The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

It seems to be a week for sad news – Forrest Ackerman and Oliver Postgate left us and Bettie Page collapsed with a heart attack and slipped into a coma, ironically as the 85 year old was about to leave hospital following treatment for pneumonia. Unfortunately the BBC and others are reporting this morning that Bettie passed away without regaining conciousness in the early hours of this morning (UK time).

“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,” Hugh Hefner.

(I dream of Genie… Bettie strikes an exotic pose; pic borrowed from the Hips, Lips & Tits Bettie Page fan site)

Bettie, born in 1923, rose to fame as a glamour model in the 1950s, featuring as at one point as an early Playboy model. Combining a knockout figure with a brilliant smile (which to be honest is always the more attractive thing about anyone) and exuding sexuality mixed with a sense of playfulness and enjoyment, Bettie had a great career, but faded into the background in the 60s before being ‘re-discovered’ in the 1980s and 90s, leading to a real resurgence of interest and an equal level of influence on other artists, from comics creators (especially the late Dave Stevens who based his Rocketeeer’s girlfriend Betty, also a model, on Betty Page, who he became friends with) to the modern wave of burlesque performers (a form which has enjoyed a revival of its own) and film-makers. Her sensual image achieved something given to few performers and became an iconic part of pop culture – that dark hairs with its bangs has become as iconic as Louise Brooks’ bob or Marilyn Monroe’s white dress. Despite the huge revival of interest in Bettie, she tried to keep herself as she now was out of the spotlight, preferring that fans remember and enjoy the images of her youth. I don’t think anyone will have a problem remembering that style. Bye, bye, Bettie.

(Bettie tries an ancient Egyptian form of hot-tub in one of Jim Silke’s Bettie Page Comics, with cover art by her friend, the late Dave Stevens, published by Dark Horse)