It’s been a sad couple of months in mid-century retro Diva Land. First Yma, and now Bettie Page has passed away.
Los Angeles, December 11, 2008 – Bettie Page, sweet-smiling legendary 1950s pin-up queen with the killer curves and coal-black bangs, died today of pneumonia at a Los Angeles area hospital. She was 85 years old. She suffered a heart attack one week ago and never regained consciousness. Her popularity as an underground, guilty pleasures phenomenon has continued to soar despite the fact that the reclusive Page disappeared almost a half century ago, leading many to believe that one of the most photographed individuals of the 20th century was already dead.
And now I will never get to go on the Bettie Page Cruise.
Don’t forget mermaid Diane Webber, who passed away in August, as well as the very untimely death recently of Dave Stevens, who brought about a Bettie Page revival in the 1990s with his gorgeous Bettie Page-esque comic artwork.
Oh no, not her too! I’ve been saving up a Diane Webber/”Mermaids of Tiburon” post and a ton of DW pics, though most of them are not within even the very loose, pro-boobie standards of NSL. Unfortunately, “Mermaids of Tiburon” seems to still be unavailable on DVD.
psychotronica vol 3 offers both the original Mermaids and the topless version