Associated Press.

In 1959, she converted to born-again Christianity, and later worked for Billy Graham.^[6] Her later life was marked by depression, violent mood swings and several years in a state psychiatric hospital.^[7][8] After years of obscurity, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s.

Early life[link]

Page was the second of six children born to Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle.^[9][10] At a young age, Page had to face the responsibilities of caring for her younger siblings. Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old. (In the 1930 Census, a few weeks before Bettie's 7th birthday, her mother Edna Pirtle Page was already listed as being divorced.^{[citation needed]} After her father, whom Page would accuse of molesting her starting at age 13, was imprisoned,^[11] Page and her two sisters lived in an orphanage for a year.^{[citation needed]} During this time, Page's mother worked two jobs, one as a hairdresser during the day and washing laundry at night.^{[citation needed]}

As a teenager, Page and her sisters tried different makeup styles and hairdos imitating their favorite movie stars. She also learned to sew. These skills proved useful years later for her pin-up photography when Page did her own makeup and hair and made her own bikinis and costumes. During her early years, the Page family traveled around the country in search of economic stability.^[10]

A good student and debate team member at Hume-Fogg High School, she was voted "Most Likely to Succeed".^[10] On June 6, 1940, Page graduated as the salutatorian of her high school class^[10] with a scholarship. She enrolled at George Peabody College, with the intention of becoming a teacher. However, the next fall she began studying acting, hoping to become a movie star. At the same time, she got her first job, typing for author Alfred Leland Crabb. Page graduated from Peabody with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1944.

In 1943, she married high school classmate Billy Neal in a simple courthouse ceremony shortly before he was drafted into the Navy for World War II.^[12][13] For the next few years, she moved from San Francisco to Nashville to Miami and to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she felt a special affinity with the country and its culture.^[10] In November 1947, back in the United States, she filed for divorce.^{[citation needed]}

Modeling career[link]

Following her divorce, Page worked briefly in San Francisco, and in Haiti. In 1949,^[14] she moved to New York City, where she hoped to find work as an actress. In the meantime, she supported herself by working as a secretary. In 1950, while walking along the Coney Island shore, she met Jerry Tibbs, a police officer with an interest in photography. She was a willing model, and Tibbs took pictures of her and put together her first pinup portfolio.^[10]

In late-1940s America, "camera clubs" were formed to circumvent laws restricting the production of nude photos. These clubs existed, ostensibly, to promote artistic photography; but in reality, many were merely fronts for the making of pornography. Page entered the field of "glamour photography" as a popular camera club model, working initially with photographer Cass Carr.^[10] Her lack of inhibition in posing made her a hit. Her name and image became quickly known in the erotic photography industry; in 1951, her image appeared in men's magazines such as Wink, Titter, Eyefull and Beauty Parade.^[10]

Bettie Page is tied and spanked in an image from Bizarre

From 1952 through 1957, she posed for photographer Irving Klaw for mail-order photographs with pin-up, bondage or sadomasochistic themes, making her the first famous bondage model. Klaw also used Page in dozens of short, black-and-white 8mm and 16mm "specialty" films, which catered to specific requests from his clientele. These silent featurettes showed women clad in lingerie and high heels, acting out fetishistic scenarios of abduction, domination, and slave-training; bondage, spanking, and elaborate leather costumes and restraints were included periodically. Page alternated between playing a stern dominatrix, and a helpless victim bound hand and foot. Klaw also produced a line of still photos taken during these sessions. Some have become iconic images, such as his highest-selling photo of Page—shown gagged and bound in a web of ropes, from the film Leopard Bikini Bound. Although these "underground" features had the same crude style and clandestine distribution as the pornographic "stag" films of the time, Klaw's all-female films (and still photos) never featured any nudity or explicit sexual content.

In 1953, Page took acting classes at the Herbert Berghof Studio, which led to several roles on stage and television. She appeared on The United States Steel Hour and The Jackie Gleason Show.^[10] Her Off-Broadway productions included Time is a Thief and Sunday Costs Five Pesos. Page acted and danced in the feature-length burlesque revue film Striporama by Jerald Intrator. She was given a brief speaking role, the only time her voice has been captured on film. She then appeared in two more burlesque films by Irving Klaw (Teaserama and Varietease). These featured exotic dance routines and vignettes by Page and well-known striptease artists Lili St. Cyr and Tempest Storm. All three films were mildly risque, but none showed any nudity or overtly sexual content.

In 1954, during one of her annual vacations to Miami, Florida, Page met photographers Jan Caldwell, H. W. Hannau and Bunny Yeager.^[10] At that time, Page was the top pin-up model in New York. Yeager, a former model and aspiring photographer, signed Page for a photo session at the now-closed wildlife park Africa USA in Boca Raton, Florida. The Jungle Bettie photographs from this shoot are among her most celebrated. They include nude shots with a pair of cheetahs named Mojah and Mbili. The leopard skin patterned Jungle Girl outfit she wore was made, along with much of her lingerie, by Page herself. A large collection of the Yeager photos, and Klaw's, were published in the book Bettie Page Confidential (St. Martin's Press, 1994).

After Yeager sent shots of Page to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, he selected one to use as the Playmate of the Month centerfold in the January 1955 issue of the two-year-old magazine. The famous photo shows Page, wearing only a Santa hat, kneeling before a Christmas tree holding an ornament and playfully winking at the camera.

In 1955, Page won the title "Miss Pinup Girl of the World".^[10] She also became known as "The Queen of Curves" and "The Dark Angel". While pin-up and glamour models frequently have careers measured in months, Page was in demand for several years, continuing to model until 1957.^[4] Although she frequently posed nude, she never appeared in scenes with explicit sexual content.

In 1957, Page gave "expert guidance" to the FBI regarding the production of "flagellation and bondage pictures" in Harlem.^[15]

The reasons reported for her departure from modeling vary. Some reports mention the Kefauver Hearings of the United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce (after a young man apparently died during a session of bondage which was rumored to be inspired by bondage images featuring Page). In fact, the Senate committee called her to testify to explain the photos in which she appeared, but then excused her from testifying; however, the print negatives of many of her photos were subsequently destroyed by court order, which ended Klaw's bondage and S&M mail-order photography business.^{[citation needed]} For many years after, the negatives that survived were illegal to print.^{[citation needed]} However, the most obvious reason for ending her modeling career and severing all contact with her prior life was her conversion to born-again Christianity while living in Key West, Florida. in 1959.^[16]

Years out of the spotlight[link]

Photographer Sam Menning was the last person to photograph a pin-up of Page before her retirement.^[17]

On New Year's Eve 1958, during one of her regular visits to Key West, Florida Page attended a service at what is now the Key West Temple Baptist Church. She found herself drawn to the multiracial environment and started to attend on a regular basis. She would in time attend three bible colleges, including the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon and, briefly, a Christian retreat known as "Bibletown", part of the Boca Raton Community Church, Boca Raton, Florida.

She dated industrial designer Richard Arbib in the 1950s.^{[citation needed]} She then married Armond Walterson in 1958;^[18] they divorced in 1963.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1960s, she attempted to become a Christian missionary in Africa, but was rejected for having had a divorce. Over the next few years she worked for various Christian organizations before settling in Nashville in 1963. She worked full time for Rev. Billy Graham.^[4][6]

She briefly remarried Billy Neal, her first husband, who helped her to gain entrance into missionary work; however, the two divorced again shortly thereafter.^{[citation needed]} She returned to Florida in 1967, and married again, to Harry Lear,^[19] but this marriage also ended in divorce in 1972.^{[citation needed]}

She moved to Southern California in 1979.^[6] There she had a nervous breakdown and had an altercation with her landlady. The doctors that examined her diagnosed her with acute schizophrenia, and she spent 20 months in a state mental hospital in San Bernardino, California. After a fight with another landlord she was arrested for assault, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity and placed under state supervision for eight years.^[6] She was released in 1992^[8] from Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County.

A cult following was built around her during the 1980s, of which she was unaware. This renewed attention was focused on her pinup and lingerie modeling rather than those depicting sexual fetishes or bondage, and she gained a certain public redemption and popular status as an icon of erotica from a bygone era. This attention also raised the question among her new fans of what happened to her after the 1950s. The 1990s edition of the popular Book of Lists^[20] included Page in a list of once-famous celebrities who had seemingly vanished from the public eye.

Revival[link]

In 1976, Eros Publishing Co. published A Nostalgic Look at Bettie Page, a mixture of photos from the 1950s. Between 1978 and 1980, Belier Press published four volumes of Betty Page: Private Peeks, reprinting pictures from the private camera club sessions, which reintroduced Page to a new but small cult following.^[21] In 1983, London Enterprises released In Praise of Bettie Page — A Nostalgic Collector's Item, reprinting camera club photos and an old cat fight photo shoot.

In the early 1980s, comic book artist Dave Stevens based the female love interest of his hero Cliff Secord (alias "The Rocketeer") on Page.^[22] In 1987, Greg Theakston started a fanzine called The Betty Pages^[21] and recounted tales of her life, particularly the camera club days. For the next seven years, the magazine sparked a worldwide interest in Page. Women dyed their hair and cut it into bangs in an attempt to emulate the "Dark Angel".^{[citation needed]} The media caught wind of the phenomenon and wrote numerous articles about her, more often than not with Theakston's help. Since almost all of her photos were in the public domain, opportunists launched related products and cashed in on the burgeoning craze.

In a 1993 telephone interview with Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Page told host Robin Leach that she had been unaware of the resurgence of her popularity, stating that she was "penniless and infamous". Entertainment Tonight produced a segment on her. Page, who was living in a group home in Los Angeles, was astounded when she saw the E.T. piece, having had no idea that she had suddenly become famous again. Greg Theakston contacted her and extensively interviewed her for The Betty Page Annuals V.2.

Shortly after, Page signed with Chicago-based agent James Swanson. Three years later, nearly penniless and failing to receive any royalties, Page fired Swanson and signed with Curtis Management Group, a company which also represented the James Dean and Marilyn Monroe estates. She then began collecting payments which ensured her financial security.

After Jim Silke made a large format comic featuring her likeness, Dark Horse Comics published a comic based on her fictional adventures in the 1990s. Eros Comics published several Bettie Page titles, the most popular being the tongue-in-cheek Tor Love Bettie which suggested a romance between Page and wrestler-turned-Ed Wood film actor, Tor Johnson.

The question of what Page did in the obscure years after modeling was answered in part with the publication of an official biography in 1996, Bettie Page: The Life of a Pin-up Legend.^[23] That year, Bettie Page granted an exclusive one-on-one TV interview to entertainment reporter Tim Estiloz for a short-lived NBC morning magazine program Real Life to help publicize the book. The interview featured her reminiscing about her career and relating anecdotes about her personal life, as well as photos from her personal collection. At Page's request, her face was not shown. The interview was broadcast only once.

Another biography, The Real Bettie Page: The Truth about the Queen of Pinups^[24] written by Richard Foster and published in 1997, told a less happy tale. Foster's book immediately provoked attacks from her fans, including Hefner and Harlan Ellison, as well as a statement from Page that it was "full of lies," because they were not pleased that the book revealed a Los Angeles County Sheriff's police report that stated that she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and, at age 56, had stabbed her elderly landlords on the afternoon of April 19, 1979 in an unprovoked attack during a fit of insanity.^[25] However, Steve Brewster, founder of The Bettie Scouts of America fan club, has stated that it is not as unsympathetic as the book's reputation makes it to be. Brewster adds that he also read the chapter about her business dealings with Swanson, and stated that Page was pleased with that part of her story.

In 1997, E! True Hollywood Story aired a feature on Page entitled, Bettie Page: From Pinup to Sex Queen.^[26]

In a late-1990s interview, Page stated she would not allow any current pictures of her to be shown because of concerns about her weight. However, in 1997, Page changed her mind and agreed to a rare television interview for the aforementioned E! True Hollywood Story/Page special on the condition that the location of the interview and her face not be revealed (she was shown with her face and dress electronically blacked out). In 2003, Page allowed a publicity picture to be taken of her for the August 2003 edition of Playboy. In 2006, the Los Angeles Times ran an article headlined A Golden Age for a Pinup, covering an autographing session at her current publicity company, CMG Worldwide. Once again, she declined to be photographed, saying that she would rather be remembered as she was.

In a 1998 interview with Playboy, she commented on her career:

I never thought it was shameful. I felt normal. It's just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous.

Within the last few years, she had hired a law firm to help her recoup some of the profits being made with her likeness. According to MTV: "Katy Perry's rocker bangs and throwback skimpy jumpers. Madonna's Sex book and fascination with bondage gear. Rihanna's obsession with all things leather, lace and second-skin binding. Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. The SuicideGirls Web site. The Pussycat Dolls. The entire career of Marilyn Manson's ex-wife Dita Von Teese" would not have been possible without Page.^[27] Many rockabilly and gothic girls emulate Bettie's hairstyle with the black blunt bangs. You can see Bettie's hairstyle and timeless facial features emulated in many modern pin-up models, such as Bernie Dexter and Masuimi Max.^[28]

In 2011, her estate made the Forbes annual list of top-earning dead celebrities, earning $6 million and tied with the estates of George Harrison and Andy Warhol, at 13th on the list.^[29]

Death[link]

Bettie Page's grave

According to long-time friend and business agent Mark Roesler, on December 6, 2008, Bettie Page was hospitalized in critical condition.^[6] Roesler was quoted by the Associated Press as saying Page had suffered a heart attack^[6] and by Los Angeles television station KNBC as claiming Page was suffering from pneumonia.^[30] A family friend said Page was in a coma, a claim not denied by Roesler.^[6] Her family eventually agreed to discontinue life support, and she died at 18:41 PST on December 11, 2008.^[4][7]

She is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Her headstone lists her name as "Bettie Mae Page" and includes the legend "Queen of Pin-Ups".^[31]

Films[link]

Filmography[link]

• Striporama (1953)
• Varietease (1954)
• Teaserama (1955)
• Irving Klaw Bondage Classics, Volume I (London Enterprises, 1984)
• Irving Klaw Bondage Classics, Volume II (London Enterprises, 1984)
• Bettie Page: Pin Up Queen (Cult Epics, 2005)
• Bettie Page: Bondage Queen (Cult Epics, 2005)
• 100 Girls by Bunny Yeager (Cult Epics, 2005)
• Bizarro Sex Loops, Volume 4 (Something Weird Video, 2007)
• Bizarro Sex Loops, Volume 20 (Something Weird Video, 2008)

DVDs[link]

Most, if not all, of Page's existing films have been reissued on DVD, such as Bettie Page: Varietease/Teaserama, as well as a collection of five shorts called Betty Page in Bondage. In 1984, London Enterprises, a producer of S&M films, added music and narration to 28 of Klaw's silent fetish movies for the two-volume video Irving Klaw Bondage Classics. Page appears in half of these featurettes. In 2005, both volumes were released on a single DVD by Cult Epics as Bettie Page: Bondage Queen.

A compilation of her burlesque dancing performances from Striporama, Varietease, and Teaserama plus The Exotic Dances of Bettie Page (13 black-and-white dancing and cat-fight shorts) are on the Cult Epics DVD release Bettie Page: Pin Up Queen.

The DVD 100 Girls by Bunny Yeager (also by Cult Epics) is a documentary with behind-the-scenes footage on Yeager's photo sessions with Page and other pin-up models. Page also appears in another set of Irving Klaw bondage reels in Bizarro Sex Loops, Volume 20, a collection of vintage fetish shorts produced by Something Weird Video.

Biopics[link]

In 2004, Cult Epics produced the biographical film Bettie Page: Dark Angel. This low-budget straight-to-disc biopic centers on the 1953–1957 Irving Klaw period, faithfully recreating six lost fetish films she did for Klaw. Model Paige Richards plays the title role.

Another biographical movie, The Notorious Bettie Page (2005), follows her life from the mid-1930s through the late-1950s. It stars actress Gretchen Mol as the adult Page. Bonus footage added to the DVD release includes rare color film from the 1950s of Page playfully undressing and striking various nude poses for the camera.

Academy Award nominated director Mark Mori is scheduled to release the official authorized documentary biography, Bettie Page Reveals All in 2012. After more than 10 years of working with Bettie Page, Mori's film provides a unique look into her life. The film contains exclusive interviews with Bettie Page and important figures in her life and career, such as Hugh Hefner.

Guitars[link]

In 2006, Page and Halo Guitars collaborated to produce a limited edition of custom guitars, released at the 2007 Winter NAMM show in southern California. The total run of one hundred guitars were hand-made and designed by luthier Waylon Ford, art was designed by Pamelina H. and the only collector guitar series authorized by Bettie Page.^[32]

In popular culture[link]

• In one of his numerous fictional back-page biographical sketches, Harlan Ellison claimed to be "writing a biography of Bettie Page for young adults".^[33]
• Alternative country band BR5-49 recorded an ode to Page named "Bettie, Bettie" on their 1996 debut EP Live From Robert's. In interviews, Page stated that this was her favorite of the songs written about her.^[34]
• The Jazz Butcher included the song "Just Like Betty Page" on the 1984 album, A Scandal in Bohemia, using Page for a simile in the chorus "You have me/As far as I can see/roped and trussed just like dear Betty Page."^[35]
• The BD-3000 luxury droid in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was inspired by Bettie Page.^[36]
• Beyoncé Knowles pays homage to Bettie Page in her music video for "Video Phone".^[37]
• Swedish concept band DC-Pöbeln (a.k.a. Dagcenterpöbeln) from Örebro put Bettie Page on the cover of their only record Bettan/Dödgrävaren in 1985.^[38]
• In Quentin Tarantino's film Death Proof, Rosario Dawson pays homage to Page with her trademark haircut.^[39]
• In Seattle, Washington, a homeowner became the subject of a short-lived controversy when he had an artist friend paint a large mural of Page on the side of his home. The mural is visible from Interstate 5, just south of the 65th Street exit.^[40]
• In Suda51's upcoming video game "Lollipop Chainsaw," a pre-order downloadable outfit takes inspiration from Bettie Page as a pinup girl outfit, and includes her signature haircut with bangs. ^[41]

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Pin-up girl
• Pornography

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bettie Page

• Official website
• TheBettiePage.com, web guide to Bettie Page
• BettieVille.com, Dave's Bettie Page Page, a tribute and guide
• BettiePageMovie.com, "Bettie Page Reveals All", authorized biography film.
• Bettie Page at the Open Directory Project
• Bettie Page at the Internet Movie Database
• "Bettie Page". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=32128419. Retrieved August 11, 2010. 
• Bettie Page (1923–2008) - slideshow by The First Post

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (July 2009)

Dita Von Teese
Von Teese at 2007 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Heather Renée Sweet (1972-09-28) September 28, 1972 (age 39) Rochester, Michigan, United States
Ethnicity	Armenian American
Occupation	Burlesque dancer, model, costume designer, author, actress
Spouse	Marilyn Manson (m. 2005–2007) «start: (2005)–end+1: (2008)»"Marriage: Marilyn Manson to Dita Von Teese" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Dita_Von_Teese) (divorced)
Website
dita.net

Dita Von Teese (born Heather Renée Sweet on September 28, 1972) is an American burlesque dancer, model, costume designer, author and actress.^[1]

Early life[link]

Dita Von Teese was born Heather Renée Sweet^[2] on September 28, 1972, in West Branch, MI, the middle child of three daughters.^[3] Her mother was a manicurist and her father was a machinist^[4].^[3] She is of partly Armenian heritage.^[5]

Von Teese is known for her fascination with 1940s cinema and classic retro style. This began at a young age and was fostered by her mother, who would buy clothes for her daughter to dress up in. Her mother was a fan of old, Golden-era Hollywood films, and it was from her that Von Teese developed a fascination with the actresses of that day, especially Betty Grable.

She was classically trained as a ballet dancer from an early age, and danced solo at age thirteen for a local ballet company. Though she originally wanted to be a ballerina, Von Teese states that "By 15, I was as good as I’d ever be."^[4] She was later to incorporate this element into her burlesque shows, where she frequently goes en pointe.

The family relocated from Michigan to Orange County, California, when her father's job moved.^[3] Von Teese attended University High School in Irvine.^[6]

As a teenager, Von Teese's mother took her to buy her first bra, made from plain white cotton, and gave her a plastic egg containing a pair of wrinkly, flesh-colored tights.^[6] Von Teese says she was disappointed as she had been hoping to receive beautiful lacy garments and stockings, of the type she had glimpsed in her father's Playboy magazines. This fueled her passion for lingerie. She worked in a lingerie store as a salesgirl when she was fifteen, eventually as a buyer. Von Teese has been fond of wearing elaborate lingerie such as corsets and basques with fully fashioned stockings ever since.

In college Von Teese studied historic costuming and aspired to work as a stylist for films. She is a trained costume designer, often designing (and copyrighting) the photoshoots herself.^[7]

Career[link]

Fetish and glamour modeling[link]

Von Teese achieved some level of recognition in the fetish world as a tightlacer. Through the wearing of a corset for many years, she had reduced her waistline to 22 inches (56 cm), and can be laced down as far as 16.5 inches (42 cm).^[8] Von Teese stands at 5 ft 5" (165 cm.)^[9] and weighs 114 pounds (52 kg).^[10][11]

Von Teese appeared on a number of fetish magazine covers, including Bizarre^[12] and Marquis.^[13] It was around this time when she appeared on the cover of Midori's book, The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage.^[14]

Von Teese was featured in Playboy in 1999, 2001 and 2002, with a cover-featured pictorial in 2002.

The German metal band Atrocity chose her as the cover model for their 2008 album, Werk 80 II.^[15]

Burlesque[link]

Von Teese is a prominent neo-burlesque performer

Von Teese is best known for her burlesque routines and is frequently dubbed "the Queen of Burlesque"^[16][17] in the press. Von Teese began performing burlesque in 1992^[18] and, as a proponent of New Burlesque, has helped to popularize its revival. In her own words, she "puts the tease back into striptease" with long, elaborate dance shows with props and characters, often inspired by 1930s and 1940s musicals and films. Some of her more famous dances have involved a carousel horse, a giant powder compact, a filigree heart and a clawfoot bathtub with a working shower head. Her feather fan dance, inspired by burlesque dancer Sally Rand, featured the world's largest feather fans, now on display in Hollywood's Museum Of Sex.^[19] Her signature show features a giant martini glass.

Her burlesque career has included some memorable performances. She once appeared at a benefit for the New York Academy of Art wearing nothing but $5 million worth of diamonds.^[20] Additionally, Von Teese became the first guest star to perform at the Parisian Crazy Horse cabaret club with her appearance in October 2006.^[21] Also in 2006, Von Teese appeared on an episode of America's Next Top Model cycle 7 doing a workshop to teach the contestants about sexiness by means of burlesque dancing and posing. In 2007 Von Teese performed at the adult entertainment event Erotica 07 in London alongside Italian Rock noir band Belladonna.

Von Teese's first book, which consisted of her opinions on the history of burlesque and fetish, Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese, was published in 2006 by HarperCollins. Vanity Fair called her "a Burlesque Superheroine."

Von Teese participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia as part of the stage performance for the German entry "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang." The act placed 20th out of 25 participants in the final round of the contest.^[22] Later, she said her cleavage was censored during the show because of her voluptuous figure.^[23]

Acting[link]

Von Teese is also an occasional actress. In her early years she appeared in fetish-related, soft-core pornographic movies, such as Romancing Sara, Matter of Trust, in which she is billed as Heather Sweet, and also in two hard-core fetish films by Andrew Blake: Pin Ups 2^[24] and Decadence.

In recent years she has appeared in more mainstream features, such as the 2005 short film, The Death of Salvador Dali, written by Delaney Bishop, which won best screenplay and best cinematography at recent festivals, including SXSW, Raindance Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival, and Best Actress for Von Teese at Beverly Hills Film Festival. She appeared in the feature films Saint Francis and The Boom Boom Room, both in 2007.

In addition, she has appeared in a number of music videos, including the video for the Green Day song "Redundant,"^[25] the video for "Zip Gun Bop" by swing band Royal Crown Revue, Agent Provocateur's video for their cover of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control," and (performing her martini-glass burlesque routine) the video for "Mobscene" by Marilyn Manson.^[26] She has been featured in a striptease/burlesque act in George Michael's live tour 2008, for the song "Feelin' Good."^[27]

Von Teese has said that acting is not at the top of her agenda and she would only take roles that she feels are right for her, stating, "I don't understand why women feel the need to go into acting as soon as they become famous...But I suppose if the part were aesthetically correct, then maybe I could consider it."^[28]

In January 2011, Von Teese guest-starred in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in season 11: episode 12 called "A Kiss Before Frying" where she played a femme fatale version of herself under the stage name Rita von Squeeze who seduces Greg Sanders (played by Eric Szmanda) in a plot inspired by film noir.^[29]

Fashion and modeling[link]

Von Teese has appeared on a number of best-dressed lists^[30] and frequents the front row of fashion shows, particularly Christian Dior and Marc Jacobs, labels she is often seen wearing.

She has also done catwalk work. During Los Angeles Fashion Week, Spring 2004, she modeled for former club kid Richie Rich's fashion label, Heatherette. In 2005 she appeared in the Autumn/Winter Ready-to-Wear show for Giambattista Valli, a former designer for Ungaro, in Paris. In the 2006 Milan Fashion Week, Von Teese was on the runway, opening for the Moschino diffusion label, Moschino Cheap & Chic, autumn/winter 2006/7 show. In 2007, she appeared twice in the Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture show during the Paris Fashion Week. She has starred in several ad campaigns. She appeared in Vivienne Westwood's spring/summer 2005 collection adverts and became the face of Australian clothing range Wheels and Dollbaby for their 2006/7 Spring/Summer advertising campaign. She was an ambassador/spokesmodel for HIV/AIDS awareness when she was selected (along with Eve, Deborah Harry, and Lisa Marie Presley) for MAC Cosmetics' Viva Glam VI campaign (a collection of lipsticks and lipgloss where 100% of the proceeds are for worldwide AIDS charities and to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS). Von Teese has appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue, Elle,^[31] and international issues of nearly every fashion magazine. She has campaigned on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and appeared in their ads. Most recently she has designed a new lingerie range with Wonderbra.^[32]

In spite of this, Von Teese states that she never uses a stylist. "The one time I hired a stylist, they picked up a pair of my 1940s shoes and said, 'These would look really cute with jeans.' I immediately said, 'You’re out of here.'" She does her own make-up, and dyes her naturally blonde hair black at home.^[4] Von Teese's unique style is "inspired by eccentric women like Luisa Casati, Anna Piaggi, and Isabella Blow."^[33]

In early May 2012, Dita Von Teese launched her makeup collection "Classics" in partnership with the German cosmetic brand Art Deco. compact powder, blushers, eye styler, eye shadows, mascara and lipstick were produced to recreate the burlesque performer's retro look. ^[33]

Personal life[link]

Von Teese splits her time between her homes in Hollywood^[34] and Paris.^[35]

She is a collector of vintage china, particularly eggcups and tea sets,^[36] and drives a 1938 Packard One Twenty Eight, a 1946 Ford Super De Luxe^[37], a BMW Z4 and a 1965 Jaguar S-type.^[38] She also owned a 1939 Chrysler New Yorker from 1997 to December 2010.^[39][40]

Prior to her marriage, Von Teese had been romantically linked to vocalist/guitarist Mike Ness of Social Distortion^[41] and to actor Peter Sarsgaard.^[42] She has also spoken of several lesbian experiences, including a serious relationship with a woman when she was 20.^[43] She is dating French aristocrat Louis-Marie de Castelbajac.^[44]

She has been open about the plastic surgery she has undergone, having had breast implants and her beauty mark being artificial.^[3]

She participated at the PETA's campaign "Animal Birth Control (ABC)."^[45]

Relationship and marriage to Marilyn Manson[link]

Marilyn Manson had been a long time fan, and was a member of her website. They first met when he asked her to dance in one of his music videos. Though she was unable to, the two remained in contact. On Manson's 32nd birthday, in 2001,^[46] she arrived with a bottle of absinthe, and they became a couple. Manson proposed on March 22, 2004 and gave her a 1930s, 7-carat (1.4 g), European round-cut diamond engagement ring. On November 28, 2005, they were married in a private, non-denominational ceremony at home.

A larger ceremony was held on December 3 at Gurteen Castle in Kilsheelan (County Tipperary), Ireland, the home of their friend, Gottfried Helnwein. The wedding was officiated by surrealist film director and comic book writer Alejandro Jodorowsky.

On December 29, 2006, Von Teese filed for divorce from Manson citing "irreconcilable differences."^[47] Von Teese left their house empty-handed on Christmas Eve, and was not able to get in touch with Manson to inform him of her intention to divorce him. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Von Teese says "I wasn't supportive of his partying or his relationship with another girl. As much as I loved him I wasn't going to be part of that." Von Teese also stated that she gave Manson an ultimatum, and said "It didn't work. Instead, it made me the enemy."^[34] Von Teese did not seek spousal support and seemed to have no interest in his assets.^[47] The news broke for the public and for Manson on his birthday on January 5, 2007, when he was served the divorce papers.

Filmography[link]