Bettie Page

Born: April 22, 1923, Nashville, Tennessee
Died: December 11, 2008 (aged 85), Los Angeles, California

Bettie Page (Betty Mae Page) was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She was also one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine.

What do you know about Bettie Page? Model this quick quiz.

1. In 1944, Page graduated from college. What was the college?

• Nashville College of Medicine
• George Peabody College
• University of Tennessee

2. In 1950, while walking along the Coney Island shore, Bettie met a police officer with an interest in photography. Bettie was a willing model, and he took pictures of her and put together her first pinup portfolio. Who was the police officer?

• Ron Heart
• Jerry Tibbs
• Mark Reynolds

3. From 1952 through 1957, she posed for mail-order photographs with pin-up, bondage or sadomasochistic themes, making her the first famous bondage model. Who was the photographer?

• Herb Hancock
• Millard Campbell
• Irving Klaw

4. In 1953, where did Page take acting classes, which led to several roles on stage and television?

• Actor's Studios
• Brando Studios
• Herbert Berghoff Studios

5. Shots of Page were sent to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, he selected one to use as the Playmate of the Month centerfold in the January 1955 issue of the two-year-old magazine. The famous photo shows Page, wearing only a Santa hat, kneeling before a Christmas tree holding an ornament and playfully winking at the camera. Who was the photographer?

• Jan Caldwell
• H. W. Hannau
• Bunny Yeager

6. During one of her regular visits to Key West, Page attended a service at what is now The Key West Temple Baptist Church. When did this happen?

• New Year's Eve 1958
• Christmas Eve 1958
• New Year's Eve 1959

7. She moved to Southern California in 1979. There she had a mental breakdown and had an altercation with her landlady. The doctors that examined her diagnosed her with acute schizophrenia, and she spent 20 months in a state mental hospital in San Bernardino. After a fight with another landlord she was arrested for assault, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity and placed under state supervision for eight years. She was released in 1992 from Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County.

• Fact or Myth?

8. In 1987, Greg Theakston started a fanzine and recounted tales of her life, particularly the camera club days. For the next seven years, the magazine sparked a worldwide interest in Page. What was the fanzine's name?

9. On December 6, 2008, Page was hospitalized in critical condition. Page had been on life support since her heart attack in early December until her family agreed to discontinue it. She died at 6:41 PM PST on December 11, 2008.

• Fact or Myth?

10.

• Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California
• Bethesda Cemetery, Aberdeen, North Carolina
• Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California

Answers

• 1. George Peabody College
• 2. Jerry Tibbs
• 3. Irving Klaw
• 4. Herbert Berghoff Studios
• 5. Bunny Yeager
• 6. New Year's Eve 1958
• 7. Fact
• 8. The Betty Pages
• 9. Fact
• 10. Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California

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