Chip wrote:
Several references have been made to the influence of Dave Stevens in recent spikes in interest in Bettie Page.
Other than the movie (with Gretchen Mol et al) can you point to other factors that would be of interest to readers?
I purchased a BP t-shirt from Hot Topics retail store a few years ago. Is there a driving force behind retailers interest?
You're asking complex questions, Chip. But you're in the right place to ask! Bettie's evolution from under-the-counter camera cutie to cult icon, unintentionally influencing 21st century pop culture, is one of Mark Mori's interests.
By the way, hope your tee-shirt collection will include the official BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL tee-shirt, designed by Hollywood Costume Designer, Carol Ramsey!
http://www.neoflix.com/store/SIN01 Regarding Mary Harron's film, THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE, there are assorted mentions about it threaded through this Forum. They boil down to this:
Despite Harron doing extensive research about Bettie's life, the screenplay reflected extreme dramatic license. In my opinion, the movie was wrongly marketed as a biopic. It should have been released as "inspired by" Bettie's life; it was not about Bettie's life. You'll be hearing from Bettie about that during BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL.
The biggest conceptual obstacle Harron's movie created was that it accentuated fabricated Bettie details. Herb and I regularly run into people who tell us they know all about Bettie because of THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE -- which means they don't know much of anything about her life. That's why Bettie's fans are eager to watch BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL, as Bettie's first and only authorized film documentary.
Here's a brief overview of Bettie's resurgence:
Let's start with Stevens. Ever flipped through John Morrow's
The Collected Jack Kirby Collector, Volume 5? There's this nutshell recap: Stevens was asked if he started the Bettie cult or if it already existed. He replied, "I think it was always there, just dormant; a fond remembrance on the part of the guys who had been collecting her photos for twenty years prior. Then, when they learned that there was some kid drawing a Bettie lookalike in this comic book, they started writing me letters, and that was the first clue I had that this was bigger than just me -- imitations popping up in other comics; and people were suddenly drawing her on all sorts of products. It was like a runaway train."
Stevens wasn't the only notable artist with a Bettie passion. For example, during the late 1970s, artist Robert Blue immortalized Bettie on giant canvases. Karen Essex and James L. Swanson, who authored Bettie's 1996 authorized biography (
Bettie Page: The Life of a Pin-Up Legend), mentioned a 1976 gallery opening for Blue; I've seen the invitation for Blue's Bettie offerings during September, 1977, titled "Homage to Betty Page."
Check out Steve Sullivan's
VaVaVoom! (1995) Bettie Page chapter. Sullivan noted, "While she had retained a loyal following for years, it would be during the late 1970s and early 80s that the phenomenon began to take on larger dimensions."
Bettie's photos were printed regularly, long after she quit modeling in December, 1957. There's a thread on this Forum about a session Bettie did in 1958 with Bunny Yeager; for all intents and purposes, however, December, 1957 was Bettie's official date for leaving the modeling world.
From 1958 through the 1960s, girlie magazine publishers regularly repackaged and reprinted Bettie's photos. Many concocted interviews that made it sound like she was still active in the modeling business.
Hopefully, you've checked the recaps on Ken's wonderful ExcaliburWeb.org, which will give you a sense of just how widespread interest in Bettie was:
The Bettie Mae Page List:
http://excaliburweb.org/bettie-mae-page-list/index.htm Publication Thumbnails:
http://excaliburweb.org/main-index/Publications%20Thumbnails/index.html Important: ExcaliburWeb.org is a reference library. All images are for personal use. If you decide to use files from ExcaliburWeb in any of your articles, you will need Ken Rivernbark's permission.
Bettie was featured non-stop in Movie Star News' catalogs. There's a consensus that these appearances fueled the mystery of her whereabouts, sparking outrageous Elvis-type sightings that took on a life of their own. In one of the trailers for BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL, Bunny Yeager is heard mentioning such tales:
Tapping directly into the mystery, uniting old -- and new -- Bettie fans to carry the "where's Bettie" torch, was Greg Theakston's THE BETTY PAGES (1987 - 1993). This was a seminal glitzy zine in Bettie's revival history.
One of the first major articles to tap into the "where's Bettie" phenomenon was written for ROLLING STONE (October 16, 1989) by I.S. Levine, titled "The Case of the Vanished Pinup." If you saw the April 27, 1997 E! documentary about Bettie, Levine was one of the talking heads, as was Greg Theakston.
Diehard Bettie fans subscribed not only to THE BETTY PAGES, but the Bob Schultz labor of love, FOND MEMORIES. It was a privately printed newsletter for her most ardent fans and collectors, begun in 1991. Issue "L" was the first to be printed for more extensive distribution and announced that it was Bettie's authorized fanzine. FOND MEMORIES coined the term "Bettieology" to describe the study and appreciation of all things Bettie Page.
FOND MEMORIES' spirit gave birth to the original Bettie Page fan club, the Bettie Scouts of America. It was co-founded by Bob Schultz and Steve Brewster on September 9, 1992, and authorized by Bettie during December, 1992. Though FOND MEMORIES is no longer printed, the Bettie Scouts transitioned to the digital age, with a home in Yahoo Groups:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bettiescoutsofamerica Some people attribute the start of the Bettie revival to J.B. Rund's PRIVATE PEEKS' 1978 debut. Its readers were captivated -- despite cover prices perceived as outrageously high by many, and its on-the-fly scrapbook layout (including some accidental non-Bettie photos). PRIVATE PEEKS' popularity speaks to the power of Bettie's photos.
It all turned into a snowball effect. As each new Bettie item appeared, new enthusiasts joined the Bettie fanbase.
Entrepreneurs took note. The end result was a cottage industry for Bettie-themed products. It's important to realize that it was a spontaneous phenomenon, occurring without Bettie's awareness or participation.
By the time reporter Bob Schapiro tracked down and interviewed Bettie for LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS (original air date was November 14, 1992), Bettie described herself as "penniless and infamous." All around her, people were pocketing profits by selling her image, without paying a cent to Bettie. That led to Bettie's decision to hire an agent.
