Ultimate pinup queen and cultural icon Bettie Page dead at 85. Her agent confirmed the saucy raven haired beauty passed after falling into a coma last weekend in LA.
Bettie, a secretary tuned model, is credited with sparking the sexual revolution in the 1960s. Her photos which appeared in mags like Wink were tacked up on walls over the US. She also appeared in a series of S&M "under the counter only" specialty posed nudie cutie pics and stag reels that made her even more famous.
Bettie was handpickd by Hugh Hefner for a centerfold in the fledgling January 1955 Playboy. She then dropped out of the spotlight for decades following a bout with mental illness and became a born again Christian. Her career enjoyed a resurgence thanks to late cartoonist Dave Stevens using her in his strip The Rocketeer. Stevens found and befriended Page, helping her create a website.
Bettie was the subject of recent biopic The Notorious Bettie Page starring Gretchen Mol (Life on Mars) as the raven haired goddess.
"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. She was a very dear person," mourned Hugh Hefner.
"I don’t want to be photographed in my old age," Bettie said in an interview in 1998. "I feel the same way with old movie stars. … It makes me sad. We want to remember them when they were young."
Here’s Bettie in her prime backed by "The Killer" Jerry Lee Lewis.
Adieu, Bettie. XO
