Information on All About Bettie Page & the gal behind it.

For all the folks wondering if Bettie is still alive, the answer is "Yes"! In fact, she recently turned 80 - and looks damn fine as such! She's living in California, at a retirement villa if I remember correctly. She's not rich, but she's also not poor as far as I know.

She receives a percentage of all licensed merchandise using her likeness. CMG Worldwide manages her licensed goods. She also co-owns a company with her brother Jack called BMP Productions, which I believe coincides with CMG.

Like all models in her time, and even today, she signed her photographers' wavers stating that she doesn't have any rights to the pictures taken. Therefore, she receives no remuneration for the selling of her pictures.

Dave Stevens, comic book & pinup artist, is a close friend of Bettie's. I had the pleasure of meeting Dave Stevens a few years ago and he had nothing but great things to say about Bettie.

Photos that are not OK'd by Bettie Page
Read the following quote (I've edited the grammar errors):
"... one night I went to a party and there were a lot of models. I have never been drunk in my life, but I liked sweet May wine and I must have gotten drunk. I remember posing ... And one guy sold the photos of those sleazy shots. I had him arrested when I found out. He said he sold them because he owed his bookie. There are a few pictures out that I have done that they weren't supposed to sell, they still didn't have releases." excerpt from the 1998 online chat with Karen Swanson.
Personally, those 'open' (if you don't know what I mean by that, then you probably haven't seen those pix in question) shots of Bettie are my least favourite; you can tell she's not lookin' quite right, and there's a feeling of her being taken advantage of.
So, if you do have those photos on your site, it would be a nice gesture to Bettie if you'd remove them. (not that I'm telling you you have to; freespeech and all that ...)

Who is Bettie Page? Betty Mae Page was born April 22, 1923 in Nashville Tennessee USA. Father Walter Roy Page and mother Edna Mae Pirtle. Older brother Billy, younger brothers Jimmy and Jack, younger sisters Goldie and Joyce. Sidenote: Betty started spelling her name 'Bettie' at an early age, and her brother Jimmy would spell his 'Jimmie' too! What's the scoop on Bettie Page? In 1950 New York, amateur photographer Jerry Tibbs was the first to see Bettie's potential as a model. Not only that, Tibbs was the man who had Bettie cut her hair, creating those now famous 'bettie bangs'! From there, Bettie went on to model for camera clubs. She gained a large following with her work at Movie Star News with brother/sister team Irving and Paula Klaw. Movie Star News is infamous for the 'bondage' scenes they created, as well as their cheesecake. And, as for nudity, "I never thought it was terrible to be in the nude. After all, God created man and women totally nude and put them in the garden ... It just seemed natural to me ... I was never self-conscious about it."1 What's so hot about Bettie Page? Everyone has their own reason for adoring Bettie. Yet, whether it's the Bondage Bettie or Bikini Bettie, there's a common denominator - her quintessential bangs, twinkle in her eye, sweet smile, and goddess-like curves. Women and men both openly admire Bettie's beauty. And, in fact, through my connections in "Bettieville", I've come to find that there's more female fans of Bettie Page than male! ___________________________ Find more info & quotes about Bettie Page, via her book 'Life of a Pin-Up Legend' and the 1998 online chat session held with Karen Swanson (author of Pinup). Join the informational clubs that are out there - it's a fun way to get to know other fans of Bettie, and to find out more about her! Do a search on Google for Bettie Page Sites, Clubs & Mailing lists. The only Club I can personally recommend is Bettie_Buddies, a list I co-own which was created in February of 1999. Over 500 members of trueblue Bettie fans! ___________________________ "I was never the girl next door."

"Please remember me as I was. ... I am content now. I enjoy my privacy and my simple life. I have no regrets. To friends new and old, I thank you all." - Bettie Page quote from 'The Life of a Pinup Legend' by Karen Essex and James L Swanson, 1996 [1]

"I don't know what they mean by an icon. I never thought of myself as being that. It seems strange to me. I was just modeling, thinking of as many different poses as possible. I made more money modeling than being a secretary. I had a lot of free time. You could go back to work after an absence of a few months. I couldn't do that as a secretary."

Bettie quotes from the Bettie Page transcript from September 23, 1998 (thanks to Robin, from the UK, who let me know about the broken link to the transcript; I have since changed it to link to Dave Holle's copy of the interview)

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Belier Press, of Private Peeks fame, owns the copyright to some Bettie Page photographs. Might be a good idea to check out their site for further information. Basically, the photos under their copyright are the naughtier of the bunch, and lots of them are in colour. If you're lucky enough to own a copy of the Private Peeks collection, more power to ya! :)