LOS ANGELES — Bettie Page, whose magazine photographs in bikinis and see-through lingerie helped her become one of the most notable models of the 20th century, was hospitalized in intensive care after suffering a heart attack, her agent said Friday.
"She's critically ill," Mark Roesler of the Curtis Management Group told The Associated Press.
He said she had the heart attack on Tuesday and was hospitalized Friday in the Los Angeles area.
A family friend, Todd Mueller, said Page was in a coma. When asked to confirm, Roesler said, "I would not deny that," but he would not comment further on her condition.
Page, a secretary turned model, is credited with helping set the stage for the sexual revolution of the rebellious 1960s. She attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure that were tacked up on walls across the country.
Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.
Page later spent decades away from the public eye, and during that time battled mental illness and became a born-again Christian.
After resurfacing in the 1990s, she occasionally granted interviews but refused to allow her picture to be taken.
Mueller credits his business dealings with Page for bringing her out of seclusion. He said he first met her in 1989 when he offered her "a bunch of money" to show up at autograph signings.
"I probably sold 3,000 of her autographs, usually for $200 to $300," he said. "Eleanor Roosevelt, we got $40-$50. ... Bettie Page outsells them all."
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She was my first foot model and I loved her feet and legs. Her pictures are still HOT!! Shows my age but I remember her when she was a current and popular pin-up model. She pointed her toes a lot and I love that. I wish her well.
Posts: 1171 | Registered: May 2005
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I am grieved by this news. I believe that I knew who she was by the time I was 6 or 7. My first foot model, probably; certainly she was the foundation for my love of the bound female form. Had to wait till Diana Rigg as "Emma Peel" to really bring it to the fore.
The lengthy interval before her hospitalization is not encouraging but I will keep my fingers crossed.
To speculate, I think much of her allure came from a sweetness, freshness, and - dare I say innocence - in her appearance. A rather joyful sense of mischief always came through, even in the worst of the amateur photos I've seen.
Thank you Bettie Page, you made this boy's life richer and helped him figure out that boners came from naked women (especially the bound ones with bare feet and elegantly pointed toes).
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