Pin-up Icon Bettie Page Dies

**Absinthe** · 12-12-2008, 09:53 AM

11 December 2008 11:08 PM, PST

Legendary pin-up Bettie Page died on Thursday. She was 85.

Page suffered a heart attack last week in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness. She had been hospitalised for three weeks with pneumonia before the heart attack, according to her agent Mark Roesler.

Roesler said in a statement: "With deep personal sadness I must announce that my dear friend and client Bettie Page passed away at 6.41pm Pst this evening in a Los Angeles hospital.

"She died peacefully but had never regained consciousness after suffering a heart attack nine days ago."

Page's trademark curvy figure and raven hair made her a fixture in men's magazines in the 1950s, and the icon found a cult following that lasted long after her modelling days.

The star also landed parts in dozens of silent fetish films in which she often played a dominatrix, but the aspiring actress only had one small speaking role in the 1953 movie Striporama.

American actress Gretchen Mol played Page in the 2005 biopic of her eventful life, The Notorious Bettie Page.

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who hand-picked Page to be the Playmate of the Month in January 1955, has paid tribute to the star, saying: "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."

IMDB

R.I.P. greatest pin-up that America has ever seen...

**~~Eldritch~~** · 12-12-2008, 11:23 AM

She's always been popular in this country. The 50's Rockabilly/greaser/vintage cars scene is big here, and BP and other classic pin-ups kinda go with the territory.

But to be honest I wasn't even aware that she was still alive, I guess when that film came out I somehow assumed she was no longer with us.

But hey, at least she outlived Vampira.

Until January I was pretty sure she'd live up to her name and never croak.

**Absinthe** · 12-12-2008, 11:31 AM

Can you believe how beautiful she was? Have you seen lots of women looking like her at that age?

By the way: looking at her photos just now, I realized how there's something amerindian about her.

Did a little search, and turns out I was right

Bettie Page was born on 22 April 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father, Roy, was an auto-mechanic. Her mother, Edna, was part Cherokee.

Interestingly enough, I have a friend that comes from Florida that looks much like Bettie Page, or more likely, a Bettie Page/Norma Jean Baker (Marylin Monroe in early, brunette years) hybrid. I always found her looks interesting.

A couple of months ago, she 'confessed' to me that one of her ancestors were Cherokee. I immediately placed that Cherokke influence in the eye region...same goes for Mrs Page.

**Goswinus** · 12-12-2008, 11:42 AM

I used to be a Bettie Page Scout of America, and had a little collection of books and cards related to her. I sold the books to afford myself in the meagre years to have a painful tooth treated and do some Christmas shopping for the family... ach...

Anyway, now I got a fiancee who buys me books about her, and looks up at Ebay for items about Bettie Page to present me with! ... Still, I feel sad for Bettie, but she passed away at a good age and in coma, without pain and struggling for breathe and life...